Need suggestions for a case tumbler

[smoked turkey]

I am not sure if this is the right place on the site for a question on purchase of a tumbler and using stainless steel pins for case cleaning. I have used a vibrator with walnut hulls and a little dab of case polish for years with totally satisfactory results. Out of curiosity I have decided I need to try wet media. I have been hearing about cleaning cases with ss pins, using water, a shot of dish washing soap, and a teaspoon of a product called Lemashine (sp?). I have purchased the ss pins from a member here and now I need to find an inexpensive tumbler if there is such a thing. I have looked at the single and double drum units that Harbor Freight sells and wonder if they are satisfactory for rifle cases. Compared to my vibrator the capacity of the drums looks too small for the larger rifle cases I plan to clean (45-70 for now). I know there are more expensive units out there than those at HF but I would like not to sink a bunch of money in this case cleaning system at the moment. However I don't want to waste my money on a unit that several have already tried and found that they don't work too good. Just looking for some suggestions from those that have already been down the road on this one. Thanks.

[monadnock#5]

I have a RCBS Sidewinder that works fine with ss pins. There are cheaper alternatives, but I had this sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

[Bayou52]

I use a Thumlers model B high-speed tumbler for wet tumbling. Works great. But not the cheapest. The HF tumbler is much cheaper, as that is your question.

If you do a search on this site, you will find numerous discussions from those using the HF tumbler. Here is one thread:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?234805-HF-dual-tumbler

Bayou52

[LUBEDUDE]

As an owner of 3 Thumblers units I found that the Frankford Armory Wet Tumbler gives you the most for the money.

Note that they are on sale quite often at Midway and other suppliers.

They have:

more than DOUBLE the payload of the Thumlers

two Quick screw end caps- see through, Thumblers take 6 PIA thumb screws with one cap

two sifter grates that attached with the screw caps

built in timer

quiet- if filled proper

Durable plastic ( about the only time you'll hear this dude prefer plastic over steel!)

comes with pins (if you have them already, you'll need more down the road)

sample of soap (good stuff)

Also, all three of my Thumblers needed spacer shims made for one of axles to work properly, I felt that this was shoddy workmanship from the factory. And these units were each purchased a year or two apart from each other. So it wasn't just a run of them.



I probably left some features out that others can add, but you get the point.

I believe retail is about $200, just a few bucks more than a Thumblers, but much more value.

[petroid]

Try this. Get an old broken computer printer. Strip it down to the chassis, paper rollers, and drive motor. Use a dc power supply for the motor and get a 3-4qt round plastic jug with a large, screw-on lid. Use rubber bands around the jug/drum for traction and lie it on its side on the rollers. Presto! 2 dollar tumbler!

[smoked turkey]

petroid very interesting concept and certainly within my price range! I appreciate all the comments. Just the kind of input I wanted.

[petroid]

Ive been using mine for a couple years now. Can do several hundred 223 or pistol brass at a time. Maybe a hundred or two full size cases. Have two drums, one for wet tumbling and one for dry. I found a jug made of milk carton type plastic at the dollar store that has a molded in handle like folgers coffee cans do. It helps to pick up the brass and tumble it better.

[Weaponologist]

This Site your on has plenty of info on this very subject..We've all had to make this very decision at one time or another...here is another thread on it for you to look at..

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?251349-Frankford-Arsenal-Wet-Tumbler

[Silverboolit]

I have both the HF dual tumbler as well as the Frankfort Arsenel model. I like the FA much better. Comes with pins. Does a lot more in weight. No belts that break. Has higher speed. When I bought mine, Midway had them on sale for IIRC 179.00? 5 pounds of pins are approx. 50.00, so that is 129.00 for the tumbler. Not a bad deal.

[jmorris]

I thought store bought wet tumblers were either too small or too expensive so I made the one I have (12.7 gal) and a few really big ones.

[smoked turkey]

Thanks for posting the link on the earlier discussion on this very subject. I had looked on the "homemade" stickey link but had not followed it through far enough. I found what I think I will make on page seven (7) showing the unit made with pillow blocks welded to a square tube frame. I think something similar to that would be big enough and certainly would be heavy duty enough. I'll have to scrounge around to see what I already have. I do see that I will have to buy more ss pins because three pounds are not enough.

[C. Latch]

I use the HF dual drum tumbler. Brass capacity is obviously limited but it works fine for me.

[jmorris]

Here is a link to one I made. Only uses two pillow blocks and no rollers,, pullys, jack shafts or belts.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?135223-Homemade-wet-tumbler-for-stainless-steel-media&highlight=homemade+tumbler

[koehlerrk]

I built mine to use a section of 4" PVC pipe as a drum, glued paddles inside to mix, and a glued on cap on one end and a rubber "Fernco" cap on the other end. The rubber cap pulls right off, but holds itself on well enough no other closure is needed. My drum is 18" long, and with 5lbs of pins it easily handles 150 pieces of 308 winchester brass or 250 pieces of 223. I bought a christmas-light timer, I think I paid $8 for it, and that takes care of my timing.

All told, it works great.

