rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on Apr 29, 2010 10:46:34 GMT -5
As part of my Silent Auction booty was a DIY tumbler to roll the 40 lb barrel. The bearings were shot and as my son said when he saw me taking it apart that the previous owner did a "ghetto" job of building it. Everything else was salvageable. The motor is ancient so I expect to be replacing it soon. I got the 3/4 pillow block bearings off of eBay for under $6 each and spent another $30 on lumber and fasteners. Everything is glued with liquid nails and screwed. 5 1/2 inch carriage bolts hold the pillow blocks down. With barrel in place. I put a couple wraps of Gorilla tape on the barrel runners. I've found it helps steel barrels run smoother and lasts a surprisingly long time.  Barrel removed.  Close up of bumper roller.  My tumbling grit order will be delivered tomorrow so I can get this baby loaded up and taken for a test drive... |
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Apr 29, 2010 12:01:52 GMT -5
Great revival!!
I prefer both shafts driven like that.
Keep us posted.
Dr Joe
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Apr 29, 2010 12:37:13 GMT -5
Nice work! I also prefer both shafts driven.
Chuck
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on Apr 30, 2010 20:48:22 GMT -5
OK, the 40 # is loaded up and running. That barrel weighs a ton when full of rocks and grit and water.
I had stepped out of the shop for about an hour and came back to all quiet. Not good in my shop. I found I had overloaded a powerstrip with the 40 # tumbler. I moved some plugs around and got things started again. I'll need to do a little wiring organization this weekend...
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Post by bobby1 on May 2, 2010 17:22:36 GMT -5
I have a home made tumbler with the 40 lb barrel that I have had in continuous use for 35 years. It is constructed sililarly except the frame is 2" angle Iron and I only drive one shaft. I haven't had any problems by doing so. The only maintenance that I have to do is grease the bearings yearly and recover the shafts. I slide 1/2" i.d. by 3/4" o.d. Tygon tubing on the shafts for a drive surface.
Bob
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on Jun 2, 2010 22:42:28 GMT -5
Well, my 40# tumbler is turning out to be a little more costly than I planned. I noticed a $20 jump in my electric bill since I started it and with it going through 6 cups of 60/90 grit a week I need to reorder grit. Last week when I was cleaning the barrel I noticed some of the rocks were getting close to shaped but chipping. I decided the barrel was turning too fast at 28 RPMs it was about to shake the shelf it's on apart. I was going to switch out the 10" pulley for an 11" when I noticed the pulley on the motor was too large. It was a 2". I went and bought a 1 1/2" pulley and installed it. That brought the barrel RPMs down to 22. To save on electricity I downsized my mega tumbler that was over 6 feet long and could turn 6 12 lb Lortones and a 15 lb Thumler barrel to the original size turning three 12 lb barrels. I replaced the 1/3 HP motor with a 1/6 HP motor. The motor seems to be handling the load but it's running hot. I may have to upgrade it to a 1/4 HP motor. Here's shot of my current rotary setup:  I think with my current setup I have a lot of flexibility for barrels sizes and I've always got my old Lortone QT66 and a Lortone 2.5 lb tumbler on standby. |
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Jun 3, 2010 7:06:16 GMT -5
That's still cheaper than green's fee's  There are several electrical cost calculators online to give you an idea of running costs before you change setups. Dr Joe . |
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Post by johnjsgems on Jun 3, 2010 7:45:07 GMT -5
I had a 40lb. HP I sold after seeing my electric bill (also increased $20-$25 per month). You should invest in a cheap clamp on amp meter. Harbor Freight is supposed to have them. You have to split the power cord to clamp around individual wire and measure while running. Amps X voltage = watts. You may find it interesting to compare amp draw on the tumbler with the 1/6, 1/4, 1/3 hp motors. It is best to run motors at about 3/4 the rated amp draw.
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Post by Roller on Jun 3, 2010 8:03:13 GMT -5
Yes eletrical costs these days are very high ...I have noticed an increase with my tumbler as well ... My lizard"s lights on timers one for day and one for night and a small heating pad costs me 30$ a month alone ... I know this because when I moved into my apartment 7 years I go I had nothing but a tv and bed and was 25 a month ...added the lizard tank and was 55 addded this and that and over time just kept going up ... ... now in my new apartment Iam paying 275 a month in the winter and 150 in the summer ... I have looked into new outlet strips that have remote controls where you just press a remote controla nd they turn off the strip... I didnt buy them though because then you will constantly be resetting the clocks on the eletrical equipment ... It is a thought though ... They call our eletrical devices vampires because there constantly sucking eletricity even if they are not on .... Greg
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