I saw some plans for one on the internet at
I am looking for plans on how to build a vibratory tumbler. Anyone
know where I can find one?
Thanks!
Andrea L. McLester
http://almclester.netfirms.com
I saw some plans for one on the internet at http://www.geocities.com/bobnotbob
Cute. You’d want to do a bunch of scrounging for parts and the motor,
to keep costs under the estimated total for the homebuilt unit
pictured on that site, since as listed, the estimated cost is almost
$500. I’ve seen the smallest size commercially made units go for
slightly less than that…
or the vibratory tumbler, just take a pillow block bearing set, with
shaft, mount a pulley on one end to be driven by a motor of your
choice, and an eccentric weight on the other end. The assembly with
the pillow block bearings is attached to the portion of your device
that mounts the tumbler bowl (use a commercially made one). The
motor can then be mounted on the rigid base, to save it from the
vibration and stress of an eccentric weight on the motor shaft itself.
Other than that, the things are not complex. For smaller sizes,
just mount the motor to the assembly holding the bowl, and put an
eccentric weight on the shaft of the motor. This will wear out the
bearings on the motor slightly more quickly, so use a motor you can
eventually afford to replace. If you look around at the commercially
made vibrating tumblers, you’ll notice great variety in the layous
and designs, especially among larger ones. That should suggest to
you that there are few critical concerns in the design, other than,
perhaps, the speed of vibration, which can be adjusted by the size of
the pulleys, or for the direct version, the amount of weight on that
eccentric thingy.
Or, buy one on ebay. Probably can find a used one there for less
than the fuss and bother of trying to build one.
Peter Rowe