Building a big tumbler?s
 

By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

Building a big tumbler?s
 

On Oct 31, 5:24*am, Butter wrote:
*By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
*So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. *What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

Dad once had a rock tumbler made from 1/2 an old hot water tank, but
that is no where near the size you need.

Paul

Building a big tumbler?s
 

Butter wrote:
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.


A friend of mine who did stamping used a barrel type concrete mixer. It
was noisy but it did a good job.

I use a five gallon plastic pail with 4 internal wooden 2x2 pieces
screwed to the inside surface of the pail. I put the pail in one of my
bigger lathes and run it at a real slow speed. The tailstock was pushed
against the lid of the pail.


John

Building a big tumbler?s
 

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 05:24:12 -0700 (PDT), Butter
wrote:

By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.


Check the various auction sites as well. Lots of those in those sizes
winding up for auction as companies shut down..

If the bowl is worn..simply take it down to the Rino Liner place and
have it sprayed nice and thick. Works like a champ

Gunner

"Confiscating wealth from those who have earned it, inherited it,
or got lucky is never going to help 'the poor.' Poverty isn't
caused by some people having more money than others, just as obesity
isn't caused by McDonald's serving super-sized orders of French fries
Poverty, like obesity, is caused by the life choices that dictate
results." - John Tucci,

Building a big tumbler?s
 

"KD7HB" wrote in message
...
On Oct 31, 5:24 am, Butter wrote:
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

The mining industry uses a big rock tumbler called a ball mill. A typical
one might use steel balls about 5 or 6 inches in diameter in a large drum to
pulverize ore.

Paul

Building a big tumbler?s
 

Butter wrote:
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

They don't usually self destruct IF they were built right. The ones we
had were real simple.
They had a large drum made of 1/2" thick steel panels welded along each
edge, with one that locked in place with simple dog locks. The end caps
were the same steel and welded all the way around. On each end were two
pairs of pillow blocks with stub shafts that bolted to the tumbler body.
Power for rotation was a simple hydraulic drive motor that connected to
one stub shaft with a sprocket.
Had a control lever that allowed you to roll the drum either way.
Used to tumble a LOT of stuff in there, Abrasive wise it used a standard
ceramic media just like the vibratory units.
http://www.thermalfab.com/manufacturing.htm Take a look at the picture
of their tumbler about half way down the page. Ours was almost a twin to
that, Just a bit more "used"
http://www.kramerindustriesonline.co...ng-systems.htm
http://www.almco.com/main.html


We also had a medium sized vibratory unit. It worked great on things
that you couldn't tumble but it was N O I S Y!!!!! You couldn't run it
during normal production hours because it was so loud. Had to run it on
third shift when you could load it, hit the switch and get well away
from it.

http://www.vibratoryfinishing.com/v12.htm And here is a used one just
like it!




--
Steve W.

Building a big tumbler?s
 

"Butter" wrote in message
...
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

We built a tumbler that big to wax coat wood blocks. How can I help? Need
pictures?

Building a big tumbler?s
 

On Oct 31, 12:47*pm, "Steve W." wrote:
Butter wrote:
*By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
*So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. *What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

They don't usually self destruct IF they were built right. The ones we
had were real simple.
They had a large drum made of 1/2" thick steel panels welded along each
edge, with one that locked in place with simple dog locks. The end caps
were the same steel and welded all the way around. On each end were two
pairs of pillow blocks with stub shafts that bolted to the tumbler body.
Power for rotation was a simple hydraulic drive motor that connected to
one stub shaft with a sprocket.
Had a control lever that allowed you to roll the drum either way.
Used to tumble a LOT of stuff in there, Abrasive wise it used a standard
ceramic media just like the vibratory units.http://www.thermalfab.com/manufacturing.htmTake a look at the picture
of their tumbler about half way down the page. Ours was almost a twin to
that, Just a bit more "used"http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/barrel-finishing-systems.htmhttp://www.almco.com/main.html

We also had a medium sized vibratory unit. It worked great on things
that you couldn't tumble but it was N O I S Y!!!!! You couldn't run it
during normal production hours because it was so loud. Had to run it on
third shift when you could load it, hit the switch and get well away
from it.

http://www.vibratoryfinishing.com/v12.htm*And here is a used one just
like it!

--
Steve W.

Thanks for the links. We will probably use 3/8 since we have so much
of that size steel scrap and roll a drum i'm guessing.

Building a big tumbler?s
 

"Butter" wrote in message
...
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

I have considered the same question, and I came up with: 55 gallon refuse
plastic barrels, and shopping cart wheels. The wheels can be mounted with
bolts so if and when they wear out, it's a five minute changeout. The whole
thing can be mounted on a tilting assembly for easy emptying. No need to
reinvent the wheel here, just use cheap available parts.

Steve

Building a big tumbler?s
 

"Paul G. Shultz" wrote

The mining industry uses a big rock tumbler called a ball mill. A typical
one might use steel balls about 5 or 6 inches in diameter in a large drum
to pulverize ore.

Paul

I did repair work at the Nipton, NV (Maybe over the line into CA) gold mine.
They had ball mills that were the size of cement truck mixers. Six inch
rubber standouts from the outside of the drums, 4-6' steel balls. Ground it
all to a powder. N-O-I-S-Y!

Steve

Building a big tumbler?s
 

Butter wrote:
On Oct 31, 12:47 pm, "Steve W." wrote:
Butter wrote:
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble
steel parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and
asked me to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors.
I'm well known for scrounging around here. He wants us to build
something to tumble and debur the parts coming off the cutting
table. The largest would be 1in thick and 12in by 12in. So i want
to look into this since i have little faith in our recent grad of
an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with
info on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.
They don't usually self destruct IF they were built right. The ones
we had were real simple. They had a large drum made of 1/2" thick
steel panels welded along each edge, with one that locked in place
with simple dog locks. The end caps were the same steel and welded
all the way around. On each end were two pairs of pillow blocks
with stub shafts that bolted to the tumbler body. Power for
rotation was a simple hydraulic drive motor that connected to one
stub shaft with a sprocket. Had a control lever that allowed you to
roll the drum either way. Used to tumble a LOT of stuff in there,
Abrasive wise it used a standard ceramic media just like the
vibratory units.http://www.thermalfab.com/manufacturing.htmTake a
look at the picture of their tumbler about half way down the page.
Ours was almost a twin to that, Just a bit more
"used"http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/barrel-finishing-systems.htmhttp://www.almco.com/main.html


We also had a medium sized vibratory unit. It worked great on
things that you couldn't tumble but it was N O I S Y!!!!! You
couldn't run it during normal production hours because it was so
loud. Had to run it on third shift when you could load it, hit the
switch and get well away from it.

http://www.vibratoryfinishing.com/v12.htm And here is a used one
just like it!

-- Steve W.

Thanks for the links. We will probably use 3/8 since we have so much
of that size steel scrap and roll a drum i'm guessing.

You don't want a true circular drum if at all possible. The parts will
just slide around and not tumble. Adding paddles doesn't work real well
as they tend to do more damage then help. The sectional drum avoids this
with the angles of the drum causing the media/parts to tumble.
If you have a good sized break you could make it in one piece easy enough.

--
Steve W.

Building a big tumbler?s
 

It all has to be an equation of: size of parts to be cleaned, hardness of
those parts, how clean they need to be, how much needs to be cleaned in a
batch, time allotted per cycle, and possibly other factors. Building one
huge mondo unit may take a lot more time, money, and upkeep than making
several smaller ones that may run a little longer, but would be cheaper to
replace balls, grit, and other consumables.

Steve

Building a big tumbler?s
 

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 21:00:17 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:


"Butter" wrote in message
...
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble steel
parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and asked me
to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors. I'm well known
for scrounging around here. He wants us to build something to tumble
and debur the parts coming off the cutting table. The largest would be
1in thick and 12in by 12in.
So i want to look into this since i have little faith in our recent
grad of an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with info
on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
we'll be replacing chains and parts. What we have is our Plasma
table, large rolls, and welders.

I have considered the same question, and I came up with: 55 gallon refuse
plastic barrels, and shopping cart wheels. The wheels can be mounted with
bolts so if and when they wear out, it's a five minute changeout. The whole
thing can be mounted on a tilting assembly for easy emptying. No need to
reinvent the wheel here, just use cheap available parts.

10" pneumatic wheels can be had from HF for $5 apiece on sale. They
wouldn't wear out as quickly, I'd bet. And that would get the thing
up off the floor a bit better. Less bending for a happier time during
loading/unloading.

--
Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
-- Demosthenes

Building a big tumbler?s
 

On Oct 31, 11:04*pm, "Steve W." wrote:
Butter wrote:
On Oct 31, 12:47 pm, "Steve W." wrote:
Butter wrote:
By big i am thinking capacity of 1000 lbs. This is to tumble
steel parts coming off our plasma cutting table. My boss came and
asked me to be on the lookout for gearbox and 5 or 10hp motors.
I'm well known for scrounging around here. He wants us to build
something to tumble and debur the parts coming off the cutting
table. The largest would be 1in thick and 12in by 12in. So i want
to look into this since i have little faith in our recent grad of
an "engineer" to design this well, and i think it would be
interesting to get involved in this.. So are there any sites with
info on these? I'll i find when i search are "Rock Tumblers"
About all my boss said was these things sort of self destruct and
*we'll be replacing chains and parts. *What we have is our Plasma
*table, large rolls, and welders.
They don't usually self destruct IF they were built right. The ones
we had were real simple. They had a large drum made of 1/2" thick
steel panels welded along each edge, with one that locked in place
with simple dog locks. The end caps were the same steel and welded
all the way around. On each end were two pairs of pillow blocks
with stub shafts that bolted to the tumbler body. Power for
rotation was a simple hydraulic drive motor that connected to one
stub shaft with a sprocket. Had a control lever that allowed you to
roll the drum either way. Used to tumble a LOT of stuff in there,
Abrasive wise it used a standard ceramic media just like the
vibratory units.http://www.thermalfab.com/manufacturing.htmTakea
look at the picture of their tumbler about half way down the page.
Ours was almost a twin to that, Just a bit more
"used"http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/barrel-finishing-systems.htmhtt...

We also had a medium sized vibratory unit. It worked great on
things that you couldn't tumble but it was N O I S Y!!!!! You
couldn't run it during normal production hours because it was so
loud. Had to run it on third shift when you could load it, hit the
switch and get well away from it.

http://www.vibratoryfinishing.com/v12.htmAnd here is a used one
just like it!

-- Steve W.

Thanks for the links. We will probably use 3/8 since we have so much
of that size steel scrap and roll a drum i'm guessing.

You don't want a true circular drum if at all possible. The parts will
just slide around and not tumble. Adding paddles doesn't work real well
as they tend to do more damage then help. The sectional drum avoids this
*with the angles of the drum causing the media/parts to tumble.
If you have a good sized break you could make it in one piece easy enough..

--
Steve W.

I don't understand what a "sectional drum". And we don't have a
break. How do the paddles cause damage? I have a feeling my boss just
wants something like what he has seen in the past, using what we have
around here. That would be some rolled drum, with no media