Homemade tumbler qusetions -HELP!

[cyberdigger]

OK, the easy part is over! Now I need some good advice!!
Model 2 is up and running, but it seems my test cylinder is riding over to one side.. why does that happen??

 

[GuntherHess]

Mine homemade one did that. I just put a screw in with a piece of copper tubing on it as a roller for it to bump up against.

 

[cyberdigger]

I think I figured it out... the rollers need to be lined up very precisely.. reminded me of this childhood gem..

 

[cyberdigger]

Another question... does it matter if there's a little bit of wobbling going on? I'm thinking maybe that will actually help to keep the polishing stuff stirred up a bit... ??

 

[wedigforyou]

Ours has rubber across the entire roller and the canister still shifts. Good ol' gravity pulls it off center. I find if I center my bottle within the canister as much as I can that helps. We too had to add bumpers. We just drilled a hole and inserted a piece of thin metal rod onto which I put wooden sewing spools. You'll need the bumpers on the left and right sides cause ya' never know which way the canister is going to go. You have to turn your canister half way through you tumbling anyway which can cause the canister to go the other direction. I find if pick up and turn your canister half way or every 24 hours you'll get better results.

 

[doorsmaniac]

ORIGINAL: cyberdigger

I think I figured it out... the rollers need to be lined up very precisely.. reminded me of this childhood gem..

OMG My Buddy Still has one of these. Its in his Garage (that was converted into a bar) It sits on the bar counter top and we play it each time we visit him! Good luck with the balancing BTW.

 

[GuntherHess]

Fliping the cylider every so often is a good tip to remember. Its seems to help get the neck done better.
You dont need to worry about the stuff in it being stirred up enough, it will be pletty stirred up like a grey foamy nasty milkshake[] Its the most grimy crap known to man.

 

[DeuceDigger]

Have a look at my rig. Even with the rollers carefully measured, the tolerances are still off enough that the tubes will pretty much work their way to one side or the other so I simply added rollers on each side which consist of skate board wheels and caster wheels or whatever I had in the basement when I was building the tumbler. Just make sure that you make everything rock solid as if one breaks in the middle of the night, your tube with your bottle and all of the tin oxide juice will be on the floor.

The bars are probably pretty true but the rubber that you used might be causing the wobbling. I used PVC tubing with the same inner diameter and ran the tubes through them. I get some vibration but not much. It doesn't seem to mess up the bottles at all. I also have an SCR voltage controller running a 90VDC motor so that I can adjust the speed. Hope this helps.

 

[cyberdigger]

Thank you, Deuce, Gunth, Ann, Lobe.. side rollers it will be.. I thought i was doing something stupidly wrong![][]
The warbling comes from the way I attached the rollers to the bearings.. it was overly complicated.. that's what happens to me when I go to home depot with a not-so-well-planned idea.. I buy too many pieces and parts! So tonight I simplified the design and it's less warbly already, and careful tapping with a hammer should get 'em running smooth enough..

 

[cyberdigger]

Hey Doors.. did you ever make it to the moon??[]