Hell of a deal!! Much simpler way of making a brass tumbler. Thank you!

Just one small tweak, glue on both pieces and then give a twist on assembly, that's what we did for water and sewer lines, the glue (solvent) actually dissolves the surface and both sides fuse together, but for your usage here your parts are plenty strong, love your channel

I love this tutorial video. you are blunt and humorous at the same time. awesome video. I am making several of these and will gear them to run simultaneously from an electric motor. thanks very much for this channel.

You are a bona fide Star...just what I wanted as well as the forge/kiln thingy. I just thought I'd have to buy a tumbler but you have probably saved me a fair bit of money there. Plus you're very entertaining to listen to. You take double entendre to a new level lol!

I did something similar last year for making black powder. Unfortunately mine was underdeveloped whereas yours is overdeveloped. I was ghetto and used drill bits and bb's for my medium. Great job man!

"This is where having a fence would be really nice." I was thinking, "This is where having a push stick would be really nice".

Definitely headed to get the stuff to make. Just got one idea for you. Instead of using a collar and a reduced insert, you can use a 4” to 3” reducer. By doing the reducer you will significantly reduce the cost of construction and make the jug easier to clean out.

Brilliant! I just used my homemade tumbler jar for the last time and I didn't want to make another one like it (only lasted about a dozen uses) but can't afford manufacturer made stuff. Just have to pick up the end fittings in the morning and I'll be back in business by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing. Like the idea of the lifters.

That’s freaking great! Well done!

This works great on my small rock and polisher tumbler. Well done on both of us bud. I sure hear you on clamps. I have over 2 hundred and still run out, LOL. The agitators are perfect and I don't get any chemical reactions to the rubber barrels. I save them for rocks now and do my silver in this.

Thank You, I now realize I have most of the parts. I have a large lyman roller case tumbler and I just need to build that will fit across the two rollers. Thanks

I almost could've sworn I was watching AVE... Nice work on the ball mill jar.

Nice barrel your right your a geek when it comes to pvc

One advantage to the Harbor Freight jars is that they are quiet. I built this jar and it is noisy. Sounds like rocks is a water pump; but it does do the job! I am going to build a box for it to muffle the noise. Thanks for the design!

Loving the channel!

Great trick for cutting PVC with a chop saw: Turn the blade around so the teeth don’t chip the PVC. Works pretty well for a plumber’s trick.

Great video, built one almost the same. Used an old skate board truck and rollers instead of a conveyor roller and a red, 4" soil line test plug to close it up. Just tighten the wing nut and you're ready to go.

been a plumber for 40 years. The only reason we use primer is because we usually have to put a 10 foot of water head pressure test for the inspection. You could more than likely leave the primer off. just be sure the pipe is clean. Plus the primer does no good if it been on the pipe for more than a couple of minutes. If you put the primer on and right after it dries you can feel the tackiness for the pipe. That's what makes the primer work for welding the pvc together. He did a good job. Really good videos.

Definitely going to build a couple.

Gracias por compartir tus vídeos un abrazo grande desde Argentina

Just made a version of this today but think I may redo mine to what you got it’s a little more thought out

Interesting concept! You do want to be careful when cutting plastic. I know a guy who had a kickback on a tablesaw. It broke the plastic into shards when it kicked back and instantly removed some fingers.

great work..could you show me how you fixed that ball mill with motor please

Someday I hope to do this when I get more $. For now, I've simply used a dollar store HDPE 5.5x5" round container. Does the job with lead media, but of course doesn't last and I really had to watch it... but for $1 and some spare foam wrapped around the outside to help with grip, it did the job. Thanks for your videos. I wish I could find a cheap source for PVC. All I have nearby are the big hardware chains and they only want to sell 10 foot sections.

Not all the technical jargon talk just straight this is what you do, and this is how you do it nice job and keep up the good work but I do agree with some of these other people and what they suggested for a static electricity inhibitor or some type of ground device to keep from having a substance unintentionally detonating or flashing depending on what you're working with

What an exceptionally good "how to" video that you have made here. This is better than some of your others and I've noticed you've increased the viewing time of this video because that's what a lot of KZfaqrs are doing lately, which apparently is the latest trend by you tube channel owners, which is fine by me. But anyway I love how you have really good camera angles showing every step of the way just an overall excellent job you have done thank you so much for this great "how to make a rotary tumbler video".666

Using fast drying cement will mean not having to leave over night. Great idea!

