Just about done my homemade wet tumbler, a couple questions:

mactroneng said:
I have the drum set to rotate at about 30 RPM. I am looking to get some grip tape to ensure the drum doesn't slip on the rods, and if I need to I can wrap it around to build up the rods to a larger diameter.

Will probably go to the store tonight to grab the last remaining supplies to construct this thing and just do a dry run (just a pile of brass I have laying around, and maybe some water) to test it for weight. Got my stainless steel pins from Bullseye in London and they should be here by Monday.
Click to expand...

I used rubber tape on the "drive shaft" and its holding up extremely well.
Definitely test run it with water in it, the water weighs more than the brass and pins.

Here another thread about diy builds.
Mine is in post 33 and 35.


https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...e-tumbler-Who-s-made-one?highlight=Breadmaker
 
So I was working on it Friday night / Saturday morning and have come to the conclusion that this thing has far more capacity than I intended. Based on rough estimates I think I'll need at least 20 lbs of steel media to properly fill this thing. Which I can't really afford now at $60 / 5 lbs. My first 5 lbs gets in Monday so I'll be confirming.

What's the word on running these things at reduced volumes of pins & brass?

I may buy a 4" pipe and make a drum from that instead. That'll reduce the volume by half so at worst, I'll need another 5 lbs and be done (will also increase the speed to about 45 RPM by my calcs). I'm kinda regretting buying the 6" pipe (they are definitely not cheap), but I may need what's remaining of in (about 7') for some metal part storage in a couple years so, after buying a few more end caps, it may not be a waste (turns out you can fit some pretty large assemblies of metal parts in a 6" pipe).
 
mactroneng said:
So I was working on it Friday night / Saturday morning and have come to the conclusion that this thing has far more capacity than I intended. Based on rough estimates I think I'll need at least 20 lbs of steel media to properly fill this thing. Which I can't really afford now at $60 / 5 lbs. My first 5 lbs gets in Monday so I'll be confirming.

What's the word on running these things at reduced volumes of pins & brass?

I may buy a 4" pipe and make a drum from that instead. That'll reduce the volume by half so at worst, I'll need another 5 lbs and be done (will also increase the speed to about 45 RPM by my calcs). I'm kinda regretting buying the 6" pipe (they are definitely not cheap), but I may need what's remaining of in (about 7') for some metal part storage in a couple years so, after buying a few more end caps, it may not be a waste (turns out you can fit some pretty large assemblies of metal parts in a 6" pipe).
Click to expand...

The FA wet tumbler has a seven liter volume and five pounds of pins works well with any load of brass.
What is the volume of your setup?
 
You guys are working way to hard on this. I used a old treadmill i picked up at the dump for nothing. Cut back the frame so the rollers held a office water jug between them and cut off the control head arms so it was just above the motor unit. nice compact unit with speed control and timer built in. use the water jugs with the indented handles that work as an ajatater and screw on caps. Build up a layer of black tape on the rollers to keep the jug centered and stretch a piece of car tube on each end for traction.
45 min at 1.7 mph works the best for me. Did 10 sandbags of 9mm very quickly. best usd of a treadmill ever!
Rocket
 
667 said:
You need pipe?

I got pipe... PM your location.
Click to expand...

PM sent.

calibrecarstairs said:
The FA wet tumbler has a seven liter volume and five pounds of pins works well with any load of brass.
What is the volume of your setup?
Click to expand...

I'm at about 14L capacity... so may I can make this work with just 10 lbs of steel pins.

rocketman321 said:
You guys are working way to hard on this.
Click to expand...

I'm a mechanical engineer and the building department demands that I over-engineer everything... so it's kind of a mindset now.

J.Hancock said:
Very inspiration thread, I can't wait to retire lol. Until then it will probably be a sonic cleaner for me.
Click to expand...

Not even close to retiring over hear, just cheap (except for the 6" pipe apparently) and like to build stuff. Everyone needs a hobby!
 
Last edited:
I stopped using the pins as they were a pain in the ass and added to the workload, for pistol brass I see no need for them. As far as the issue of more pins I have seen others that have used spent primers instead of pins, if you're looking for a budget solution.
 
