New(to me) Thumlers Model B

[Alan in Vermont]

I've been considering getting into ss pin tumbling but never seemed to be able to get the funds together

Last weekend there was a Model B on Craigslist with some pins. It took me most of a week, the seller wasn't much for communication, to finally complete the deal. He delivered it this morning and it seems to be working just fine.

What pin size do you with more knowledge recommend?

Oh, BTW he only wanted $60 for it.

[rcslotcar]

That is a great price!!! I run 4 tumblers right now. I use the cheapest pins I can find. I also bought citric acid powder (food grade) from E bay. I only use Dawn dish soap as I found the others just do not clean the residue as good. On very dirty brass I'll do a fast tumble cleaning, to process the cases thru the de-priming/sizing process. I'll then with the primers gone, re do the tumbling to get the cases spotless with the flash hole clean. Good luck and enjoy your new tumbler.

[Nueces]

In my experience, the best pin size is 0.255" length and 0.047" diameter. The older smaller pins of 0.041" tended to jam in flash holes. Larger ones of 0.060" have too many fewer active cleaning pin ends that do the 0.047" ones. Five pounds is a proper pin load for a Thumler B. Good idea to have more to replace the very few that disappear in the pin/case separation process.

I think this process is the very best home brass cleaning one we have. And, it's a flexible process, too. You can wrap a plastic food jar in a hand towel to fit the barrel and tumble parts or even single mould blocks without messing up your brass pins.

Another media alternative is the stainless steel chips available from Southern Shine. These are cheaper than most pins and have been found to do a fine job on cases.

[doulos]

https://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/shop/stainless-tumbling-media.html

This is what I use in my Thumblers. I didnt even know there were multiple sizes. You got a great deal on that Thumblers. Do yourself a favor and remove the liner and check for rust. The underside of the barrel isnt usually painted. Ive had mine for a long time and the rust was very minor. But I used it quite a bit with dry media too. I cleaned it and coated it with Flood Penetrol. It will never rust now.
Good Luck

[doulos]

Thumblers B are great machines. I started using it with wet ceramic media when I was shooting BPCR. But they are versatile. They do a bang up job with corn cob or walnut as well. But the stainless pins seem to be the ultimate to me so far.
Everybody has their own wet formula. But to tell you the truth I dont see very much difference no matter what I use. Ive used Dawn alone. Dawn with lemon juice. Dawn with just a splash of Simple green. They always come out looking brand new. I think its hard to screw it up.