Home-Made, High-Capacity Rock Tumbler: Easy Build

[@Kötkylä]

Very nice tumbler 👍 Thanks for the video. I think i have to go and find some Parts and make my own too 😄👍

[@ecks_marks_the_spot]

Great video. Thanks for validating my "junk drawer". Your design for a drum stop is brilliant.

[@RyanWeishalla]

Nice, simple design. You may just want to keep an eye when you have your two barrels in the middle. You may find that the even with the size of the bars you used for rollers, you may need another set of pillow blocks in the middle to keep them from spreading apart.

[@RyanWeishalla]

And P.S., I didn't realize I wasn't on my subscriptions and this was an older video and not one just released. You probably have any kinks already worked out of it.

[@RavenRaven-se6lr]

This is what I so want to do in Australia 🇦🇺 thanks . Projects

[@upnorthadventureswithccc]

What a great plan and tumbler. Can't thank you enough for sharing this one 😄

[@hekmatalmutshir6587]

👏👏👏👏👏🙏💐🙏💐🙏💐good luck got ideas

[@Goldwaschenid]

Thats cool, thank's for showing this. Kind regards

[@ssteele1812]

Looks like a very nice tumbler. Ill have to check out your other videos to see what motor you used.

[@toddedeker3528]

Wow… yep -you inspired me !!!

[@Gali80f]

Awesome!

[@leonacrowley164]

That looks awesome

[@shanecorning5222]

Yes you DO you need TWO MORE of them there BIG boys yes !!!!! .. . . Because the little guy has his own roller extension HAHAHAHAH wow this is pimp good job man

[@michaelvandyke]

Great video...

[@jefftrag1956]

I read about how to make an industrial tumbler out of a rear axle of a big semi truck with the rims and tires in place. You want to cut an opening in the highest part of the rim to load rocks. The article said a cover is not needed but I always thought if I was going to do one I would have a hinged door sealed with inner tube rubber. The idea is to set up a motor geared down so the tires rotate slowly and all the rocks stay in the lowest part of the tire at all times tumbling over each other. Each tire can hold about 100 lbs of rocks and you have 4 tires going at all times each one with a different grit. Always use the same tire for the same grit. You rotate the rocks once a week and you have 100 lbs of polished tumbled stones each week. I have been wondering if you could use quartz sand as grit for the first stage to do the rough rounding off? I am posting this on all videos about rock hounding to spread the idea, if this is you channel and you do not like that let me know. The fact that the tumbling will all take place in a rubber tire should help keep the noise down. The rocks should never touch the rim. I have suggested to people that they make a soundproof shed just big enough to be practical so the noise will be minimized. Plus the rubber in a tire is thick and should absorb a lot of the noise. Also you should have a small fan on the motor to keep it cool. A high quality motor will be a must as it will run 24 hours a day. I am no expert but with the proper gearing the motor should not be under too much stress. I would sell the tumbled stones. Once tumbled, you grade them by quality and type. Some would be really valuable. I bet you could average $10 usd per pound with just good found material and more if you have high grade material. Definitely not for the weekend rock hound but if you sell stones or want to, what a cheap way to start. You could tumble other people's rocks for a fee or shares too. You could make one with car tires for a smaller scale operation. There has to be a lot of people with 30 year in the making, 3 ton pile of rocks out behind their house. With this they could see results from all that collecting.

[@beanricecheese]

Maybe I missed it in the comments but can you give me the specs on the motor you used. I’m looking to doing a very similar setup and I’m stuck on a motor to go with.

[@MikesLapidaryFossils]

The motor I used is from an old pump I had laying around on my junk pile. The nameplate doesn't specify the hp rating, but I'd guess about 1/12-1/15 hp. If you can get hold of something like that, or even higher hp it should work fine.

[@jbodden6977]

rubber tape on the tumbler rotors will provide all trection necessary

[@bretlenhart8280]

How do you tension the belt?

[@jacknife10000]

2 questions. What RPM is the motor? And why do you need to drive your second roller? Isnt it already driven by the barrels?

[@waded5588]

Where did you purchase the barrels from? I need to find barrels. Thanks! Thanks for sharing your video!

[@SissyMchill1]

Is that size motor capable of turn 24lbs of rock? Also that bearing thing to stop the barrels from walking, is going to wear through the bottom of the barrel? If you see my comment? May I ask the speed in which the motor needs to turn the barrels? Asking cause my husband is incredible with making things and I’m needing to know this information to tell him when he goes to make me one. I have no equipment only a Milwaukee hand tool, similar to a Dremel. So using that, hand small diamond plated tiny files and sand paper is killing my old hands. Nice video. Thank you for sharing.

[@MikesLapidaryFossils]

The motor is turning 24 lbs of rock right now, and has been for over a month. I have an adjustable speed controller on the motor, otherwise it would turn the barrels way too fast. Just about any easy to obtain motor is probably going to turn too fast. I put rubber o-rings on the pulley that stops the drums from walking. Rubber on rubber isn't damaging. Then I also discovered the simple trick of turning the barrel around so the metal lid rides against the pulley. No chance of damage at all now.

[@jasondelgatty3583]

What size of motor were you using? Wish you had shown a picture with the motor specs.

[@MikesLapidaryFossils]

Sorry about that. The motor came from an old paristaltic pump. Can't find decent specs on it. My best guess is it's about 1/5 hp. It's about the same size and RPMs as a sewing machine motor. There is a link to what looks like a comparable motor in the video description.