Last edited:
Got my pack of pins last night, actually made me more confident that I can make this work with 5 lbs. If not I'll grab an extra 5 lbs as some reading I did last night indicates that the Frankford tumlbers is 7 L and uses 5 lbs, mine is double the volume.

Don't really want to go the 4" pipe route anymore as it'll be too long and skinny I think.
 
mactroneng said:
Got my pack of pins last night, actually made me more confident that I can make this work with 5 lbs. If not I'll grab an extra 5 lbs as some reading I did last night indicates that the Frankford tumlbers is 7 L and uses 5 lbs, mine is double the volume.

Don't really want to go the 4" pipe route anymore as it'll be too long and skinny I think.
Click to expand...

You can always just cut down your 6 inch pipe.
Will only cost an extra end cap.

Good luck. Curious to know how it all works out for you.
You must have a lot of brass ;)
 
bertn said:
You can always just cut down your 6 inch pipe.
Will only cost an extra end cap.

Good luck. Curious to know how it all works out for you.
You must have a lot of brass ;)
Click to expand...

Don't really want to reduce the volume to be honest. And last night the wife said she was putting in an Amazon order so I got her to add 3 2.5 lb packs of pins (cheaper as a unit price than the 5 lb packs on there and from Bullseye)
 
Update for any who are interested: had a big failure yesterday.

While the drum ended up watertight (which is what I was most concerned with) the brass gearing I had is no nearly hard enough for the forces I am putting on it, it ground down quite a bit after less than 5 min of use and I image it'll be completely useless not much longer than that.

Therefore, I'll be implementing plan B (which was actually plan A): using a 1/2 HP furnace motor and belt driving the thing using pulleys. Need to find/order the correct pulleys, it'll be ugly when it's built but it should work.
 
mactroneng said:
Update for any who are interested: had a big failure yesterday.

While the drum ended up watertight (which is what I was most concerned with) the brass gearing I had is no nearly hard enough for the forces I am putting on it, it ground down quite a bit after less than 5 min of use and I image it'll be completely useless not much longer than that.

Therefore, I'll be implementing plan B (which was actually plan A): using a 1/2 HP furnace motor and belt driving the thing using pulleys. Need to find/order the correct pulleys, it'll be ugly when it's built but it should work.
Click to expand...

I just finished putting my tumbler together over the past weekend. Gonna finally put the barrel/drum together after work today. I'm using a 6" pipe with 4" reducer. As for pulley's I went with 2" drive to 9" driven and its giving me just shy of 60 rpm. I am using 3/4" rods covered in 3/4" heater hose.
 
I don't have spare cash to order the pulleys and belt right now (not that it costs much... I just have other things that need to come first) so I'm kinda stuck. Been looking for a way to redneck with what I have around the house/garage.
 
1/3 to 1/2HP motor with pulleys and a v-belt is ideal.
My drum is 1/4" thick octagonal 316L stainless, can handle 3000 9mm or 1000 .308 cases and 10lbs of tumbling media.
Spining around 60rpm it will clean all that brass in two hours without lemishine.
No dents or excessive wear in cases.
I also went with a chain drive.
 
mactroneng said:
I don't have spare cash to order the pulleys and belt right now (not that it costs much... I just have other things that need to come first) so I'm kinda stuck. Been looking for a way to redneck with what I have around the house/garage.
Click to expand...

2 liter pickle jar
2 lbs stainless steel media
4 lbs brass
1 teaspoon of dish soap
1/2 teaspoon of citric acid (baking supplies) or Lemishine (same stuff, but smells)
tap water
1 Terminator: Dark Fates
1 couch
2 beers
1 bag of chips

combine the ingredients in the jar and do flipping/rocking motions (tumble end over end) while watching the movie. rolling the jar is less effective than tumbling.
10-15 min for pistol brass is usually good enough
 
FarmerDanz said:
maybe a bike you can donate and use the gearing off of?
Click to expand...

This is something I am actually considering. I was hope the low speed on my lawn tractor would be slow enough that I could basically just run the tire against the drum while it was up on blocks, but it's a little too fast. Might take the wheel off and put a smaller wheel on to make it work.

sixty9santa said:
1/3 to 1/2HP motor with pulleys and a v-belt is ideal.
Click to expand...

This is exactly my plan once I get the cash, I have an old 3-speed motor from a furnace I can use, just need the pulleys and belt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom