SS tumbling question

[Jevyod]

I am working on building myself a SS tumbler. It has a 3/4 horse motor I had lying around, and I made the drum out of a 16 inch piece of 8 inch pvc. My RPM should be around 45. My first question is about the ratio of brass to pins to water. Is there a ratio to use or do you just guess it? Secondly, what size pins work well and won't get stuck in the flash holes? Thirdly, I was reading about some sort of additive to keep the brass from tarnishing so soon after cleaning. Is this a necessary step? Will the brass tarnish quickly without an additive? Along with that, what is the best method of storing brass to slow the tendency to tarnish?

[VHoward]

http://www.biggdawgtumblers.net/tumbler-info.html
This guy recommends at least 1 pound more media than brass. I made my own frame and put a 1/2 hp motor I found for cheap on ebay and purchased my drum from Big Dawg Tumblers. If you peruse the page I linked, he describes each size drum he makes and how much media and brass will fit in each. He goes by gallons of water capacity of each so you can compare your drum accordingly.

As for tarnishing quickly, yes the brass will tarnish quickly. I have changed from using Dawn dishwashing liquid and Lemishine to Armourall car wash liquid with wax and Lemishine. It at least slows down the tarnishing if it doesn't stop it. I use a table spoon of the car wash and 1/4 tsp of Lemishine.

[pete501]

I have about the same size pvc drum. I use 10 pounds of pins and fill with brass to 3/4 full. First tumble is with a few drops of dawn dish soap and pinch of lemishine. Run for a few hours then rinse and repeat with a 1/2 oz of ArmorAll wash and wax from walmart. This wash and wax coats the brass with a wax that reduces the rate of tarnish. I had done a batch with just the dawn and it did start to tarnish while on the fireplace mantle. The size I forget but most sellers will state that the pins will not get stuck in flash holes.

[WFO2]

I use the .047 pins in my Rebel 17 they dont get stuck in the flash holes . You can get them here http://www.bullseye-reloading.com/