Details: jonathansantos.com/homemade-6l... Identifying the wear points of a Harbor Freight Rock Tumbler to create a professional grade, heavy duty rock tumbler.
For the backup and for any Harbor Freight Tumbler, to stop the rubbing, buy 1 inch diameter self stick felt pads, stick one on the I side of the frame on each side so the aluminum lid will rub up against them. Clean the lids very well and start rolling. Mine has lasted for two years and still no issues, cheap fix, about a dollar at the dollar store. No engineering, no worrying about slope, sick them and wipe the off on occasion.
So for all the time, expense, and engineering you could just take the stock tumbler back to Harbor Freight any time ( if!) you have a problem and they will give you a new one no sweat. With a little maintenance The HF tumbler will last years. Stick it in the corner of the garage and you wont even realize its running.
Great job Jonathan! You have taken your great idea and replaced the bearings because that will wear out over time. Why not replace Harbor Freights two tiny tumblers with a larger single barrel to do a bigger job. With your 1/4 hp motor you could do a bigger job in the same amount of time. Spread your rotating arms out further to accommodate a lager barrel. What were the diameter sizes of your pulleys? I like your ideas!
Thanks Larry. If you look closely, there are two more sets of holes in the frame to allow for two further spacings. It will run one of the large Thumler red octagon barrels with ease. Thanks for the interest!
Thanks Larry! The reason I didnt go for the larger Thumbler class barrel was the same reason I made this thing, no cash! Tried to buy a used read hex Thumbler with the wing nuts at the Tucson Mineral/Gem show and he still wanted $60. There is that thrill of scrap Frankensteining to life mostly.
Bravo.......got one going my self........dc worm drive......runs solar.....big screw on thermos or 5 gallon water container .....polyurethane ribs on inside ......cheers.....
how long does it take for the original rock tumbler to wear out ??1yr..2yrs..3yrs?? even after 2yrs/24months and the tumbler is say $75,that is a bit more than $3 a month.just buy a new tumbler and keep the old for spare parts if there are any.
po dunc - this was never an exercise in budgeting, I invent for fun. I 100% agree with you if that was the goal. I can watch something I made that was well designed for hours, adding a second dimension to the love of rock tumbling!
I wonder how long the wood pulleys will last. They seem to be a little wobbly. My end goal is to make a cabinet tumbler so I can run a bunch all at once. The barrels are so freaking expensive though.
Its been 4 years. Wobbly cause I didnt use a drill press. Other than that - there is no real points of rubbing friction... if the tension is right and the belt isnt slipping. Looking at them now, guessing 10 years
If my calculations are correct it looks like it is spinning about one rotation per second or 60RPM. Would you say about 45RPM is a good ballpark or would you go even less RPM?
I have a HF tumbler that has run a ton of rocks for three years with no problems at all. I do dip my finger in oil and rub it on the wear point on the drum lid and have yet to replace the plastic wear tabs. Maybe I am just lucky lol. Havagudun my friend.
Seriously all of you trying to reinvent the wheel, it's not that complicated, take a plastic card fold it in half and drop it in the end opposite of the motor, the card is the same size as the radius of the barrel, you don't need a welder or drill or skateboard wheel or shower door wheels none of that, the bands will delaminate and split, so use a large O ring instead.
That motor is not going to last for long. I've got one of these Harbor Freight tumblers, and they are absolute trash. I've bought three new belts for it in the past year and now the bushings have worn out. It's made to use on little Johnny's new rock polishing hobby for the approximate week he will be interested in it, and not much else.
The replacement Fasco 1/4 motor I used has a little over 4,700 run hours on her w/60% of the brushes left. I'm not making any claims - just having fun with what looks like another 3 years of run-time (belts, about one a year).
