tenx
06-01-2015, 06:52 PM
Here is how i made my tumbler. anyone on this site is free to use the design. some of the ideas are mine, some
were taken from others, you're all welcome to it, hope something from here helps, thanks..........
141058the lid is from Lowes, their lid was the thinnist, a piece of quarter inch plywood/mdf or whatever in between, cut smaller than the lid to create a groove for the belt, the drum is a 6 inch piece of pvc with caps glued on both ends, a 3 inch hole cut into one end for an expandable plug, cheap sealed bearings that fit the wooden dowel axle with elcheapo conduit pipe wall clamps to hold it down, the axle connected to the pulley with a cast piece that has pipe threads in it for some kind of stand/mount thingie, not sure what the proper name is, a small brass nipple screwed in (brass was just what i happened to have on hand) with the dowel jammed/epoxied in the nipple (epoxy was probably overkill) the drum wanted to slip on the shaft so i punched holes thru some rubber "feet" for a cane of whatever that was a snug fit over the dowels, they provide plenty of traction for the drum. my motor was overkill for sure, 1/2 hp 1750 internally cooled but it was what i had on hand. there are a lot of motors out there but seems most of them are for a blower wheel of some type and rely soley on air blown over them for cooling, best would be to use a motor that is internally cooled. had a thin belt from another project. i use a really small pulley on the motor but it works fine. had to put several screws into the side of the drum to keep things mixed up when tumbling, sealed around them with silicone, anyhow i fill the drum 7/8 full of brass and pins, with water practically to the top, a squirt of detergent and a spoon of lemishine. tumble for several hours and dump/rinse/clean. i thought the pins would erode the inside of the pvc but so far so good. the pipe plug seals the drum and it's been watertight, no complaints. most of the stuff i hads on hand so i don't have much invested in the whole project, however your mileage may vary. good luck............
were taken from others, you're all welcome to it, hope something from here helps, thanks..........
141058the lid is from Lowes, their lid was the thinnist, a piece of quarter inch plywood/mdf or whatever in between, cut smaller than the lid to create a groove for the belt, the drum is a 6 inch piece of pvc with caps glued on both ends, a 3 inch hole cut into one end for an expandable plug, cheap sealed bearings that fit the wooden dowel axle with elcheapo conduit pipe wall clamps to hold it down, the axle connected to the pulley with a cast piece that has pipe threads in it for some kind of stand/mount thingie, not sure what the proper name is, a small brass nipple screwed in (brass was just what i happened to have on hand) with the dowel jammed/epoxied in the nipple (epoxy was probably overkill) the drum wanted to slip on the shaft so i punched holes thru some rubber "feet" for a cane of whatever that was a snug fit over the dowels, they provide plenty of traction for the drum. my motor was overkill for sure, 1/2 hp 1750 internally cooled but it was what i had on hand. there are a lot of motors out there but seems most of them are for a blower wheel of some type and rely soley on air blown over them for cooling, best would be to use a motor that is internally cooled. had a thin belt from another project. i use a really small pulley on the motor but it works fine. had to put several screws into the side of the drum to keep things mixed up when tumbling, sealed around them with silicone, anyhow i fill the drum 7/8 full of brass and pins, with water practically to the top, a squirt of detergent and a spoon of lemishine. tumble for several hours and dump/rinse/clean. i thought the pins would erode the inside of the pvc but so far so good. the pipe plug seals the drum and it's been watertight, no complaints. most of the stuff i hads on hand so i don't have much invested in the whole project, however your mileage may vary. good luck............