DIY wet tumbler question

nate18 said:
amazon has frankford arensenal tumblers for like 160 bucks i think. personally by the time i would have spent getting parts, paying for parts and the time spent putting it all together its faster and easier to drop 160 on the FA tumbler. but thats just me. and i got it for christmas lol.
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For me the build process is part of the "fun"...not all my home made projects turn out but I find building, designing, troubleshooting and locating parts and materials is more gratifying than going online and buying it...youre right in that projects dont always end up being cheaper when you factor in time and materials and tools needed...but they usually are made more durable than mass produced items...for me personally, I own a garage full of tools, so that part of the process is taken care of..I also like to have the ability to customize something I've built to suit my needs..If I want to build a tumbler that will handle 30 lbs of brass I can and I know it will be built to handle it..

Like the post above me..I too have a lot of spare "parts" in my possesion and have a lot of friends with different backgrounds so always have access to different items and skillsets..we all help each other out with projects the same way we do with home repairs etc..part of a great community with similar interests
 
coreyd said:
Just the real estate those things take up makes the FA tumbler I have worth it.
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X2. I love projects, searching for parts, building it yourself, etc... but most of those homemade jobs are huge compared to the commercial units. When I switch to SS it will be a commercial unit.
 
Oddjob70 said:
Have you had a chance to try out the 8" drum you made with the plexi end caps? Wondering how they stood up to use..I had some 8" pipe but like you, I couldnt find a cap for it..thought of the same idea as you except was looking at using countersunk screws to hold the end cap on..the automotive urethane is a great idea!.. how thick of a plexi/lexan did you use on the ends?
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Those end caps are just .100 thick or so. I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I expect the end caps to get pretty scratched up pretty fast. I have also though about adding some screws to hold the caps on. I can stick my hand in opening and carry the drum around (its not light, 20 lbs or so?) and the cap doesn't budge. I can use channel locks on the threaded cap to snug it up a bit more than hand tight as well with no issue.
I am sure time will tell in the end, hopefully it works, the caps don't really have to hold a lot of pressure or impact so I think it will work.
I would have liked some .125" or thicker, but that's what I had kicking around. I also thought about finding some aluminum from the scrap yard or something to make the caps out of. Some .100 or .125 aluminum would be plenty, the aluminum can still be worked with a router if you're careful, make sure you wear safety glasses though. If these end caps don't work I will probably glue/ screw some aluminum to the ends instead.

The FA version would be the way to go for someone that doesn't have a shop or random crap laying around to build it with. However our crappy $$ makes it slightly less appealing.
 
What are the dimensions of the FA unit? what is the base dimensions and the height with a drum on?
I think these home made ones look a bit bigger than they probably are. If I wanted a smaller footprint I can build with the motor under or above the drum instead of beside it. But one nice thing about them being flat is you can stand it up on its end and stick it in the corner. Or hang it on the wall when it's not in use.
Not saying the FA isn't indeed smaller than some home made ones. I am sure it is. But besides the FA a lot of the others don't seem to have all that much capacity either.
 
I'm in the process of building one in the upright format..hoping it will come in under the size of a milk crate..once I finish the honey-do list for my wife I will begin assembly and will post pics here..going with the first prototype outta wood..got all the parts just need to get to the building part
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I guess I'm joining the list of DIY'er home built tumblers. Now I just have too decide if I want too do a 3 gallon direct drive pail with a backing plate attaching the motor to the pail. Then a second pail with a Gamma seal lid inserted into the driven pail. Or the more common jug on driven roller type,
 
I finally made my tumbler a few weeks ago, it was simpler than my first ideas. I had a couple motors that I was planning on using, but ended up using my wifes treadmill machine. I made a backstop with some wood and a couple of castors, and made the drum from a large plastic 2kg Whey drink container. I have about 2 hours total of futzing around with it. Ive used it a couple times so far and it really does a decent job, about 90 minutes at 1.8 mph does a great job on cleaning the brass. I'll be making a better drum in the future out of heavier material, a 10 litre greek olive barrel would be perfect, or else I'll use a piece of 8-12" plastic drain pipe and make some ends for it.
The best thing about this is that you could have multiple drums turning at the same time on the treadmill to do either separate caliber brass or a larger volume of brass all at once.
 
