Choosing a tumbler

[GloomySparker]

Hi hubbers,

I am looking for a tumbler and do not really know where to start and what is really important.

The goal is to finish @ColorFabb special materials like bronzeFill, copperFill, …

I found this tumbler on Aliexpress and do not know at all if it will fit my needs.

Tumbler on Aliexpress

• What is your experience?
• Is the biggest the best (will it need more polishing balls for a big volume even for a small object)?
• What is the size of the objects you use to polish?
• How do you polish your objects?
• Do you know ressources on Internet?
• …

Thanks a lot for your help and have a great… print!

[themba]

I not an expert myself, but I have seen people on youtube use old paint cans and stuff like that to make very cheap/quick tumblers.

The results look pretty good. Instead of beads they often use M3 nuts or small nails or something similar… If you feel advanterous you could give it a try.

[GloomySparker]

I understand this philosophy and will surely test it one day… but, as a professional service provider, and because a small tumbler is not that expensive, we will buy one in order to have a good starting point.

Thanks for your help.

[Joerg_4]

Hi,

why not printing one (almost)?

Here is my self designed rock tumbler which performs pretty well. After tumbling I finish all items with a buff wheel + sometimes a piece of cotton cloth for the final finish:

Affordable Rock Tumbler

hth

Cheers,

Joerg

[GloomySparker]

Ah… @Joerg_4… I just remind your Instructable I read a few months ago and you convinced me to order the parts… The only thing I did not order yet is the PVC container. Which size is yours? Where did you find it?

I also have some other questions:

• do you have any other photo of your polished prints?
• was it a problem to put those little Marvins in that big PVC pipe? (more polishing material needed?)
• do you use only brass screws?
• how much is it noisy?
• is the filaflex part needed? for which purpose (noise? quality?)?
• how thick are your shells?
• and so more to come…

Thanks a lot for your help

[Joerg_4]

well, here in Germany every hardware store sells these PVC pipes in different sizes.
My container is 150mm in diameter, but the frame design allows to use smaller or even bigger containers

here are my answers to your questions:

• do you have any other photo of your polished prints?
  yes, but only one: https://3dhubs.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/IMG_2262.jpg
• was it a problem to put those little Marvins in that big PVC pipe? (more polishing material needed?)’
  no problem, just add more polishing stuff. It would have been wiser to use a smaller drum, but I’m lazy
• do you use only brass screws?
  no, I also used stainless steel balls, ceramic pyramids and walnut shells, but brass screws performed best.
• how much is it noisy?
  loud you don’t want this machine near your living room.
• is the filaflex part needed? for which purpose (noise? quality?)?
  yes, without it doesn’t work, because this makes sure that everything is mixed well. Nevertheless it can be made of regular PLA, it’s just a little bit louder compareed to flex PLA
• how thick are your shells?
  0.8mm
• and so more to come…
  I’m prepared

[GloomySparker]

@Joerg_4, thanks A LOT… It really helps!

I will come later if I have some more questions!