Homemade Rock Tumblers

Gather Components

• The components you'll need are a solid baseboard, such as a piece of scrap wood cut to size; a nonbreakable cylindrical container, such as a coffee can, paint can or plastic jar; a rotary motor, such as a power drill or old washing machine motor; four small wheels for the container to spin on, such as inverted chair wheels with attachment brackets; a turnbuckle to attach to the cylinder; and belt and wheel to make a pulley device to spin the turnbuckle, unless you will be using a power drill for the motor--in which case a spade drill tip fitted into the turnbuckle will suffice.

Assembly

• Measure the cylinder, then mount the wheels to the base so the cylinder can rest horizontally, overlapping the wheels about an inch at each end. The two pairs of wheels should be spaced about two-thirds the width of the cylinder so it rests securely on the wheels when spinning. Mount the motor or drill at the opposite end of the base. If you are using a drill as a motor and a turnbuckle to spin it, mount it just far enough from the cylinder for the spade drill bit to fit snugly into the turnbuckle. If you are using a small motor, measure and mount the pulley and thread the drive belt between the pulley and the motor.

Setting Up the Tumbler

• Place the rocks you want to polish into the tumbler along with a coarse sand-and-water mixture. Tumble them until the rough edges are smooth. Remove the rocks from sand mixture and rinse them. Place them back into the tumbler along with grit and water, then tumble them again to polish the rocks.