compost spinner

Has anyone ever built their own compost spinner. If so can you give me some pointers or instructions. It would be greatly appreciated. The ones that I've been looking at are fairly expensive.
Thanks
Jan

Jan,
I have two of them that my DH brought home from work for me. They were part polishers, tumbled parts with tiny rocks to polish them up. They were run with motors, but he made me a crank for one, and the other one turn easy enough to roll by hand. They are suspened in their own metal stands. I will get a pic for you, if you'd like to see for an idea. They are not as quick at composting as the ads for the expensive ones tout, but mine are in part shade, too, which is not the best. He took them off the truck with his caterpillar bucket, and said where do you want them, because when I put them down they stay, so I hold my piece on that issue!! Legit

Thanks so much for the info and a picture would be really helpful. My best work is done using pictures. Not that I can't understand witten instructions but I'm more of a hands on type person. LOL.
Jan
Oh yea & I throughly understand the "where do you want it cause that's where it will stay" slogan. Hehehe. I hear that quite often.

Jan, Must be a common motto with the other half wouldn't you say?? Getting the pic is easy, trouble is, my hard drive is so loaded with pictures I can't transfer another camera full with out burning some to a CD. And I put that off like crazy. I was dumb, and got a CD burner that is not easy to operate, should have gotten a zip drive, I have that at work, and feel much more comfortable. But I do need to get at it soon, so I will try to remember to snap a few shots of the beasts. Oh, another thing, one is Blue and one is Red, and DH says(for the fourth time), "When ya gonna paint those things a color that blends in a little?" And I give him my standard "someday" answer, and I get the "yeah" !!! Any of that sound familiar??? Legit

Good thread! I have been considering the construction of a tumbler and this gives me some more ideas.

As it happens (because I am a junk collector!) I have a bunch of stainless steel ball-bearing rollers about 2" to 2-1/2" in diameter, and perhaps 30" long. I'll have to take 3-4 of them off their iron frames (made to carry boards off a table saw, I think) and make a different frame to hold a 55 gal. plastic food barrel in a sling-type frame, but that shouldn't be too difficult. I have been wondering what to do with those rollers, LOL.

However, I won't do it until this house is sold and I move, probably next summer. I will try to remember to post photos of what I make, too.

I'm thinking that with the size of the ball-bearing rollers, the barrel will rotate easily by hand and not even need a crank. It would have a low-enough resistance that a small motor could be added, and if it turned just one roller, the entire thing would turn.