Anyone have a parts tumbler?

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I am considering building a parts tumbler. The building of the tumbler is not an issue with me, I can do that. My question has three parts.1. How large would you build one that would need to clean parts approximately 6"X6" or close to it?2. How would you keep it quite? I have heard that they are very loud. 3. What would you use for media. I was considering small 1/2" or smaller mild steel cutoffs that I can get from a local machine shop.My goal is to make a part or several parts for a project and put them into the tumbler. When done I would be welding on clean steel and not have to spend time with wire brushes or grinders to prep the part.ANY suggestions with the exception of buying one are very welcome.I read a thread about using a large tire and turning it inside out so the treads help the tumbling action. How would you turn a large tire inside out? Sounds like a lot of work to me.I have multiple methods to turn it and control the speed of rotation so that is not an issue.Also, if you have a better alternative to a tumbler, I would be interested in hearing it.Thanks
Reply:I'm just thinking outloud.I would find a tire of suitable to hold the parts.  I'd cut an inside two rings out of metal and two outside plates to mount as a front and rear cover for the tire.  Something similar to bead locks on a 4x4.  I would build a simple door into the front plate.  On the rear piece, I would weld an axle of sorts using bearings that would provide some stability by keeping the tire on a rotational axis.  I would then find a small DC controlled motor and power supply (PC possibly because it's cheap, good wattage and 12V output) to belt drive a smaller tire and use friction between the two tires to turn the bigger tire.  Maybe mount simple rollers underneath the big tire to be load bearing.  Why use a tire?  It is cheap!  Great idea. I wouldn't turn the tire inside out.  I would simply use some nylon blocks inside to agitate the stuff inside similar to a clothes dryer and mount the blocks with some simple bolts and nylocks recessed into the nylon.If you built the tumbler small enough, you could make a simple enclosure that you can insulate similar to a generator.  You will likely have  box frame anyway to support the motor and tire which will lend itself to sound proofing (dynamat, foam, etc).  You can find cheap dynamat by looking at the hardware store for trailer roofing mastic that is foil on one side.
Reply:Bob,I've seen them done with large diameter PVC pipe (think a tube rotating on it's center axis with ceramic triangular media inside).  Those are mostly used for stonewashing knives...gives a good finish actually.  Obviously, big industrial ones work really well, but that's not building one.What I would recommend it a box or other similar container (obviously made out of something that will hold up to wear from the media used) with double layer walls filled with insulation (for the sound dampening) and a top with a rubber gasket to seal it tight and latches to keep it from coming off.  Put that whole box onto a set of rails with a bearing connector at the bottom.  Run a shaft off of a small cam on a variable speed motor to that bearing connector so that the whole unit shimmies back and forth a relatively short distance (based on your cam size) and can be adjusted based on motor speed to move faster or slower.That'd be the way I'd build it anyways.--Wintermute"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience." - John Lockewww.improvised-engineering.comManufacturer Agnostic:Blood----------Sweat---------Tears----|------------------|----------------|----Lincoln Red, Miller Blue, Esab Yellow
Reply:Cheap media...must be what Wintermute has seen.http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93831
Reply:Forget the tire idea. I made mine out of an 80 gallon air tank. I just welded spindles to each end and mounted a pillow block on each side of a frame I made out of steel tube. I run a 1hp motor (about the minimum size) and use gear reducer to get it to about 50 rpm. I use a belt drive for the final drive, but would recommend a chain instead. Mine is loud, but I live in a remote area so don't care. I have seen ones made by guys in my blacksmiths group out of 6' long pieces of flat bar (maybe 8-12" wide) welded into a octogon. They leave one to hing open as a door, and line them with strips of rubber bolted with carriage bolts to the inside of the drum. Make it long enough to clean fence pickets in. I use cut offs from the cut off saw and ironworker and it works ok. I would like to try some of the triangular shaped vibratory media, but am too cheap. I have also used AB rock (too dusty and mashes the edges out a bit, don't bother). I have plasma cut slits in mine about every quarter turn. These let the dust out as it turns and keeps the media working. I have also seen some made out of plastic 55 gallon drums that rolled on four small tires with one being driven.  In the end, make it out of whatever you can scrounge. You can always quiet it down with an enclosure. Hope this helps you out some.
