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  1. #16
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    Dec 2005
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    South Australia
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    Ned how does that compare with a vibrating tumbler, after 30 years mine has gone to God, I have two rotary tumblers one is in use the other might replace the vibrator.

  2. #17
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    Jan 2016
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    Wodonga Vic
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    Quote Originally Posted by China View Post
    Ned how does that compare with a vibrating tumbler, after 30 years mine has gone to God, I have two rotary tumblers one is in use the other might replace the vibrator.
    I've actually never used a vibrating case cleaner, I assume they would be better but have a limited capacity??

    I generally tumble my brass for 2-3 hours, the corn cob doesn't clean the primer pockets very well, I've seen brass from a tumbler using walnut husk and it came out looking new, I'm not sure how long it was in the tumbler for though.

    Wet tumbling with stainless steel pins seems to be the new thing, I might give that a go with the new drum

  3. #18
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    I have the stainless pins that I use for rough polishing jewellery might give it a go

  4. #19
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    Jan 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by China View Post
    I have the stainless pins that I use for rough polishing jewellery might give it a go
    Wet tumbling formulas are all over the web.

    Typically water, dish liquid and citric acid, A search will give you the ratios

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
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    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Thumbs up End Frames done !

    Hi Guys,

    I've not been around for a few days, so I hadn't got much done until today !

    I've cut the 12 mm thick plastic sheet and drilled the holes for the bearings, I've also cut the 12 mm slot for the container fastener to drop into. I've found the 100 mm diameter UPVC plastic pipe that I'm going to use to make the container.

    13-08-2022-003.jpg 13-08-2022-002.jpg 13-08-2022-001.jpg

    Note that there are two pieces of plastic plate, held in place by dowel pins. I drilled the holes 6 mm with a 12 mm hole for the bottom of the slot. The drive and supporting rollers will run in the two holes currently occupied by the dowel pins. The lower of the two holes in the middle are the centre of the radius you can see scribed and will be used to set up on the rotary table in order to machine the curve at the top. All that is left to do on these pieces is to drill and thread a pair of holes in each piece so they can be fastened down to the base.

    More to follow:
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
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    65
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    Back when I was a little kid my father built a stone tumbler.

    For roughing he had a steel container about 200-250 dia X about 300 long. ( I think it was made from a cut down, stored pressure water fire extinguisher)

    For finishing he had a couple of screw top plastic containers.

    Use to use various grades of carborundum and tin oxide powder.

    The steel container was noisy as, and he made a sound proof (more like a sound insulated) cover for the whole assembly as it use to run 24/7 for weeks.

    I also made a tumbler for one of the old blokes at work as a retirement gift many years ago.

    You might find that you have to drive both rollers on your tumbler to get enough traction.

    regards
    Peter

  7. #22
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    Jan 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by bollie7 View Post
    You might find that you have to drive both rollers on your tumbler to get enough traction.

    regards
    Peter
    That's right, my PVC tumbler drum pictured below used to slip on the rollers so I put two rings of anti-slip grip tape around the contact points and wired the motor so the contents of the drum rotated over the driven roller, also both the roller shafts on my tumbler have rubber heater hose slipped over them.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Thumbs up Tumbler Canister started !

    Hi Guys,

    Thank you for your helpful comments, I shall bear them in mind when I've finished it and am testing it.

    I've spent this morning cutting some more plastic sheet in order to make the end plates for the container and turned one of them down to round it off and make a lip that fits inside the UPVC tube.

    14-08-2022-001.jpg

    I made a 6 mm diameter mandrel and threaded it M6 in order to mount and secure one of the two plastic squares so that I could turn it on the lathe. As you can see from the picture, I had almost no clearance when rotating it. It did in fact just contact the silicon baking sheet at first. I also had to grind a right hand lathe tool, and in order to have enough reach had to stick it out about 30 mm.


    14-08-2022-002.JPG

    This is the first of two end caps for the tumbler canister. The plastic material is 12 mm thick and I turned it down so that it had a 4 mm thick lip. I had to sharpen the lathe tool ready for the next one, its amazing just how rapidly it takes the edge off the tool bit.