Just a idea: The balls are round, the lifters are cut square. On each lifter there is a dead corner where the balls do not have any chance to hit the material. Material falling into this corners at the lifters will not be milled. One can get your mill way more effective if the lifters edges having the same radius as the balls. In effect there will be no "dead space" where material can hide from beeing milled. Taking this to the top of no "dead spaces" within the mill, the lifters need to be round even at the ends where they touch the sidewalls of the container. How about that? In the end one need to have a container what does not have a single place where the milling-balls cannot get in direct contact with the container wall at all. ;-)

Now, not having tried this and basically stumbling over it while looking for a diy forge/kiln (only for melting small amounts of silver/gold and perhaps enamelling) I found this. I take it that I can use this as a tumbler to clean up metal I'm working on? I guess I better watch til the end before the daft questions (I know, women think differently from men and I sometimes approach things from a completely different angle to what would make sense to the average guy...but I kinda know what I'm aiming at and there's often method in my backwards approach (lol if you can't baffle em with brilliance, then confuse em with lots of words lmfao!) Seriously though you seem to have a lot of videos that interest me. I really just want a small kiln/forge for silver/gold, precious metal clay and enamelling. I have a cabin (its just about ready) with a small workshop beside it where I will be doing most of my metal work and anything hot or noisy that my neighbours in London wouldn't like. I also work in copper and bronze but these are usually confined to the precious metal clay. I need something where I can do lost wax casting and similar.

Do you have a video on the drive unit for the ball mill. I love you mill. would make a great rock polisher also.

THANKS FOR THAT VID . gives me some great points for mine I can finaly ditch my 2 rolling stones tumblers, which require 5 runs to make one kilo of bp which then I have to wet and rice ,which is a pain, since I don't have room for a large press . but it is what it is.

They make a 4" test cap that fits inside the pipe itself and tightens up by turning a wingnut. It works by squeezing a rubber disc between two plates. Bill of materials might be lower cost depending on your area. I'm going that route but haven't actually tested it.

I read about how to make an industrial tumbler out of a rear axle of a big semi truck with the rims and tires in place. You want to cut an opening in the highest part of the rim to load rocks. The article said a cover is not needed but I always thought if I was going to do one I would have a hinged door sealed with inner tube rubber. The idea is to set up a motor geared down so the tires rotates slowly and all the rocks stay in the lowest part of the tire at all times tumbling over each other. Each tire can hold about 100 lbs of rocks and you have 4 tires going at all times each one with a different grit. Always use same tire for the same grit. You rotate the rocks once a week and you have a 100 lbs of polished tumbled stones each week. I have been wondering if you could use quartz sand as grit for the first stage to do the rough rounding off? I am posting this on all videos about rock hounding to spread the idea, if this is you channel and you do not like that let me know. The fact that the tumbling will all take place in a rubber tire should help keep the noise down. The rocks should never touch the rim. I have suggested to people that they make a sound proof shed just big enough to be practical so the noise will be minimized. Plus the rubber in a tire is thick and should absorb a lot of the noise. Also you should have a small fan on the motor to keep it cool. A high quality motor will be a must as it will run 24 hours a day. I am no expert but with the proper gearing the motor should not be under too much stress. I would sell the tumbled stones. Once tumbled, you grade them by quality and type. Some would be really valuable. I bet you could average $10 usd per pound with just good found material and more if you have high grade material. Definitely not for the weekend rock hound but if you sell stones or want to, what a cheap way to start. You could tumble other people's rocks for a fee or shares too. You could make one with car tires for a smaller scale operation. There has to be a lot of people with a 30 year in the making, 3 ton pile of rocks out behind their house. With this they could see results from all that collecting.

