Tumble vs Ultra Sonic Cleaning

aridan said:
I built my tumbler from spare parts, and the container is a $15 cooler from Walmart. That's all.
Click to expand...

This is the only part that's my stumbling block. I built one out of a spare electric motor, found the pulleys and all (which i thought was the hardest thing to do), but now, I can't get a good airtight container, with the flat sides inside the container that gets the media tumbling, instead of sliding!

Pray tell, what $15 cooler did you find in Walmart that works for you? I have the SS media and all (I found my own source), the roller mechanism motor etc. Just the bloody container and I've almost given up...:mad:
 
OEM said:
This is the only part that's my stumbling block. I built one out of a spare electric motor, found the pulleys and all (which i thought was the hardest thing to do), but now, I can't get a good airtight container, with the flat sides inside the container that gets the media tumbling, instead of sliding!

Pray tell, what $15 cooler did you find in Walmart that works for you? I have the SS media and all (I found my own source), the roller mechanism motor etc. Just the bloody container and I've almost given up...:mad:
Click to expand...
I don't see it on Walmart's site, but same one is available from Canadian Tire, it is a Coleman 1 Gallon Jug with faucet:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/Camping/Coolers/PRD~0854017P/Coleman%252B1%252BGallon%252BJug%252Bwith%252BFaucet.jsp?locale=en

I hot-glued the faucet so it won't leak, and put an o-ring inside the cap. The o-ring is from an empty weight gain or protein powder container.

There are no flats inside the container, but those are overrated, believe me. 5lb of SS media, 4 handful of brass, and water just to cover brass by 1/2" or so. This gives you slurry-like consistency, and works great. If you add more water you'll see cleaning action is gone, because now brass will have room to avoid the media.
 
Thanks Aridan! I never thought of the coleman jug! The O-ring is critical though eh? Sounds like a lot of media for just 4 handfuls of brass though, if you're getting good results, I will have to try it!

Did you use Lemishine or anything else in your mix?
 
I'm using the same jug, and no O-ring. Also left the faucet functional to drain it. I epoxied 3 hot-glue sticks inside to help the "tumbling".....
 
tumbler001.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Ahh...nothing smells good like the spirit of innovation. Thanks for sharing guys! I'm off to craigslist to look for a nicely used one ;-)

BTW, aridan, I just checked the online conversions and the Model B Thumler's at 12 pound capacity is about the same as your 1 gallon Coleman special...converts to 1.48 gallons. So, with your measurement of water slightly over the brass and media, I reckon you've got slightly under a gallon of solution in there.

I've got some plastic pieces that I can epoxy to the smooth sides as well.
 
Dmay said:
I'm using the same jug, and no O-ring. Also left the faucet functional to drain it. I epoxied 3 hot-glue sticks inside to help the "tumbling".....
Click to expand...
I didn't like the dirty water dripping everywhere. Didn't think about draining it though, good idea. I just dump mine into a 1/2 filled bucket that has a fine mesh sieve on the bottom, and a hanging basket with holes large enough to let the SS media through but keeps the brass. Swirl the brass a few times, shake the basket, then remove the sieve & dump media back into the jug.

Good idea on glue sticks, do these survive & stay put? Before using the jug, I tried rivetting a few aluminum channel pieces into a plastic container, these got beat up in no time.
 
That pic is when the jug was pretty new....its a bit rougher inside now, although fairly clean still. I use a tablespoon of Lemishine and about a glug of dishwashing liquid every load.

A couple of the glue sticks have broken free, but only when I tumble 50BMG brass. Since I glued them in with JB weld, they've been good.
 
Dmay said:
That pic is when the jug was pretty new....its a bit rougher inside now, although fairly clean still. I use a tablespoon of Lemishine and about a glug of dishwashing liquid every load.

A couple of the glue sticks have broken free, but only when I tumble 50BMG brass. Since I glued them in with JB weld, they've been good.
Click to expand...
Good stuff, I'll give those sticks a try. This will probably allow me to use more water.

Why glue sticks, may I ask? I still have some aluminum channel, you think this would be OK?
 
aridan said:
Why glue sticks, may I ask?
Click to expand...

I was just looking for somethiong that wouldn't ever ding brass......and they were the first thing I found......also was gonna use some plexi-glass pieces, but would have had to cut them....this was easier.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom