US3581444A

US3581444A - Tumbling barrel

Info

Publication number: US3581444A
Application number: US707733A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence A Hackett; Kenneth J Hackett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-02-23
Filing date: 1968-02-23
Publication date: 1971-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-01

Abstract

A tumbling barrel construction for cleaning metallics recovered from slag to a sufficient degree to enable the reclaimed steel scrap to be used in electric furnaces, comprising a reinforced concrete base including a footing and a pair of spaced pedestals extending upwardly therefrom and a slag-tumbling barrel in the shape of a rectangular solid and having a shaft extending therethrough and mounted within a sleeve rigidly affixed between opposite end walls with the ends of the shaft mounted in journals on the spaced pedestals, the barrel having two opposite sides each hinged at both opposite edges thereof for opening the barrel, the hinges on the opposite edges of each of the sides permitting the opening of the doors in the most convenient direction for loading and unloading, a reversible motor mounted on one of the pedestals and coupled to the barrel through a drive linkage, a brake associated with the drive linkage for stopping the barrel in any predetermined orientation for loading or unloading, and a ramp built on the footing and underlying a portion of the barrel for routing the dumped metallics to a predetermined location on the footing for easy access by a magnet which lifts them from the footing.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventors Clarence A. Hackett 1566 Bronson Road, Grand Island, N.Y. 14072; Kenneth J. Hackett, 91 Delton St., Tonawanda, N.Y. 14150 [21] Appl. No. 707,733

[22] Filed Feb. 23, 1968 [45] Patented June 1, 1971 [54] TUMBLING BARREL 12 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 51/164 [51] Int. Cl 1324b 31/02 [50] Field oiSearch 51/164, 16

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,806,194 5/1931 Ensslin 5 l/164X 2,469,484 5/1949 Thiman. 5 l/164UX 2,843,979 7/1958 Lupo 51/164 2,785,562 3/1957 Tigerman 51/164X 3,071,901 1/1963 Porter 51/164X 3,078,623 2/1963 Stanley..... 51/164 2,264,846 12/1941 Huebsch 51/164X FOREIGN PATENTS 25,875 5/1915 Norway 5l/l64 32,163 7/1885 Germany 51/164 Primary Examiner-Harold D. Whitehead AttorneySommer, Weber & Gastel ABSTRACT: A tumbling barrel construction for cleaning metallics recovered from slag to a sufficient degree to enable the reclaimed steel scrap to be used in electric furnaces, comprising a reinforced concrete base including a footing and a pair of spaced pedestals extending upwardly therefrom and a slag-tumbling barrel in the shape of a rectangular solid and having a shaft extending therethrough and mounted within a sleeve rigidly affixed between opposite end walls with the ends of the shaft mounted in journals on the spaced pedestals, the barrel having two opposite sides each hinged at both opposite edges thereof for opening the barrel, the hinges on the opposite edges of each of the sides permitting the opening of the doors in the most convenient direction for loading and unloading, a reversible motor mounted on one of the pedestals and coupled to the barrel through a drive linkage, a brake associated with the drive linkage for stopping the barrel in any predetermined orientation for loading or unloading, and a ramp built on the footing and underlying a portion of the barrel for routing the dumped metallics to a predetermined location on the footing for easy access by a magnet which lifts them from the footing.

PATENTEDJUN 11971 3,58 1 444 SHEET 3 BF 3 INVIENTORS Cl ARE/VGA. HM/(Efi' BY KmM/HJ. HACKEIT TUMBLING BARREL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved tumbling barrel construction and more particularly to one which is used to clean metallics recovered from slag to provide steel scrap for use in electric furnaces.

