Big Friggin Tumbler

kev74

kev74

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I've been gathering and scrounging parts and pieces fo a year or so with the intent of building a big tumbler capable of using wet or dry media. I've finally got it mocked up and almost ready to go. Before I put it to use, I want to tear it down and paint everything so it looks nice. The motor could also use a new cord.

The motor is 1/8 hp and the drum spins at about 45 rpm. My target speed was 50-55 rpm, so this should work well. If it seems underpowered, I have a 1/2 hp motor I can use.

The drum has a capacity of about 4-1/2 gallons. The wheels that the drum spins on are the part with the lowest weight rating and they can hold over 500 lbs, so this thing isn't getting over-loaded!

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And the inside of the drum.

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Acer-m14

Acer-m14

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I like home brewing stuff to .. chapped up a old tread mill , got it to spin a car tire , then used it to clean some junk reclaimed bird shot ..

i have seen some use them portable cement mixer for cleaning brass .. you could go wet or dry in them i say ..
 
repete

repete

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Nice! I've been thinking along the same lines but decided a 5 gallon bucket was to big for my needs then I thought about a piece of 8" PVC pipe. But it never got past the thinking stage because I found a great deal on a Thumler tumbler at the last gun show, just couldn't pass it up.
 
repete

repete

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I like the idea of split PVC pipe inside the bucket for vanes(?) I'd thought about using hardwood and aluminum angle never the pvc.
 
kev74

kev74

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repete said:
I like the idea of split PVC pipe inside the bucket for vanes(?) I'd thought about using hardwood and aluminum angle never the pvc.
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I thought about using wood or aluminum, but I was concerned about contamination (splinters from the wood, streaking from the aluminum).

Ideally, I'd like to be able to use this thing for polishing, deburring and rust removal of small metal parts in addition to brass for reloading.
 
kev74

kev74

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Here it is painted, assembled and tumbling enough 38 special to fill the drum to 2/3. In 2 hours or so, I'll check how it did.

I was having some traction problems between the drive wheels and the drum. I put a few rubber bands around the drum for now, but if I can find some stickier rubber wheels, I might swap them out. Or maybe belt dressing will work. Or Flex Seal the outside of the drum. :idk:

I'm using walnut shell media and tumbling dry until I can bare to spend $100 or so on stainless pins. :eek:

I think I have about $100 into this thing now, not counting the parts I had lying around. I'm debating adding a timer switch, but I think I want to see how practical it is for me to use before I sink any more money into it.

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MilesTeg

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If you don't want to pony up the money for SS media heres another option. BRASS JUICE CASE WASH I bought some and used it in my ultrasonic machine and i worked very well. They claim it will clean the insides of the case without media. I think i will try this when I move up to wet tumbling, because I don't want to mess with separating the pins from the brass.
 
kev74

kev74

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Uh oh! I had a malfunction last night. The drive wheels slipped on the axle. :(

I'll be spending my lunch at Home Depot looking for some more robust wheels.
 
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