Any opinions on the newer yellow tumbler Van Dykes sells as compared to the older one with the blue barrels? I have read archives about the baffles coming loose and scooping out the sawdust - anyting else?
Return to Tanning Category Menu
I've never been a fan of any motor driven barrel. In a large shop, it might be OK, but it's just another space taker in a small (my shop is 24x24) shop. I hate the dipping involved when either putting sawdust in or out. I've yet to find one, just like the converted clothes driers, that didn't leak sawdust through the doors or trap in in the door.
The only short coming I ever found with the free floating barrels was that the unit should have been equipped with a pulley on that second axle and an idler wheel to drive both sets of wheels. (I remedied this on mine and modified it to do just that). I can use any of 3 sized barrels, I can take the entire mess outside if I'd like, and best of all, the entire unit fits underneath my work table saving me floor space. I did make my own conformal baffles and screwed them through the barrel to make them a part of the structure. I found the collapsible baffles more of a hassle than they were worth with some birds getting caught between the baffle and the barrel.
I have been using a Van Dyke yellow 30 gal tumbler for about a year now.
couldn't be happier with it!
It has a solid reduction gear system , good bearings on each end and doesnt leak a bit of tumbler medium (corn cob)
just my 2 cents worth