DIY ss tumbling question

[Jevyod]

I have been browsing many threads about making your own SS tumbler. I had a 3/4 horse motor that I got for nothing, so I plan on giving it a go! The thing I am not sure about is what size to make the drum. I will be doing anything from 500 45 acp cases down to 25 260 cases. I was thinking of making the drum out of 6" pvc and making it 18" long. What would my capacity be on this? Also, is there a place where I can find how much brass weighs? Say like how many 260 Rem in a pound? One last question, what is the ratio of brass-media- water, and what is the best size pins to buy? I think that is all for now! Thanks!

[jmorris]

I used 12.7 gallon buckets (chorine buckets for the swimming pool) for the smallest one I built, lots stronger than normal 5 gallon buckets. It's in this thread, it will tumble more than 3000 45 ACP cases per run.

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


For cases per pound you might look at my posts in this thread.

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=210606

[wv109323]

Just my opinion. You don't have to worry about weight with a 3/4 HP motor. You can run a cement mixer with that. My thoughts are you want to go short and fat on the drum instead of small and long. I think the longer drum will require more SS pins. I don't have a 260 case but to give you and idea. It takes 44 cases of 30-30 to make a pound. 35 cases of 30-06 to make a pound and 500 .45 ACP cases would be close to 6 pounds. These numbers are based on one weight of each case. It could vary 15 to 20%.
A 6 X 18" cylinder would be 508 cubic inches. A 12 X12" cylinder is 1357 cubic inches. Much more volume in short and fat.

[SlowBurn]

My 6" diameter PVC drum is about 17" long and holds just over 2 gallons so needs about 10 lbs media and can handle about 7.5 lbs brass (300 pieces of .303 British) per load.

g'luck

[rodsvet]

If I make one after my current one dies, I will simply buy the Frankford Arsenal one from Midway. It comes complete end caps and is the correct shape. $69 the last time I checked. It will do 800 to 1,000 223's in one load. Rod

[jmorris]

If I make one after my current one dies, I will simply buy the...

You make things the same way my wife does.

[rtracy2001]

To find out how many cases are in a pond, do this:

Weigh 10 cases in your powder scale (1 at a time, unless you use a digital scale).

Average the weight

Divide 7000 by the average weight.

There are 7000 grains in 1 pound, so 7000/grains per case = # cases per pound.

[edler7]

The drum on my old Highland Park tumbler is a 7" hexagon 8" long. The end caps are 9" diameter circles. It doesn't even come close to bogging down the 3/4 horse motor on it with 5 lbs of pins, water and full of cases. It also has a smaller tumbler of the same dimensions but only 4" long- nice for smaller batches.

[Jevyod]

I thought of going wit a 10 inch PVC...until I looked at prices! I think I can certainly do better than that! It would be nice to be able to make 2 drums with the same diameter material, one for larger batches and one for smaller. Hence the thought that a pcv pipe would be great. I am not sure what other material I could use for the drum....

[Ovationdave]

I dunno, but that PVC is going to generate a lot of static depending on the media your using, just a thought. I know I have the walnut shell stuff in my tumbler and it sticks to EVERYTHING. Maybe I am just using the wrong media?

[Babbott213]

SS tumbling is done wet so static is not a issue. Dry, yes.

[sdcitizen]

A direct answer to your question is the drum size you propose will be plenty large enough. Mine is made from 6 inch PVC and 18 inches long, it'll do at least a thousand 45 cases. 4x6 reducer on one end with a rubber fernco for a cap is the cheapest easiest solution I have seen.

[sdcitizen]

Bugger missed the second part of your question, 10lbs of pins would be good for that size drum. I tend to put in the pins, fill the drum up between half and three quarters full of brass and add water till everything is submerged.

Got my pins from orisolo if I'm not mistaken, and they are .062x.255, they don't get stuck in flash holes at that size.

[retread]

If I make one after my current one dies, I will simply buy the Frankford Arsenal one from Midway. It comes complete end caps and is the correct shape. $69 the last time I checked. It will do 800 to 1,000 223's in one load. Rod

Just checked the price at Midway they are $189 and Graf's are $169.