Poor Boys Tumbler

[IndianaSmith]

I shall dub thee "The Penny-Pincher Clad Cleaner"....by Indy Redneck Industries. I wanted to see what I could come-up with that was laying-around.


Here's an empty container that once held Betty Crocker (cream cheese) cake icing. Sadly I had to empty it to use the container, but thankfully I had some graham crackers on hand (we all have to make sacrifices). It is water-tight (I checked 1st). Drilled the center of the bottom, added washers on bth side, sealed with silicone, and a 1/4" X 2" carriage bolt. I double-nutted the bottom to be sure it wouldn't come loose.



I also made a slightly larger one, from a lemonade container, which has a screw-on lid. This one I'd used a larger flatwasher underneath (for added support), as the smaller one was thinner at the bottom & "drooped" slightly due to the weight of coins, water, and aquarium gravel.


Chucked it into a 1/4" variable-speed drill, added a velcro strap to the trigger (for "cruise control") and it's tumbling as I type.


Now, before anyone laughs at me I wanted to see how "cheaply" I could come-up with something. If you had to buy this, I'd say you'd have $1 in it if you have a drill & suitable container.

I have taken "before" pics of pennies, and silver-clad (which I am tumbling seperately), and will post them as well as "after" pics once they're done . I have no idea how long it'll take, as this is my 1st time tumbling coins.

Stay-tuned.......

Smitty

[echostar61]

Good Job,I knew it would turn out fantastic 8).
Terri

[IndianaSmith]

Well, I was hoping to post some "after" pics. This will definately work, but I ran into a small problem.

The drill I used is a $10 cheapie, and at that low of an PRM it won't hold a constant speed (it speeds-up & slows down on it's own), so I got tired of "babysitting" it last night. I think I may try another method to control the speed, just to see if I can infact get it to clean a few batches of coins.

Smitty

[N.J.THer]

If you have a bench mounted grinder/polisher that should work.

[daaaveman]

I use an old ice-cream maker to tumble in. Slightly modified.... Works fine. It's noisy so I leave it out on the deck when it's going.

[SC_hunter]

Gotta say Smitty..that is a good idea. When my $5 kids rock tumbler dies, which it will...I will have to give that a try. Good job.

[IndianaSmith]

I use an old ice-cream maker to tumble in. Slightly modified.... Works fine. It's noisy so I leave it out on the deck when it's going.

It's funny you mentioned that. I had that thought, and wondered if anyone had tried using one.

SC- I haven't even fooled with it again. If you can find a way to control it at a constant speed, let me know. I took the motor out of an old microwave, that drives the "turntable", it seems to have lots of torque & low RPM, I just haven't gotten around to adapting it to turn a drum. FYI- I had a buddy that did appliance repair, he told me there's a "powertube" inside a microwave that can deliver a very nasty jolt. The motor I got was underneath the bottom.

lol, I have however started a slightly larger version. It's a 5 gal bucket, I'm currently looking for an old BBQ rotisserie motor to operate it. I have the drum mounted to rotate, just need to connect a drive to it.

Smitty