[Jake von Slatt] of the Steampunk Workshop is at again, this time refurbishing a cheap vibratory tumbler that had died after just one project.
The original Eastwood tumbler looked nice, but obviously didn’t go through much life-cycle testing at the company that designed it. Upon taking it apart, [Jake] discovered that the bearings in the motor were shot — after only a few hours of operation! Because of this he decided to start from scratch, keeping only the bowl, lid, and of course, the tumbling media.
[Jake’s] redesign makes use of Volkswagen brake drums for a very heavy duty base, a custom machined ball bearing plate made out of scrap aluminum, a flexible motor coupling made by welding a heavy spring onto two shafts, some more springs to balance the bowl, and a reclaimed dryer motor. It might not look pretty, but we think it’ll last a wee bit longer than the original.
He’s calling it his latest feat of post-apocalyptic engineering by using only parts on hand, and while we’d have to agree that his use of scrap material is impressive, we’d like to see him be able to power his rebuilt Bridgeport Mill off the grid when the apocalypse hits!
As always, he’s made an excellent video describing the project — don’t forget to check it out after the break.
It is way too late. I read the title as “refurbishing a vibrator” and now i sit here kinda unsatisfied…
I can confirm that the ones Harbor Freight last longer :-)
Really? Because I’ve had a tumbler from Harbor Freight that didn’t even survive through one project.
The only good thing about Harbor Freight is that they’re generally very good about returns. They have to be, I suppose, given the shit quality of the stuff they sell.
You wouldn’t believe how many notes of disappointment I got that I wasn’t starting a “Tumblr of DIY Vibrators.” Clearly there is a demand, somebody should get on that.
Don’t you have a steam-powered one?
I suspect you’re thinking of this: http://hackaday.com/2009/05/03/steampunk-vibrator/ which we did cover on Steampunk Workshop and caused some complaints to the tolerant folks at Make: when it was displayed in our space at Maker Faire in 2009. :D
There are lots of widely available models to choose from. Kick start, electric start, as an added value, they can transport one or two people from place to place!
I’ve got the same tumbler and it died one month after the warranty ran out, but at over $200 I didn’t think it was cheap! Great conversion for a lousy product