Tumblers!!!

where did you guys get the material to build your drums? i know ive been looking around and finally convinced a buddy to build me one, what kind of pipe are you using? im running an 8" sewer pipe, and i know the caps and plugs alone are like 250-300 bucks,
 
Winchester30-30 said:
where did you guys get the material to build your drums? i know ive been looking around and finally convinced a buddy to build me one, what kind of pipe are you using? im running an 8" sewer pipe, and i know the caps and plugs alone are like 250-300 bucks,
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PVC / ABS? $250-300?!?!

Problem with a round container on the inside is you need to put baffles in to make the brass "toss" like a dryer. I'd probably find a baffle that works and JB weld it in there. Two would be enough. Doesn't have to be much.

Truthfully, and people can laugh if they want, but on my treadmill tumbler, I'm using cranberry juice jugs. It'll do two at a time so you can keep brass separated, they are reusable, easily replaceable, recyclable, and perform great! Baffles built in. I think they are ocean spray 1.78l jugs from Costco. Juice is an added bonus. Good for organs and male prostate... So I've heard.
 
I went to the local town public works and got an 8' section of steel lamp post pole, they just ga e it to me, it's 8 sided and 14" to 12" diameter, its slightly tapered, all I have to do is cut off the length I want and make the ends. It will be heavy, but large volume and indestructible!!
 
I'm using 6" DWV pipe. The fittings (1 Cap, 1 coupling, 1 cleanout) came out to $100. For agitators, i cut a piece of 2" lengthwise and bolted them down, with the bolts being covered by the fittings to keep it sealed.
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did_b said:
I'm using 6" DWV pipe. The fittings (1 Cap, 1 coupling, 1 cleanout) came out to $100. For agitators, i cut a piece of 2" lengthwise and bolted them down, with the bolts being covered by the fittings to keep it sealed.
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Wow, those are some big baffles.....do you not get any slippage on the rollers? I would think that a lot of weight gets caught up in them and would cause slip as it is trying to lift that weight as the drum is turning.
One of the first barrels I used had 1/2 inch copper pipe as the baffles and caused the drum to slip on the rollers. My drum now just has some really thick beads of hot melt glue and that seems to do the trick.
 
Wired leader said:
Wow, those are some big baffles.....do you not get any slippage on the rollers? I would think that a lot of weight gets caught up in them and would cause slip as it is trying to lift that weight as the drum is turning.
One of the first barrels I used had 1/2 inch copper pipe as the baffles and caused the drum to slip on the rollers. My drum now just has some really thick beads of hot melt glue and that seems to do the trick.
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Looking back now, 1 1/2 or 1" would have been enough, but so far so good, no slippage. Ran 500 pieces of 223 with 15lbs of media in it yesterday. After topping it off with water it was just under 50 lbs. (and it didn't leak a drop so I'm happy)
 
50 pounds.....that is probably why it does not slip. I at the time was only running 5lbs of pins with a couple hundred pieces of brass in a 6"(?) jug. I found it better when the media was able to slide off the baffles as the drum turned. Obviously given the weight of your setup, it is not a concern.
I have a piece of 10" pipe...just haven't seen any caps lying around any construction sites...still looking
Still using food grade barrels for now, but it does the job for me which is all I require.

Happy reloading!
 
if you're always using the same amount, you may not even notice. Not sure how much water your tumbler holds, but that seems like a lot of lemi-shine.
It does not take much to add the shine...remember the citric acid is not what cleans the brass.
That being said, it is your brass and feel free to tumble it anyway you want.
 
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In this pic, you will see the difference in the brass. You will notice that some of them have a pinkish hue. As I stated, if all you are looking at is the brass tumbled with too much lemi-shine, you may never notice.

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well i will say you were correct, it was a bit too much, i will cut down on my next tumble, but here are my results

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i will call this one a learning experience as i opened it up and she was pretty frothy, i used about 4L of water, my tumbler can easily hold 8 or 9, i used half a shell of lemishine, next batch will cut that in half most likely, a small dash of dish soap,

It tumbled for about 3 - 3.5 hours

thoughts comment, concerns
All Appreciated
 
Gotta love the way the pins clean out the primer pockets...
I can't tell by the pics if they have the pinkish look to them, but I guess you can possibly tell.
I am just trying to share knowledge that I have learned myself.
I did a batch of brass and they not only had a hue, but wee quite pink around the head in the groove and among the brass were some 223 which got wedged in some 38-55 cases. One of he 223 cases looked like it had been tagged with a paintball. After a quick internet search I realized the error of my ways. I then did another batch of some pistol brass with the right amount of lemi-shine and when I added it to a bag of already tumbled brass(that was done with too much lemi-shine), I noticed the previously tumbled brass had that pinkish hue compared to the newly tumbled brass with less lemi-shine. I hadn't even noticed that the previous batch had the hue until it sat next to sparkling brass done with the correct amount of lemi-shine. I have read that the pink will tumble out with a regular vibratory tumbler. I also, figuring I had nothing to lose, re-tumbled the "pinkish" brass in the pins with the soap and correct amount of lemi-shine and they then looked almost perfect after a few hours. So they are salvageable. I also read somewhere that a reloader called Winchester about his brass and was told to toss them, but I have reloaded said brass several times and there has been no issues...

So keep on tumbling and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
 
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