Tumbler Technique

[studabaka]

Well I just finished my new tumbler and it seems pretty slick if I do say so myself. It's a 4 footer. I'll have to take a pic and post. [do we post pics the same way as ..... or is there a new trick I need to learn?]

Anyway, I have read various approaches on tumbling technique. Some say wait till it dries before tumbling. Some say put it in damp with hardwood saw dust. Some say put it in slightly damp without saw dust to break it and then add sawdust to clean and shine the fur...... So what is the best way?

[FinsnFur]

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Tumbler Technique

Everything you described will work as far as I'm concerned.
I normally hang the hides to dry after 24 hours of sweating in a folded position. I usually let them hang for another 24 hours, depending on humidity etc, but I break them by hand twice or so during that 24 hours.
It's pretty easy to do too, because they are still some what damp.

When they are dry to the touch but clearly not totally dry, they go into the tumbler with hardwood sawdust.
4 hours inside out, and 4 hours right side out.

Once they come out of there, they go into another one without sawdust to tumble the access dust out of the fur and fluff it.

[studabaka]

Here it is.......



Now.... what kinda sawdust do you use and where do you get it? I'm still looking around here for a source, but while a couple of guys run saw mills, they don't store it under cover and they are obviously milling green logs. I also found a cabnet maker would would love for me to take the bags from his dust system. Size ranges from dust to shavings and includes various hardwoods including a fair amount of mahogany. Not sure if it will affect the color of the hide[?]

[FinsnFur]

Ey, I like that!....I like that a lot.
What'd you use for the rounded sides..?..looks like glassboard.

Saw dust with a nice resin coating for cleaning the fur is available through VanDykes, here's a Link
But you'll find a wider selection if you picked up one of their catalogs.

I buy mine from a local feed store. Who ever they buy there shavings for bedding, has nice clean, bagged, hard wood saw dust.
The key is hardwood.

[studabaka]

Funny story....funny now anyway...... I first tried to wrap it with 1/4" plywood. The farther I progressed the more groaning it made. Got about a 3rd of a sheet screwed on and it literally exploded. I then went looking at HD and Lowes to find something that would work. Found this stuff used for covering walls in utility rooms/etc. Think it is some kind of fiberglass. It was very easy to wrap around and yet very rugged.

Thanks for all the help and inspiration....... step by step.

[FinsnFur]

Yep, it's glassboard. We use it inside milking parlors and the like when were setting up new dairys.
But it's only 3/32's thick. How'd you reinforce the sides?

[studabaka]

The two circular sides are joined together by 8 baffles. Four of them are 2x4 and 4 are 2x8 [actually two 2x4 as I had a bunch handy]. I ripped 1/2" strips from a 2x4 and screwed through the strips, through the glass, and into the baffles. The sides are 3/4" Plywood and the width including the sides is 48". So the glass lined up with the outside of the sides. Initially I thought I would need to screw all along the sides, but once secured to the baffles it became very solid, so all I did was caulk around it inside and out. The door is simply some ripped down 2x4 sandwiched between pieces of 1/4" plywood and sized to fit between two of the baffles [with a little trim so it sits flat and doesn't fall in.] Still need to upgrade the door hardware, but got impatient. Getting all the belts and pulleys worked out so the drum turns at about 18 rpm off a 1 horse turning at 1725 was an interesting excercise, but after a little tinkering it seems to work well. I ran it for about 8 hrs today and it just purred.

[FinsnFur]

I love it.
Now you got me wanting to add one like it to my collection.

If you read my article, your aware of what I went through to gear it down. I might end up adding a nice wide one like you got there, let's talk about how you geared it down. Git your camera back out, I want to see some pics of the motor set up.

[studabaka]

Here are a couple of pics of the gearing....





The intermediate pulley shaft is on a sliding base that lets me slide it up/down to adjust belt tension on the drum pulley and the motor is on a prefab base that slides/adjusts via a bolt. It's working fine, but if I were to do it again I would make the pulley on the side of the drum just slightly smaller than the diameter of the drum which would allow me to use larger pulleys on the motor and intermediate shaft, which should provide greater grip when running big loads. I can always upgrade it if that turns out to be a problem, but it wasn't when I ran 4 beaver together in it yesterday.

[FinsnFur]

Does the shaft that the drum is suspended on go all the way through your drum?

And....what did you use for a pulley on the drum itself, in the picture it almost looks like wood.

[studabaka]

The shaft does not go through. it's 1 1/2" galvinized pipe screwed into faces plates that are bolted onto the sides with carridge bolts and mounted into pillow block bearings. The pulley on the drum is wood. It's plywood with a beveled edge done with a router. The idea is actually from a Riddel design I picked up a ways back.

[centerfire_223]

Man you could get about 6,000,000 pieces of brass in that rascal at one time...

Why do you want to tumble the furs?

[studabaka]

Tumbling the fur helps to 'break it' after it's tanned. It is much easier than doing it by hand and gets them softer as well as shining and fluffing the hair.

Why would you tumble brass? To shine it up?

[bigben]

it puts a good finish on the metal. 

My father just got done buildin a 10ft tumbler for a local tannery.  I will try to snap some picks tommarow.  the shop is closed up now.

[FinsnFur]

the shop is closed up now.

Where is the tumbler at?       $$ $$

[bigben]

these are pics of the wet drums.  the tumblers are bigger and located elsewhere in the facility.  I will try to get pics up as soon as possible.  our dig camara doesn't have batterys in it right know.  hopfully tommarow.  the greenish ones are the ones my father and I made.  they stand about 10ft tall.  the tumbler has a 600lb gear reduction unit we are mounting up.  I forget what type of motor.  but this tumbler is headin down your way I believe jim.  kentucky or tennessee.  the pics of the shop in the pic is from gettysburg pa etters region.

[FinsnFur]

I like! 
How were they set up to remove the skins?

Looks like the drive system is set up much like the way I did my little one.
I gotta make me one of those 

[bigben]

see the hole.  that is how they bring em out.  the dry tumblers have a door on em like the one studabaka made. 

[FinsnFur]

How in the heck do they fetch em out that hole? The drum must me on a slight incline to float the skins that way...???

Or do they send a guy in ??
...Hey! has anyone seen Bill?  :shck: Where'd Bill dissappear to.

[bigben]

I think they use a big stick to pull em forward.