# Homemade tumbler qusetions -HELP!



## cyberdigger (Feb 15, 2009)

OK, the easy part is over! Now I need some good advice!!
 Model 2 is up and running, but it seems my test cylinder is riding over to one side.. why does that happen??


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## GuntherHess (Feb 15, 2009)

Mine homemade one did that. I just put a screw in with a piece of copper tubing on it as a roller for it to bump up against.


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## cyberdigger (Feb 15, 2009)

I think I figured it out... the rollers need to be lined up very precisely.. reminded me of this childhood gem..


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## cyberdigger (Feb 15, 2009)

Another question... does it matter if there's a little bit of wobbling going on? I'm thinking maybe that will actually help to keep the polishing stuff stirred up a bit... ??


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## wedigforyou (Feb 15, 2009)

Ours has rubber across the entire roller and the canister still shifts.  Good ol' gravity pulls it off center.  I find if I center my bottle within the canister as much as I can that helps.  We too had to add bumpers.  We just drilled a hole and inserted a piece of thin metal rod onto which I put wooden sewing spools. You'll need the bumpers on the left and right sides cause ya' never know which way the canister is going to go.  You have to turn your canister half way through you tumbling anyway which can cause the canister to go the other direction.  I find if pick up and turn your canister half way or every 24 hours you'll get better results.


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## doorsmaniac (Feb 15, 2009)

> ORIGINAL: cyberdigger
> 
> I think I figured it out... the rollers need to be lined up very precisely.. reminded me of this childhood gem..


 
 OMG My Buddy Still has one of these.  Its in his Garage (that was converted into a bar) It sits on the bar counter top and we play it each time we visit him!  Good luck with the balancing BTW.


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## GuntherHess (Feb 15, 2009)

Fliping the cylider every so often is a good tip to remember. Its seems to help get the neck done better. 
 You dont need to worry about the stuff in it being stirred up enough, it will be pletty stirred up like a grey foamy nasty milkshake[] Its the most grimy crap known to man.


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## DeuceDigger (Feb 15, 2009)

Have a look at my rig. Even with the rollers carefully measured, the tolerances are still off enough that the tubes will pretty much work their way to one side or the other so I simply added rollers on each side which consist of skate board wheels and caster wheels or whatever I had in the basement when I was building the tumbler. Just make sure that you make everything rock solid as if one breaks in the middle of the night, your tube with your bottle and all of the tin oxide juice will be on the floor. 

 The bars are probably pretty true but the rubber that you used might be causing the wobbling. I used PVC tubing with the same inner diameter and ran the tubes through them. I get some vibration but not much. It doesn't seem to mess up the bottles at all. I also have an SCR voltage controller running a 90VDC motor so that I can adjust the speed. Hope this helps.


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## cyberdigger (Feb 15, 2009)

Thank you, Deuce, Gunth, Ann, Lobe.. side rollers it will be.. I thought i was doing something stupidly wrong![][]
 The warbling comes from the way I attached the rollers to the bearings.. it was overly complicated.. that's what happens to me when I go to home depot with a not-so-well-planned idea.. I buy too many pieces and parts! So tonight I simplified the design and it's less warbly already, and careful tapping with a hammer should get 'em running smooth enough..


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## cyberdigger (Feb 15, 2009)

Hey Doors.. did you ever make it to the moon??[]


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## doorsmaniac (Feb 16, 2009)

I have made it to the end many of time on that thing.  I dont think the moon was the end on his though.  Ill check next time im up there.


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## cyberdigger (Feb 16, 2009)

Today I investigated the availability of copper wire, and found it much easier to find 14 gauge, the 12 gauge eluded me all day... is there a big difference in the performance of 14 gauge cut copper compared to the 12? Please advise!


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## GuntherHess (Feb 16, 2009)

I doubt it , it still has the same density.  After using my #12 copper for a while it is probably #14 now anyway.


