Multiple uses for a tumbler

[Land Owner]

Tumbling (not all at once):
brass cases - in the millions
jacketed bullets - of course
loaded ammo - a time or two
small parts
shake and bake PC static building
paint stirring & mixing
thinning grease paint with mineral spirits - in a suitable container

these I have tried and found suitable. further ideas & uses?

[Sasquatch-1]

Tumbling (not all at once):
brass cases - in the millions
jacketed bullets - of course
loaded ammo - a time or two
small parts
shake and bake PC static building
paint stirring & mixing
thinning grease paint with mineral spirits - in a suitable container

these I have tried and found suitable. further ideas & uses?

I have tried everything except the last two.

I have also put spent primers with a little water and dish soap to see what happened. Cleaned a lot of the residue from them but wasn't worth the effort.

[jmorris]

You can test the durability of your Rolex…

[Mk42gunner]

Thought about but haven't tried using my tumbler to clean a light coating rust from small tools like socket that got left out in the rain. May work, may not, no guarantees.

Robert

[mdi]

Those listed plus cleaning rusty tools and parts. Retired mechanic and my tools do get a slight rust from not being used. I have cleaned sockets, screwdriver bits, nuts, screws and bolts, misc. parts from around the house like hinges, door handles, etc.. I was introduced to wet tumbling in the late '60s working at a machine shop. One of the last operations on machined parts was some time in a giant wobbler. It held maybe 100 allons of cleaning liquid and perhaps 4 tubs/bins of ceramic media and 6 tubs of small parts (metal tubs 24"x 30"x12"h). The whole building would shake when it was running...

[ilcop22]

I hadn't thought of many of those; thanks for sharing!

[Tracy]

Making black powder. Of course it's called a ball mill when you use it that way.

[NyFirefighter357]

I clean my copper pipe fittings in my wet tumbler before starting a plumbing project. I also use the small HF dual tumbler with Jeweler's shot to clean jewelry. I've also wet tumbled a tractor carb to clean the body & tools to remove, grease, rust & grime.

[David2011]

You can test the durability of your Rolex…

Like I needed something to make me cringe today!

[bangerjim]

Insurance claim filing exercise.

Plug it in, leave the house, motor shorts out and burns down the ENTIRE place. Happened to one of us on there a couple days ago. Sad.

Shiny brass is not worth burning down your house! I use only citric acid and hot water. Cleans them good enough for me. Dirty brass shoots just a swell ad bright shiny brass.

[Nueces]

Bright, shiny brass is so much easier to retrieve from a grassy CAS firing line.

[wilecoyote]

You can test the durability of your Rolex…

really done by a R. aficionado here by his ultrasonic wet cleaner
the most expensive mistake I know of, because he was a collector.
the bracelet straps were perfect as far as we know. only those

[country gent]

Have used one with coarser grit to remove fine burrs and sharp edges.

[762 shooter]

Washing my hamster.

762

[jetinteriorguy]

Cleaning loading dies.

[Mal Paso]

In my experience the bearings in the vibratory tumblers motor eventually seize and the motor overheats. I caught one going critical and have heard of a couple fires.

Replace the motor at the first sign of sticking.

[TrxR]

Lubing cores and jackets.

[Scrounge]

Thought about but haven't tried using my tumbler to clean a light coating rust from small tools like socket that got left out in the rain. May work, may not, no guarantees.

Robert

In the Middle Ages, they would put chain mail armor in a barrel of oily sand and roll it around the courtyard. Pretty sure it will work.

Bill