Side note, I bought a second-hand convection toaster oven for PC boolits... it also works well for drying cases after wet tumbling. I pt the cases into an old cake pan and bake them at 250F for 10 minutes and they come out bone-dry.

[mack1]

I made mine also, used 6" thinwall pvc capped one end reducer to 4 " on the other then rubber cap on it. made a frame out of 2x4 pillow block bearings and round stock with heater hose for driving then a lock ring to keep the drum in place then casters opposing the shaft. Find the pulleys first then decide what size shaft and pillow block bearings to get 1/2 or 5/8 i needed 6" on the shaft and 2 " on he moter with a 1750 rpm moter bearings from ebay. I also 1/4 a 1 1/4 pvc pipe on a tablesaw and bolted in in on the ends only countersunk the heads and glued the caps over them to seal the holes. Be sure to glue and twist the ends for a good seal

[Weaponologist]

koehlerrk (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?7873-koehlerrk) & mack1 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?12077-mack1) post some pictures of your builds. they sound really nice. plus we all can get a better idea of what your describing...
I bought mine however theirs always room for improvements...

[mack1]

115801115802115802
I should have put the cap opposite of the pulley you may notice the 2x4 doubled on the end to stretch it enough to clear the pulley. The caps were glued so swaping the veins was not an option.

[mikeinctown]

Mack, that reminds me of a tumbler I saw by a biggdawg, except he used steel for the frame. I can't weld and hadn't even thought of using wood. (slaps forehead) May just have to give it a try since the one I would buy from him would be $400.

[smoked turkey]

mack1 I see some good ideas in your design. I like the roller wheels opposite the pillow blocks/shaft that drives the "drum". From your write up, I believe you used the quartered pieces of the PVC pipe inside the drum to provide agitation for the brass/pins. I did not understand how the pieces are attached to the inside. Also how long is your 6" PVC pipe and how many pounds of media and brass does it hold? Thanks for the info.

[mack1]

I used all 4 pieces because they were there 2 would be fine i think. I drilled holes 1.5 inches from the ends of the 6 " pipe then countersunk the heads of #8 screws so they are flush with the pipe, use areservable drill if you use a larger drill bit for this when it catches it will go fast. Then when you glue the ends the holes are sealed.
I only have 5lb of media in it but more would fit in the 18 " tube as for brass I have run 3 lbs or so with no problem. Unless you plan on running a lot of brass a shorter tube would be fine so long as it will hold a gallon of water + pins and brass would need to calculate the volume to be sure.

[Whiterabbit]

2 drum harbor freight unit. one drum holds 1 lb of pins and 100 brass or so. the other is my ball mill, I do 1/3 lb batches of black powder (could probably do double that.)

only one drum runs at a time of course. I skip lemmishine and just use my home dish detergent, 5 pumps per load.

I use the same pins you have.

[jmorris]

These are the two drum barrel tumblers I built, both run at the same time.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=114747&d=1409235077

[Guardian]

Mack, that reminds me of a tumbler I saw by a biggdawg, except he used steel for the frame. I can't weld and hadn't even thought of using wood. (slaps forehead) May just have to give it a try since the one I would buy from him would be $400.

You don't have to be able to weld to use steel.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=98501&d=1393906585

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=98500&d=1393906462

This one is bolted together. This one is 3-ft long to allow multiple drums, but could be built smaller. I ended up with about as much money in mine as buying a BigDawg, just over $600. I suffered a bit of sticker shock when I realized that.

I found these for tumbling barrels. http://www.candmtopline.com/tumbling_barrels.html (http://www.candmtopline.com/tumbling_barrels.html). The cost of end caps and reducers for 6-in and 8-in PVC pipe ran the cost of each barrel into the same price range as just buying one of these. That would not be the case if you were building significantly longer barrels, but I want to keep them small enough I can handle them easily, yet still do a decent quantity of brass at the time.

[jsizemore]

Mine is similar to mack1's. I used an older maytag washer motor with pulley and mounting frame (free) all mounted on a plywood and 2x4 frame. Both my drums are made from 6" pipe. One is lined with duct tape that I use to polish buckshot. It'll hold 30lbs of shot and not even slow down.

[44Vaquero]

I saw this on another site. If you have an old dryer it would be quick and easy SS Pin tumbling. Just shut off the Heat/Gas and remove the fins from the drums interior and lay in the 5 gallon bucket.115825

[beroen]

I don't reload but I am actively learning it seems wet tumbling is a better alternative to corn walnut and things dry fast here in far northern CA.

I have been looking at these 2

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/00122909544/Platinum_Series_Rotary_Tumbler_


http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/featured/stm-complete-package.html

[petroid]

I don't reload but I am actively learning it seems wet tumbling is a better alternative to corn walnut and things dry fast here in far northern CA.

Drying time isn't usually an issue as it requires no labor. Just spread out on a towel and possibly in front of a fan. With wet tumbling you really need to deprime first or else you don't clean the primer pockets and they hold moisture for a long time. This is an extra step but I do it for rifle brass as it actually saves time having to clean primer pockets and it gives a better look at the cases for impending neck splits. For pistol, I just dry tumble as Im not worried about cleaning primer pockets and neck splits are virtually nonexistent