Post by docharber on Sept 6, 2021 14:53:51 GMT -5
Sorry, I'm not good at posting pics yet. i have a Lortone 3B on which I run a homemade barrel that works very well. Recently there was a wonderful post with a fantastic tutorial about homemade barrels but the barrels were 6". Anyway, I made a barrel from a length of 4" PVC pipe- not schedule 40 as it is harder to cut square and much more expensive- and test plugs. I cut the pipe to length taking care to square it as much as possible. I replaced the big wing nuts on the test plugs with 1/420 hex nuts, and installed one test plug, screwing down the nut to get a snug fit. I sprayed the sealed end of the barrel/ test plug with Flex-Seal to thickly cat it and allowed it to cure overnight. Unprotected bolts and hard plastic very quickly grind away without this protection. I have used Plasti-Dip (sold for coating tool handles) to repair damaged rubber barrels. It is much more durable but is more difficult to apply and the open container can't be resealed effectively, so it gets hard in the can and goes to waste if not used immediately. you need to coat the other test plug's inner plastic flange and bolt head and reassemble the test plug fill the barrel as usual- i use the standard 3/4 fill, watwerer to the lo within an inch of covering the rocks, and about 6 tblsp of coarse grit for inital grind.
This barrel can be made for under $14 and can be used for a very long time provided you keep the plugs adequately protected. the Flex-Seal isn't nearly as durable as plastidip, but can be easily resprayed on a clead, dry barrel to renew the coating. It's only necessary to coat the test plugs.
I hope this is useful. I'm posting because I've had problems getting tumbler parts in general and new barrels are outrageous.
Mark H.
This barrel can be made for under $14 and can be used for a very long time provided you keep the plugs adequately protected. the Flex-Seal isn't nearly as durable as plastidip, but can be easily resprayed on a clead, dry barrel to renew the coating. It's only necessary to coat the test plugs.
I hope this is useful. I'm posting because I've had problems getting tumbler parts in general and new barrels are outrageous.
Mark H.