# Interested in building a bottle tumbler



## somedumbcracker (Jan 24, 2009)

Hello everyone, I am brand new to this site and fairly new to the hobby of bottle collecting.  I have started collecting old bottles I find in the desert and they all need cleaning.  I have read a great deal on the internet and on this forum in particular about cleaning bottles and since I can't find a good bottle tumbler for sale for a price I can afford, I am looking at building one myself.  The problem is, I am not the engineering type.  I can build things ok if I have something to go off of though.  I am wondering if anyone might want to share any information with me on how to go about constructing my own bottle tumbler, i.e. giving me a list of parts I'd need to get and a general idea of how to put them together.  Any information is greatly appreciated. 

 Thanks


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## buzzkutt033 (Jan 25, 2009)

i built a tumbler at home last year cracker. if you wish to browse thru the thread, i bumped it up for you. good luck.

 jim


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## somedumbcracker (Jan 25, 2009)

Thanks Jim,  I reviewed your thread and it was very helpful in giving me an idea of how to go about building one.  I'm sure I'll review it many more times as I progress in my project.

 Thanks again

 Somedumbcracker


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## wedigforyou (Jan 25, 2009)

Hello, after building a tumbler we'd have to say ---- "buy one from wayne lowry"  Jar Doctor, but if you're the build it yourself kinda guy I understand.  Tweaking them and getting the spacing between the rollers correct and then the pulleys and belts -- Oh My! you're in for a treat.  I've tried to attach pics of ours and maybe it would help.  I could give measurements if  you want.  We purchased our rollers, pulleys and motor new from MacMaster Carr online. The motor we purchased is an air conditioning motor which needs "air over" or a fan blowing on it to cool it.  Not the best idea although it seems to very efficient and hasn't bumped up the electric bill too much.  Cutting your own copper helps out with the cost.  We've discovered flea markets and bid boards to be a great place to pick up copper wire on the cheap.  We have $750.00 into our tumbler so buying from wayne would not have been that much more.  We have made our own stopples and use plain white PVC which also helps keep the cost down.  For the stopples you can get Oatey test plugs at a nearby Home Depot or Lowes.  You can get the stainless bolts and rubber cones from Jar Doctor.  This cuts the cost down on that end of the stopple.  The finger end is a bit more complicated but there again you can buy a finger plate from Wayne for about $23.00 plus shipping and just add it to another test plug.  In all honesty no stopple is better than Jar Doctors (Wayne) they'll last forever and are so easy to set inside the tube and tighten.  Our homemade ones need to be cleaned very well after each use and then I still have trouble getting them tightened -- the oxide makes them tough to tighten.  I guess it all comes down to dollars and cents. Good luck. Lots of good ideas here.


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## buzzkutt033 (Jan 25, 2009)

hey there wedig,

    how you and the family doing? nice pic of your tumbler. haven't seen you on here in a while. looking forward to spring, my foot finally healing up. we'll have to get together and do some digging. take care and God Bless you and yours.

 jim


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## wedigforyou (Jan 27, 2009)

*OUR HOMEmade stopples*

here's a pic or two of our stopples.  As stated above we bought the cones and stainless bolt (which holds the cone on!) from wayne lowry.  That side's easy it's the other side that can be a bugger.  Bought nylon rod from Mcmaster Carr and put vinyl tubing over it.  Added some plexiglass to give it more "body" to hold the rod in place.  They been working pretty well just not as easy to tighten as jar doctors and these need to be tightened a whole lot more.  Good luck with your tumbler.


