ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Dec 11, 2020 13:31:24 GMT -5
I made the unfortunate mistake of buying a harbor freight dual barrel tumbler for my birthday present for my wife this year. She is having a blast, and loves it. I honestly kind of hate it. It is squeeky and goes through belts often. I have been looking for help trying to figure out how to make one with higher capacity and a more robust design.
I came upon this website to my delight. Then I saw Indiana's DIY tumbler, and it was exactly like I envisioned. I can easily set up the rollers and pillow block bearings, I am having a hard time with sourcing a motor. surpluscenter.com doesn't seem to have anything appropriate right now(I assume their stock constantly varies) Any other good site to source a motor, or should I just check them often. Also I would like to have a higher capacity. Maybe 3 x 6 pound barrels, or 2 x 10 to 12 pound barrels. What kind of size motor should I be looking at.
Also I somebody could help me find a link to DIY HDPE barrels that would be cool. I keep seeing references to them in threads but have not found them yet.
This hobby kind of seems like a black hole to me, It slowly sucks you in. I have to figure out good good place to source grit, best practices for actually tumbling stones, differences in technique for different diameter barrels etc etc.
By the way the HF tumbler has been going constantly for about 5 months.
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ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Dec 12, 2020 0:06:54 GMT -5
I found the DIY pvc barrels.
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Post by manofglass on Dec 12, 2020 0:23:03 GMT -5
I cut the pipe on a wood lathe
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 12, 2020 10:19:52 GMT -5
I don't tumble, so am no help on your quest, but jamesp is an expert barrel maker. Maybe he'll chime in and help you out.
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Post by Mel on Dec 12, 2020 14:44:34 GMT -5
This hobby kind of seems like a black hole to me, It slowly sucks you in. I have to figure out good good place to source grit, best practices for actually tumbling stones, differences in technique for different diameter barrels etc etc. Welcome!! You are 110% right that it is a black hole. A deep, dark, fun, frustrating, educating, expensive-as-you-make it, always learning, gritty black hole. But ooh!! There's a rock!! jamesp is the DIY tumbling wizard around these parts. If he doesn't know it, well you're gonna learn 5 other things anyways, and then he'll figure it out, and you'll learn 6. Grit and rocks? You should have no issue there; one of the biggest grit companies is over in Washington (Washington Mills). I'm betting your local lapidary shops should have quite a variety at reasonable prices. There also used to be a saw company - Jenkins Lapidary - in Washington state, and those saws are real workhorses. You should have no issue finding rocks, more likely issues saying no to rocks There are plenty of amazing people here to help you, and roy is somewhat close, and also sells some gorgeous rocks to boot. Got questions, ask away!
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Post by Mel on Dec 12, 2020 15:10:00 GMT -5
As for motors, check junkyards and recycling centres. I seem to recall my brother using a furnace motor is his dry tumbler, and have seen other people mention washing machine motors.
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salpal48
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2015
Posts: 136
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Post by salpal48 on Dec 12, 2020 18:00:18 GMT -5
HF tumblers are what they are. I have posted this before. All HF tumblers are just slapped together and boxed. You need to Tune them Up so to speak.A big thing with them Is The belt is never aligned with The motor , so they Break.The shafts make noise because if not straight Correct they wobble. take the cover off and visually see it run. it will give you a feel what to look at
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Post by rmf on Dec 13, 2020 10:59:00 GMT -5
In high school wood shop I built a tumbler. I used 1x1" oak for long supports with a length long enough to accommodate either 4 - Lortone 3# barrels or two 12# barrels. I have a solid oak end and a center solid support that were more or less 1" thick and 8" wide by 6" tall. I used 1/2" rod for rollers, a sprocket on both rods on one end with a short bicycle chain so both rollers rolled, a 1/4HP motor, a large pulley to give me 30 rpm, a 1" pulley. Bearings were 1" water pipe with Babbitt poured in side and centered drilled for the rod. Bearings were held in place with a 1x1" oak yoke that had a cut out for the water pipe and a matching cutout on each of the 3 end and center supports. these bearing yokes were tightened with long bolts drilled through the end supports. Bearings had a small hole drilled to drip oil. It ran for over 20 years before it was sold. All measurements are approximate since it has been nearly 50 years.
