Thumler Tumbler

[MoreIsLess]

I am thinking of purchasing a Thumler Tumbler. Does any one know if the steel pins come with it or do you have to buy that separately

 

[frankenstein406]

Separate unless they have a kit.

 

[straight-shooter]

http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/

 

[cdb1]

+1.

 

[Countryboy1150]

Seems like the tumblers are always back ordered on STM. I bought the media and the separator from them but got my Model B high speed tumbler from my local Cabelas. I had spied it a few weeks earlier on the shelf. Luckily they still had it.

 

[ZX John]

You can use the Thumler B with dry media too - I use mine with corncob for quick cleans on ammo that's not very dirty.

First post on THR - Hi all!

 

[Katitmail]

It's my first and only tumbler. Did about 5000-7000 pieces of brass with it.

I clean primed pistol brass only. Last time reloading 9mm I got stock twice(!) during decapping. Problem was - SS pin wedged into primer hole. This pin wasn't letting decapping pin to go through.

I don't know how many pins I pushed through with a primer, but this last session added just 1 more step to my reloading. After brass dries I shake my towel to get it upside and pick them one by one to make sure there is no pins left inside.

Last batch of about 500 9mm brass I found 3 pins wedged in a primer hole. So, watch for this!!

 

[Captaingyro]

I have no idea why, but almost every case I find that has two pins wedged into the flash hole is an R-P (Remington) case. Their flash holes must be a couple of thousandths bigger (or maybe smaller) than everyone else's.

 

[MoreIsLess]

How much extra effort is involved in cleaning brass with a Thumler Tumbler as opposed to a vibrating tumbler like I have (Lyman 1200 Turbo)

 

[Captaingyro]

I actually find it involve less effort. At least for me, corncob and/or walnut make a bigger mess in terms of dust and spilled particles than a gallon of dirty water that just goes down the drain. I use the same separator for steel pin tumbling that I use for dry media. Tumbling time is about the same.

There are two added steps in wet tumbling: rinsing and drying.

The rinsing is straightforward, and happens right in the tumbler. You just dump the sudsy water, add clean water, and agitate by hand. Repeat until all the soap is gone...about three or four refills.

The drying pretty much happens all by itself. If you want to accelerate the process, ten minutes in a 225 degree oven does the trick.

 

[MoreIsLess]

I actually find it involve less effort. At least for me, corncob and/or walnut make a bigger mess in terms of dust and spilled particles than a gallon of dirty water that just goes down the drain. I use the same separator for steel pin tumbling that I use for dry media. Tumbling time is about the same.

There are two added steps in wet tumbling: rinsing and drying.

The rinsing is straightforward, and happens right in the tumbler. You just dump the sudsy water, add clean water, and agitate by hand. Repeat until all the soap is gone...about three or four refills.

The drying pretty much happens all by itself. If you want to accelerate the process, ten minutes in a 225 degree oven does the trick.

So, how do you dry the brass, just spread them out on a towel or something like that. I'm usuallly in no hurry so I don't need to but them in the oven.

 

[Captaingyro]

Roger that. Dump them out on a clean towel, gather up the four corners, and bounce them around in the "hammock" you've just made for a minute or so. This does two things: it dries the outside of the cases, and helps to release whatever small amounts of water and/or pins that remain on the insides. Then just spread the towel out and let the cases air dry.

One thing that really helps is a magnet. The kind of stainless used for pins is attracted to a magnet, so you can use one to quickly suck up any stray pins.