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## wedigforyou (Jan 27, 2009)

*RE: OUR HOMEmade stopples*

one pic


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## wedigforyou (Jan 27, 2009)

*RE: OUR HOMEmade stopples*

another


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## buzzkutt033 (Jan 28, 2009)

*RE: OUR HOMEmade stopples*

not bad kiddo. where did you guys get the plexiglass rod? what did you use to glue them to the plate? 

 i'm thinking of setting up a 3" tube and stopple setup. seems quite a few of the bots i tumble would fit in a 3" tube and it certainly would require less copper.......... any thoughts???

 thanx for sharing with us ann..........
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 guess i should have read your post more carefully. why nylon rod? isn't there anywhere to get plexiglass locally? i really need to stop procrastinating and get on this while winter is keeping me indoors..................

 thanx again ann


 jim


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## wedigforyou (Jan 28, 2009)

*RE: OUR HOMEmade stopples*

Hey Jim,  I searched and searched for rod in all the area stores and found nothing but steel rod.  I found the nylon rod on MacMaster Carr website sold only in 6 foot lengths but fairly cheap at about $18.00 with shipping and it was here in a day.  I didn't pick nylon for any other reason than it was sold in a small size.  They have everything on that site but the rod can get pricey especially if you have to buy a 25' length.  The vinyl tubing can be bought at any Ace Hardware or Lowes.  The guys drilled the hole through the red inner plate onto which a piece of plexiglass was already glued to firm it up.  I guess you could use wood or some other type of plastic too.  They just used a two-part A/B epoxy that they got at Ace Hardware to glue the rod in place.  Make sure you grind down the outside plate 
 Do a search on this site for homemade stopples and you'll find a great stopple that someone made with stainless bolts and vinyl tubing put over it.  That looks like a good one too.
 I'll look for part number on the rod.  Keep in mind the guys ground down the outer plastic plate on the red plug to fit inside the pvc tube.  

 I guess a 3" tube would be fine as long as the bottle is small enough to let the copper roll over the bottle and they sell 3" Oatey test plugs at Lowes.  

 Take care.


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## buzzkutt033 (Jan 29, 2009)

*RE: OUR HOMEmade stopples*

thanx ann. cabin fever setting in up here on the other side of the mountain. here's the before picture of the Hottenstine squat i'm tumbling. 

 jim


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## buzzkutt033 (Jan 29, 2009)

*RE: OUR HOMEmade stopples*

here it is after 6 days. i took it out, cleaned the copper and glass beads, and put it back in. i'm gonna run it for another 2-3 days with some of that polish you gave me at the show. hope all goes well down there. please tell hubby and son i said hello........

 jim


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## wedigforyou (Jan 30, 2009)

*nice bot*

nice bottle.  Looks good like it is.


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## buzzkutt033 (Jan 31, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

here's the final. take care annie

 jim


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## buzzkutt033 (Jan 31, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

this is a rare Catasauqua blob. only  a few known to my knowledge..........  going in the tumbler today. 

 jim


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## wedigforyou (Feb 1, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

Yes, the Stockberger are considered rare for Catty bottles and they go around $30.00 - $35.00 at the shows.  Nice finds.


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## buzzkutt033 (Feb 3, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

i've been using the drive belts for vacuum cleaners. keeps wear down on the tube and also seems to cut the noise a bit. 

 jim


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## wedigforyou (Feb 3, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

Hello, those are o rings but I wouldn't recommend them.  They self destructed.  We opted instead to put rubber heater hose on our drive shaft and it's working out ok.  Some of the rubber does come off on the canister.  In all honesty I'd just buy the vinyl tubing from Jar doctor at about $2.00 per foot. It's cleaner and cuts down on the noise.  It supposed to help keep the canisters from shifting too.  Our drive shaft has a really wide keyway and it was making a noise like a train with every turn so we opted to cover it with rubber hose.


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## wedigforyou (Feb 3, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

I should have added that Jar Doctor's vinyl tubing goes on the idler rollers not the canisters.


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## wedigforyou (Feb 3, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

We did discover that using the belts/o rings reduces the speed of the canister -- that may be an easier way to slow down your speed versus changing belts to the drive shaft.  With the O rings the canister was turning about 45 RPMs without the O rings it nearly doubled.  Interesting!


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## buzzkutt033 (Feb 3, 2009)

*RE: nice bot*

pulled out the Stockburger today. unfortunately it's not mine. did it for a friend of mine. 

 i've had success using vacuum cleaner belts. cuts the noise down and reduces wear on tubes for what that's worth............. take care all.

 jim


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