Many types of slag-tumbling barrel constructions have been used in the past to remove the nonmetallic coatings from the metallics recovered from the processing of slag, one of the most common being an elongated barrel with its rotational axis on an incline. The metallics to be cleaned were dumped into the upper end and they dropped out of the lower end after having traveled down the incline of the barrel during rotation thereof. However, the metallics recovered from the foregoing type of barrel were not sufficiently pure for use in electric furnaces because they were not tumbled long enough and the impurities which adhered to the steel scrap, such as oxidation and slag, would destroy the furnace electrodes. Therefore, the same metallics had to be rerun through the barrel many times before they were cleaned sufficiently, This was a costly and inefiicient process because it required multiple loadings of the barrel. It is with an improved tumbling barrel which overcomes the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art that the present invention is concerned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly one important object of the present invention to provide an improved tumbling barrel which can provide any desired period of tumbling, as required by the characteristics of the particular metallics then being tumbled, without attendant loading and reloading, as in previous barrel constructions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved tumbling barrel which can hold a massive load of metallics and which is of extremely heavy-duty construction so that it can withstand the heavy pounding to which it is subjected, without requiring frequent shutdowns for repair. A related object of the present invention is to provide an improved tumbling barrel which can be repaired simply and easily or replaced with relatively little effort or expense, thereby contributing toward economical operation thereof. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved tumbling barrel wherein certain of the brace members which are utilized to impart strength to the tumbling barrel also serve the additional function of acting as breakers for removing the adhering coatings from the metallics.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved tumbling barrel in which loading is facilitated because it can be loaded in a plurality of ways because it possesses a pair of doors on opposite sides of the barrel with each of the doors being pivoted at two opposite edges for opening in any desired one of two directions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved tumbling barrel in which the driving motor is located in a substantially out-of-the-way location where it will not interfere with loading and unloading, and in addition will not be in the path of the dumped product which can clog it and thus decrease its life and efficient operation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved tumbling barrel construction including a base which is shaped to direct the tumbled metallics upon emptying of the barrel, to a predetennined location for subsequent lifting by a magnetic lift. Other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will readily be perceived hereafter.

The improved tumbling barrel construction of the present invention comprises a base including a footing which is embedded in the ground and a pair of spaced pedestals extending upwardly therefrom. The tumbling barrel itself is a box of substantially solid rectangular configuration having a hollow tubular member rigidly secured between opposite end walls for receiving a shaft having ends which extend outwardly of the barrel for mounting on journals secured to the spaced pedestals. Two opposite sides of the barrel, in their entireties, are utilized as doors for opening the barrel for loading and unloading. Each of these doors has hinges on opposite edges thereof so that it can be opened in any one of two directions to facilitate loading and unloading. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that there are two doors on opposite sides of the barrel, the barrel can be stopped in an upright position and will not have to travel more than l from any given position in order to achieve this objective, thereby conserving power, considering the massive load it carries. The motor for driving the barrel is mounted on top of one of the pedestals and is therefore in a generally out-of-the-way position where it does not interfere with loading and unloading and also is above the dumped product so that it cannot be clogged or otherwise adversely affected by the product which is being dumped after the tumbling. The barrel has ribs on the inside thereof which act both to strengthen the barrel and also as breakers for facilitating the breaking up and cleaning of the metallics. Furthermore, the outside of the barrel is reinforced so that it can withstand the shock incurred due to the tumbling of its massive load. Include as an element of the barrel drive is a brake for stopping the barrel in any predetermined orientation for loading and unloading. Furthermore, a ramp is built onto a base underlying the barrel so that the metallics will be directed to a predetermined location for easy access by a magnet type of lift which lifts the metallics from the coatings which have been removed therefrom.

The present invention will be more fully understood when the following portions of the specification are read in conjunc tion with the accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an end elevational view of the improved tumbling barrel construction of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tumbling barrel construction shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and showing an end view of the tumbling barrel itself;

FIG. 49 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and showing the internal construction of the barrel;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the brake mechanism taken substantially along line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the brake mechanism taken substantially in the direction of arrows 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing directions in which either one of the doors, at its uppermost position, can be opened for loading;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the orientation which the barrel assumes during unloading;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the construction of one type of external brace member; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the construction of another type of external race member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The improved tumbling barrel construction 10 of the present invention includes a base 11 and a tumbling barrel 12 mounted thereon. For proper perspective as to the size of the instant construction, it is to be noted that the tumbling barrel 12 is capable of tumbling a 3 ton load of metallics recovered from slag, and its dimensions are generally about 6 feet by 6 feet by 8 feet, and the sides are fabricated from steel plates 1 inches thick. Generally the metallics which are tumbled are originally obtained by magnetic separation from slag. As noted above, these metallics have an adhering coating of oxides and slag which are removed by tumbling in the barrel of the present invention.