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## cyberdigger (Feb 17, 2009)

Thanx Matt.. anybody else care to opine on this before I invest in a 27 pound spool of #14?? I just don't want to goof this up![8|]


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## donalddarneille (Mar 2, 2009)

Just curious........does cut copper work best or would copper BB's suffice? As I understand the copper doesn't do the actuall polishing, but acts as a weight to press the polishing compound against the glass. I just inherited a set up from a freind, 1 machine and two tubes, it worked great for him at first, but he gave up in frustration as his results became worse over time, eventually his bottles were coming out hazier than when they went in the tube. Has anyone ever heard of this before? If so what is the possible cause? Doing all the research I can before I try starting my machine up, what is the best post under this topic for beginners to read? Thank you!


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## GuntherHess (Mar 2, 2009)

If you are talking about BB like are used in air rifles, they will not work. They are plated steel. They will rust. 

 If his bottles were getting progressively worse. i would guess he wasnt sufficiently cleaning the cutting compound off his copper before polishing.


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## bottlediger (Mar 2, 2009)

BBs will increase your chance of breaking a bottle by 1000% I wouldnt try it

 Digger Ry


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## donalddarneille (Mar 2, 2009)

Thanks, guess I'll have to forget about using BB's for now, unless they're glass ones mixed in with my cut copper. I have a nearly endless supply of scrap copper wire, is there a better method than cutting with hand held diagonals for hours on end?


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## GuntherHess (Mar 2, 2009)

if you have a drill press you can make a faster cutter. There were some old posts on this method. You may be able to search and find them.


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## baltbottles (Mar 2, 2009)

Anyone have any thoughts on using granulated copper scrap I have a source for it but wasn't sure if it would be useful.

 Chris


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## GuntherHess (Mar 2, 2009)

It looks like it should work ok. You probably want to pick out the bigger pieces and cut them up more since they could clog up the neck or corners.


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## wedigforyou (Mar 3, 2009)

Hello, any tips for attempting to save a bottle that is now white with fine scratches that we caused by not keeping my cutting copper isolated from my polishing copper?  Or, I just didn't clean the inside of the bottle well enough before polishing.  I'm trying cerium oxide and I'll let them run for awhile. any other suggestions appreciated.


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## GuntherHess (Mar 3, 2009)

bottles are normally hazy after using cutting compound but I would not think you would see scratches? What cutting compound did you use?


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## wedigforyou (Mar 3, 2009)

Hello again and thanks for your response.  I used 1200 grit silicon carbide for two days -- I didn't let it dry completely so I didn't notice the "haze".  I guess that's what you'd call it. I can't see scratches -  I'm just assuming that after polishing for two days with cerium oxide or Raybrite that it would take care of any remaining haze from the cutter -- it didn't.  When you look at the bottom of the bottle it's also has some white haze to it but not as bad as the side (the neck is clear - I guess cuz the cutter didn't get in there.).

 I'm trying the cerium again which was recommended on this board. The bottles are 1870s squats so I'm told the softer oxide is the way to go.

 Thanks for any tips.

 Ann


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## GuntherHess (Mar 3, 2009)

I thought I remember someone saying the cerium polish can leave a haze?? I use the aluminum oxide polish so I may not be seeing what you are seeing.


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## bottlediger (Mar 12, 2009)

Ok, Cerium is a crazy soft polish it will not leave a haze like cutter will it will sometimes leave a film on the glass that is very hard to scrub off unless you dip your tumbled bottles in a acid solution.

 Now Ann what your doing is not gona work at all. You cant cut a bottle with 1200 and then try to polish it with Cerium, just not gona come out right because that polish is way to light. You need to polish with Alum. to get that cutter haze out. 

 Cerium should only be used on VERY soft glass, 1870 glass is not usally very soft unless its amber or a dark (blackglass like) color. hell i dont eve use cerium on 1850s stuff its just doesnt need it. 

 Also remeber not all bottles need to be cut with cutter, only bottles that have heavy stain/etching

 Alum Polish will take off light stain so why bother with 2 steps if you only need one

 AND remeber to clean your copper very well if you use the same copper for cutting and polishing. I use to completly seperate batches of copper to cut and polish so I dont have any problems.

 Digger Ry


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## wedigforyou (Mar 13, 2009)

Thanks Ry, I've learned quickly (or maybe not quick enough) that the cerium does leave a crud on the copper and the bottle and yep -- a quick acid bath takes care of that!  Thanks again.  I'll get the hang of this yet.


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## donalddarneille (Mar 28, 2009)

Where do you buy 1200 grit aluminum oxide?


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