WARNING: This is quite primitive and agricultural looking, but is in the 'proof of concept' stage before full scale production.
A mate and i were trying to think how we could make a parts tumbler just from stuff at home. We started by pulling an old oscillating fan apart. We pulled the connection off the "oscillation" shaft which meant it could spin 360 degrees - this shaft spins much slower than the main shaft so was seen to be more suitable for the task at hand.
Used some superglue and 'knead it" (hard setting putty that is awesome stuff) to plug a few bits up so there would be no slippage (fans sometimes just 'click' if there oscillation is stopped). Then got a bit of 3/8 fuel line, slipped it over the shaft, put a bolt through a bottle cap and there you go.
Mounted all this to a bit of timber, and then zip tied my wife's roller blades upside down to mount the bottle on. All supported by an upside down old piano stool!!!
In summary there are some notable features of the Kraig and Rob Amusement Parts Tumbler (hereon referred to as the KRAP Tumbler)...
Flexible tangential outer orbital driveshaft
Frictionless non servicable roller bearings
Adjustable inclinometrical level system (see castors under piano stool)
See through canister to monitor progress
Quick release tumbler connection
Now that all that rubbish is out of the way, i need some advice. The bits i threw in for a trial did not come out as clean or shiny as i expected - admittedly the larger posts were quite dirty. I put a dribble of Brasso in there - is this right or wrong or is there something else i need in there. The machine was rotating around 1 rev/sec which i thought would be about right. The stuff was in there for around 30 hrs. Let me know if you have any advice....otherwise the KRAP tumbler may have to be flushed!!