The base 11 includes a footing 13 which may be reinforced concrete approximately 1 foot deep. Extending upwardly from footing 13 are reinforced concrete spaced pedestals I4 and 15. A ramp 16 extends between pedestals l4 and 15 in the orientation shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 8 for the purpose of directing the dumped mixture of metallics and coatings knocked therefrom to a predetermined orientation on footing l3, namely, to the area 17, after dumping, where the steel scrap portion can be conveniently lifted by a magnet. In addition, the ramp contributes greatly toward the strengthening of the entire base structure, as it is secured to the base and the pedestals.

The tumbling barrel 12 itself is in the form of a rectangular solid having opposed end walls 18 and two pairs of opposed sidewalls, the first pair being designated by numeral 19 and the second pair being designed by numeral 20.

Plates

18 and 20 are suitable welded to each other at their abutting edge portions to provide a rigid assembly. Plates 19 from doors on opposite sides of the barrel for loading and unloading. As can best be seen from FIG. 4, a hollow tubular member 21 has its ends secured, as by welding, to the facing insides of end plates 18 to rigidize the barrel. A steel shaft 22, which is approximately 7 inches in diameter, is passed into tubular member 21 and has its end portions 23 extending outwardly beyond end plates 18. Shaft 22 reinforces and is reinforced by hollow shaft 21. Plates 24 are affixed as by welding to the outsides of end plates 18 to rigidize them in this area. Keys 25 nonrotatably secure shaft 22 to end plates 18. The ends 23 of shaft 22 are joumaled for rotation in bearings 26 secured to the upper surfaces 27 of pedestals 14 and by suitable nut and bolt constructions, not numbered.

At this point it is to be noted that tubular member 21, in addition to rigidizing the tumbling barrel, also protects shaft 22 from deformation by the barrel contents which drop thereon during loading and tumbling. By protecting the shaft in this manner, its life is prolonged. If for any reason it is necessary to replace shaft 22, this can be done simply by removing the caps 28 from the lower portions 29 of the bearings, lifting the entire barrel 12 out of its mounted position, as by use of a crane, removing keys 25 and thereafter moving shaft 22 out of tubular member 21 to permit replacement with another shaft 22.

To load and unload barrel l2, sides 19, in their entireties, are used as doors which can swing about either of their opposite edges. In this respect, each side 19 includes external spaced brace members or ribs 30 continuously welded thereto along their entire lengths. The opposite ends of each plate 30 contain an aperture 31 (FIG. 2). Each of sides are reinforced by three pairs of brace members or ribs 32 which are welded to sides 20 along their entire length to rigidize them. Each of ribs 32 have apertures 33 at the ends thereof which are in alignment with respective apertures 31 of respective plates 30 when the barrel is closed, that is, when sides 19 and 20 occupy the orientations shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In this position pins 34 (FIG. 2) are driven through aligned

apertures

31 and 33 for the purpose of locking sides 19 to sides 20. It is to be noted that a pin, such as 34, extends through each set of apertures, for a total of 12 pins, three at each edge where sides 19 and 20 join. Each pin 34 has a head 35 and a removable locking pin 36 driven therethrough, which can be removed prior to withdrawing pin 34.

By the use of a separate hinge construction at each edge of the box, each side 19 may be opened by swinging about either one of its edges. For example, in FIG. 3, if it is desired to open barrel 12 by swinging top side 19 in a counterclockwise direction about its upper left-hand comer, it is merely necessary to remove the pins 34 which are located in the aligned apertures 31-33 in the upper right-hand comer. Thereafter, a crane or the like engages tab 37 for pivoting the door 19 to an open position to permit the loading of metallics into barrel 12. On the other hand, if it is desired to open door 19 in the other direction, it is merely necessary to remove the pins 34 which are in aligned apertures 31-33 in the upper left-hand comer in FIG. 3, and attach the crane to tab 38 and lift to cause side 19 to pivot in a clockwise direction about the hinge provided by pins 34 located in aligned apertures 31-33 in the upper right-hand comer of barrel 12, as shown in FIG. 3. This same action can be obtained with the opposite side 19 when it is in its uppermost position. Thus, as viewed from FIG. 3, the barrel 12 can be loaded from the right or from the left by means of a crane or mechanical shovel or high lift, thereby enhancing the ease with which loading can be effected. By virtue of the foregoing construction, if the pins on both edges of either side 19 are removed, side 19 can be lifted in its entirely away from the remainder of the barrel for loading, replacement or repair. At this point it is to be noted that

tabs

37 and 38 are merely plates, of the configuration shown, which are welded to the top of each center rib 30 as can be visualized from FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. In view of the fact that each door 19 opens from opposite sides, it will be appreciated that in the event any one of pins 34 on either side cannot be withdrawn because it becomes jammed, the door can be used as a singlehinge door until it is repaired.

The inside of barrel 12 contains a plurality of spaced ribs which extend about the entire inner circumference. More specifically, ribs 39 are essentially elongated members which are secured as by welding throughout their entire lengths to sides 20, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Spaced ribs or plates 40 are secured as by welding along their entire lengths to sides 19.

Plates

39 and 40 are in alignment, as can best be seen from FIG. 4, and the edges of these plates, where they meet, are mitered at 41 (FIG. 3).

Ribs

39 and 40 serve a plurality of functions. First of all, they reinforce

sides

20 and 19, respectively, against the static and dynamic loads to which they are subjected, and in addition, act in the nature of breakers for knocking the adhering coatings from the surface of the metallics as they drop down onto the edges of these ribs as the barrel rotates.

To complete the construction of barrel 12, additional rigidizing members are located on the outside thereof. More specifically, boxlike members 42 are fabricated on sides 20. Each boxlike member 42, as can best be seen from FIG. 10, is fabricated from angles 43 which have their edges adjacent plate 20 welded thereto throughout their lengths and have their abutting edges welded to each other at 44 throughout their length. At select spaced portions, cutouts 45 are provided for accommodating external ribs 32. The ends of angles 43 are covered by a plate 46 which is welded thereto (FIG. 10).

A similar boxlike structure is utilized to reinforce opposed door-plates 19. More specifically, spaced boxlike structures 47 are secured as by welding along their entire joining edges to plates 19. The exact structure is shown in FIG. 9 wherein each boxlike member 47 is shown as consisting of angles 48 having their abutting edges welded to plate 19 along their entire edges. The adjoining edges of angles 18 are welded to each other at 49. End caps 50 are welded to angles 48 in the position shown in FIG. 9. At appropriate spaced locations angles 48 are cut away at 51 to receive ribs 30.

It can readily be seen therefore that an extremely rigid boxlike construction is obtained as a result of the use of

inner ribs

39 and 40,

outer ribs

30 and 32, and

boxlike members

42 and 47 to provide a structure which is capable of withstanding the massive shocks to which the tumbling barrel is subjected.

In order to drive barrel 12, a reversible electric motor 53 is provided. This motor is mounted on a steel plate 54 which is suitably secured to pedestal 15 by nuts and bolts, not numbered. Also mounted on plate 54 is a gear reducer 55 having an output shaft 56 carrying a sprocket which is encircled by a chain 57 which also encircles a sprocket 58 which is keyed to barrel shaft 22. A suitable drive coupling 59 connects the output shaft of motor 53 to the input shaft 66) of gear reducer 55.

In accordance with the improved operation of the tumbling barrel construction of the present invention, a brake mechanism 61 is provided for stopping the barrel 12 in any predetermined orientation, for loading or unloading. This construction includes a pair of angles forming spaced sides 62 and a pair of angles forming a standard 63, all of which are mounted on plate 54. A guillotine type of brake is provided wherein lever 64 is keyed to pin 65 which is journaled between sides 62. The head 66 of lever 64 mounts pins 67 and 67' which ride in slots 68 in plates 69 and slots 70 in member 71. Member 71 has slidable connections at 72 with sides 73 which are rigidly secured to plates 69 and plate 74.

Brake linings

75 and 76 are mounted on

members

74 and 71, respectively. A brakedrum 77 is keyed to gear reducer shaft 60. It can readily be seen that when lever 64 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about the axis of pin 65 in FIG. 5, pins 67 and 67' will move in a counterclockwise direction. This will cause the frame which includes member 74 to move to the right by virtue of the pin and

slot connection

78, 79 with standard 63. Also at this same time, the movement of pin 67 downwardly will cause member 71 to move to the left so that there is a squeezing action placed on brakedrum 77 by brake linings 75 and '76. Whenever lever 64 is released, it returns to the position shown in FIG. 5. Because of this construction the barrel 12 can be stopped in any desired orientation. Any other suitable type of brake can be used.

The various orientations in which it is desired to stop barrel 12 are shown schematically in FIGS. 7 and 8. In FIG. 7 it can be seen that the tumbling barrel 12 is stopped with sides vertical and door sides 19 horizontal so that upper sides 19 can be opened for loading the box. In this respect, the dottedline position shows how the top side 19 can be pivoted about the pins at 80 and in the solid-line position about the pins at 81. Thus the top plate can be opened from either side to enhance the ease of loading. It will be appreciated that when the barrel is moved 180 from the position shown in FIG. 7, the other side 19 can be opened also. Because of this relationship, as noted above, there is no need to rotate the barrel more than 180 in order to have it assume a loading orientation, such as in FIG. 7.

In order to unload or dump the barrel, it is moved to the orientation shown in HO. 8 wherein the upper side 20 is at an angle of 45, downwardly inclined to the horizontal. However, before it is .moved to this position, the set of three pins 34 at the upper left-hand position, that is, at 80 in FIG. 7 is removed so that as the barrel moves in a counterclockwise direction about its axis to the position shown in FIG. 8, the door 19 will retain a vertical position as it moves away from side 20 so that any tumbled product within the barrel will drop onto portion 117 of the footing, and it is directed to this position by virtue of falling onto ramp 16. In order to take in a new load of metallics recovered from slag after the previous load has been dumped, the barrel 12 is rotated in a clockwise direction from its position shown in FIG. 8 to its position shown in FIG. 7 and the top 19 is opened by the use of a crane or the like, and after the barrel is filled with the required charge, the removed pins 34 are replaced to the position along the edge at 80. After the tumbling barrel is closed, tumbling is again efiected for any desired length of time to remove the coatings from the metallics to obtain clean steel scrap for use in electric furnaces.

It can thus be seen that the improved tumbling barrel construction is manifestly capable of achieving the above-enumerated objects and while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it will be appreciated that it is not limited thereto but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A tumbling barrel construction comprising a housing having steel plate side means, door means in said side means, opposed steel plate ends joined to said side means, shaft means extending outwardly from said opposed ends, reinforcing means independent of said shaft means extending between and attached to said ends within said barrel for reinforcing said barrel, said housing being in the form of a rectangular solid and said side means comprising first and second opposed pairs of sides, hinge means for hinging said first pair of sides to said second pair of sides whereby said first pair of opposed sides will act as said doors for loading and unloading said barrel, said hinge means comprising a first set of hinge means pivotally securing a first edge of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge of each of said second pair of sides, a second set of hinge means pivotally securing a second edge of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge of each of said second pair of sides whereby said first sides selectively can be pivoted about either said first or second sets of hinge means, brace means on the outside of said first and second sides for rigidizing said first and second sides, said ends being substantially parallel, and rib means mounted on the insides of said first and second pairs of sides and extending generally parallel to said ends.

2. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 1 including a base for mounting said tumbling barrel including a reinforced concrete footing, spaced pedestal means extending upwardly from said footing, and journal means on said pedestal means for mounting said ends of said shaft means.

3. A tumbling barrel construction comprising a housing having steel plate side means, door means in said side means, opposed steel plate ends joined to said side means, shaft means extending outwardly from said opposed ends, reinforcing means independent of said shaft means extending between and attached to said ends within said barrel for reinforcing said barrel, said housing being in the: form of a rectangular solid and said side means comprising first and second opposed pairs of sides, hinge means for hinging said first pair of sides to said second pair of sides whereby said first pair of opposed sides will act as said doors for loading and unloading said bar rel, said hinge means comprising a first set of hinge means pivotally securing a first edge of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge of each of said second pair of sides, and a second set of hinge means pivotally securing a second edge of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge of each of said second pair of sides whereby said first sides selectively can be pivoted about either said first or second sets of hinge means.

4. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 3 including means on said first pair of sides for permitting attachment thereto for opening.

5. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 3 in cluding brace means on the outside of said first and second sides for rigidizing said first and second sides.

6. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 2 including motor means for driving said barrel, and brake means for stopping said barrel in any predetermined position.

7. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 6 wherein said motor means comprises a reversible motor mounted on one of said pedestals, and drive means coupling said motor to said shaft.

8. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 6 in cluding inclined ramp means on said base for directing material dumped from said barrel to a predetermined location.

9. A tumbling barrel construction for tumbling a massive load of metallics comprising steel plate side means, steel plate end means, means reinforcing said steel plate side means, shaft means extending outwardly from said steel plate end means, door means in said steel plate side means, means on said door means for detachably attaching said door means to said side means along two opposite edges thereof to thereby permit detachment of said door means from said side means along said both edges of said door means, said tumbling barrel being in the shape of a rectangular solid and said side means comprising first and second pairs of opposed sides, said door means comprising at least one of said first pair of sides, combined hinge and lock means for joining said at least one of said first pair of sides to said second pair of sides along both opposed edges of said first side which are adjacent to an edge of one of each of said second pair of sides to thereby pennit said first side to be opened by swinging about any of two edges thereof, a tubular member having opposite ends rigidly secured to the facing insides of said opposed ends, and said shaft means comprising a shaft housed within said tubular member.

10. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 9 including support means for mounting said shaft means for rotation.

pedestals extending upwardly from said footing,journal means on said spaced pedestals for mounting said shaft means, and an inclined ramp on said base means underlying said barrel for directing tumbled slag to a predetermined location upon dumping.

532 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3'58l'444 Dated June 971 Inventor) Clarence A. Hackett and Kenneth J. Hackett It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

[- Column 2, line 8, change "180" to -l80; line 22,

change "Include" to -included-; line 56, change "race" to brace--; line 67, before "inches" insert --l/2.

Column 3, line 14, change "from" to -form-.

Column 4, line 6, change "entirely" to --entirety-.

Column 5, lines 74 and 75 (claim 1) cancel "of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge".

Signed and sealed this 21st day of December 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER, JR. Attesting Officer ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Acting Commissioner of Patents

Claims

3. A tumbling barrel construction comprising a housiNg having steel plate side means, door means in said side means, opposed steel plate ends joined to said side means, shaft means extending outwardly from said opposed ends, reinforcing means independent of said shaft means extending between and attached to said ends within said barrel for reinforcing said barrel, said housing being in the form of a rectangular solid and said side means comprising first and second opposed pairs of sides, hinge means for hinging said first pair of sides to said second pair of sides whereby said first pair of opposed sides will act as said doors for loading and unloading said barrel, said hinge means comprising a first set of hinge means pivotally securing a first edge of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge of each of said second pair of sides, and a second set of hinge means pivotally securing a second edge of each of said first pair of sides to an adjacent edge of each of said second pair of sides whereby said first sides selectively can be pivoted about either said first or second sets of hinge means.

5. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 3 including brace means on the outside of said first and second sides for rigidizing said first and second sides.

8. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 6 including inclined ramp means on said base for directing material dumped from said barrel to a predetermined location.

9. A tumbling barrel construction for tumbling a massive load of metallics comprising steel plate side means, steel plate end means, means reinforcing said steel plate side means, shaft means extending outwardly from said steel plate end means, door means in said steel plate side means, means on said door means for detachably attaching said door means to said side means along two opposite edges thereof to thereby permit detachment of said door means from said side means along said both edges of said door means, said tumbling barrel being in the shape of a rectangular solid and said side means comprising first and second pairs of opposed sides, said door means comprising at least one of said first pair of sides, combined hinge and lock means for joining said at least one of said first pair of sides to said second pair of sides along both opposed edges of said first side which are adjacent to an edge of one of each of said second pair of sides to thereby permit said first side to be opened by swinging about any of two edges thereof, a tubular member having opposite ends rigidly secured to the facing insides of said opposed ends, and said shaft means comprising a shaft housed within said tubular member.

11. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 10 including motor means mounted on said support means, linkage means coupling said motor means to said shaft means for rotating said barrel, and brake means for stopping said barrel in any predetermined orientation thereof.

12. A tumbling barrel construction as set forth in claim 11 wherein said support means comprises a footing, spaced pedestals extending upwardly from said footing, journal means on said spaced pedestals for mounting said shaft means, and an inclined ramp on said base means underlying said barrel for directing tumbled slag to a predetermined location upon dumping.