building a tumbler

I've got most of the materials ready for my tumbler. thought maybe I'd post pix of the project as I move along........... Take care all.

and anudder.............

table............

Good idea. How would we live woth out dexion????[]

Hi Buzz.

Great idea of posting pictures as your project moves along. It might help somebody else wanting to build a tumbler.

You are going to love this bottle cleaning process. It can be a little messy but if you have a sink area that is convenient to the whole cleaning process it will work good for you.

I built my first tumbler and it worked as well as my new bought unit. I put a lot of money into the motor on my homemade unit. It was a Dayton gear motor. It only ran at 65rpm but by increasing the pulley size on the motor it would turn a 4†tube about 85 rpm’s. I think it was cheaper to run also because of the lower rpm’s. In fact I am thinking of getting another one of those motors and replacing the motor on my new unit. The gear motor I had before hardly got warm and I ran it 24/7 for about 5 years straight. The motor on my new unit gets really hot and it concerns me.

The biggest cost right now is the copper. If you have a source for it, that will save you a lot of money. Most sellers are charging $8.50 a pound and that adds up pretty quick. The bitters that I posted before and after pictures of took every bit of 30 pounds of copper in a 5†tube so that will give you an idea of quantity needed. So if you can get that copper cost down it will help. My new buddy Tim from Canada gave me a great idea on a copper cutter and I have asked a maintenance man at work to make me something similar. I was hoping it would be ready today for me to try it out this weekend but it’s not done yet. If mine works out good I will let you know and you can have pictures of it if you want.

On my homemade unit I used a 2 by 4 on the sides and the conveyor ends rested on the top of the 2by side (1.5â€). I used drywall screws to keep the ends secured on both sides of the conveyor and it worked fine. That way if you need to move the conveyors in or out you can just remove the drywall screws and replace them again.

I used a solvent on the metal conveyors to get rubber tubing over the metal. The solvent I used is golf club solvent that is used to put the grips on golf clubs. Makes that job easy.

I have some pictures of how I make tumbling tubes if you are interested I can post them or email them to you.

I will look to see if I have a picture of the homemade tumbler I made before and post it if I can find it when I get home from work.

Good luck with your project. You are going to love bringing the glass back to life. Almost as good a feeling as when you pulled the bottle out of the ground. Okay, not that good of a feeling but close anyway. If I can help you with anything email me or let me know.

Best regards Paul

thanx much for the offer Paul, I'm sure I'll take the opportunity to " pick your brain " as I move along. Internet a great tool for this great hobby. Take care all..........

Jim

and another...................

this is the one I'm using as my " guide ". i think i remember this guy having a brother in law who owned a machine shop. mine won't look so nice but...................

Here is a pic of my homemade one. I used it for 5 years and my buddy has been using it for 5 years. 1" steel Rc 55 drive shaft. Ball bearing conveyor rollers, the pillow blocks have grease zerts. I don't think my new machine will last like this but we'll see. Anyway, anything I can do to help just let me know. Paul

Greetings all,

I'm trying to figure out what size pulleys i need for my tumbler. I'm using the photo 2 posts back as a guide. I have 2" pulleys for the motor and the shaft. What size should the two larger pulleys be?? My drive motor us 1725 rpm. Any ideas?? Thanks and Take Care All.

Jim