My homemade Lot-O Tumbler Built For $110

[wickedpebbles]

I was looking to buy a new Lot-O tumbler but could not find one. After talking to a few dealers most were not expecting any more in stock until the end of April at the soonest. I just decided to build my own. It is working great so far. I had a few of the items to build it around the house. I spent around $110 to put it together. Most of cost was Lot-O replacement barrel.  I thought it might help someone else who can't wait for them to come back in stock. Will be working on improving it as I go when i have the time. List to all the parts I used are in the text of the video. I will answer any questions i can if you want to build one like it. 

[dillonf]

That is awesome!

[wickedpebbles]

Mar 1, 2024 19:51:20 GMT -5 dillonf said:

That is awesome!

Thanks. Very happy with the results so far. 

[khara]

This is cool!👍👍 It’s crazy it seems the vibrating motor isn’t really bouncing the aluminum bars backs and forth as much as I expected (as far as I could tell) and yet the media inside is really rolling.
I have another thread going on here right now. Trying to figure out if it’s a good idea to get an extra bowl for a UV-18 (the non-heavy-duty version) to do some light rock tumbling, mostly just for small slabs or cab size shapes. Have you tumbled any small slabs in this? Seems this little Lot-O size may be a better option as I wouldn’t have to buy so much media just to get the bowl filled for a few little pieces.

[wickedpebbles]

Mar 1, 2024 20:07:11 GMT -5 khara said:

This is cool!👍👍 It’s crazy it seems the vibrating motor isn’t really bouncing the aluminum bars backs and forth as much as I expected (as far as I could tell) and yet the media inside is really rolling.
I have another thread going on here right now. Trying to figure out if it’s a good idea to get an extra bowl for a UV-18 (the non-heavy-duty version) to do some light rock tumbling, mostly just for small slabs or cab size shapes. Have you tumbled any small slabs in this? Seems this little Lot-O size may be a better option as I wouldn’t have to buy so much media just to get the bowl filled for a few little pieces.

I have only ran mixed rocks so far. The bowl was only half filled. It goes even better when 3/4 full. You can barely see the bars vibrating. I have already submitted a Patent on the design with a different bowl than Lot-O's. 

[southernlakehuronguy]

Awesome ! Thanks for sharing this. I have to ask, is there a reason you chose the 40 watt motor over the 30 watt?

[wickedpebbles]

Mar 1, 2024 20:30:49 GMT -5 southernlakehuronguy said:

Awesome ! Thanks for sharing this. I have to ask, is there a reason you chose the 40 watt motor over the 30 watt?

The 40w motor was only $2 more at the time and i was not sure if I need the extra power. I think the 30w would probably work the same. 

[chris1956]

Thanks for doing this.   I have thought that coming up with something similar to a Lot-O should be doable but figured it would take a lot of experimentation to get the vibration right.  But you seem to have nailed it on the first try.   I have replaced the original motor on my Lot-O with a similar concrete vibrating motor (I think I used the 30 watt).   It has been running for well over a year now without any problems and I did mine without a fan.  

One thing I noticed is that the rocks and media in your bowl seem to come up the middle and split two ways.  Is it the same when you have a fuller load?  

[wickedpebbles]

Mar 1, 2024 21:05:14 GMT -5 chris1956 said:

Thanks for doing this.   I have thought that coming up with something similar to a Lot-O should be doable but figured it would take a lot of experimentation to get the vibration right.  But you seem to have nailed it on the first try.   I have replaced the original motor on my Lot-O with a similar concrete vibrating motor (I think I used the 30 watt).   It has been running for well over a year now without any problems and I did mine without a fan.  

One thing I noticed is that the rocks and media in your bowl seem to come up the middle and split two ways.  Is it the same when you have a fuller load?  

Same rock movement when 3/4 full.  That is as high as I go to keep the water from splashing out so much. 

[quartz]

I'm impressed, simple, basic and very functional, hard combination to beat.

[NDK]

I agree with Quartz, very nice build! Well done👍

[zebra61]

There's some real ingenuity wickedpebbles!! I love the fact that you built it using so many common parts! Those little Chinese vibrating motors will be flying off the shelves when folks discover this! Bravo!!

[southernlakehuronguy]

Well I built one! I wasn't happy with the painter bucket design. It was a P.I.T.A. wrapping barrel with the shelf liner material, then I had to cram it in there to get any mediocre rotation. So, back to Lowes with tape measure to find something better. I found a 6" to 4" PVC reducer that has a nice tapered seat that cradles the barrel nicely. First polish run will be done Thursday. Hope this helps anyone.

Image1 Video Image2

[rockjunquie]

Mar 19, 2024 9:31:21 GMT -5 southernlakehuronguy said:

Well I built one! I wasn't happy with the painter bucket design. It was a P.I.T.A. wrapping barrel with the shelf liner material, then I had to cram it in there to get any mediocre rotation. So, back to Lowes with tape measure to find something better. I found a 6" to 4" PVC reducer that has a nice tapered seat that cradles the barrel nicely. First polish run will be done Thursday. Hope this helps anyone.

Image1 Video Image2

Nice! Looks like you got some some good tumbling action.

[chris1956]

I like that better than the bucket.  

[southernlakehuronguy]

Mar 19, 2024 10:18:02 GMT -5 rockjunquie said:

Mar 19, 2024 9:31:21 GMT -5 southernlakehuronguy said:

Well I built one! I wasn't happy with the painter bucket design. It was a P.I.T.A. wrapping barrel with the shelf liner material, then I had to cram it in there to get any mediocre rotation. So, back to Lowes with tape measure to find something better. I found a 6" to 4" PVC reducer that has a nice tapered seat that cradles the barrel nicely. First polish run will be done Thursday. Hope this helps anyone.

Image1 Video Image2

Nice! Looks like you got some some good tumbling action.

Thanks. I think it could be better. This is all new to me and still have some tweaking to do, it might be the water ratio, It looks like I probably have too much. We'll see how these turn out. 

[Pat]

Not a tumbler, but I admire your clever work.

[southernlakehuronguy]

Mar 19, 2024 18:32:57 GMT -5 Pat said:

Not a tumbler, but I admire your clever work.

Thanks. To quote Red Green, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”

[rockjunquie]

Mar 20, 2024 7:39:03 GMT -5 southernlakehuronguy said:

Mar 19, 2024 18:32:57 GMT -5 Pat said:

Not a tumbler, but I admire your clever work.

Thanks. To quote Red Green, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”

Love the quote and oh so true. My DH is NOT a handyman, unfortunately, but he does try. Bless his 2 left thumbs. I think he is handsome, too, so it seems to hold true.

[southernlakehuronguy]

Ok. First image shows another modification. Had to apply downward pressure on the barrel to get a good rotation, video shows that. 2nd image shows finished results. The picture doesn't show their true beauty, it is a really bad photo. I'm happy with the results.

image1 video1 image2