biggdawg

7" will be close you are running a larger shaft than i run -- i run 5/8 shaft with 6" on it and 1.5 on the motor. for your combo i would run 1.5 and 7" but that is me i have learned you don't have to spin them as fast for them to work.

many guys have built them with treadmills but you need to keep all the controls from what i have seen. as far as parts list goes for my tumbler it is on the first and second pages. for a treadmill tumbler i would google it it has been done many times. i just haven't done it.

i use 13" of pipe for the large drum. the idler bearings get on ebay they are 1/4x3/4 bearings.

i use 7lbs in a 1 gallon and 12 lbs in a 6" 2 gallon and 15lbs in an 8" 2 gallon.

8" of 6" pvc with caps makes about a 1 gallon drum and 15 3/4" makes about a 2 gallon drum

if it works for you without then you don't need them. i did my testing with a clear container and with out agitators and the brass and pins just stayed on the bottom and didn't clean very well.

the problem of using the 5 gallon pail is the ends are 2 different sizes. i have had several guys try but they end up building or buying a drum.

they are 6" caps that i use becaseu i use an 8 to 6 reducer i get them on amazon http://www.amazon.co...ils_o02_s00_i00 bigdawg, I may have screwed up....I ordered 8" sch 40 fittings and the 6" cap doesn't fit the 8 to 6" reducer. It fits inside it. Any sugestions I'd hate to have $60 in fittings go to waste. thanks, K5Guy measure the inside of the fitting then look for a plug like this http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/CHERNE-INDUSTRIES-Pipe-Plug-1VNG9?Pid=search hope this helps or you can put a piece of 6" pipe in the reducer and let it stick out 2 or 3 inches and put the cap on that. if you need to talk pm me and i will give you my number

I shoot for 60 - 70 rpm drum speed on my drums my motors run 1725 and i use a 1.5 and a 4.5 inch pulleys

bob, in my testing i have found that the less brass to the more media you run decreases tumbling time considerably. now i haven't gone to that extreme. but i have run 3-5lbs of brass in my large drum with 20lbs of media. it is a 3 gallon drum. i still used all the media and filled it with water as usual and it worked great. in your case though a 1 gallon 6" drum would be a good choice for the small loads. that is what i use just to save water. if you need help with finding fittings and pipe let me know.

the pillow blocks i use have set screws on them that you tighten down to hold the shafts.

they are 6" caps that i use becaseu i use an 8 to 6 reducer i get them on amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VZPZNG/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

bearings are 3/4 x 1/4 get them from usa bearings and belt. the rubber feet i get on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/250847857418?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 glad i could help. i would like to hear how the nylon bolts work. i prefer the stainless my self.

i prefer to have 1lb more media than brass at that capacity. you can go 1 to 1 it just takes longer. i prefer speed so i usually keep my brass 2-3lbs less than media but i have several drums also. so 5lbs of media and 200 223 cases would be just fine.

the agitators are made from 2" pvc cut into 1/3's you want a 1 gallon drum or about 8" of 6" pvc pipe