Container for diy brass tumbler?

[Slugster]

I have jumped into the deep end of diy'ing a brass tumbler, but have been unable to find a suitable "drum". I'm sure others have done the same, and I would like to know how the problem was solved.

And yes, I know you can purchase tumblers, etc. I do projects such as this because it keeps me out of real trouble, and out of the range of my wife's 'hey lets remodel something' attitude.

Have looked at plastic jars, buckets, etc. Would like something in the 2 gallon size. A 2 gallon bucket with a Gamma seal lid is where i'm at right now. Anyone have any ideas?

[Conditor22]

I think these will work better than the GAMMA seal. ------https://www.tankbarn.com/products/2-gallon-screw-top-bucket

this is the first one I made

adaptor for small batches

Gamma works but you need to make sure they are tight

nylon baffles glued and screwed



version 2.0


get the heaviest window wiper motor you can find

[Wisest.fool]

Thats awesome. Old pc power supply haha very cool.and is that a window motor?

[nawagner]

Plastic paint cans are about exactly the same size as a Thumler Tumbler drum. Only one gallon though.

[brass410]

went to menards picked up insulated round cooler. works great its water tight (for water) its insulated so it keeps water hot and it keeps spinning media quiet. they had several diameters to choose from 1 gal all the way to approx5 gals.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

A friend of mine used a 1 gal. metal paint can, but they're getting harder to find. Used to be you could buy the new, unused, and empty at Home Depot.

[Ianagos]

I used pvc pipe” with a 4” reducer and rubber cap on one side and a regular 6” cap on the other.

[Cap'n Morgan]

I bought one of these for my homemade tumbler. 10 liters (2.5 gallon) but can be had in various sizes.
Don't know where to find one in the US, and it's quite expensive if you only need a single one - about $40.
The lid is watertight and if mounted using sealant, it can be used for wet tumbling.

[dbosman]

3 gallon olive barrels are perfect. Round, good capacity, and really good seal. Check any of the smaller shops that sell bulk olives.

[deltaenterprizes]

I made a plexiglass hex and cut the bottom 2” off 2 five gallon buckets for the drive rims.
MEK is what I used to glue the plexiglass together. I used threaded rod to connect the top and bottom because it came apart on me one day and made a big mess!
I did all this before I went to machinist school with only hand tools!

[Winger Ed.]

At some of the bulk/discount stores, I've seen some pretty thick clear jars of cheese puffs, dog treats, or animal crackers
that look like a couple gallon size with screw on lids.

[Slugster]

I would like to thank everyone who replied to my inquiry. Thank y'all.

[Slugster]

Thank you Conditor for your in depth reply. I really appreciate you taking your time to reply. Wow, you have given me some ideas that had not occurred to me.

[samari46]

Chlorine buckets with the chlorine come in all sizes. 2gallon,5 gallon and a dandy 100 pound one. The older ones have the screw on lids with a gasket. I have a couple of the 100lb ones and they make great trash cans for my garage. Very heavy construction.Check with the folks that service swimming pools. Since they usually buy their chlorine in bulk they may have some of all three sizes. even if you have to pay a few bucks they're worth it. I cleaned out the shed one year and put all the buckets out by the road along with some old gas powered tools. Called public works they came out and everything was gone. Guy rang the bell and asked where all the stuff was. I looked where I had put it and like I said gone. Guy says I'll have to tell my boss,said go ahead. Down here if by the side of the road it's fair game. I've even had folks ring my bell and ask if they could have whatever was there. Sure go ahead. Look out later and all gone. Hurricane season, many folks cut trees and leave it by the side of the road. One guy comes with a trailer and takes the tree limbs for firewood. After a good hurricane public works will make the rounds. They pick up so much wood that they burn it. Douse it with old gas and diesel get it going and use the blast from an air boat motor to help things along. First time I saw this it was after Katrina came through. There were mountains of old furniture,trees and what have you. No way would they be able to burn it all without the air boat. Frank

[Ozark mike]

Long time ago i used somewhere around 2ft of 6in pvc with end caps mounted on a small windmill. Neighbors thought it was cool but took forever to to actually get anything done now i just clean in vinegar and call it a day.

[NyFirefighter357]

Ask people with a pool about their chlorine tablet containers they come in several shapes & sizes & have sealed screw on locking lids. I also have gotten a couple of olive containers that are the perfect size.

[NyFirefighter357]

I think these will work better than the GAMMA seal. ------https://www.tankbarn.com/products/2-gallon-screw-top-bucket

this is the first one I made

adaptor for small batches

Gamma works but you need to make sure they are tight

nylon baffles glued and screwed



version 2.0


get the heaviest window wiper motor you can find

I made one like this with the Gamma lid & the lid leaks. These are pretty easy to make & the parts are easily sourced. I had everything I needed here except the wiper motor, metric extension nut & metric bolt as the motor I got from a mechanic friend was a Bosch & metric. I used 1-1/2" Slotted Steel Angle & cut the top side of the angle and bent it in a vice to form the 90 degree corners. I was then able to bolt through the overlapping cut ends. I used the same type of rollers which also bolted easily onto the slotted angle. I'm using a battery charger for power but I do have a laptop power source to use. I guess I have about an hour of build time in it. I already have a F.A.R.T so this was just for fun & I lost interest when the lid leaked. I'll get back to it and replace the 2gal bucket with one of the olive containers sometime this summer.

[Slugster]

I had not thought of the chlorine containers, Thank You! Those look great, and I will investigate.

[Conditor22]

I built this to tighten the lids so they didn't leak

[NyFirefighter357]

I had not thought of the chlorine containers, Thank You! Those look great, and I will investigate.

Those containers in the pic are olive containers ask you local grocery store or anyplace that has an olive bar.