|
Post by Michael John on Jun 25, 2007 9:19:44 GMT -5
I've been looking at rotary tumblers, and it seems to me that they want an obscene amount of money for a frame, a motor, and a canister. $150+ to tumble 12 pounds of rocks?
Has anyone here built their own tumbler? I'm thinking that some scrap wood, a washing machine motor, a couple of pullies, a fanbelt, a couple of pieces of iron pipe, and some pipe insulation could be slammed together in an afternoon, for under $50. I'll bet there's 8" plastic pipe and fittings that could be used for canisters. I'm thinking this thing could be like 6 or 7 feet long, and hold four canisters with about 10 to 15 pounds each. Anyone here ever try something like that? It seems like the only part that would take a little head-scratching would be the pully sizes.
|
|
|
Post by BuiltonRock on Jun 25, 2007 16:14:10 GMT -5
Often I have attempted to make my own tools and wind up spending more than I could have bought them for and wasted a whole lot of time. I have picked up good used Thumblers tumblers for around 50.00 on e-bay. John
|
|
earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
|
Post by earthdog on Jun 25, 2007 20:46:32 GMT -5
I made my own. I bought stainless steel shafts from Grainger, that was the biggest expense. then I bought the collars for, like $2.99 each. I had an old motor. I think I have about $50 in it total. I could have done it cheaper if I would have looked around more. It'll roll 2 12#'s or a 12 and 2 6#'s or a 12, a 6 and a 4#. It'll even roll 3 3#'s here is mine.
|
|
lndcrz47
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2007
Posts: 153
|
Post by lndcrz47 on Jun 25, 2007 21:35:50 GMT -5
very cool,thanks for great pics and workmanship,l would like to try wind power since it blows pretty steady on the san pedro most times E
|
|
|
Post by BuiltonRock on Jun 25, 2007 21:43:55 GMT -5
I have to admit that is a nice job! John
|
|
WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
|
Post by WarrenA on Jun 25, 2007 22:43:48 GMT -5
my all scrap tumblers were made from oak wood rollerblade wheel bearings 5/16" rod from gas lifts from old vans 1 1/2" pvc end caps with a groove ground in them with a dremel humidifier motors and oh yeah I bought a couple of belts from thumlers and deck screws not real pretty but they are still running
|
|
|
Post by Michael John on Jun 26, 2007 1:19:02 GMT -5
That's pretty much what I had in mind. Simple but effective.
I don't mind dumping money into a machine if it's going to pay for itself. It just makes sense to me that a machine which will produce three or four times more product will pay for itself that much faster, and will continue to make me three to four times more money. Although, granted, it's much easier to buy a machine that's ready to go and start tumbling right away.
I'm definately going to consider this more.
|
|
|
Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jun 26, 2007 3:27:58 GMT -5
|
|
KG1960
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2008
Posts: 512
|
Post by KG1960 on Jun 26, 2007 7:50:19 GMT -5
I have made my own, too. Basically it has a 1/4 Hp motor, a couple of pulleys sized to get the right RPM, and regular steel 1/2 in. shafts. I can run two 3 lbs barrels or one 12 lbs barrel (Lortone). I had a smaller motor when using just the 3 lbs barrels but when I got the 12 lbs one, I had to get a larger motor. I'll try to get some photos in the next couple of days.
|
|
|
Post by deb193 on Jun 26, 2007 7:57:26 GMT -5
|
|
SuperiorRed
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2007
Posts: 18
|
Post by SuperiorRed on Jun 26, 2007 12:35:27 GMT -5
I wish i had a camera,but I've attempted to make a few over the past year. I finally have one,and it was so simple. How many people throw away there treadmills after a year or so. Well thats what i got going in the garage right now. I have 3 barrels on it right now. I fashioned a couple of cheap swivel wheels for each barrel to hold them in place. I don't have a hour meter on it yet but i do have a mileage meter though. I've been running it for two weeks right now. Red
|
|
Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2005
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Roger on Jun 26, 2007 14:09:51 GMT -5
Here's the one I use for 3-12 lb'ers.
|
|
fossilman
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2007
Posts: 256
|
Post by fossilman on Jun 26, 2007 19:50:35 GMT -5
Fairburned, what's the HP of that motor?
|
|
|
Post by kap on Jun 26, 2007 21:23:27 GMT -5
Go to page 2 under How much grit and you can see the one I have. kap
|
|
|
Post by Michael John on Jun 27, 2007 1:26:07 GMT -5
Yeah, Fairburned, that's sweet. That's what I'm after ... something that can churn out a LOT of rock.
If you don't mind me asking ... how much did it cost you to build that?
|
|
|
Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jun 27, 2007 3:05:20 GMT -5
HI Micheal, If you want to tumble a lot about this one Which is from Agate house I have altered it a bit so I have 2 speeds and can run big and small barrels together at different speeds Have a good day Daniel Thanks for error corection Jack Yorkshire UK
|
|
|
Post by Michael John on Jun 27, 2007 6:54:40 GMT -5
I feel better now, knowing that I'm not the only one who thinks LARGE SCALE.
Yeah, I'm definately going to look into building one. It'll be a few weeks before I'll have time to do it, but I'm going to start looking into the parts I need.
|
|
Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2005
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Roger on Jun 27, 2007 9:25:17 GMT -5
hey sorry about the delay getting back,The motor is 1/3 hp at 1725 RPM. It turns about 35 times per min.The shaft and bearings are like earthdogs.I paid $150 for it all ready built.I think cost to build is around $75. Roger
|
|
|
Post by Michael John on Jun 27, 2007 15:37:54 GMT -5
Am I correct in assuming that the size (HP) of the motor I'll need will be dependent on the maximum weight of rock that I want to tumble? I want the unit to be able to tumble 60 pounds, total.
What is the desired rpm speed at which I want the canisters to move?
I assume that the more weight that I am tumbling, the more stress is applied, so I'll need some sort of a control on the motor to make it go faster/slower, to adjust for the weight being tumbled? Yes/no?
I see that some people buy canisters, and others make theirs. Anyone have a cheap and easy method of constructing canisters? I'll need five 15 pound canisters (I want one extra ... only tumbling 4 at a time).
|
|
spikeict
fully equipped rock polisher
Alba gu bra! In Promptu
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,413
|
Post by spikeict on Jun 27, 2007 16:11:37 GMT -5
Oh, large sized. Jamie (Desertdeweller) made one using tires for the barrels. I tried to find the post with pictures, but as usual the search feature did not work for me. You might pm her for the info but I would think your washing machine motor would work for that.
Spike
|
|