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ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Dec 13, 2020 11:38:12 GMT -5
Thank you for the replies so far.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
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Post by jamesp on Dec 14, 2020 6:04:26 GMT -5
"I came upon this website to my delight. Then I saw Indiana's DIY tumbler, and it was exactly like I envisioned. I can easily set up the rollers and pillow block bearings, I am having a hard time with sourcing a motor. surpluscenter.com doesn't seem to have anything appropriate right now(I assume their stock constantly varies) Any other good site to source a motor, or should I just check them often. Also I would like to have a higher capacity. Maybe 3 x 6 pound barrels, or 2 x 10 to 12 pound barrels. What kind of size motor should I be looking at." I buy sheaves and pillow block bearings from SurplusCenter, find 3/4" to 1" shafts in metal scrap yards, motors from older model washing machines/dryers rated at about 1/4 hp. 1/4 hp will roll up to 40 pounds easily. Treated wood makes a fast and easy frame. Air over HVAC fan motors have also worked well. They can be slower rpm - say 850 to 1100 rpm at 1/6 to 1/8 hp. Lower rpm but higher torque. easy on the electricity. Yes, Surpluscenter motor stock does change. Keep an eye out on their offerings. They sell fine industrial grade motors. 24/365 is tough duty. Best to use heavy duty components for a rotary tumbler. Pillar blocks/fractional hp motors, heavier shafts. etc. Good luck ironbrewer.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
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Post by jamesp on Dec 14, 2020 6:07:40 GMT -5
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ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Dec 14, 2020 14:30:14 GMT -5
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ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Jan 8, 2021 1:04:31 GMT -5
I am just sourcing materials for my tumbler now. I have Schedule 80 6" pipe, and some sch40 fitting to make some barrels. I want to make them so I can decide how long to make my tumbler. I have a 1/4 hp motor coming and some 3/4 inch pillow block bearings as well. Once I figure our more I will get 3/4 rolled steel, pulleys, and belts. I am thinking of using the adjustable belts, just in case I want to change things up. I was wondering if plastic dip on the rollers may be a good thing for grip and noise reduction. It will be in a detached garage though. I am going to aim for about 35 RPM of barrels.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Jan 8, 2021 23:14:33 GMT -5
The vibe tumbler I built works fine but quite noisy, and it is simple enough to repair any wearouts.
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ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Mar 20, 2021 0:02:45 GMT -5
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ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Mar 25, 2021 10:42:44 GMT -5
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Mar 25, 2021 22:17:04 GMT -5
I've mounted a couple guide rollers by inverting one of the pillow block mounting bolts, one nut to hold the pillow block down and another to hold the guide roller bracket. You can make the bracket so it will ride against the pillow block casting and not be able to pivot out of alignment. I make the rollers out of 3/4" plastic, generally 2" in diameter.
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Post by pauls on Mar 26, 2021 18:19:17 GMT -5
For motors if you are in a rural area check out the junk shops for old water pumps, Pressure pumps for drinking water and swimming pool pumps are all good.There will be a reason they were thrown out, often a capacitor, sometimes bearings, but usually easy to fix.
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ironbrewer
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 14
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Post by ironbrewer on Apr 2, 2021 22:27:21 GMT -5
It's alive!! Here is a link to a video I put on Facebook of it in action.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
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Post by jamesp on Apr 3, 2021 6:24:01 GMT -5
Excellent machine James. Rock solid. Don't bother sliding a rubber hose down the shafts. Good that you coupled both shafts. Those adjustable belts work great for the shorty coupler belt. Best to mount the stop roller against the outer edge of the barrel just like you did. At 35 rpm running SiC 46 or 30 the PVC barrels should look like the one in my avatar in about 1 to 2 years. Not so good... The center of the end cap will wear thru first. Soon after that the shoulders of the reducer. I reinforced the center area of the end cap to double/triple it's life but the shoulders on the reducer are not easy to reinforce if possible at all. Finally went to HDPE. I did build 5 reinforced smaller 7 pound capacity 6" sch 40 barrels/sch 80 coupling for tumbling 2 to 4 pound rocks individually with very coarse SiC and they have held out well. But the reinforcements had to be done AS the barrel was being assembled. These barrels have pockets to catch big particles of SiC so they are best for SHAPING w/coarse SiC only. I use SiC 500 in the vibe for 2 days to bridge gap to aluminum oxide finish steps. The green sleeves are made from 6" SDR 35 drainage pipe. Note 6" to 4" was done with a bushing instead of a bell to dodge shoulder wear out. Note gussets in bushings were silicon caulk filled. Note PVC discs were pushed into end caps, but only after the rounded end was pumped full of GE silicon caulk. By the way, a 2 or 3 pound rock was surrounded by average 1" to 1.5" tumbles and these things were run at 80 rpm with 1/4" to 3/8" SiC particles(chunks). Got a link lol, "Big Rock Factory": www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157713197639332Agates at just over 2 weeks at 80 rpm with big rock and giant SiC. Add slurry thickener. It used to take me 8 weeks and 8 recharges at conventional speeds and SiC 30 to shape this much. Big rock way increases grind rate and forced recharges every 2-3 days of super coarse SiC. Some of the small tumbles were just trash tossed in, target was big rock.
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