Making a trommel – Part 2
All bolted together the working end of my newest toy looks like thumb 1. By this time I had decided a secondary panel inside the drum to keep things working away was not necessary, and instead I split a length of 100x100x2mm steel to make two large pieces of angle. I used these to both joint the drum ends and the screen together as well as provide agitation in the drum as the material tumbles around. Thumb 2 shows where all the rock eventually tumbles out of the drum. Last pic shows how I attach most materials that are welded end on. Tacked into position first and then a piece of angle iron on at least 2 sides is fully welded to provide extra rigidity.
Since belts stretch and need constant tensioning I added in a simple system to achieve this as seen in the next thumb. To tension the belt all that needs to be done is the 100mm bolt is screwed further into the assembly, pushing the entire engine up. The opposite end is bolted through 2 pieces of angle to act as the pivot point. Last thumb shows how the angle of the drum can be adjusted should it need to be set up on sloping ground, a few cranks on the turnbuckle can raise or lower it quickly and easily.
