# Got the Bottle Tumbler Working...



## Staunton Dan (May 22, 2009)

Although you can't see a whole lot of difference in the before and after  pictures there is quite a difference when you see the bottle in person. I built  my own bottle tumbler from a heavy duty rock tumbler for less than $100 and it  works really well. I am using a 1/3 HP motor. I tumble both inside and out on it  and the inside only on a standard rock tumbler that I have been using for  several months now.


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## GuntherHess (May 22, 2009)

looks like a big difference from where i am sitting.
 What are you using for tumbling medium?


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## tigue710 (May 22, 2009)

could we see the rig?  I have a rock tumber I was thinking of converting...  I tried small bottles inside the rock tumbler barrel but the got dinged up...


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## Staunton Dan (May 22, 2009)

Thanks Matt. I cut my own 12 gauge copper wire with a drill and I'm using aluminum oxide that I got from the Jar Doctor. This bottle was run for 3 days at 70 RPMs. Wayne at The Jar Doctor says that 70 to 80 is the best tumbling speed for round bottles and 25 or so for squares and rectangular bottles. I need to get another motor that will allow me to get down to the lower speeds. Right now I am using a thermally protected 1/3 HP motor but it runs at 3750 RPMs. With the pulleys that I using 70 RPMs is as slow as I can go. With a 1725 RPM motor I can reduce that number substantially. 



> ORIGINAL:  GuntherHess
> 
> looks like a big difference from where i am sitting.
> What are you using for tumbling medium?


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## Staunton Dan (May 22, 2009)

Matt, here's what I use for the inside of bottles only. I use cut  12 gauge copper wire plus aluminum oxide, water and plug up the bottle with a cork. It then goes inside a 4" diameter can and I pack the sides with rags which holds the bottle in the center. You can also tape the bottle so that it won't slide out of the can. It tumbles about 40 RPMs and will clean most bottles in 2 to 3 days. For the outside I use wet sand paper and or Bar Keeper's Friend. This will clean most bottles to a reasonable degree in a reasonable amount of time. BTW, next to the tumbler is what I use for electrolysis. Just a charging unit that puts out about 6 volts and 500 MAmps. One lead goes to the object to be cleaned and the other to a piece of iron. I put some salt in the water, plug in the charger and let the magic begin. 


> ORIGINAL:  tigue710
> 
> could we see the rig?  I have a rock tumber I was thinking of converting...  I tried small bottles inside the rock tumbler barrel but the got dinged up...


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## Staunton Dan (May 22, 2009)

Here's my bigger tumbler for cleaning both inside and out. Nothing too fancy here. It runs at 70 RPMs and will clean most round bottles to about 9" high. The outside tube is 6" in diameter x 12" long. It turns with the motor and pulleys. I cut 4" diameter thin walled tubing to the height of the bottle. I bought 10 feet of 4" for $7.50. I also bought two 4" rubber end caps that you tighten with clamps and they hold the bottle in place. Cut copper, aluminum oxide and water go into the bottle and in the tube which is clamped and made water tight. I then put the 4" tube with the bottle and end caps in the 6" x 12" tube, pack it with rags and tape thin plastic round ends on the 6" pipe. I then place the 6" pipe on the tumbling device and crank her up. It takes about 3 days to clean a bottle. So far so good and for a lot cheaper than I can buy a tumbling unit. This is a temporary set up and I do intend to get the real deal as soon as I can afford it but for now this will work just fine.


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## Staunton Dan (May 22, 2009)

Here is the set up without the 6" tube.


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## Staunton Dan (May 22, 2009)

I have a 3-1/2 year old son so I built a small wooden barrier around the set up to keep him out. I also just run it during the day while someone is home. The motor is thermally protected but I just want to make sure that nothing happens while we are sleeping or not at home.


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## ncbred (May 24, 2009)

> BTW, next to the tumbler is what I use for electrolysis.


 
 And I thought that was brunswick stew.  Was getting kinda hungry. lol

 Can you repost the link on how you set up your drill to cut copper?  I've got a blister on my pinky right now just using wire cutters.


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## Staunton Dan (May 25, 2009)

I need to get another motor that will allow me to get down to the lower speeds. Right now I am using a thermally protected 1/3 HP motor but it runs at 3750 RPMs. With the pulleys that I using 70 RPMs is as slow as I can go. With a 1725 RPM motor I can reduce that number substantially. 




 Why couldn`t you use gear reduction,well,in this case,speed reduction by a larger pulley that drives the turning shaft?Or would it be too much of a pain to change out pulleys and belts? 



 The larger pulley is frozen on the shaft and I haven't been able to loosen it up. The pulley on the motor is as small as I can go. I know that I can go from the motor to a secondary pulley before hooking up to the turning shaft but I haven't figured that out yet so I figured out that a 1725 RPM motor is the easiest way to go to reduce the RPMs on the turning cylinder.


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## tigue710 (May 25, 2009)

pretty cool, how long does the bar keepers friend take?


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## Staunton Dan (May 25, 2009)

> ORIGINAL:  tigue710
> 
> pretty cool, how long does the bar keepers friend take?


 
 If the bottle is really sick, it will take a long time. Usually more time than I'm willing to spend, but if it's not too bad it will show an improvement in a few minutes. I use wire brushes (outside)  and chemicals (inside & out) to get a lot of the crud off but again if it's too bad, only a good tumbling will work in my opinion. Others may have better ways of cleaning but this is just the way I am doing it right now. Another thing that I have also tried is putting cut copper and Bar Keepers Friend plus water inside a bottle, cork it up and shake it vigorously. This will clean a lot of the crud on the inside and will sometimes get where bottle brushes can't like the hard to reach shoulder areas. You have to be careful with this as sometimes the shoulder area in bottles is weak and the copper can break the bottle.


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