    14-08-2022-003.JPG

    I tried to take a good picture of the edge of the machined end cap, to show the effect of the blunted tool bit. Difficult to see but the surface is quite rough, far more than what a sharp tool bit would produce.

    14-08-2022-006.JPG 14-08-2022-005.JPG

    This is the end cap located on one end of the UPVC canister. Its a nice push fit. I was going to fit an "O" ring on the end caps but I think that the fit might be good enough to prevent it leaking.

    So next job is to machine the other end cap and make the fastenings to hold them in place.

    Thanks Guys:
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Thumbs up Tumbler test assembly !

    Hi Guys,

    I've finished both end caps for the tumbler canister and done a test assembly ! So far so good.

    15-08-2022-003.jpg

    This is the two end plates just rested on a piece of salvaged beechwood that I've just cut roughly to size. Its actually part of a defunct settee. Being 5/8" inch thick its ideal for the tumbler base plate. You can see the two rollers that the tumbler canister will be sat on and driven by. The drive shaft can be seen sticking out at the bottom left of the picture.

    15-08-2022-002.JPG 15-08-2022-001.jpg

    These two pictures show the canister resting on the rollers in the position that it will be in use. I had forgotten that one roller was slightly larger in diameter than the other and that the end plates were machined without taking into account that one end would be left hand whilst the other would be right hand. The effect being that the hole through the canister is offset on one end.

    Thanks for looking !
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  10. #25
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    Sep 2012
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    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Thumbs up Tumbler Canister Drawing !

    Hi Guys,

    Thank you for your much valued support !

    I've done a drawing of the canister along with the position of the drive rollers. I've not shown the end frames since they are self explanatory.

    Pebble Tumbler-04.png
    The end caps are shown in blue the canister in green and the drive roller in grey. For some reason the end cap dimension shows 11 mm instead of 8 mm. The lip being 4 mm thick. I will change that on the drawing, because the original material thickness is 12 mm.

    I've just the timber base to finish off by cutting to size and then the end frames can be mounted.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  11. #26
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    Jan 2016
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    Wodonga Vic
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    I finished my tumbler drum,

    Just waiting for the M8 thumb screws to arrive, using regular nuts for now.
    BD6D50E2-6EAD-4DAA-8580-FB1074B5275A.jpg
    CDC05D7A-D645-49DD-900D-37862456AC3D.jpg
    32BD45A4-67F0-4B0B-9C67-AD6AFAA7F45E.jpg

  12. #27
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    Sep 2012
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    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Hi Ned,

    That certainly looks to be a substantial canister, particularly since you can fit M8 studs to secure the end cap ! Mine is only 5 mm thick. I like the clear plastic window ! Nice to be able to see what is happening. If I can find some suitable material I might just copy that idea.

    I've used a length of M6 all thread to clamp the end plates, secured at one end by a nut on both inside and outside with a wing nut at the other end to pull it all together.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  13. #28
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    Dec 2005
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    South Australia
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    I think you may want to reconsider o ring or some other type of seal in the past when I was using a home tumbler that was the biggest problem I encountered, I was surprised at just how difficult it was to achieve a good seal
    as for the clear plastic end I would not bother unless you have some laying around the abrasive media will render it opaque in next to no time.
    One more point from experience, keep some spare all thread on hand as it will also be destroyed by the media and rocks or whatever you are tumbling.

  14. #29
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    Jan 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by China View Post
    I think you may want to reconsider o ring or some other type of seal in the past when I was using a home tumbler that was the biggest problem I encountered, I was surprised at just how difficult it was to achieve a good seal
    as for the clear plastic end I would not bother unless you have some laying around the abrasive media will render it opaque in next to no time.
    One more point from experience, keep some spare all thread on hand as it will also be destroyed by the media and rocks or whatever you are tumbling.
    I reckon after about an hour of use it'll be opaque, but if I wet tumble it'll become visible again

    I used silicone sealant on the fixed end and I'm going to cut a rubber gasket for the lid, hopefully that seals it up tight

  15. #30
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    And… finally done, the thumbscrews arrived yesterday.

    2FFFA9A7-B60E-4ED3-A39F-CEB05FC1BCB6.jpg

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