nate18 said:
amazon has frankford arensenal tumblers for like 160 bucks i think. personally by the time i would have spent getting parts, paying for parts and the time spent putting it all together its faster and easier to drop 160 on the FA tumbler. but thats just me. and i got it for christmas lol.
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Where did you find the FA rotary tumbler for $160? Cheapest I can find on Amazon is $276 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.ca/Frankford-9095...qid=1457048558&sr=8-1&keywords=rotary+tumbler
 
I went with a build because I wanted to have a larger drum than what was available back when I discovered SS tumbling.
I'm not a welder so I just bolted everything yo a scrap piece of plywood as a mock-up just to see if it would work... If it did I figured I'd go pay to have a frame welded/fabricated...
Well.... That was a few years ago and it works great so I never bothered with making a steel frame...

Here's a video of it tumbling 800 .223 cases... Shortly after this test run I wired it up properly with a switch and proper gauge wire...
[youtube]YmTjfo4H4cA[/youtube]

Not very spendy...

Bearings.. $8
Rods.. $6
Heater hose to cover rods.. $3
Pully's... $6
The PVAC pipe and caps were surprisingly costly, but.. what can you do?
I had to buy a 12ft length of the pipe so... I have plenty left to fab up some smaller drums if I feel the urge.

My motor was brand new so it was about $90 but if I looked around I'm sure I could have found an old used one uber cheap.

Below is a link to the place I stole all my ideas...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html
 
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667 said:
I went with a build because I wanted to have a larger drum than what was available back when I discovered SS tumbling.
I'm not a welder so I just bolted everything yo a scrap piece of plywood as a mock-up just to see if it would work... If it did I figured I'd go pay to have a frame welded/fabricated...
Well.... That was a few years ago and it works great so I never bothered with making a steel frame...

Here's a video of it tumbling 800 .223 cases... Shortly after this test run I wired it up properly with a switch and proper gauge wire...
[youtube]YmTjfo4H4cA[/youtube]

Not very spendy...

Bearings.. $8
Rods.. $6
Heater hose to cover rods.. $3
Pully's... $6
The PVAC pipe and caps were surprisingly costly, but.. what can you do?
I had to buy a 12ft length of the pipe so... I have plenty left to fab up some smaller drums if I feel the urge.

My motor was brand new so it was about $90 but if I looked around I'm sure I could have found an old used one uber cheap.

Below is a link to the place I stole all my ideas...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html
Click to expand...


Nice configuration ..
 
667 said:
I went with a build because I wanted to have a larger drum than what was available back when I discovered SS tumbling.
I'm not a welder so I just bolted everything yo a scrap piece of plywood as a mock-up just to see if it would work... If it did I figured I'd go pay to have a frame welded/fabricated...
Well.... That was a few years ago and it works great so I never bothered with making a steel frame...


Not very spendy...

Bearings.. $8
Rods.. $6
Heater hose to cover rods.. $3
Pully's... $6
The PVAC pipe and caps were surprisingly costly, but.. what can you do?
I had to buy a 12ft length of the pipe so... I have plenty left to fab up some smaller drums if I feel the urge.

My motor was brand new so it was about $90 but if I looked around I'm sure I could have found an old used one uber cheap.

Below is a link to the place I stole all my ideas...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html
Click to expand...

That was a very similar design that I was planning on using, but like you I would have had to of bought some of the parts to complete the unit.
Finding a second use for the treadmill machine, and the fact that it does a great job was a bonus for me.
 
BigRobb: Built mine. The hex tub is 3 gallons and all stainless. I also made an all round tub that holds 5 gallons. 1/4 hp motor.

How did you make the hex tub? That's interesting, just like the Thumler.
 
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