Hi all. I'm a hobbyist (mostly waterfowl mounts) and a long time lurker on this board (btw-thanks for all the help). Here is another home made tumbler idea I thought i'd throw it out there with all the other info in the archives on this. This idea works good for the hobbyist that only needs to run it every now and then but will definitely not work for anyone that runs their tumbler alot. I made it for about $20, not including the motor. Now here is where it gets interesting. I am using my cordless drill as the motor. Before you all laugh too hard let me just say that it really does work great. Of course the down side is that you have to actually sit there and run the drill, but it's usually only for 6-8 minutes anyway and in my case is used only about 1-2 times per week, if even that much. My drill is a craftsman 19.2 V and has a 2 speed gear box, variable speed and it pulls over 400 in/lbs of torque. I find that I can get around 15 rpm running it continuously at a very low speed, however using a "pulse" method of operation works well too for lower speeds (say 6 rpm). By pulse method I mean that you nudge the barrel about 1/8th of a turn and pause for a few seconds, then give another pulse etc. The barrel (30 gallon in this case) cost $6, the hardware cost around $10 (2- 1/2" pipe flanges, 2- 1/2" x 4" galvanized nipples, 2- 3/4" brass pipe couplers (these are the bearings) and a couple of conduit clamps and the wood about $5, all from home depot.
For the barrel I installed 3 2x2's for baffles, screwed into the sides of the barrel. I also liked Nancy's idea about having a wooden box under the barrel to collect any spills so I did this too, although I haven't noticed any spillage yet. I put that peel and stick low density insulating foam around the barrel door. For the door, after cutting it out of the barrel I attatched small strips of plastic around the door to keep it from falling into the barrel and use bunge cords to hold the door in place.
One other thing you need to do is to cut a small 2x4 to use as a support for your drill (one end on the floor and the other end under your drills battery pack). This support absorbs all the torque so that you can run the tumbler with 1 hand.
I use a socket on the drill to turn the nut that is on the end of the axle.
Here is a link to a few pictures if interested:
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kcyellowdog/album?.dir=/62a4&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kcyellowdog/my_photos
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Dont tell but a old ice cream freezer can adapted, either hand or electric.
I turned it last year by hand but was happy to find yet another use for my cordless.....
Take a twist tie and put it on you drill trigger. Then slowly tighten it until your drum turns at the speed you want it to.
DT
Tried the wire tie idea, had to modify the drill stand to completely support the drill but was able to get a steady 12 rpm out of it.