[@andyh7537]

Awesome work! Do you use a different barrel for each size grit, or do you just wash them out good between? Cheers!

[@MikesLapidaryFossils]

At the moment, most of the barrels have rough stones and grit in them. My plan for the future is to use the big 12 lb barrel for roughing. Then move the stones through the other barrels with finer grits in each. The stones get smaller at each stage, except polishing. So the smaller barrels should be able to keep up with finishing the stones and I should have a batch of finished stones every week or so.

[@crazieates3823]

Does the back rotating bar need to be connected or even be a bar? If there is sufficient grip between the outside of the tumbler, and the first bar, couldn't the back side be as simple as roller skate wheels on plywood? Anything that offers a zero resistance on the backside, with a foundation to hold positioning, should work. But maybe I'm wrong🤷‍♂

[@johnnynephrite6147]

whats the RPM on that motor?

[@dreamlookautodetailingauto3353]

Your pulley is bent or not secured evenly? It's a bit wobbly... this doesn't bother you?

[@MikesLapidaryFossils]

Yes, it's a bit annoying, but I'm trying to keep my OCD about such minor things under control. The tumbler works great. A little extra vibration probably doesn't hurt in this application.

[@dreamlookautodetailingauto3353]

@@MikesLapidaryFossils 🤣👊👌

[@tinaharvey356]

I need to tumble some rocks and i made the mistake of giving away a tumbler in a storage give away. To get rid of everything.. 😢. Now i dont have a complete tumbler. I have the base but no drum.

[@MikesLapidaryFossils]

Replacement drums are easy to find. Just google them.

[@cicerofbjr]

So... what is your total cost for this device

[@emanuelsommar7243]

LMAO It takes awhile to polish rocks. My tumblers have both been running non stop for the better part of 35 years. I have had to replace so much on them .. LOL but I still come home fifty pounds heavier after every walk . My next experiment is with a racing slick Use it as a pre tumbler if you will.

[@canadiangemstones7636]

We need expert lapidaries to make videos and teach their tricks!

[@christopherdunn2853]

...gonna be a dental floss tycoon!

[@raineman1118]

After all the machine work I think I'll just buy one.

[@jameshurley224]

Yor secondary pully will add more work to the motor...your better letting it roll free. Every addition will tax the motor

[@shanecorning5222]

You are ALL crazy!!!!! ... :-D ... and you SHOULD turn this into a game all of you yes. .. .. "WHO can Tumble the MOST rocks" yeah?

[@danielkarczewski2467]

so where is that link for petrified wood in Az ?

[@MikesLapidaryFossils]

I forgot to add it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoiXZot6l9-bi6s

[@mrrockpicker]

Could have bought cold roll, clean and cheap. 😅

[@jbodden6977]

no finished work shots? I feel cheated.

[@tinaharvey356]

Beth Harvey

[@Jack-ng1su]

$500 for the parts and all the work? NO THANK YOU. I'll just buy one ready to use, a hell of a lot cheaper!

[@omegageek64]

Where did you get the number $500 from? There's barely $200 in parts in that project. If you are any kind of DIYer, which the sort of people this project is aimed at, then you probably already have some of the parts, and the amount of work is minimal. Barely an afternoon. In the end you get a high capacity tumbler you can't buy anywhere at any price.

[@jacobramirez4894]

If u have the barrels then it would be $100 or less for the rest

[@jefftrag1956]

I read about how to make an industrial tumbler out of a rear axle of a big semi truck with the rims and tires in place. You want to cut an opening in the highest part of the rim to load rocks. The article said a cover is not needed but I always thought if I was going to do one I would have a hinged door sealed with inner tube rubber. The idea is to set up a motor geared down so the tires rotate slowly and all the rocks stay in the lowest part of the tire at all times tumbling over each other. Each tire can hold about 100 lbs of rocks and you have 4 tires going at all times each one with a different grit. Always use the same tire for the same grit. You rotate the rocks once a week and you have 100 lbs of polished tumbled stones each week. I have been wondering if you could use quartz sand as grit for the first stage to do the rough rounding off? I am posting this on all videos about rock hounding to spread the idea, if this is you channel and you do not like that let me know. The fact that the tumbling will all take place in a rubber tire should help keep the noise down. The rocks should never touch the rim. I have suggested to people that they make a soundproof shed just big enough to be practical so the noise will be minimized. Plus the rubber in a tire is thick and should absorb a lot of the noise. Also you should have a small fan on the motor to keep it cool. A high quality motor will be a must as it will run 24 hours a day. I am no expert but with the proper gearing the motor should not be under too much stress. I would sell the tumbled stones. Once tumbled, you grade them by quality and type. Some would be really valuable. I bet you could average $10 usd per pound with just good found material and more if you have high grade material. Definitely not for the weekend rock hound but if you sell stones or want to, what a cheap way to start. You could tumble other people's rocks for a fee or shares too. You could make one with car tires for a smaller scale operation. There has to be a lot of people with 30 year in the making, 3 ton pile of rocks out behind their house. With this they could see results from all that collecting.

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Sand will not suffice, sadly.

[@AZAce1064]

You could get free energy for that process if you connected the driveshaft to a windmill or a flowing water source like a stream depending on where you live.