Tumbler is up and running - sorta

coinnut

New member
Worked on getting the tumbler up and running since all the parts came in. After a quick paint job, casters attached, electrical and switch installed, and barrels wrapped in rubber strips for a clearance issue, I was ready to roll. It went fairly well, with a slight leak issue, because of a dirty seal...my fault. The only major problem I encountered was that the rubber strips would expand as the the unit was tumbling causing me to recut the ends so they would not buckle. :rolleyes: Also, the glue I bought did not bond well between plastic (PE) and rubber. So, some snags left to fix, but it cleaned the first batch fairly well. This tumbler is big and has a good industrial feel to it. It needed it, cause each of the two 9 gallon barrels were 2/3 full of artifacts and water. They weighed a ton each lol. Here is the unit from purchase, to cleaned finds.
 

Attachments

  • Tumbler in crate.jpg
    Tumbler in crate.jpg
    73.1 KB · Views: 307
  • tumbler side -1.jpg
    tumbler side -1.jpg
    79.1 KB · Views: 320
  • tumbler side -2.jpg
    tumbler side -2.jpg
    70.2 KB · Views: 308
  • Tumbler w ruler.jpg
    Tumbler w ruler.jpg
    76.1 KB · Views: 322
  • tumbler unpacked.jpg
    tumbler unpacked.jpg
    57.6 KB · Views: 303
  • tumbler complete.jpg
    tumbler complete.jpg
    65 KB · Views: 313
  • ready to tumble.jpg
    ready to tumble.jpg
    59.2 KB · Views: 301
  • cleaned 1.jpg
    cleaned 1.jpg
    62.7 KB · Views: 302
  • cleaned 2.jpg
    cleaned 2.jpg
    62.6 KB · Views: 311
i thought you've might of started that contraption today , since we lost power for a little more than an hour at the house . :thinkingabout: thanks :rolleyes: hey just out of curiousity how loud is that thing when you have two 9 gallon tubs turning all that miscellaneous metal inside?? :dontknow:
 
i thought you've might of started that contraption today , since we lost power for a little more than an hour at the house . :thinkingabout: thanks :rolleyes: hey just out of curiousity how loud is that thing when you have two 9 gallon tubs turning all that miscellaneous metal inside?? :dontknow:

Sorry about the power :rolleyes: Your so crabby lol The tumbler is rather quiet when empty, and it's definitely louder when tumbling metal. But over all it's not that bad since it is in the cellar, and it has rubber rollers and the barrels are plastic. Also the bearings are heavy duty and run smooth, so thay don't make a lot of noise. You can still talk over it, but listening to music comfortably is not that good. I'm still trying to get a good system for tumbling large quantities while using the least media. I definitely could have used the outside hose instead of the kitchen sink when it came to clean up time lol
 
The tumbler is rather quite when empty, and it's definitely louder when tumbling metal.

<} lol I'm sorry George, I laughed when I read that lol 'Captain Obvious' comes to mind lol

When I saw the first photo I thought it was a coffee table. :shocked04:stretcher: :cheesysmile:

Does it do the work in less time than a smaller unit, or just hold more?

Seriously, that is quite a unit :yes: Hey, just as an aside, I know that you know a lot about stones and gems etc. Ever thought about tumbling agates in that thing?
 
<} lol I'm sorry George, I laughed when I read that lol 'Captain Obvious' comes to mind lol

When I saw the first photo I thought it was a coffee table. :shocked04:stretcher: :cheesysmile:

Does it do the work in less time than a smaller unit, or just hold more?

Seriously, that is quite a unit :yes: Hey, just as an aside, I know that you know a lot about stones and gems etc. Ever thought about tumbling agates in that thing?


Hey I spelled quiet wrong...I gotta go fix it now. I'm thinking that cleaning time is more affected by what type of media you use...in other words if you use corn cob bits it will take forever, but if you use aluminum oxide, your item will be gone before you open it up rofl The guy that made this unit tumbles agates in it. I wanna try making some sea glass in it too. That will be easy.....broken glass and beach sand. ;) I bet it makes it in 4-6 hours?
 
You can almost put a whole car in that thing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That baby is HUGE !!!!!!!!! :omg: :omg: :omg:
 
You started that badboy and my lites didn't even dim out here!! :confused: :rolleyes:

Looks like you are tumbling anything you can get your hands on!! :poke: :bop: :beatdeadhorse:
 
Looks like you are tumbling anything you can get your hands on!! :poke: :bop: :beatdeadhorse:

yes Ron , i was just over George's house yesterday and saw this monster in person :shocked04: :omg: :shocked04: and the pictures don't do it justice . the jugs look like the 1 gallon size in the photo but each one is 9 gallons and its remarkably quiet .
 
yes Ron , i was just over George's house yesterday and saw this monster in person :shocked04: :omg: :shocked04: and the pictures don't do it justice . the jugs look like the 1 gallon size in the photo but each one is 9 gallons and its remarkably quiet .

I offered to tumble the kids in there for a while, but got no takers :dontknow:
 
Hey I like it... That's a nice pile of crap you have tumbled there rofl

lol It will be recycled and added to my retirement fund :crazy: That is just a fraction of the copper and brass junk I have dug over the years.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
23,665
Messages
238,580
Members
3,844
Latest member
eyedigit
Back
Top