Reply:You want cheap and easy?  I got cheap and easy for ya.  Find yourself a 5 gallon paint bucket.  Throw in your parts and media.  Go to your local hardware store and ask them to shake your "paint".....My name's not Jim....
Reply:A friend used his brothers concrete mixer to do parts. He loaded it with clean rinsed, 3/8" crushed stone as the abrasive.I've done several small ones for friends. I use a method similar to what I do to clean the rust from the inside of steel dive clyinders. The pnly differnce is usually I set them up with a small 5 gal or 30 gal drum. Fins on the inside help to turn over the media and get the parts to move around better than a cylinder with no fins I've found.I get alum oxide chips from Advanced Deburring in York Pa. They sell a wide variety of tumbling media. Mine is roughly 1/4"-3/8" alum oxide and I get quite a bit of use from it. They also sell ceramics for doing alum and other types of media like glass beads.I'll look up the thread I did on my tank tumbler and post the link.As far a noise, if you fill with water that will reduce the rattle. My friend also added Simple Green to the mix and not only used it to remove dross and rust, but clean off any oils from the material at the same time. He'd then screen the media and reload the Mixer and rinse with clean water for a few minutes, followed by hot water. When the parts came out they'd dry quickly because they were hot, but he did occasionally have some issues with flash rusting when weather conditions were right. Still better than hand cleaning all the parts to remove the heavy stuff..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I can't find the post right now with the search. I know I posted it here somewhere, but I can't locate it right now.here's the picts of the tank tumbler. It uses a gear reduction motor to drive it. The ones I've done for others are very similar in design. Any questions feel free to ask away and I'll try and help out. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by SimpleSimonCheap media...must be what Wintermute has seen.http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93831
Reply:Well I have a few, but they're the small kind and only tumble about 4lbs of rock or metal.The trick to a tumbler is to have the media 'Tumble'....  As simple as this sounds, most Home-Made tumblers don't work very well because most people don't have anything inside that causes the media to 'stick' or 'pick-up' the contents.  If this doesn't happen, then the objects and media don't really 'tumble' but mostly just slide around inside the barrel and it's FAR less effective.One of the best tumblers I saw was made from an old propane tank (about 30 or 40 lb'er).  It had the top cut off, hinged and then fitted with a simple gasket and pressure locking mechanism.  The inside of the propane tank was COMPLETELY coated in what looked like some kind of Bed Liner or Deck coating...  Actually It was very thick so it very well could have been Tar Pitch...  I could tell that it had been sprayed OVER TOP of what looked like round pebbles and short thick wire pieces.  In any event, that thing worked like a DREAM and it was SUPER FREAKIN' quiet too!  All that rubberizing did a VERY good job dampening the sound within, while the pieces under the rubber did an excellent job of allowing the MEDIA and OBJECTS to 'TUMBLE' PERFECTLY.The Tank spun on two rollers, much like pictured above and had a variable speed setting for different types of metal, rock or what have you....  You could tumble 'Dry' or 'Wet', (hence the Gasket) and that tumbler would sometimes run for WEEKS on end...  I wish I had taken some photos !  Cheers,/J....Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:I made one over 7-8 years ago and it's still going. I used a 22" wheel from a tandem truck, the type uses the wedge to hold it one not the bud type. Four pieces of 2 x 3/8 flatbar the full width of the wheel cause the pieces to tumble when it's rotating. Made a cradle to support it out of 4 urethane coated casters, two on each side so the wheel is cradled by them, one set of the casters is driven by a chain drive that is reduced in speed by an idler shaft fom a 1/2 hp motor. It works great with no media as the pieces tumble against themselves. I use it to clean off slag after burning out pieces on the burning table.Noisy is an understatement. Ended up putting it inside a plywod box lined with styrofoam. It didn't help much ......Mike
Reply:I was thinking about building one of these the other day.  We have some 6" octagon alum extrusion at work.  Here is a link to McMaster.com   They have a couple of simples ones that could be scaled up.http://www.mcmaster.com/#barrel-tumblers/=675slc
Reply:Now that I think about it, we have some 12"-24" steel pipe drop pieces at work.... hmmmmmThanks guys, got me set off on a new project here soon.John - Chesapeake, VA
Reply:Great ideas by everyone. I like the idea Walker had for cleaning fence pickets.I live on 5 acres but do have neighbors close enough to complain, although they have never complained in the last 13 years but why tempt them.I could use tire treads around the inside as they would fit the inside diameter and just line them up the length of the thing to dampen the noise. Use self tapping screws in the treads to keep them in place and grind off the parts that stick out on the outside.Time to start scrounging.Keep the ideas coming because until I get it done, changes are possible.Then I have to get back on my welding trailer. I want to clean up some parts before finishing the trailer.
