Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 Hello folks, After reading up quite a bit on trich extraction with ice and water and using tumblers, I thought I'd have a go at making a tumbler myself. The way I did it is certainly not the cheapest but it certainly didn't cost as much as a 5 bag ice system. Firstly here are the things I used: 1 4'x2' sht 3/8" MDF 1 BBQ rotisserie motor 1 1mtr length 12mm threaded bar 8 12mm nuts and flat washers to suit 2 roller bearings 1 sheet 12xx silk screen A load of super glue Some paint to stop MDF dust getting in me trichs!! Some tools are needed to do a tumbler like the one I made coz I was trying to make something that looked almost commercial.(Too much time on my hands I spose) I started by marking out 2 16" circles and the sides that were to support the whole thing. The circles were marked by using a pencil,a piece of string and a needle in the middle. Once I had marked out I cut very roughly around them with a jig saw and then screwed the two of each shape together to make sure they were the mirror of each other I then cut round them neatly as in the pic............ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Here are the support plates....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 I then drilled a 25mm hole thro the support plates while they were still screwed together. This will be the bearing housings.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 I had to shim out the 25mm hole coz my bearings didn't fit. For this I used paper and superglue. Next I cut out the pieces to go on the ends to hold the two support apart and make the whole thing rigid. They were: 2 8"x 4" 2 8"x 1" They are then glued together in an 'L' shape............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Once I had the two end pieces glued in an 'L' profile I went about glueing up the whole assembly with the spindle bolted up to hold the whole thing straight. I did this on a work top to make sure it was flat............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chip Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 Looks like a top bit of kit. What happened next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Once the frame was all glued up I moved on to the disks. While they were still screwed together in the middle I drilled 4 little holes spaced equally around the disk about 40mm in from the outside edge. At this point I seperated the disks and drilled a 1/2" hole in the middle of them for the spindle. I then cut 4 lengths of broom handle 6" long. These will be for making the agitators to stir up the trim. I glued and screwed them to one of the disks putting a fillet of PVA glue around to stop me trichs disapearing in the gaps............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Here is a dry run to check it all fitted together............. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 (edited) Once I had put in the spindle and screwed on the other disk and it had all set I went about marking out and cutting the trim recovery hatch! I used the bit I'd cut out to mark out the hatch cover on the remaining MDF and just enlarged it 1/2" all round the outside. I didn't take any pics of this but here is one I already prepared!...... The screws are 4mm all held in place with a tiny blob of superlue nipped up with wing nuts and washers and left to dry.......... Edited to say...I found a pic showing the brace I put in to support the stretching of screen....... Edited September 30, 2004 by Buddha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 cheers Chip, Please ignore the little disks in the centre of the larger disks...This is a fuckup I made by making the holes too big! Next I filed a square on the end of the 12mm threaded bar.............This took bloody ages and made my pinkies well sore...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Here is a pic with the bearings in place. I think it would work if a 1/2" hole was drilled through and used as the bearing surface but as I said earlier I really fancied trying to make the thing look pro as poss and it will tumble for years at 3 rpm!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Next I made the rotisserie motor mount which was some old wood I I found in the shed. I just hung the motor on the end of the shaft and superglued the wood around it and a spacer piece of the same wood underneath. A couple of bits of broom handle stuck on the side and it is all held in place by an elastic band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VRG Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 Looking real good buddha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Cheers VRG Next for the paint job to stop that nasty MDF getting to me trichs! I masked off around the recovery hatch to stop the cover plate sticking......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bu Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Next comes the messy bit! I checked to see if the superglue would attack either the paint or the screen. All was ok here so I went about Putting on the screen. Hold the screen against the outside rim of the disk and put a blob of superglue on the edge and spread it so it goes through to make a bond. Be careful not to get bonded yourself!! Once you have a bond the screen can be stretched around the outside edge of the disc and another spot of superglue about a 1/3 of the way round whilst keeping the tension on the screen. after this run abead around the edge then spread it in carefully with you finger. Once this is bonded stretch the screen tightly across to the other side and glue about 2 or 3 inches at a time and so on... My screen wasn't big enough and needed a join but this works fine if you keep the tension on. here is a pic of the join and the edges............ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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