does a tumbler have a shaft all the way throught the barrell. if so what effect does it have on the fur. id assume it would just hit and roll off of it. also what carries the fur to the top of the drum. are there little rods that come out so far or are there little shelfs. thanks.
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If you are going to build a tumbler, you can get most bearings at a local Farm SUpply store. I saw a tumbler a while back, 8X8 that used iron fittings and iron pipe from the hardware store. Better yet is it was 8 sided and did not need baffles. The iron pipe fit into the bearing, which were bolted to a wooden frame. The whole tumbler had cost about $250.00 to built and two days work. Oh, it did have four sets of bearings two on each axle.
Buy an old dryer and tape over the holes in the drum...put on "AIR" works great.
Normally tumbling Drums do not have a shaft that goes all the way across the inside of the Drum! They have 2 short Spindles (one on each side) welded to a plate that is bolted to the Drum.
As far what makes the furs tumble - the Drums have 4-5 Baffles in side that actually "lift" the furs to the top as it rotates, and then allows them to fall. These Baffles are simply 4X6 cross pieces bolted to the drum on the inside to the round part.
Leather Drums dont use baffles - they use pegs - which is similiar to what you described. In leather they want the liquids to flow through the pegs.