Want to Build My Own Tumbler! Please Help!

[dpbottleman]

I fill my bottle a little over half full of copper pills, add 2 level spoons of tumbling powder, and water until its about 3/4" over the copper. Put bottle in clear canister, add copper to about 1/2 to 3/4 over bottle, add 2 spoons of powder, add water until about 3/4" over copper, and tumble at 55 rpm for 2 days, inspect, and if needs more, tumble for 2 more days. I tuble hutch, twitchell, baltimore loop, and crown tops, and all are from 2 to 4 days. I yuse a rock tumbling powder I get from Ft Worth, Texas for about $5.00 a lb. I DO NOT USE ANY PRE-CLEANING POWDER, JUST THE POLISHING POWDER, AND THE RESULTS ARE FANTASTIC. See pis if it up loads, if not email me and I will send pics, and also give the Co. and ph no where I buy my rock tumbling powder, thanx, Doyle

 

[dpbottleman]

P.S. my email is dpbottleman@yahoo.com 2 pics of before and after.

 

[dpbottleman]

This is pic of before tumbling.

 

[idigjars]

Nice before and after pics.

 

[walkingstick]

Digger Odell sells plans for bottle tumblers so you can build your own.
Try this link. http://www.bottlebooks.com/cleaned.htm

 

[tombstone]

Two twelve inch pulleys off a 1725 rpm motor will turn too slow (if at all). Don't know how your friend calculated but there is a calculator for this at http://www.csgnetwork.com/pulleybeltcalc.html Don't forget the the final calculation, your 5/8 rod driving a 4 inch canister. Tumbler I'm working on uses a 1.5 inch pulley to a 10 inch pulley mounted on a 5/8 drive rod covered by plastic tubing which makes the rod about one inch. It turns an empty 4 inch canister at about 40 rpm. From what I've read here that is a little too fast for the small bottles and a little too slow for the big ones, but that just means it will take a bit longer to get the results i want.

 

[tombstone]

I should add that this is my first tumbler, I'd never even heard of one till i read about it on this board a couple months back, so don't take anything I say on the subject as being anything more than my opinion based on limited experience.

 

[Jeff Keith]

Hello all. I am a newcomer to this forum and I must say it is one of the BEST and most INFORMATIVE that I have found!! I've been trying for weeks to come up with a bottle tumbler. I decided to build my own after finding a motor. The motor is 1725 RPM, 5.1 amp, 115 volts. An electrician at work advised me (after doing his gearing down formula) that I need a 24" pulley in order to get it down to 75 RPM. Where am I supposed to get a 24" pulley?!?! Or, I was advised to get two 12" pulleys. Running off a 1" from the motor to the 12" and then to another 12", and then to my axle (rod). I have a wonderful schematic that will enable me to do two bottles at the same time. The Problem is finding the pulleys. I've been to garage sales, flea markets, the internet, electricians, hardware stores...I can't find one anywhere. I think I could find the Holy Grail faster than I can a pulley. So, if there is anyone who can lead me in the direction of two 12" pulleys, I am forever in their gratitude. I have so many milk bottles to clean it's not even funny! Thank you all in advance.

Heath

Check with any local salvage yard. Often when older furnaces are replaced they will have a pulley with belt from the externally mounted motor.