Making a rock tumbler

[Andrew]

Hi all,
 Thanks for the detailed post John,very interesting.
Great questions Rust, there can be some pressure build up while tumbling but if you follow the guide of only filling 2/3rds full there is enough air left to absorb any pressure. Many purchased Barrels are Rubber and can expand a bit but Ive never seen trouble with pipe.
 A barrel speed of around 50 RPM is a common quoted speed but its not critical as long as the product can tumble and not spin dry
 Remmember as well as the pulley reduction you get another large reduction from the shart to to Barrel Dia.
 Ill measure the pulleys on a couple I have around hear later and put those up. If you are wanting to work out Pulley sizes I use this Calculator,Link Below:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/pulleybeltcalc.html
Cheers Andrew 

[mehoose]

I don't tumble, but I have heard some people BURP their barrels every day or so to release the gas.

Merryn.

[calxoddity]

Burping is rarely needed if you're using clean material in rubber or rubber-lined barrels.  Mostly it will occur due to included organic matter and/or reaction of silicon carbide and bare metal.  So far with the Lortone barrels, there hasn't even been a pressure build-up.

Regards,
Shane

[mehoose]

Ta Shane,
Didn't know that.

[llarson]

I see this site hasn't been used for a while, but hopefully someone is watching it. I live in northwestern U.S., and have built half a dozen successful rock tumblers. I'd like to share ideas with anyone of common interest. Not many tumbler builders here, I'm always looking for fresh ideas and answers. 

[jad]

I've been thinking of a way to tumble large chunks of stone and I think the tyre solution may actually work.  Has anyone got expereince tumbling larger stuff about the size of one or two fists?

 

JAD

[llarson]

In answer to JAD; can't put down tire tumblers as a solution, but they are big, bulky, and not real durable. A co-worker told of his father tumbling rock for years in them and of the messes created when they wore through. My solution,and again certainly not the only one, was to build tumblers with the barrels made of pvc plastic pipe and of UHMW plastic slabs screwed together into an octogon and sealed at assembly; UHMW isn't glueable. The rolling frames I've built are similiar in construction to commercial units. Built one double barrel unit of 12" [31cm] pvc pipe [1/2" or about 2cm minimum wall thickness is needed], each barrel 12" [31cm] long. Each barrel will hold 50lbs. [about 18kg.] of rock. We have tumbled all sizes of pieces for several years with very little wear evident. Machine requirements vary, build frames of steel [my choice], or of wood. I'll watch this site and provide greater detail if you're interested.