How would i make a home made compost tumbler?

Question

i have a 55gal drum, and i want to make a tumbler for my compost pile.

any ideas?

Answer 1

Bolt or weld 3 "L" shaped strips to the inside of the drum lengthwise to act as fins like in your dryer.  Cut a door in the side and attach with hinges.  Build a simple mounting rack from 2x4's to allow barrel to sit on it's side.  Get 4 coaster wheels from the bottom of an old office chair and drill holes in the top of the rack to let barrel sit on wheels.  Now bolt on some type of handles to help you spin it.  That's my plan for it.

Answer 2

AT HOME!!! OR ELSE IT'S NOT HOMEMADE!!!... but once your at home, LEAVE! go to the hardware store... you'll need some flat-iron (strap) and bar stock; also you'll need a motor (like the ones used to turn small cement mixers; plus they have the connections to mate-up to the barrel). After that, you'll have to do some 'shade-tree engineering' to get it all put together, but you should be able to figure out the necessary steps once you have all this in front of you... Good Luck! (also!: check the pawn shops for any of the larger items you need, even if there broken... you don't need the mixer, just the motor, eh?)