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Educate me on rotary tumbling with steel pins please
- Thread starter themayor
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redundant but updating this old thread too. for the guys following this one
[video=youtube_share;i3T4Tzae5ks]http://youtu.be/i3T4Tzae5ks[/video]
[video=youtube_share;i3T4Tzae5ks]http://youtu.be/i3T4Tzae5ks[/video]
Teflon block to agitate "who doesn't like to agitate". machine screws. hillbilly gasket "innertube".
it aint perfect but ya cant over load it. im thinkin the harbor freight mixer may be easier but it takes up a lot more room. if you don't mind the mixer as a yard ornimate and cover the motor. cc mixer may beat the crap outa the case mouth though. at any rate there is options to the $800 40#er . id say this one full of water brass is prob 30-35# anyway.
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3x fired 260 brass
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I built one from plans I got over the Internet that included welding the frame ... which I had to have done by someone else.
For those that want to DIY ...
IF I were to ever want to do another one I would use a section of electrical joist stock from Home Depot and
bolt the two properly cut lengths onto a hand truck (the best inexpensive one I've seen was at Walmart and had coasters
attached to the frame so that you could lay the thing down and use it like a dolly).
To the joist stock, I would attach bearing pillow blocks (ebay) and get an electric motor from Harbor freight.
(I think the roller blades might work, but think they would be a PITA to maintain)
The rest is rather academic ... but the end product would be portable and handy to use / store on the hand truck.
For those that want to DIY ...
IF I were to ever want to do another one I would use a section of electrical joist stock from Home Depot and
bolt the two properly cut lengths onto a hand truck (the best inexpensive one I've seen was at Walmart and had coasters
attached to the frame so that you could lay the thing down and use it like a dolly).
To the joist stock, I would attach bearing pillow blocks (ebay) and get an electric motor from Harbor freight.
(I think the roller blades might work, but think they would be a PITA to maintain)
The rest is rather academic ... but the end product would be portable and handy to use / store on the hand truck.
I picked up a "thumlers Tumbler" at a local thrift store for 6 bucks, with a 2 pound drum, paid 20.00 for a 2 pound bag of the small pins and will never use that damn walnut media again. I run about 25 .308 shell at a time for 1.5 hours and they look better than store bought new run ammo. Just use a lamp timer from Home Depot for about 6 bucks and set it up. One tip, do not use a magnet to try to help sorting, your pins will stick together, and keep lots of water in your tub when you shake the pins out of the brass. www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com
DO NOT USE THE .041 SS PINS, they get stuck inside primer pocket flash hole.
Buy and use only the SS PINS that are .047 they will pass thru the flash hole and not get stuck plus they do a great job, slow process, however does a great job..........
Buy and use only the SS PINS that are .047 they will pass thru the flash hole and not get stuck plus they do a great job, slow process, however does a great job..........
That is my personal experience as well.....But I don't find the larger pins to be any slower than the smaller pins. About the same tumbling time in my experience.
To cut tumbling time, I pre-soak the brasses overnight in detergent and water. This cuts my tumbling time in about half. My personal objective in wet tumbling is to obtain brass with a "jewelry" finish....
Use DAWN, Lemi shine, and let it go to work.
Thumblers Thumbler Model "b", then get the .047 ss pins and go to work.
just a simple suggestion...
Thumblers Thumbler Model "b", then get the .047 ss pins and go to work.
just a simple suggestion...
I'm late to the thread, but you can go to harbor freight and buy the two drum rock tumbler very cheap...or the single drum really cheap. I paid around 40 bucks on sale. A few drops of dawn and lemi shine and cases that have been de primed will look better than brand new. The drums are rubber so it is very quiet, and it is a rock tumbler, so it is designed to run for days at a time and not over heat. I've put some of the nastiest green brass you have ever seen in it and in three hours they look better than new. The instruction will say that you can only have three pounds per drum including pins,water,cases and the drum itself, but I've run way more than double the weight in the drums with no ill effects. I will be the first to admit that it isn't gonna hold a lot of large magnum cases like the expensive units, but it will easily run three full boxes of 338 mag and have them clean as a whistle in about 90 minutes.
