I know this is a old subject but I have been reading on tumblers for a month now and am more confused than when I started.I have everything to make a tumbler and just starting out plenty of time.I have gear reduction units, motors, barrels,wheels what ever I need,BUT I only want to do this once.I will be doing deer I hope, and birds and small mammals.I have a 55 and a 30 gal barrels. I will either use the wheel driven like Van Dykes, or a axle pillow block rotiserie (spell) style that interchanges both sizes,I have read that there has been problems with Van Dykes and most the times you need to modify, no problem can do.No matter which tumbler you guys have, If money were not the problem what style would you buy?I dont have a large area to start so 55 gal. is about it.Will a 55 gal tumbler soften hides? And other than drying and sheen what else does the tumbler do for hides?I know that a 4x6 is the way to go for breaking but dont have room..YET.Any help is greatly app. I used the orange search and still need help Thanks...
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is better for mammals, a 12 footer would be great.
The wheel driven idea, will need weight inside the barrel to help it roll. Not enough weight and it will just slip on the drive wheels. I have the 55 gallon gear reduction Vandyke model, the yellow one in the book. And I like it. It does take up room though. You can do a deer in a 30 gallon, but the larger is better as it can fold and roll better. It may be cramped in the 30 and not have the action needed to do the job. As far as breaking a hide in a slow turning drum, you will need to have the hide very thin and still will need to assist breaking by hand. I remove the excess oil with my tumbler, and it will work great for turkeys as slow as it is.
If you are using a drum for breakng, the 8' drop is ideal. For Deer, you might get good results with a 6' drop, but you need a high quality oil to soften the hides first. The key to breaking leather is in the oil that is absorbed by the leather prior to any tumbling.
A 55 gallon drum is not going to get the job done on fur bearers and deer. Are there baffles to lift the medium and the hide inside the 55 gallon drum? It probably could be used for the wet aplications, but forget it for tumbling sawdust and hides.