Vibratory Tumblers: Whats their general construction?

[Fumbler]

I have an small Honeywell fan that I used to use in my dorm room. It runs strong and has a good little motor.
Being the poor do it yourself-er that I am, I've decided that I am going to make a vibrating tumbler.

What is the general construction of typical tumblers?

As I understand it, you have a bowl connected to a motor underneath. The motor has an offset weight to cause the wiggling. The bowl/motor assembly is supported by some sort of spring suspension.

Is this basically it?

If anyone has any kind of input feel free to let it out.
I'd like to know any ideas on how I should attach the motor to the bowl and the bowl/motor to the main body.

 

[BigSlick]

If you're interested in a great solution for do it yourself types and think less than $35 total is worth the effort check this out :

http://www.bosesguns.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1580

HTH

BigSlick

 

[The Bushmaster]

Fumbler...Buy a tumbler...(er Vibrator). They just aren't that expensive and you will probably not have to buy another one for the rest of your life. Trying to make one out of what ever will cost you a whole hellofa lot more now and down the road. If you insist in making some sort of case cleaner you would have better luck making a tumbler rather then a vibrator. Motor, two pulleys (one small and one large), a fan belt, shaft, a drum and a base to bolt it all to.

 

[mtnbkr]

Get the Midway house brand tumbler and be done with it. It'll cost a little more than the parts for the project, but you'll know it works, have a warranty, and not waste time making something that may or may not to the trick.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=317981

My dad has one, so far, it's done the job.

Chris

 

[Chawbaccer]

How To

If you still want to do it yourself:

Solidly mount the motor to a plastic bowl.
Attach a counter balance on the motor shaft to throw it off balance.
Spring mount the motor, bowl assembly to a sturdy base.

If the motor has enough hp to give you a decent action you will be in business, make the counter balance adjustable to give you the best action.

I bet your motor is under powered and if it does work I bet the bearings go pretty quick.

 

[Fumbler]

I am aware of the low cost Frankford Arsenal tumbler.
That was the model I was going to buy until my girlfriend decided she wanted a lot of stuff for Valentine's day :banghead:

I'm definately going to make a tumbler, or vibrating tumbler.
All this will cost me is my time, I can get everything else from the shop I work in.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Hummmmm...Seems that Fumbler needs to re-establish the proper pecking order. Me, my hobbies, grandchildren, wife (girlfriend). In that order. Wife still spoiled.

 

[Fumbler]

It's not that I can't spend money on a tumbler, it's that I've wanted to try making one for a while so I might as well wait to see how that turns out before buying a good one.

 

[Black Snowman]

Sounds like a fun project. Even if it doesn't last long it will give you an idea of how much capacity you'd like to have.

When I bought one I ended up spending the little extra money for a bigger one, in particular a Lyman 2200 Auto-Flo. I'm glad I went large. I have filled it to capacity, and probably then some, on several occasions.

 

[Fumbler]

I was thinking I'd make this one small.
At the very most I will run 100 9mm, 50 357mag, or 20 308Win cases at one time..
That's all I'd need to keep myself busy with my Lee Handpress.
When I finally upgrade to a bench mounted single stage...or maybe a progressive...then I'll get a high capacity tumbler.

I'll post pics when I finish it, it will be a while though.

 

[Rabid Rabbit]

A friend of mine and I were talking last night of how to turn a clothes washing machine in to a tumbler. We might have something and figure the capacity to be some where around 10k 45 acp.

 

[rockstar.esq]

My take on this is going to be different than most since I ran an electric motor rewind shop. Your dorm room fan is most likely a 1/16hp motor that uses little brass bushings that are held in place by the plastic cast frame. The sort of thrust ( force applied perpendicular to the shaft ) that a counterweight would apply will certainly wear the motor bushings out in short order. You might think, well the fan only set be back $10.00 and you'd be right except that as you are running your new tumbler, heat will build in the motor because there isn't any cooling action due to the now missing fan blade. That heat won't simply make your dorm warmer in the winter, it will lead to a failure of the winding insulation which will put you at serious risk of a fire. Electrical fires are no joke especially if you are running this tumbler in your reloading area! The tumblers and case cleaners that you'd find on Midway etc. all have thermally protected motors which have significantly more robust bearings than your fan. Also, the case cleaners are set up with a bowl which makes the media/brass flow in a "doughnut" pattern which is more effective. I found a Frankford Arsenal case cleaner at a local shop for $40.00. Or roughly 3 dorm fans and one cheap fire extinguisher!

 

[happy old sailor]

rockstar.esq knows what he is talking about. it is not worth the risk. if your project does turn out, it will not last long. hardly worth your time and a possible danger to more than yourself. reloading is a good and safe hobby if safety boundries are not violated. if you want to do this just to see if you can, go ahead, just dont trust it.

 

[Fumbler]

Your dorm room fan is most likely a 1/16hp motor that uses little brass bushings that are held in place by the plastic cast frame. The sort of thrust ( force applied perpendicular to the shaft ) that a counterweight would apply will certainly wear the motor bushings out in short order. You might think, well the fan only set be back $10.00 and you'd be right except that as you are running your new tumbler, heat will build in the motor because there isn't any cooling action due to the now missing fan blade.

Already thought about that stuff.

The bushings are brass in cast metal frame. They are metal for sure (doesn't help the bushings though).
I have been thinking about digging up some bearings at work and just havent had the time (I haven't slept in over 40 hours...damn feasability studies...)..
If I ever get around to making it I'll have two bearings mounted on aluminum plates , the counterwieght in between, with a small fan blade blowing on the motor.