I paid $165 on sale for mine back in the spring and am very satisfied with it so far for wet tumbling. Normally a lot higher.I received an Email sales circular .Hope it's OK to show this here. Still kind of new here. Don
I paid $165 on sale for mine back in the spring and am very satisfied with it so far for wet tumbling. Normally a lot higher.I received an Email sales circular .Hope it's OK to show this here. Still kind of new here. Don
I also have one. It's the ultra vibe 18. Works really good. After half an hour my shells already look very good.
I have a Thumler's model B also, and use it for wet tumbling. It had a couple of minor bugs, but they have been adjusted. This tumbler works great, and I would recommend it. Runs and turns very smoothly - no wobbles, shakes or the such.
If anyone's interested, I'm happy to share the simple adjustments I made to the tumbler when it was new - about 2 years ago.
Bayou52
Bayou52
NRA Life Member
"Keep Calm and Reload"
Midway has the Model B at a reduced price also.
EDG
Let's hear them...I'm all ears.If anyone's interested, I'm happy to share the simple adjustments I made to the tumbler when it was new - about 2 years ago.
NRA Patron Member
Kids Are For People That Can't Have Dogs
OK, there were a couple of minor adjustments I made to the Thumbler's tumbler when it was new in order to work out the bugs. Here's a list:
1. The factory belts were contstantly breaking for no apparent reason. After 4 or 5 of them broke, I ditched ordering any more of them at $5-$6 a pop and instead substituted an ethylene-propylene o-ring. After about a year, I'm still on the very first o-ring. Here's a description of that o-ring:
http://www.theoringstore.com/index.p...oducts_id=6511
2. The large pulley on the drive axle is made of molded plastic. The channel of this pulley had several burs in it left over from the molding process. These burs likely etched the belts. I took a small rat-tailed file and filed the burs smooth,
3. The drum had a left-to-right sideways sway when it was first used. To tighten the drum, I put a small socket over the round retaining clips on each axle and tapped them them in a bit. This tightened the shafts and eliminated the sideways sway,
4. I removed the drum liner, and spray painted the inside of the drum with Rust-O-Leum. When this tumbler was received, the inside of the drum was unpainted.
5. The drum top was fastened with wing nuts and washers. These were replaced with fluted anti-vibration knobs which cinch down real tight yet are much easier to work with. Here's the link to those:
http://www.mcfeelys.com/index.php/1-...y-1-3gdv9.html
Those are the main items. The tumbler now tumbles very smoothly. No issues with it.
Bayou52
Last edited by Bayou52; 11-17-2014 at 01:18 PM.
Bayou52
NRA Life Member
"Keep Calm and Reload"
Good stuff to know. Mine only had a problem of swaying left/right. The inside was painted so, that was no problem. I'm surprised yours wasn't. that #5 listed link doesn't show those knobs but rather the belt mentioned in #1.
NRA Patron Member
Kids Are For People That Can't Have Dogs
Thanks, ColColt, for catching my error there. I've replaced the link with the correct one for the fluted, anti-vibration knobs.
http://www.mcfeelys.com/index.php/1-...y-1-3gdv9.html
Bayou52
Bayou52
NRA Life Member
"Keep Calm and Reload"
Those look like just the thing to keep me from loosing them wing nuts-thanks. All in all, I've been most pleased with the Tumbler and to date has caused zero problems but, I will get half a dozen of those O-rings just for posterity.
Do you use the washers with the knobs or just the knobs by themselves?
NRA Patron Member
Kids Are For People That Can't Have Dogs
With those anti-vibration knobs, no need for fooling around with any more washers. The knobs are all you use, and they work real well. I ordered a dozen just to have a few spares.
Like you, I also ordered a half-dozen o-rings. I'm real pleased with them, as they sure have lasted longer than the factory belts. At this rate, those half dozen o-rings should last quite a few years.
Bayou52
Bayou52
NRA Life Member
"Keep Calm and Reload"
When I get through with my four hour run I take the factory supplied belt off to keep stretch to a minimum. I'd like to think it helps at any rate. I think the Tumber is the best route to go for cleaning BP brass. At the range prior to leaving I decap and then drop the cases in a large bottle of hot(hot when I got there) soapy water and then rinse off and throw them in the Tumbler. They come out sparkly clean including primer pockets.
NRA Patron Member
Kids Are For People That Can't Have Dogs
Thank you for posting the links on better parts.
Since everyone else that posted apparently already has one, no one responded to this question. SO!
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/426...ProductFinding
I may regret it but I'm passing. My old Midway vibratory cleaner works(sort of) and I don't have room in the shop for another gadget.
John
W.TN
Before I purchased my 1st Thumlers unit from STM I found many posts on how to "improve" or "fix" these units but being a cynic I did none of these. My first unit has been used a lot for about 4 years now and I have not had to replace or repair anything. The second unit has been used for about 2 years without any issues either. I use these tumblers on average once a week without any maintenance and have yet to break a belt or needing to replace any part. YMMV
Liberalism is the triumph of emotion over intellect, but masquerading as the reverse.
I don't know how we ever shot maximum loads before P/C come along and saved us all. R5R
"No mosque in the United States flies an American flag."
"Dueling should have never been made illegal in this country. It settled lots of issues between folks."- Char-Gar
I had one of these along time ago and foolishly sold it at one of my garage sales. I got one of these as this is by far the best price I have seen in along time.
I checked on Amazon and the prices for this machine run in the $220 range.
Tallbald: Thanks for the heads up!
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
I'm so sorry. I did make the mistake of the sale retailer. It was MidwayUSA. I use both MidwayUSA and Midsouth SHooter's Supply. Thanks for the correction and again, I apologize. Don
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |