My rotary tumbler - homemade, almost free

[DukeInFlorida]

I have had a few discussions with BT Sniper on the subject of how he gets his swaged bullets so pretty.

His secret isn't so much of a secret, as it is a developed process, discovered over time.

I'll allow him to describe it...

However, the whole subject got me thinking about wet tumbling, not so much for reloading, although I am sure I will use it for that also. My primary interest was for the cleaning and prepping of brass for swaging. Especially for the brass that has to get annealed, which is most of it. Heretofore, I haven't annealed any of my 9mm brass for making .40 bullets. Never felt the need to. And, my experiments with vibratory walnut shell cleaning of annealed brass was mostly a failure.

The .22 LR brass for making .224 bullets, and the recent preparation for the .308 bullets from 5.7X28 FN brass got me really buzzing to find a better solution. The .22 LR brass are a problem because they always seem to crunch when derimming. Sand or whatever gets inside worries me. And the 5.7X28 FN brass has a polymer coating on it that gets nasty when annealing it. Walnut shell media wouldn't even touch it.

So, I decided to give the stainless steel media thing a go. My problem is no budget.

It's taken me a while to assemble the parts I needed. I traded some lead with one of the castboolits members for his 5 pound bag of SS media from STM. I had to do some digging through my dad's old collection of pulleys, pillow blocks, etc, but I came up with a way to assemble a system for rotating a tumbler. I even found an electric motor that my dad used for an old cement mixer. A fan belt hanging on the barn wall proved perfect for the task.

I'll post a description of what I did, and how I did it later, if anyone is really interested.

Here's the result:

http://youtu.be/5u4mSA6BbRc

btw, if anyone is interested in buying a boat, seen in the background, it is for sale.... CHEAP..... I need the money for the move to FL.

[Fla9-40]

Hey DukeInMaine I'd like to see how you did this, I'm kicking around the same idea!

Also you say your moving to FL... Bring the boat with ya!

[Lizard333]

You are going to be very happy with your SS tumbling set up Duke. It takes longer when you do three pounds of 22LR brass, then when you do three pounds of 45 or 40. I do my 22LR over night. It takes longer because the pins to brass ratio is so much lower.

Other than that, are you using a tsp of dish soap or two, and a quarter tsp of lemi shine? Using this combination in a gallon of water makes a HUGE difference. Show us some pics of the final process!

Also, when you are going to say how BT makes his bullets so shinny! You have toyed with us before about this, and I was really hoping you were going to be telling us his process today! Has he sworn you to secrecy??

[DukeInFlorida]

Hahahaha, yes, he has sworn me to secrecy! He shared his secret with me because I nagged at him so much. I wanted to know how his finished bullets always came out so damned shiny. He finally told me. If he's willing to share that secret, I'll let him do the telling.

I ran the 22 LR brass for two hours with a commercial cleaning sample I got from an on line place. If was free, so why not? I'll use Lemishine on the next batch. These came out perfect inside and out.

I'm having a heck of a time, though, separating the pins from the brass. I bought a Cabelas Rotary Media Separator on sale, but find that the slots are so wide that the 22 brass also falls through. Flipping it all in a spaghetti strainer is a royal pain.

Anyone have any ideas for a better way to separate the pins from the 22 LR brass??? Everyone of the commercially available media separators are made the same way (Dillon, Frankford Arsenal, RCBS, Lyman, Cabelas, etc.) The slots are fine for larger brass, but not for the 22 LR. Even my 5.7X28FN brass falls through the slots.

[Hamish]

I'd say go to wallymart and look at the spaghetti/salad strainers, worked for me. Duke, the only question I might have is the thought that you might have to put some kind of a hard backer inside your rubber cap. I would think that eventually the inside of the cap is going to get ground up.

BTW-after looking at the vid. I was looking at "Hold on tight". Holly Carp!!! The thought of where the second one went made me a little sick to my stomach.

[DukeInFlorida]

There's no grinding action up against the rubber cap. It will last more than my lifetime...

That 500 magnum video.... that was my son, shooting my gun last FATHER'S DAY! I had been on his left side, coaching him before he fired any shots. He asked me to use his camera to take the video for his first shots, and the better side for that was the OTHER side. Thank God!

