Larry:

I built a large tumbler from a 55gl drum w/lid and a couple 1 1/2 angle iron lifting lugs insite. It's set up on a old barrel rack they were tossing at work. I set it up with five wheels, four to carry the barrel and one to keep it on track.

The drive is a 1/2hp elec motor on a hinged bracket underneath. The belt goes through a jackshaft and the final belt goes around the barrel. Final RPM is 35+/- just about perfect.

I should probably go take some measurements and a couple pics for the BP section. It's really a simple set up and works pretty well.

To hold down noise and get some extra life from the drum I painted the inside with bedliner paint I got at a garage sale for a couple bucks. It's still loud but nothing like the bare barrel.

I'm using the Loretone to make yard rocks "pretty" for a walkway. Dad, a long time rockhound with a huge collection of semiprecious to precious stones, cut polished and displayed, would turn over in his grave if he knew I was selecting by the old, "green goes in this bucket, red goes in that one" system.

Frosty

Went to the dump

I should be in the shop. I'm stoked.

Great score Mark. It'd sure have me doing a HAPPY dance seeing as I still need to run power to the shop.

That is electrical conduit and not water line you realize?

I don't know if it makes a difference but it might.

Frosty

Hey Chris ,I think I've heard that song, he brings home parts from all different types of cars and makes an Oldsmochevybuicklac,

Mike, that sounds great, might take me a while to get the 6x6 PT poles and I haven't finalized a plan yet but it's for sure going to happen before winter. I've got your calipers in the truck waiting on Bob W.

Thomas, sounds like living in that house wouldn't feel quite right 'til after 5 oclock. LOL

no he makes a 30 diff. yr. caddy cause he works at the caddy factory

Frosty, I'd love to see a BP on making a 55 Gal. drum tumbler.

Yeah I`s love to see a Bp done one it !!!!! I used have a small tumble :rolleyes:

A neighbor was cleaning out the barn, and these odds and ends followed me home.

Frosty,.........it appears we are both driving the same truck.
I put a dent in the tailgate........sorry!:)

I don't know James I don't see A dent in your tailgate or mine for that matter. Seriously how COULD you tell if you put A dent in it? I mean I'd have to do a lot of repairs to only have A dent in mine!

Okay, I'll start on a BP of the 55gl drum tumbler.

I may not get a pic of mine as it's buried and I'm still restricted to lifting 10lbs or less with my left arm. I'll do Sketchup drawings and maybe even put in some dimensions.

Frosty

Chris, I'm going to go to itunes to refresh my memory,it's been a long time since I heard that song.

Frosty, The funny part about the conduit is I'm an electrical contractor and this was from a supply house I don't frequent much. I don't think it matters that I use it as water pipe, it's for irrigation only on my property, it wouldn't be a good idea in a mixed untilty trench or a situation where it could be confused for electrical.
When it's time to run your electrical it's to far for me to drive in a weekend, but if you have any questions that I could help with feel free to ask.

I had a thought on the barrel tumbler.. what if you used contact cement and lined it with carpet?

A tenfoot peace of Re-bar came home last time i went out

There are a number of things you can line a tumbler with, inside or out. I suppose carpet would work, I just had a gallon of bedliner paint for really cheap.

Keeping the noise down only needs some felt glued to the outside or a shed of it's own if putting it a long ways away doesn't cut it.

lining the inside was to hold down on wear but for the regular price of bedliner paint buying a new barrel ($15 ea. around here) every now and then makes a lot more sense.

A plastic drum would stand up to the wear and tear a lot better than steel, be quieter too. I don't know if they're available with the removable lid though. Attaching the lifting lugs becomes a matter of bolting or riveting. You also need to fab a door, hinges, latch(s) and such.

Still, no big deal.

Frosty

Edited May 13, 200818 yr by Frosty

These pieces followed me home yesterday, courtesy of craigslist. I had to spend a little on them, but not too much, really. Gas for the trip was about $10, so I'm not too deep into them with the purchase price.

I need to fab a tuyere for the firepot, unless I can find an original. Any ideas on fabricating a tuyere would be appreciated.

are those bolts or studs in bootem of that fire pot if there bolts i would take them out and find a pice of pipe the right size to fit the bottem of the fire pot and weld some bolts to the side and put nuts on form the fire pot side cut escess off the bolts. if there studs i would weld some ears on the side of the pipe and put nuts on the bottem side.

These pieces followed me home yesterday,

Nice yard KK. :D

I've used exhaust tubing for the tuyere on my coal forge.

Really easy solution if you have a mig.

Frosty

Nice score KeyKeeper! I have a blower like that one, sorta on a permanant loan from a friend, I just need a reostat switch for it. Get a tee for the tuyere and if needed a reducer to weld to the branch of the tee for the air intake. Cut a donut for the flange to bolt onto the firepot, cut a plate and hinge it at the bottom of the tee for an ash gate. You can weld a length of bar onto the bottom of the ash gate giving you a handle to dump the ash and the weight of the bar will keep the gate closed. (this will be running with the hinge side.)

RBrown: Those are carriage bolts. They came out real easy. The bottom slots in the firepot would require a 6" pipe to cover them, the bolt holes are about 7" center to center. I'll probably try to find a large black iron bell reducer coupling to build into a tuyere. I found one that goes from 6" to 3" online, will try locally. Fab up and weld on some ears to bolt it on. Then use a 3" tee for air and ash cleanout/dump. At least that's what I'm thinking at this point.

KevinD: Thanks. My domestic engineer had just mowed it while I went to pick up the firepot and blower. Love that woman! (She is really supportive of my blacksmithing endeavors.)

Thomas Dean: Thanks. The air grate is sort of bubble shaped. Will take a 6" tee to cover it. Do they make a 6" tee? I was thinking bell reducer to match the shape of the bubble, then tee for the air and ash.

Edited May 15, 200818 yr by keykeeper

21 nice new raiload spikes came home with me today. 13 or 14 of the HC's..I can easily get more but this will do for now :p

That would work great also. Pictures when complete, right? And yes they do make large tees. We have 2- 36" tees in our laydown yard now. They were for a job that got canceled, also about 80' of 36" pipe....sure would make on heck of a gasser!!:)

Keykeeper
I did one like that one time that I found at the dump
I used a Tee that was 6 " on each end and 3 " going out the side.
I used black cast iron sewer pipe fitting and just welded it together.
If that blower is a champion 50 then you have really got something there.

Mike Tanner

Mike: Yep, I think it is a 50, marked on the side near the bottom. So, it's a good one, huh? I need to figure out how to wire it up. Do I need a rheostat, or just wire it straight?

Thomas D: Sure would like to see a gasser that big, the burners would be huge!

-aaron c.

Keykeeper

Nice Blower. That should be a universal motor (brush type), designed to run on a rheostat. A light dimmer switch or a fan rheostat will work, but you may have to replace it every few years. I use one of those old ceramic rheostats on my Buffalo, which has a similar motor. These rheostats show up on Ebay all the time.

Definitly would be a BIG gasser, and you would need to hook it up direct to a gas well to supply the fuel! IIRC, you can get 15-20amp reostat switches at the big box stores to use on this type of blowers. I just need to wire mine up but the problem is with the blower I have the wires were cut off less than an inch from where they go into the motor! The big DUMMY! :(

Keykeeper
I havent used one before but I know several guys that swear by them.
I have bought several for them off of ebay.
These guys are pretty old school and dont do computers.
They all use the old reostats on them.
It should be a very strong quiet blower from what they tell me.
Great find

Mike Tanner

I have a similar Buffalo blower (2" outlet) and motor but use a modern motor instead. I choke the intake to regulate air though I do have an electronic cycleydoodle rpm controller for induction motors but power drops with rpm.

For all the hassle of finding a 6" cast iron fitting to adapt for your tuyere you might consider the exhaust pipe option. Nobody but NOBODY has noticed what mine is made from even when they looked. The only thing that'd give it away in an obvious manner is my use of a flapper exhaust cap for the ash dump.

It's fast easy, cheap and looks fine.

Frosty

I just need to wire mine up but the problem is with the blower I have the wires were cut off less than an inch from where they go into the motor! The big DUMMY!

The other problem with some of these old motors is the wire insulation is usually cracked and flaking off where the wire passes through the case. I usually go inside the case and clip the wires there and solder on a new piece of wire to extend outside the case and use some shrink tubing to insulate it. Sometimes there is enough room to use wirenuts inside the case if you don't want to solder it.