some pics of my wet tumbler pvc drums

[phil3333]

I made my own fittings that made the internal volume a lot greater and made loading them easer
the blue drum is for reference it seems to be the standard drum everyone uses, it holds about 700-308
cases. the black drum I made holds 1000-308 and 2000-223 cases the unpainted green drum holds
2000-308 and 4000-223 cases

[VHoward]

Cool!

[arjacobson]

What kind of fittings are you using for the large green container? It looks like 8" sewer pipe with a 6" pc for a fernco. What are you using for a spacer?? This looks like the style i would like to build. Thanks much!

[phil3333]

the large green drum is 10" schd 35 I machined 1/2" sheet pvc for my fittings

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I LIKE that 10" drum. That thing is massive!

Not to Hijack your thread, but I have had great luck with 8" pvc and these for the ends.

http://newsite.cherneind.com/Mechanical_Plugs/Original_Gripper/

I use the "inside the pipe" plugs and NOT the "end of pipe plugs". Makes dumping media and cases into the seperater a breeze. My "paddles" on the inside butt up against these plugs.

[Chilmonty]

That is Awesome Phil! Have any pics in operation?

[phil3333]

how much do those end plugs cost? 8" or 6"

[phil3333]

6507165072

couple pics I am working on a video I will post later next week

[Bonz]

Just out of curiosity, what does one of those PVC drums weigh with 12 pounds of brass, the stainless steel pins & water ?

My commercial drum is made out of steel and with 12 pounds of brass, the stainless steel pins & water in it, it weighs about 70 pounds (kicks my butt)

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Zoro Tools has them for around $35 each, but orders over $50 ship free. Not cheap, but rather convenient.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Phil, that setup looks GREAT! Good job!

[phil3333]

Just out of curiosity, what does one of those PVC drums weigh with 12 pounds of brass, the stainless steel pins & water ?

My commercial drum is made out of steel and with 12 pounds of brass, the stainless steel pins & water in it, it weighs about 70 pounds (kicks my butt)

the 8" black drum fully loaded with ss pins, water and brass weighs 60lbs
the 10" drum fully loaded weighs 125lbs

[phil3333]

thanks coyote hunter,those plugs look nice but thats a little pricy

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Hey Phil, my drum is 8" and has about 22" of length (after you subtract the space taken up by the caps). I using 21# of pins as I believe they recommend using 1# of pins for every 1# of brass. How much are you using in that bohemoth?

[phil3333]

I use 30lbs in the 10"er and 20lbs in the 8"er
that works great for me I run a 1 hour cycle and my brass is as shiney as you can get it
I have heard the pound for pound recommendation but I dont use it, also you dont need
agitators in the drums I experimented with them in and out there is no difference

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Don't need agitators!!??!!?? BLASPHEMY!!!!! :groner: Probably much quieter too.

Guess it's time to make a drum without agitators.....

You learn something new everyday...

[phil3333]

Don't need agitators!!??!!?? BLASPHEMY!!!!! :groner: Probably much quieter too.

Guess it's time to make a drum without agitators.....

You learn something new everyday...

you know funny story behind that is I bought the tumbler that came with the blue drum,it has no agitators
so I called the guy I bought it from and he says 'dont need em' so I figured what the hell and tried it and
low and behold he was right,when I made my own drums I made one up with agitators to see if I could
get a different result,you cant tell which brass is which between them

[beex215]

i was thinking the water and brass would stay in one place if it had no agitators.

[CuZ]

Very creative Phil:awesome:
How big of a motor are you needing to spin those big drums? I found my 1/4 HP capacitor -start motor won't turn my five-gallon drum.

[ffries61]

So Phil, what ratio of SS pins to brass to liquid do you use ? glad to hear about not needing agitators, will simplify my build considerably.

Thanks, Fred

[phil3333]

So Phil, what ratio of SS pins to brass to liquid do you use ? glad to hear about not needing agitators, will simplify my build considerably.

Thanks, Fred

my mix for my small drum is 28lbs brass 20lbs ss pins fill with water add tablespoon of lemishine and a good squirt of dawn

for the big drum its about 60lbs brass 30lbs ss pins fill with water add 2 tablespoons of lemishine and dawn

[phil3333]

Very creative Phil:awesome:
How big of a motor are you needing to spin those big drums? I found my 1/4 HP capacitor -start motor won't turn my five-gallon drum.

I am using a TEFC 1/3hp works great and I like the fan cooling keeps the motor from over heating

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

+1 on the fan

[Errokk]

Harbor Freight has some replacement motors if your needing to upgrade. I'm planning on building my own tumbler soon.

[USMC87]

Thanks for posting this thread, I have wondered how in the world to agitate the brass inside. So just spinning the tube cleans the brass huh? Phil how did you attach those ends? What did you use to open and close the barrel?

[phil3333]

Thanks for posting this thread, I have wondered how in the world to agitate the brass inside. So just spinning the tube cleans the brass huh? Phil how did you attach those ends? What did you use to open and close the barrel?

I glued and welded the caps,I use a rubber pipeconx cap for the open end

[phil3333]

you guys might want to try heater hose for your shafts it works great and I painted my drums
with truck bed liner that way the paint dont wear off and you get very good traction between
the drum and drive shaft

[USMC87]

Thanks alot phil, That gives me a good start on the tumbler. My best friend owns a machine shop so getting parts made is no big deal.

[lmfd20]

I bought a 4.1 cubic ft poly drum concrete mixer and love it. I can run a 5 gallon bucket and then some no problem. Well until I have to separate the pins from the brass. All I have now is an rcbs media separator. It takes about 8 baskets full to separate the pins and that is loading it pretty full. I am either going to buy me a Dillon media separator or build my own. Anybody got any pics of theirs to give me a few hints?

[tom357mag]

Looks like it works well but @ 125 lbs its way to heavy for me [smilie=p:

[phil3333]

this unit went to the machine shop that has been making some of my parts he wants it for a parts deburrer
and he wanted the big drum.

66393663946639566396

[armedmoose]

this unit went to the machine shop that has been making some of my parts he wants it for a parts deburrer
and he wanted the big drum.

66393663946639566396

I seem unable to find purchasing info on your tumblers phil3333. Could you point me in the right direction. :) thanks.

[phil3333]

I seem unable to find purchasing info on your tumblers phil3333. Could you point me in the right direction. :) thanks.

try here,
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?192551-tumbler-drums-and-ss-media

[W.R.Buchanan]

These tumblers look real nice!!!!! The kicker is always making the drum, and the ideas I've got from this thread are more than enough to make a first rate machine. I also have a machine shop so building the mechanical part of the machine is no problem.

One tidbit I would offer up as far as the way the pins work,,, would go like this.

The solution you put into the drum is what is actually doing most of the work. It disolves the residue and tarnish.

However unless the parts are rubbed by something the residue will just stay there and dry in place after you remove the water.

The pins actually rub against and dislodge the residue from the brass after it has become softened and then it becomes part of the solution, which you dump out when it gets too full of dirt.

I figured this out by cleaning a bunch of pistol cases by hand in a Lemishine solution when I first heard about the stuff several years ago. After the cases soaked for a few minutes the slightest touch with a Q-tip would remove the residue, however any place you didn't physically touch would remain dirty. Sticking the q-tip into every primer pocket got old real fast. A couple of years later SS pins came along prior to them the only media avaiable was SS BB's which were really expensive, and would not get into the corners nearly as well as the newer pins do.

The SS pins just do a real bang up job of getting in all the nooks and crannys. That's why they work so well on primer pockets.

I sure do like your machines. Well thought out, not super expensive to make. Damn Good Design, and execution!

A professionally built machine like these would easily be $1000.

Randy

[phil3333]

I will be posting pics of the first cut down unit that doctorggg purchased tomorrow I think
the design on it will be well received
phil

[Jailer]

Where did you get your ball bearing bumpers? I need something on my home made unit and I like those.

[colt1960]

Phil, do you make the tumbler frames from wood or metal? Good looking set-up youve got there. they look very nice and look professional. Rick!

[phil3333]

they are made out of 3/4" high strength pvc plastic sheets

[phil3333]

just finished doctorggg's new tumbler this is the cut down 10" diameter drum that holds 1000-1200
308 cases or about 2000-2500 223 cases

67113671146711567116

[Love Life]

That looks great Phil. Soon...

Just ensure that you never drop a full drum on the rotating bar...

[doctorggg]

I can't wait to receive it. At 58 years old I am acting like a child at Christmas. Many thanks Phil. I will report back to everyone how well it works. It looks fantastic.

[phil3333]

this is a video of the cut down tumbler you may need to size it down to view,its not a
very good video I will try harder next time lol

if someone can make this hot I would appreciate it/Volumes/NO NAME/DCIM/Camera/20130411_132029.mp4

/Users/phillipcombs/Pictures/20130411_132029.mp4