Cement mixer as tumbler??

[mstarling]

Guys,

How about a small cement mixer as a tumbler?

I'd think a 3 1/2 cubic foot mixer would be about right. Come can be had as cheaply as a Thumler Model B which has much smaller volume.

Any thoughts?

[edsmith]

I think a few here has used one to do it. no reason for it not to work. the guys here use every thing from washing machines to dryers.red green would duck tape it to the wheel of his van.duck tape is the oringnal name of duct tape.:bigsmyl2:

[jimkim]

I've seen it done a lot lately. I haven't bought one, but have been considering it. A search for "cement mixer" in the Cast Boolits tool bar, should turn up plenty of info.

[geargnasher]

That's how most of the small-time commercial guys do it from what I understand.

How about using the cement mixer with liquid solution (ala Thumbler's) and this newfangled stainless steel media? That ought to be the Bees knees. I have one of those electric thingies, holds about 240 lbs of Quickcrete +water in its normal mixing position. I'd think one would have to install coarse screens on the paddles since they stand off from the drum a few inches.

Gear

[Jammer Six]

http://www.oz.net/~jammer/Brass/index.html

[303british.com]

I'm too lazy to use corn cob or walnut. You have to shake out all the leftover bits and pieces of plant. :) I use Hornady liquid cleaner and a cheap sonic cleaner.

If I needed to tumble as much as the guy with the cement mixer, I'd do it though.

[jmorris]

I tried it but didn't work out for me. Of the guys that are using them with sucess most all of them say they remove the vanes and coat the inside of the drum.

I have also seen someone convert a tread mill and chicken rotisserie into tumblers.

Over the weekend I came across an old ice cream maker that I bet would work too.

[elk hunter]

I used a cement mixer for several years. I removed the vanes and made a screen that latched over the opening so I could turn it upside down to dump the media into a large flat metal container. I would dump in a five gallon bucket of brass, two buckets of media and turn it on to run two to three hours. The fall down the long slope of the media in the turning barrel cleaned quickly. Worked great.

[Johnk454]

It works very well.

I first heard of this years ago - Lee Jurras of Super Vel fame used cement mixers to tumble brass and loaded ammo.

Just witnessed another running Friday at a local 300BLK manufacturer - his was a Kobalt from Lowe's. The plastic drum had solid paddles.

As mentioned, I wonder how they would work with stainless media?

[Bill*]

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-1-4-quarter-cubic-ft-compact-cement-mixer-91907.html
on sale right now @ $140

[Jammer Six]

As mentioned, I wonder how they would work with stainless media?

I experimented with it, but the problem I ran into is two fold:

one, it takes a certain amount of mass to tumble rather than slide, and,
two, getting to that mass takes a lot of media, and the price of the stainless media stopped me.

[Johnk454]

I experimented with it, but the problem I ran into is two fold:

one, it takes a certain amount of mass to tumble rather than slide, and,
two, getting to that mass takes a lot of media, and the price of the stainless media stopped me.

Understood.

Thanks, Jammer.

[cajun shooter]

My dad being a bricklayer exposed me to the using of a mixer at an early age.
When I was transferred to the Range to become the Instructor/Armorer for the department we had a mixer for brass cleaning.
It was equipped with the vanes(3 IIRC) that had holes drilled through them. We used a MEDIA called CRATEX. It was very fine and a brownish red color. When we started using new Winchester brass this mixer easily kept all the brass clean and ready for firing.
We had a Metro type of set up in that the City of Baton Rouge and Sheriff's office trained at the same range which gave us about 1200 LEO's to supply with ammo for the mandatory two times a year qualification plus night firing training.
That mixer never failed to work for my 7 years at the range.

[Jack Stanley]

I've used a cement mixer for over twenty-five years without complaint ........ well , maybe just one . It is a bit of overkill for twenty rifle cases , so , to fix the problem of how to do small batches I bought a Dillon FL-2000 . This is a nice balance for my uses .

Jack

[Longwood]

A five gallon bucket in a mixer, held off center with an old sleeping bag, blankets or towels, would for smaller batches.

[MtGun44]

A friend used to be in the reloading business. He had two new cement mixers coated inside
with rubber and ran them as his tumblers. Worked great for years.

Bill

[geargnasher]

A five gallon bucket in a mixer, held off center with an old sleeping bag, blankets or towels, would for smaller batches.

Now THAT'S using your noodle! Great idea. I'll bet it would make stainless media more practical for the method, too.

Gear

[Iowa Fox]

Couple of the guys around here are using mixers from Harbor Freight. They use corn cob with Isso, does a good job for them.

[Jammer Six]

To separate the brass, I drilled holes in a five gallon bucket, drilled one in the bottom, and screwed it to the center of the mixing drum. Had to use a table saw blade as a giant washer.

Dumping the load through a screen didn't occur to me, and is obviously much simpler, and more effective.

I'll be changing my method!

[abunaitoo]

I tumble for an hour with corncob.
I wonder how long a cement mixer would last, running continuously for an hour.

[Longwood]

I tumble for an hour with corncob.
I wonder how long a cement mixer would last, running continuously for an hour.

On a job, it is common for them to run for 8-10 hours without stopping.
A good one, made in America will last for many years.
One of the Harbor Freight mixers could possibly hold up long enough to pour a 8'X24' foot slab but the one my friend bought did not..

[starreloader]

I use a cement mixer ( Husky, from Home Depot I think )... 50 lbs of brass and 50 lbs of treated corn cob.. works great...

[LAH]

I first heard of this years ago - Lee Jurras of Super Vel fame used cement mixers to tumble brass and loaded ammo.

The last time I was in Mr. Jurras' shop he was speaking of tumbling brass. Said: Thought I had a bunch of mixers till I went in the back of the S&W shop. They had a room full of mixers polishing parts.

[Jammer Six]

Concrete mixers are designed to mix concrete on construction sites, although a much more common use is mortar for masons.

They run for days.

I've run mine (which retired after a career in my company) for weeks at a time. No sign of trouble. Didn't even get warm.

[abunaitoo]

Thanks for the info on the mixer.
I have an old electric one that I got long ago.
Never ran it continuously for more than 1/2 hour. Just to mix cement.

[G__Fred]

Buy from Harbor Freight, many others have.

[o6Patient]

A cement mixer will last as long as a tumbler for sure and will multitask very well IE: mixing stuff (like cement).

[Firebricker]

Using them to tumble brass sounds wonderful compared to their intended purpose LOL FB

[1hole]

"I wonder how long a cement mixer would last, running continuously for an hour. "

Considering that the load on the motor and bearings will be a tiny fraction of concrete it should last a virtual eternity.

[Jim]

Depends on the quality of what you buy. I bought a cheap one from harbor freight to clean range pick-up brass. I ran it 3 or 4 hours every day for two months and the motor quit. Got another motor on the warranty. The second motor lasted about three months and quit.

You get what you pay for.

[gunoil]

make a big one of these! I made a small one, works great. Bout 500rpm. I have a bigger motor now, need to get up and make my bigger one. I seperate with big green RCBS seperator.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3_FpiTzVYP8

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/22BEAA3E-ABAB-4C1D-8017-D685BE3F848C-239-000000A03B4972CE.mp4

[o6Patient]

Using them to tumble brass sounds wonderful compared to their intended purpose LOL FB

I agree ...but mixing cement(mortar, grout etc.) is even worse in a wheel barrow. LOL
Most of them nowadays look to be built for tumbler use ..not cement.