Can you make your own ceiling fan blades?

[Mark Grotenhuis]

Several fans in my house have an issue where the fan blades are warping down causing the fan to become unbalanced. I would like to replace them, but not with the original blades, something better quality. The fan blades currently on them aren't even real wood, they look more like pressboard. Has anyone ever done this? I'm thinking about replacing them with a solid white oak and possibly making them (very slightly) thicker. Any thoughts?

[Jim Rimmer]

You probably can using the old blades as a pattern. The extra weight might be an issue if your new ones are significantly heavier. Worth a try on one and see if it works out. Worst case is your out a fan.

[Matt Meiser]

I've thought about this too, but I'd use a good quality ply even if it meant veneering them myself. The thin real wood would have a strong tendancy to warp. To hide the edges, just paint a close match in color and it would be real hard to notice.

[Jeff Monson]

Would balance be an issue? Just food for thought, not sure how tight of weight tolerances they run on a prefab blade?

[Mark Bolton]

Most fans now come with a balance kit. I would bet with even a simple shop made balance scale you could come extremely close to balance with sanding. You could fine balance just as you would with a new fan if needed.

[John McClanahan]

Would balance be an issue? Just food for thought, not sure how tight of weight tolerances they run on a prefab blade?

That's the excuse for the pressed wood blades. They can control the blade to blade weight and density. I read somewhere that even re-painting the blades can throw them out of balance. We have a couple of small fans on our back porch that like to droop. Every couple of years I flip the blades over.

John

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Balance would be a real issue with their performance.

Try taking a dime and tape it on one blade. Initially place that dime centered on the blade but close to the the attachment point of the blade. Turn it on a slow speed. Next try moving that dime a little farther out and then try not keeping it centered on the blade.......

After that, try something like a quarter.

[Mark Grotenhuis]

That's the excuse for the pressed wood blades. They can control the blade to blade weight and density. I read somewhere that even re-painting the blades can throw them out of balance. We have a couple of small fans on our back porch that like to droop. Every couple of years I flip the blades over.

John

I would love to flip the blades over, but the color on the other side of the blade doesn't match the room. I'll probably just make my own and see how it goes. I don't think it would be terribly hard to balance them with a kit.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I think balancing them will be more interesting than most realize.

Take a dime, tape it centered in the middle of the blade near the attachment point of a blade on an existing fan. Turn the fan on to a low speed.

Now try the same thing and move the dimes position towards the out edge of the blade.....and then move to the leading edge or trailing edge of the blade.

Now take into consideration, you will have to balance multiple blades......

It will be interesting....

[Myk Rian]

Get a little postage scale to weigh them.
Or, make a simple balance beam with a fulcrum.

[Mark Grotenhuis]

Actually I'd love to veneer a piece of 1/4" aluminum. That way it would never sag, but how would you veneer the wood to the aluminum? Contact cement?

[John Lanciani]

I've made my own and it was no big deal. 52" fan on a 36" downrod and it is rock solid even on high. Veneer over BB ply to get the look you want. Balancing isn't rocket science, I balanced to .1 gram using a digital scale by sanding judiciously to match the weights. All the mfr's are doing when they make the blades is weighing the blades and putting 4 (or 5) blades of the same weight in the box. They're not dynamically ballancing the blades on a $100 ceiling fan.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Can it be done yes...

But there is a difference between static balancing and dynamic balancing.

[Harry Hagan]

I’ve balanced many an unruly fan using 3M double-stick foam tape and some patience. The tape has enough mass to make a difference and it’s just a matter of trial-and-error in where you place it on top of the correct blade and how much.

[John Lanciani]

Can it be done yes...

But there is a difference between static balancing and dynamic balancing.

That's my point; Hampton bay, Hunter, etc. are most definitely NOT dynamically balancing their ceiling fans. If they were they would have them marked for specific positions on the rotor with specific blade holders, not just thrown in the box with the hardware. You can postulate all you'd like, I've actually done it quite successfully with no heroic effort.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

John,

I have balanced fans too.....and in my profession I balanced a lot of rotating frames that could weigh up to and over 2000 lbs and...... could move from 15 seconds/revoltion to 0.3 seconds per revolution.

The manufacturers of the very fans you indicated have control over the intitial design, aerodynamic shape, materials used, production procedures etc. And yet.....everyday you can walk into homes where people have installed those fans and the fans wobble. They reason wobble? They aren't balanced. The most common reasons they aren' t balanced are a lack of knowledge on how to balance a rotating object and patience.

Harry's post is dead on.....it doesn't take much when coupled with enough patience.

I never said it couldn't be done. I simply said it could be interesting.

[Ben Johnson WI]

The last fans I bought when we moved into our current house took a different approach - they designed them where the blade arm mounts to the motor to have some play in it so the arm can flex, allowing the blades to naturally find their happy dynamic equilibrium. No monkeying around with weights. If there were a flat surface on the motor housing, I could probably pass the nickel test with the fan on high speed.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they accomplished it simply by putting a really beefy rubber washer between the arm and the motor, so that when tightened, the arm still has up/down play. I know the end of the blades on my fan can be lifted about 1.5-2" just due to the flexibility in the mount.

[paul dyar]

I made these about 2 years ago, used the old blades as a template and weighed them on small scales. Work great.

[johnny means]

I think youll need to call N.A.S.A. on this one.:rolleyes: