Yet Another Wet Tumbler Build Thread!

After seeing all the pics couldn't help myself, I had to take a stab at building one. It's also given me an excuse to buy the drill press I've always wanted and to break out the Arc welder. It's always nice to have a trusty shop assistant, even f he doesn't have opposable thumbs.


Basic frame, based off of BiggDawg's design. I'm going to make a few modifications in design as I go along.


Wanted to raise the pillow bearings up a bit to clear larger diameter pulleys. I still need to weld a couple of uprights to the top bar to strengthen the middle section.


Cross pieces for the pillow bearings. I'll mark out the holes, drill then weld the bolts on to the bottom, then weld the piece itself to the frame.


My trusty assistant Bogey checking the progress.


I need to cut the rubber feet down.


Mock up with the bearings.


Finished all the welding on the frame and rubber feet have been cut to size. Sprayed on a few coats of Rustoleum Hammered Black which really helps to hide most imperfections.

I've always wished I were more handy so I can do things like that. Unfortunately, a hacksaw and a power drill thereabout sums up my mechanical skills

nice, I'm ready to build my own frame

I got my 4 from here, free shipping!

I mainly did it for this reason. Plus being where I am, final cost on a commercial product after shipping is
really expensive. For that amount of money, I can build something that's sturdier than stamped and folded steel.
Having built it, I know if anything should break I can fix it with a quick run to the scrap yard or hardware store.

Here's the motor I intend to use. 1/4hp 1750rpm capacitor start. Notice the problem? Yep no motor mount!



I had some 1/4" square stock lying around so I got to work and came up with this



Here's the mock up, I just need to fab a rear support so all the weight isn't held up by the front bracket

Thanks! And yes I believe it did come from some sort of blower system. I may need to find a fan to cool it but I'm having the hardest time finding one thats about 3-3.5" in diameter with a 0.5" bore.

Yeah I considered using plate steel but had no way of making the bend . Also, if i end up needing to cool the motor the plate type mount would obstruct the airflow.

A thought to add:
I dunno what the other side of the motor looks like, there's no view in the pix, but if there are no air vents in the motor housing - what's a fan gonna do? There's no flow-through, and just blowing air on a sheet-metal motor housing like that without at least adding cooling fins to blow across isn't going to give as much payback.
ETA: I added a CPU cooling fin array from an old Intel unit onto the top of a Dillon RT-1200 trimmer, and this is a similar config.

Other than that, it's just an all-around-nice-job.

Very nice work! Looking forward to seeing the completed unit.

What an awesome puppy.

Super job so far!!....more than a bit jealous! I'm getting real close to being sucked in on this wet/stainless tumbling movement. I even LOVE the idea of yet another "project" to start. I'm beginning to think I like building homemade reloading tools nearly as much as reloading ammo! My current nealy-finished project is a case feeder for my RCBS Pro 2000 (will be posting that project soon). Then I can either start getting serious about making my component stash small.......or start another project..... like a wet tumbler. But I have a dilemma.

My space, while adequate, is not limitless and a homemade tumbler like yours has a pretty good sized footprint...What's the WxL on your rectangle?? I'll have to do some serious changing in my lifestyle and space. Thumler's factory unit appears smaller. On the other hand, the Thumler unit's capacity is smallish. I'm tempted to just buy one....but I know d..mn well I'm not going to be satisfied with capacity.....so what's a man to do??? Another factor is the tumbling "barrel." I'm not real satisfied with ANY of the them yet. Waterproofing seems to be a problem for some, and even Thumler's is kind of a pain to have to bolt and unbolt it.......a bit slow.

And then there's cost? I realize that you won't be factoring in your time on that, but that 1/2" shafted 1/4 horse motor, plus the square tubing, plus the pillow blocks, and the pullies ain't exactly cheap. Then you got whatever you build your barrel out of. Large sized PVC is pretty pricy unless you can find a free source of throwaway pieces. I'm still looking for other possible options there.

Anyway, good look with this very cool adventure! Will be watching!

Hmmmm, wonder what the possibilities would be, mounting the unit end-wise to a wall....hinged to it. The idea being to drop it against the wall when not in use.