DIY Fiber Tumbler

Here are some pics of my homemade fiber tumbler. If  I compare my cost to the prices I see for similar machines, I saved somewhere between $1000.00 to $3000.00 building my own! To be fair that doesn't count labor or the materials I had and didn't have to buy specifically for this project.The materials I bought were; one 4x8 sheet of 5/8 plywood, 4- 2x2-8 ft. long, 4- 2x4-8 ft. long, and some nails. This stuff cost me about $92.00. I had on hand; 12 ft. of 1 inch hexagon wire, what we call poultry netting, some metal pallet banding,two bearings for

the drum, two other small shafts with bearings and pulley, three used v-belts, and a old used electric motor. This pic shows the arrangement of pulleys and belts to reduce the speed of the drum.The motor runs at 1725 rpm. and the drum turns about 26 times per minute. There is about a 67/1 ratio between the motor and the drum speed. This seems just about right, the fiber is carried up and drops just a little past top dead center. The arrangement of the pulleys allows an increase in tension on the motor to be transmitted to all belts thus keeping them all from slipping. This drum is 36 inches wide which was determined by the fact that the wire I had was that width. The ends are 48 inches across from point to point of the panels. A 2x2 goes across at each point. The door is framed with 2x2 also and fits between the frame 2x2s. I used the old pallet banding over the edges of the wire to help secure it to the edge of the plywood and also to cover the edges of the wire on the door. I used the term bearing very loosely , one of them is merely a hardwood block that is impregnated with used motor oil.

Here is a pic of  the inside of the tumbler, note the three large pole barn nail 'fingers' that help fluff up the fiber. There are 15 of these, somewhat randomly placed so that none line up with each other exactly.The door is held in on one end by two pins that align with holes in the door frame. Two short bolts thread into metal inserts to hold the other end.This allows the door to be completely removed so it is not in the way when removing fiber from the tumbler.The fiber shown in the drum is from Sandy, our guard llama.

Here is another view of the pulley setup. I will put a guard over the pulleys and we will give it a coat of varnish . Then all I have to do is find room to house it!