SAFETY NOTE: DANGER ******* From my personal experience, I was doing the same thing you are, cutting the PVC. What happened was the pipe must have rotated a bit and the blade caught the pipe. The PVC literally exploded sending shrapnel all over the shop. One piece caught me just below my eye and one on my cheek. Some blood. So make sure to clamp the pipe so it doesn’t move.

What did you use with the aluminium powder in your flash powder mix? It was VERY lively. Keep 'em coming. Very nice videos.

2:30 "...Whatever this thing's called." **rips out label which describes the part** "Get rid of that!"

What a good design. The lifter do the job I am running 1 in. lead balls that I cast. I have for 25 years had bad performance with my black powder using the same size jar but no lifter in there. My 2FA is now shooting 6 and 8 in. shells 600 to 700 feet. The mixing that I never had BIG THANK.

THIS information is hard to get and this video is a good starting place. I found a book that contained about a dozen pages on milling with this type of mill in London England(only 3 other copies available that I found 2 in U.S., 1 in Canada). I built a ball mill about 5 years ago. The mediums that I grind are not limited to alumina and iron, but also include Flint, Kaolin's, and feldspars. My craft is pottery. I am starting with 50 to 325 mesh and need about 450 mesh products. The PVC pipe did not offer enough rigidity(too flexible as built in this and other videos). I cut the pipe and added enough couplers to get a double wall pipe. This cut my mill time by two thirds. The tumbler vanes inside did not work for my project, they kept grinding off round and became ineffective. I soon found the RPM on the mill and volume to fill the mill jar made all the difference in the quality of the finished product(no vanes needed). The ratio that I am using is one third each medium, product and (yes someone asked), one third air! The most critical factor is the inches per minute you are turning the jar. 60 RPM on a 4" and 44 RPM for a 6" jar works very well for me and you will need to experiment with your products(with some math you can come up with 1 speed drive that will turn both 4" and 6" at the same inches per minute or above RPM). Faster speeds work too slow and slower speeds did not grind at all. I never used the rubber PSI testing cap/cover. I used the screw on cap. If you do the screw on cap, make sure to put it on the mill so threads are turning in the clockwise direction(I had one that came open). For liquid products use Teflon tape to seal the screw on lid. I have jars from 8 ounces up to 2 gallons grinding volumes. The 6" 2 gallon(product, medium and jar) weighs in at 65 pounds when properly filled. I priced the 8 inch PVC and it became to expensive to build(6 inch end cap approx. $15.00, 8 inch cap was $55.00) OUCH!! One comment below brought up static discharge, YES it will happen. Make sure you are grounded!! If in question, ask an Electrician who is certified to take a look. Mine is grounded thru the electrical hookup. Just seem the easiest. Best of luck out there and always SAFTY first. Mickey

Dude! I found a new use for the old lady's treadmill. Doesn't work for her but it'll damn sure work for me😁.

Hmmmm I made a homemade tumbler thing this summer, but this looks much more efficient (and looks less like a paint can with rubber bands strapped around for grip)

that appeared so good... are you sure you can split alluminium untill get a fine dust? do you use alluminium foils? . Where did you get your steel balls? Thank you!

Hello. Had you ever tried a metallic tumbler? I have 4 inches pipes, and accesories... but I´m afraid about contamination. Any suggestion? Thanks. Great video.

How easy is it to get say black powder out of it as it has a thick ledge where the reduction is and how long does it last? Nice job, thumbs up.

Old video but use a bell reducer in place of the coupling and bushing. That gives you a funnel to completely empty the contents much easier. Also the fernco coupling makes it easy to seal and keep the mess down.

Awesome video! 1st let me just say I'm clueless about these things. I want to make a rock tumbler on a very tight budget using a furnace motor I already have. Will that be too much/large of a motor? You mentioned static in a recent comment. How does one ground themselves? And is there another affordable way to make a drum where static isn't an issue? Last... what is the weight capacity of your drums? Sorry for so many questions. I really am clueless. LOL! 🤣 I'm now retired and recently became interested in making jewelry from rocks/gemstones and need a tumbler. Thanks again for a great video! 👍

Stick on a sheet of contact paper shelf liner, with lines on it , to the band saw table, it to help line up fence

Nice build would like to have seen the tumbler a little more but can always rewind. Next time use your pliers in the right direction they work even better.

I was making on very similar to that and I decided it was too much. So what I did was just cut the PVC and put two test and plugs in them they're more expensive than the caps but they work awesome so all you really have to do is cut the PVC to size and you're done. I don't use any lifters and my aluminum comes out just fine so I don't know why I would do that but I digress

Great video in a "boltr ave kinda way"..

PVC glue works best if put on both sides of the joint

thanks I just finished my ball jars , I have a brand new 1/4 hp 110 electric motor i plan on using but ? what size pulleys and what do i need to control the speed ?? thank you Gary

Older video I know, but I've watched it a few times and have finally made a PVC jar. It looks like you have the low pressure cellular core pipes. This is what I used seeing as the solid core is difficult for me to find (I don't know why.) I guess if you have a jar for each chemical it isn't a big deal, but don't you have a difficult time cleaning those edges? I ended up sealing off the edges by loading it with primer (seems to partially dissolve it) and added a coat of cement over it. As a matter of fact, I actually ended up loading the whole damn inside with primer and cement to fill inevitable gaps between lifters / pipe fitting edges. Don't know if that was a bad idea. I think the PVC in the cement has other plasticizers in it making the final product a littler softer than the pipe / fitting PVC. I hope it doesn't wear off in a pinch. It does however seem to be very durable as it takes a bit of sanding to remove it (yes I made a mess.)

I was thinking about making four 6-in barrels for my ball mill out of 4 in pvc, then I read somewhere that somebody was concerned about the buildup of static electricity inside the barrel. Have you ever heard of that do you think it's an issue.

I know its old post but for anyone making one of these I found instead of using the outer rubber cap they make a "test plug" that goes inside the pipe that has a large wing nut, so no tools needed and keeps media in the drum and not in the opening. The cost was nearly the same. Also if you are creative you can split a piece of pipe then heat (just oven 220F for 10 min) and flatten it....cut the circle (I have a lathe) so you have a flush end cap and doesn't take up capacity. Then you don't have a bulky ends from the factory fittings.

Flip the saw blade, so it's spinning the opposite way. It will cut plastics and metal like a champ. No more chippy chip chip!

Cool 😎

ElementalMaker doesn't give a FUCK about hand shoes! Dope video man, I've been wanting to build a tumbler and after seeing this. Building one.

Itd work well with a lathe. Do a 5lb batch, no worries really. Static will be controlled when everyhting is grounded with a grounding rod in this case, you would go out of your way and run a wire direct

I have a choice of media between stainless 1/8 in. balls or ceramic 15mm balls. Which would be better for milling black powder? Thanks a million for sharing.

Coke or Pepsi works amazing for cleaning as well.

I was thinking of a similar setup with a similar motor for or the purpose of making antique muzzleloading propellant. My concern, some mill for up to 24 hours and was wondering if that motor would start to overheat when running for such an extended period of time. What is your experience with this setup so far?

Is the gluing necessary, or could you use a threaded rod through the middle and plates on either side to prevent the barrel from separating on the tumbler? Being able to separate at least once end of the barrel makes cleaning it out significantly easier and faster, particularly if you want to use one drum for multiple projects, especially when you don't want cross-contamination.

Having been in construction it brings to mind a question. Wont PVC build up a static charge possibly endangering the user on some compounds like BP?

Great Video, Just a quick question, how do you deal with static build up in the PVC while tumbling?

Hahaha you know what happened here lol thanks for the laugh new sub now

I made ball mill using a jar and electric drill, is it safe?

A piece of construction string pulled back and forth with some force cuts PVC pipe without making a mess of PVC shavings. You don't need to clamp the ribs in place, just apply hand pressure for a couple minutes until the glue sets up, literally, 2 minutes. The plastic will soften and the glue mixes with the melted PVC and it cures in a couple minutes.

How do you get all the material out of the jar? You glued in the reducers and created a wide shelf for the stuff to sit on when you try to dump it out.

Where do you find those little clamps?

How do you keep stuff out of the entrance hole since there's a space there between the lid and the cavity where everything is milled??? When you are Milling for black powder how do you keep the static down? PVC is known for creating static or at least holding static. Just curious. Have a great day and stay safe and keep your powder dry! I know this was four years ago but I certainly hope you read it.

I have this built now what did you use the tumbler

I wish you would have shown the completed mill in action how the tumbler worked with the motor. Do yoy have a video that shows the complete setup?

I wonder if angling the lifter bars would help even more, maybe even angling in alternating directions?

A clean out cap with a clean plug (flush fit or with the raised flats) would've been a far better option than using a reducer bushing, a short section of 3" and a rubber end cap. Even if the Clean out cap had some ridges on it you can sand or file them off and it would have the same OD as the couplings. Another option is to just use a 4" mechanical compression plug.

Metal liner would be nice. Milling aluminum to a fine powder is unlikely at a steel pvc interface. The milling is occurring when ball strikes ball. Milling time might be significantly reduced using something like one of those little fat camping propane tanks cut up as a liner....you can still glue in some liners.

Hey! Will you show us how to make the mill itself? 😬

I have got a 1l container for building a ball mill, and I am going to use it for grinding aluminium to powder. For 100g of aluminium, what size lead balls would I need, and how many?

Cool video. Noob here, but could this be done with ABS instead of PVC?

Would static buildup be an issue with using PVC? I'd be a little leery of combustible chemicals being ground in the mill if sparks might be a problem.

Nice ball mill. Do you think a fan motor would work with this type ball mill?

what type of webcam or camera are you using? it seems you have zoom how does it work? ever thought of a video on it. were did you get the bearings? how many do i use but i suspect you will say that in anther video. this is very interesting.

Building one with a DC motor that can run on a small solar panel to see if it will be more energy cost effective.

They have clear primer and it cost less. Purple color is just a dye used to check coverage by plumbing inspectors.

Where do you get brass balls at ???

Red hot blue glue might be better, it's made for higher pressure use.

Wondering if activated willow would work?

Can I use a screw cap and not the rubber cap you used?

Having a fence would be nice or even a tape measure

Will my rotary tumbler I use for cleaning brass work for making aluminum powder?

With the ball mill being made of PVC, do you see any concern of static buildup on the pipe that could spark something inside while it is tumbling? Do you think it would be wise to put maybe some grounded feathered wires that rest on the pipe as it spins to pull the charge off of it? Would hate to be grinding something down to a fine powder like and something cause a spark inside and blow it up, know what I mean?

Beautiful!! I love this video. The humor is a great addition. Cum Gutter is not my favorite libation...lol

Would pvc build a static spark?

Are glass marbles a good type of milling media?

Hey I love your new benchtop and I just wanted to make a side comment doesn't that PVC glue set up in about 15 seconds? that has been my experience anyway, I realize you have to push hard initially because of the "push out" as they call it on the can that you are using in this project. This occurs from the chemical reactions taking place between polyvinyl chloride as I'm sure you already know.I was just surprised you didn't just hold it in place for 30 seconds and then move on to the next rotary lifter fin. on the instructions for that particular can it says it's ready for complete full pressure after just 2 hours, I know because I just finished three projects back-to-back and all of them involved that particular glue. which brings me to my last point,...they do make another product which I eventually ended up using because it's clear and you don't need to prep the PVC it cleans it and glues it all in one step, it's called "Fusion single step" made by Oatly company and it only takes one pass with the swab, anyway that's all I have thank you I love your videos.

I bought a harbor freight one and can I use the motor and system that they gave me

Does actually the lifters improve the grinding performance? Does also lifters change the optimum ball mill speed or it should be the same?

what's the use of the balls or marbles or whatsoever?? is it the one used to powder the material?? can I use this improvised ball mill to powder wood??

some of the fittings you show I can only find in what is called 4 " pvc drain fittings. Is it ok to use sched 40 pipe and then use lower pressure 4 inch pvc drain fittings for the cap and coupler?

What do you do to negate static electricity in the PVC?