Silly question on my home made brass tumbler- wood paddles in pvc drum?

[tallpaul]

I made a tumbler a year or so back using a treadmill motor and rollers... I made a drum out of 6 inch pvc with a screw in lid but I never go around to putting paddles in it to help agitate the brass... I was wondering if a few strips of hardwood screwed n glued to the inside walls of the pvc might hold up long enough to bother with? I am wondering if any of you have done it? Thanks in advance!

 

[sparkyv]

Haven't done it, but I'm doubtful such a design will hold up. Can you glue in some PVC pieces in the drum, anything to disturb the rolling around of the brass is better than nothing.? Maybe you can make some sort of a cage from PVC or aluminum that press fits into the drum?

 

[reloaded_in_pa]

Could you heat the PVC with a torch and press some dimples in it ? That should cause enough turbulence to agitate the media.

 

[jmorris]

I built a 12.7 gallon tumbler out of two old 100lb chlorine buckets. One was mounted to a plate driven by a 40 rpm gear motor I got off eBay. The other I screwed in agitators like your talking about, except they were 1/2” thick Hyvar (plastic). The bucket with the blue lid, you can see the counter sink screws down the side holding the plastic pieces. It slides into the other bucket, (see where the mouth of it is notched for the handles of the other as a drive key).

 

[Riomouse911]

I’d use the hyvar or cutting board material paddles like those above rather than hardwood. The wood will eventually splinter up after being bonked thousands of times per use by the brass... plus you could use a liquid cleaning solution in it if you desire without worrying about the wood getting waterlogged.

Stay safe.

 

[Highland Lofts]

I like making things but a tumble I bought the frankford, liked it so much I just bought another.

 

[FROGO207]

Plastic panels are the thing. Get one of the fake wood deck boards and cut it up then screw them in after bedding with silicone. No leaks and long lasting.

 

[mdi]

Well the wood slats I put in my homemade drums have lasted several years (8-9?). The last drum I "made" was a wide mouth white jar about 8" long x 6" diameter (oz?) and I had some scrap 1/2 angle wood molding. I glued and screwed 2 on the interior (epoxy only, lasted a couple years)....

 

[jmorris]

I built some really big tumblers for a business, they didn't use anything inside them. Just 15 gallons of brass but the speed was adjustable

 

[Demi-human]

I used stainless angle found at a hardware store.

I countersunk and screwed the angle in underneath the glue joints. A slight bend to the screw keeps the nut tight.

It is almost too aggressive. A small ledge, just enough to stop any cases from rolling along the bottom, would work just as well.

There is a definite “sweet spot” to container fill and rotation speed. If easily found, baffles aren’t necessary. But some apparatus won’t spin fast enough. That is where baffles will help to lift and drop the cases and pins.
Be sure where you place your container is wide enough or the weight shift from lifting the wash will knock it off the stand.

 

[tallpaul]

Plastic panels are the thing. Get one of the fake wood deck boards and cut it up then screw them in after bedding with silicone. No leaks and long lasting.

I never thought of the deck boards! Thanks- I am sure I can find some scrap for that vs 24.00 for a bar of new! Perfect!

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

I used stainless angle found at a hardware store.

I countersunk and screwed the angle in underneath the glue joints. A slight bend to the screw keeps the nut tight.

It is almost too aggressive. A small ledge, just enough to stop any cases from rolling along the bottom, would work just as well.

There is a definite “sweet spot” to container fill and rotation speed. If easily found, baffles aren’t necessary. But some apparatus won’t spin fast enough. That is where baffles will help to lift and drop the cases and pins.
Be sure where you place your container is wide enough or the weight shift from lifting the wash will knock it off the stand.

Quite a bit like i did mine a few years back

 

[jmorris]

Another approach I thought was interesting. His round bucket is not unlike mine above and he just slides containers inside it. The square one should be quite the agitator.

 

[rfwobbly]

I was wondering if a few strips of hardwood screwed n glued to the inside walls of the pvc might hold up long enough to bother with?

Probably last at least 2 years. But wood is inexpensive, it's easy to fashion, and cheap to attach. Therefore, I see no gain by using more expensive materials until you prove wood won't hold up.

 

[reloaded_in_pa]

Another approach I thought was interesting. His round bucket is not unlike mine above and he just slides containers inside it. The square one should be quite the agitator.

View attachment 972148

That is an interesting approach. I wonder how long the peanut containers last.

 

[jmorris]

That is an interesting approach. I wonder how long the peanut containers last.

Don’t know.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?417076-Rotary-tumbler/page2

 

[WiTom]

I used a cement mixer, and took the dividers out, and coated them with liquid electrical tape. Probably going on 300,000 cases cleaned, and never had to touch it yet.

 

[rdnktrkr]

My thoughts are to take 1/2 or 3/4 pvc pipe and cut lengthwise then hot glue each piece to the inside, I've done this to 2 6" pvc pieces 12" long with a cap on one end and a screw in cap on the other, that way I can have one to clean and one to rinse or one loaded while the other is tumbling

 

[11MikeMike]

I built a 12.7 gallon tumbler out of two old 100lb chlorine buckets. One was mounted to a plate driven by a 40 rpm gear motor I got off eBay. The other I screwed in agitators like your talking about, except they were 1/2” thick Hyvar (plastic). The bucket with the blue lid, you can see the counter sink screws down the side holding the plastic pieces. It slides into the other bucket, (see where the mouth of it is notched for the handles of the other as a drive key).

View attachment 971865

Holy buckets Batman! That thing is the bees knees. You could clean all of Paris Island’s brass with that monster.

 

[jmorris]

Holy buckets Batman! That thing is the bees knees. You could clean all of Paris Island’s brass with that monster.

That one can do around 3000 45 ACP cases per batch, in 45 min.



Not near the same amount they do in those drums but I don’t need a gantry crane to load and unload the bucket.

 

[tallpaul]

I like making things but a tumble I bought the frankford, liked it so much I just bought another.

I was too cheap to buy the frankfort when I have the tools and scrap to make one- This will work well I think... and the drums are pricey on the frankfort

 

[Highland Lofts]

I don't have the stuff to use for a project like this. I'm sure it will work as long as there a few lands inside the tube so the brass gets agitated while rotating.
I dibble in range brass so selling some brass covered another tumbler for my.