He hasn't shot that gun since. he's coming up to maine for my birthday, on Friday the 13th............ I told him there will be guns fired.... haven't told him that the 500 mag is one of the guns..... He'll be fine this time. One round at a time in the gun.

Back on subject...........
I have a collandar that I have always used to separate media from the brass. And, I used it this time to do the SS pins from the brass. But, it's a royal pain. I especially want to minimize the loss of the tiny pins..... Someone has to either make a rotary separator with small enough slots that the 22's don;t fall through. Or, there has to be some kind of basket thing that will fit inside, and do the same thing. I just haven't figured that out yet.


I'd say go to wallymart and look at the spaghetti/salad strainers, worked for me. Duke, the only question I might have is the thought that you might have to put some kind of a hard backer inside your rubber cap. I would think that eventually the inside of the cap is going to get ground up.

BTW-after looking at the vid. I was looking at "Hold on tight". Holly Carp!!! The thought of where the second one went made me a little sick to my stomach.

[Jailer]

Duke, you are separating them while they are submerged in rinse water correct?

[DukeInFlorida]

No, it's hard to flip a collandar when it's submerged. Or, am I missing some neat underwater physics?

[Dark Helmet]

Try a magnet yet?

[Hamish]

doh!!!!

:groner::groner::groner::groner:

[Lizard333]

I know you are short on cash Duke, but I use the Dillon case separator for all my brass. Even 22LR. Spin for a minute and they are separated.

[Mountain Prepper]

No, it's hard to flip a collandar when it's submerged. Or, am I missing some neat underwater physics?

Im am not sure if there is something about water and separating the media...

But YES it works much better if the brass or jackets are submerged under cleaning water and the SS media shakes off better.

I use a plastic colander with small slits (got it from the dollar store).

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/113658125/_Fresh_Pearl_plastic_colander_24cm.jpg

I also notched an old 3 gallon bucket, and connected to plastic colanders together (with a hinge) and a piece of aluminum tubing I had laying around.

Looks like one of this type of set up...

http://www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/images/catalog/507565-main.jpg

But if I make another I think I will make one of this type - fill the tray with water and rock and roll.

http://www.brimstonepistoleros.com/gazette/media1.jpg

[DukeInFlorida]

Does the Dillon separator have slots thin enough to keep the 22 brass inside?


I know you are short on cash Duke, but I use the Dillon case separator for all my brass. Even 22LR. Spin for a minute and they are separated.

[Lizard333]

Does the Dillon separator have slots thin enough to keep the 22 brass inside?

Sure does. I've been using it or almost a year on all my brass. I originally got it separate my brass from walnut, but after about two weeks, I switched to SS media and never looked back. It has a big tub and pouring the water out isn't to much of a pain either. It's not cheep, and what of Dillon's is? Very well made product.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/23663/catid/8/CM_500_Case_Media_Separator

I have the blue one......

[Smokin7mm]

I also use the dillon rotary case separator when separating 22 cal bullets from media for final polish. I have the smaller one and 22 cal bullets do not fall through.

Bret

[DukeInFlorida]

Someone has suggested that their Frankford Arsenal bucket top separator works, and keeps the 22 brass in. Can anyone else confirm that?

This one:
http://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Quick-n-EZ-Rotary-Sifter/dp/B004J4B2IW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341591088&sr=8-2&keywords=frankford+arsenal+quick-n-ez+separator

Cheap price on only the separator (with no bucket) here:
http://www.opticsplanet.com/frankford-arsenal-quick-n-ez-rotary-sifter-kit.html

[Salmon-boy]

Duke,
I've got 2 of them. For .22s that have NOT been de-rimmed, it will keep most in place. There are some slots that will allow them through.

They will NOT be useful for derimmed .22s. They will slide right through.

HTH!
Chuck.

[DukeInFlorida]

Perfect. Thanks, Chuck. Have one on order then.

Some of the others I have looked at were too wide for the slots to even keep 5.7X28FN brass inside.

[Jailer]

Separating them while submerged makes the pins slide right out of the brass. If you do it out of the water they stick and are hard to get apart.

I have the frankfort arsenal separator but I've never done 22 so I can't comment on that.

Also turn the separator slowly or you'll flip the pins all over the place.

[supe47]

99 cent store. Bought two. $2.12 out the door. Works excellent, no stuck 22 cases, no lost pins (I counted every one). Supe http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_193324ff8a8128272a.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5826)http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_193324ff8a84401007.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5827)

[Danderdude]

Well done Duke. Here's mine from the Homemade thread in Reloading Equip.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=1745758&postcount=142

[Longwood]

99 cent store. Bought two. $2.12 out the door. Works excellent, no stuck 22 cases, no lost pins (I counted every one). Supe http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_193324ff8a8128272a.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5826)http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_193324ff8a84401007.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5827)

I am thinking a short piece of dowel, conduit, broom handle, or PVC pipe, four of those big spring steel paper clips and one more colander and you have a Dillon spinner for a few Shekels less.

[supe47]

I had about the same thought, thats why I bought 2. But simply using one strainer like a gold mining pan worked great. Had at least 500 done in minutes. And no loss of those precious little pins. Hardest part was dumping out the water. I pre soaked mine overnight and tumbled the next morning. Supe

[DukeInFlorida]

My Frankford Arsenal version just got shipped. It should be here in a few days, and I will report back at that time.

[DukeInFlorida]

My Franford Arsenal tumbler showed up. Very disappointing piece of ****!
It's going back.

I called Dillon......

I asked about their 500 sized tumbler. The fellow asked me to wait... he;d go out to the warehouse floor, with a caliper, and measure the slots for me!

WOW

Now, that's what I call customer service.

He came back 5 minutes later, and said the slots on their tumbler are .200/.215.

Perfect! No 22 LR brass should fall through.

I placed my order for that.

[Lizard333]

You wont be disappointed with the Dillon one Duke. Like I said earlier, I have been using it for everything, very sturdy, and well built. Kinda like everything else they make.

[Salmon-boy]

Duke, The Frankford stuff is inexpensive. Definitely on the cheap side. NO comparison to the Dillon.

Sorry to lead you astray!

[DukeInFlorida]

Well, one of the things about that Frankford was that it was cheap. I would have tried to work around it.

The width of the openings was too wide. All of the 22 brass falls through.

The Dillon should be here Friday. I'll report then. I should even be able to do a video, now that I know how to.

[DukeInFlorida]

UPDATE:

My Dillon media separator came in today. I grabbed some 22 LR brass I had cleaned in the rotary cleaner. I had previously used a colander to remove the pins.

I dumped a batch of that brass in the Dillon, and started turning the handle.

1) None of the .22 brass fell through. Not a single piece.
2) I was able to recover about 12 pcs of the ss pin media that were still in the brass. Glad those didn't make it into the press!

The Dillon media separator is easy to assemble (two screws/nuts/washers.... they even give you a hex key for the task). Only the handle needs to get assembled to the basket. Everything difficult was already done at the factory.

It's easy to operate. Place the handle assembly on the included bin, and turn the handle.

It does not allow any .22 LR brass to fall through.

It will handle the contents of a CV500 or CV 750 tumbler.

It's very rugged, and will last a lifetime.

Of all of the media separators I tried, this is the ONLY one that really works properly with the .22 LR brass. I have buckets of .22 LR brass to process, and have some in the rotary ss media tumbler right now.

BTW, I found that most all Walmarts carry the Lemishine. Target stores also carry it. Those are the only places in the State of Maine that I could find it at.

[Lizard333]

Glad to hear your happy! I have been sing the heck out mine lately. Very nice product.

[sparky45]

I am thinking a short piece of dowel, conduit, broom handle, or PVC pipe, four of those big spring steel paper clips and one more colander and you have a Dillon spinner for a few Shekels less.

Hey, when I try and bring up the second photo, my Antivirus software tags it as having a Trojan virus, beware.

[DukeInFlorida]

HUH?

Longwood's image is hosted at castboolits, and we have pretty damned good anti-virus software protecting the site.

And, it's a .jpg file. In fact, all images on this thread are jpg's. No viruses there.


Hey, when I try and bring up the second photo, my Antivirus software tags it as having a Trojan virus, beware.

[Longwood]

I did not upload any photo's onto this thread.

[DukeInFlorida]

No, you quoted someone else's post, and it had an image in it. That was the second image.