Tumler's Tumbler
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Clark
Member
I glued the washers to the lid.
I put a magnet on the lid to grab the wing nuts.
I got better wing nuts and de burred them.
I separate in broad pans and dry on paper towels.
I have to get the tumbler dry and start it spinning by hand.
Other than that, pretty much like GW Staar's link.
I put a magnet on the lid to grab the wing nuts.
I got better wing nuts and de burred them.
I separate in broad pans and dry on paper towels.
I have to get the tumbler dry and start it spinning by hand.
Other than that, pretty much like GW Staar's link.
NeuseRvrRat
Member
i put a strip of grip tape on the drum where one set of the rubber rollers rides so it doesn't have to be completely dry. i also have to give mine a push to get it rolling.
i use various other cylindrical containers from around the house and do my walnut or corn cob polishing on the thumler's model B as well. you can move the undriven roller rod over to make other containers fit. this way i don't have to dry out the rubber-lined drum if i want to switch to dry media. to me, dry media in a rotary seems to polish better than a vibratory. the old metal coffee cans work well. for small batches, i use a plastic tub from those Lysol Wipes.
i use various other cylindrical containers from around the house and do my walnut or corn cob polishing on the thumler's model B as well. you can move the undriven roller rod over to make other containers fit. this way i don't have to dry out the rubber-lined drum if i want to switch to dry media. to me, dry media in a rotary seems to polish better than a vibratory. the old metal coffee cans work well. for small batches, i use a plastic tub from those Lysol Wipes.
What model of Thumlers is it? They make/made many different kinds and sizes. I have one that's only a quart or so, useless for this application. I understand the best for tumbling brass is the Model B, and the high-speed version. There's a lower-speed version of the Model B too.
NeuseRvrRat
Member
the small ones aren't useless for SS media, but the batches are gonna be pretty small
burrhead
Member
I’ve had a model A-R2 for over thirty years and it’s still going strong. A major complaint about the rotary tumblers is that they’re slow and, while true, they’re made to run for weeks at a time. I’ll load mine with brass and let run overnight in the shop. I’ve never done anything to it but normal maintenance and lube but it’s time for new barrels. They’re dry and starting to crack and replacements are expensive.
targetshooter22
Member
For black powder clean up and gunk removal, I use ceramic media and some kind of Mr Clean like solution. Runs for 3-4 hours, brass looks awesome. Only downside is the media can stick inside sometimes, and is a pain to get out. Still, cleans BP and rust off my 44 and 45 brass really well. Not sure how/if it would work on a shouldered rifle cartridge.
It's a touch noisy even in the basement so no overnight running, but way less messy than my old vibrating tumbler.
TS22
PS I bought a "rock tumbler" model instead of a "reloading tumbler" to save money.
It's a touch noisy even in the basement so no overnight running, but way less messy than my old vibrating tumbler.
TS22
PS I bought a "rock tumbler" model instead of a "reloading tumbler" to save money.
Have been using the Model B hi-speed for several months with stainless steel.
Like it much more than the vibrator type. Tip: After tumbling, to seperate the stainless steel pins from brass, use a 5 gal. nylon paint filter fabric that fits over a 5 gal. bucket and the miners seperator pan and pour all brass,s.s. pins and water into bucket. Will have to stir the brass and ss pins around in miners pan to get the pins to fall into the paint filter and bucket. To rinse off soap off the brass, I have a shorter bucket (cut down from a 5 gal.bucket) I fill with clean water and add the brass and then dry brass on newspaper. The ss pins in the nylon filter sock can be rinsed off and added back into tumbler. All my stuff is done outside and in shop with less than ten gals. Rinse water poured onto the grass. I suppose there is ground contamination, but figure the contents came from the ground to begin with. Have noticed that the brass wasn't as brilliant brite shiney after a half a dozen times tumbling and think the ss pins have smooth out some.
Like it much more than the vibrator type. Tip: After tumbling, to seperate the stainless steel pins from brass, use a 5 gal. nylon paint filter fabric that fits over a 5 gal. bucket and the miners seperator pan and pour all brass,s.s. pins and water into bucket. Will have to stir the brass and ss pins around in miners pan to get the pins to fall into the paint filter and bucket. To rinse off soap off the brass, I have a shorter bucket (cut down from a 5 gal.bucket) I fill with clean water and add the brass and then dry brass on newspaper. The ss pins in the nylon filter sock can be rinsed off and added back into tumbler. All my stuff is done outside and in shop with less than ten gals. Rinse water poured onto the grass. I suppose there is ground contamination, but figure the contents came from the ground to begin with. Have noticed that the brass wasn't as brilliant brite shiney after a half a dozen times tumbling and think the ss pins have smooth out some.
I've found that by running a load with no brass in it for about 30 minutes cleans everything up, so the next batch of brass is back to being shiny.
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