Reply:I know cost is an issue, but.........Depending on the number of items to be tumbled, a small cement mixer is about the best.  Imagine 10 items measuring 6"x6" (your description) that's going to take up a lot of room.  You could wrap the tire treads around the outside of it to soften the noise, but it's still gonna be a bit noisy.  Not like standing next to a jet engine/unmuffled Detroit Diesel, but enough that you will be aware of it later.I wouldn't hesitate to use one at my house & I live in a development where the neighbors are close, but not butt sniffing close like in some areas.  I just wait to do the "noisy" things to daylight hours on Saturday & possibly Sunday afternoon.If you only have 1 or 2 items, a 5 gallon pail with a couple wings fitted on the inside to cause a tumbling action would suffice.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:Have you considered an old clothes dryer as a basis? Free for the taking on the curb fairly often. Motor and drive for approx 60RPM, with fins to lift and tumble, rather than slide.Smaller stuff: put the 5gal bucket in it with a lid on and something in the bucket to lift the parts and media..
Reply:A dryer [to me] would be extreme. I would think it would slam stuff together rather than just slide abrasives over it. I don't want thing dropping from nearly the top but instead just lifting up a bit and rolling over the top of the other stuff in the container.Hope that makes sense.I "Think" I have decided on one mentioned above with about a 60-80 gallon tank which would allow for pickets and long items as well as smaller items.I may make a small one from a freon tank or something to play with different media. Has anyone tried glass? I was thinking of breaking a large tempered window and using it for media. Glass is hard and when broken it is small and odd shaped. May work, not sure.
Reply:Originally Posted by Bob WarnerA dryer [to me] would be extreme. I would think it would slam stuff together rather than just slide abrasives over it. I don't want thing dropping from nearly the top but instead just lifting up a bit and rolling over the top of the other stuff in the container.Hope that makes sense.I "Think" I have decided on one mentioned above with about a 60-80 gallon tank which would allow for pickets and long items as well as smaller items.I may make a small one from a freon tank or something to play with different media. Has anyone tried glass? I was thinking of breaking a large tempered window and using it for media. Glass is hard and when broken it is small and odd shaped. May work, not sure.
Reply:I have several tumblers from rock tumblers to reloading tumblers.  All of them are hexagonal or octagonal.  I would suggest copying the design.  10-12 ga plate should do the trick.  I would put them inside a 30-50 gallon drum.  The capacity would greatly be reduced.  I would cram the voids with fiberglass insulation to help support the load if using the 12 ga, but also to try and reduce the sound.As for the motor and rollers you have some good pictures for them.
Reply:I wouldn't have thought of a Hex shape inside a barrel.  Great Idea Scott!MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:I use a gas powered concrete mixer. We save all the drops from the punch on the ironworker for media. It is loud as hell. I'm going to add some water next time to see if that helps.
Reply:!!!!!! FOR GOSH SAKES DON'T USE A FREON TANK!!!!!!!!!!!! POISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!sure hope you see this!!!!!!!!!!!!!200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:No freon tanks. Wouldn't work for my application anyway.Still scrounging up parts and the elusive tank.