# Firearms and Shooting > Projects and Home Builds >  case tumbler

## deye223

now i was of the opinion that all these wet tumblers are to small for the money so i turned this

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## deye223

in to this

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## P38

> in to this


Good on Ya deye223  :Thumbsup: 

DIY and kiwi ingenuity at it's best.

Cheers
Pete

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## cambo

Where did you get your media?

That seems to be the most expensive part at the moment.

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## deye223

> Good on Ya deye223 
> 
> DIY and kiwi ingenuity at it's best.
> 
> Cheers
> Pete


hahahahaha Aussie ingenuity at it's best.  :Thumbsup:

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## deye223

> Where did you get your media?
> 
> That seems to be the most expensive part at the moment.


7 Pounds Stainless Steel Tumbling Media Pins 7lb 047" X 255" Made IN USA | eBay

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## P38

> hahahahaha Aussie ingenuity at it's best.


 :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin: 

Aussie is merely the west island of NZ  :Wink: 

Cheers
Pete

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## 300CALMAN

hey deye223 any chance of a parts list? I am stuck with one of the hobby tumblers at the mo. This looks like a good project!

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## deye223

> hey deye223 any chance of a parts list? I am stuck with one of the hobby tumblers at the mo. This looks like a good project!


leave it with me





> Aussie is merely the west island of NZ 
> 
> Cheers
> Pete


HAHA i fu#%ing wish your way of life and gun laws shit all over ours .

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## P38

> HAHA i fu#%ing wish your way of life and gun laws shit all over ours .


I hear what your saying deye223.

Asked a guy at a Queensland gun shop "Can I see that rifle over there?"

He said yep, You got a gun licence?

Sure have I said and handed over my NZ licence.

He said sorry mate I can't give it to you to hold, you'll just have to look at it from there.  :Sad: 

Pretty sad really.

Cheers
Pete

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## deye223

yep that ain't the worst of it either 

try and defend yourself and you get charged 

get your guns stolen get charged yep what a system charge the victim  :Wtfsmilie:

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## Jexla

Yeah the first one rings true here too mate, don't you worry.

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## deye223

oh well on a brighter note  :ORLY:  i pulled it apart and painted it looks good too.

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## deye223

$140 for the drum if you made it out of ordinary down pipe that would be around $50 - $60

now the base 
MOTOR........$95 Electric Motor Single Phase 240V 0 25KW 1 3HP 1400rpm | eBay
RHS...............$25
SHAFT...........$17 THIS IS BRITE STEEL
BEARINGS.....$36
PULLEYS........$35
NUT&BOLTS..$8
V BELT...........$12

TOTAL...........$228 and the other total with 10lb of pins and my drum ready to spin $498 but with ordinary down pipe $408

now considering the thumler (15lb) and the rebel 17 (17) are both around $520 to your door and there to bloody small

i think this is the way to go mine (45lb)

(..) = weight capacity including water 

and the pic is whats inside the drum 



cheers D

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## deye223

glen the ID is 142mm and the OD is 160mm it's pvc presure pipe and a lot thicker than down pipe 


cheers D

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## P38

@deye223

Nice work  :Thumbsup: 

I see you swapped the "O Rings" for some car inner tube.

Good thinking batman.  :Thumbsup: 

Can't believe an Aussie would think of this .......... Are you sure your Not a Kiwi  :Wink: 

Have to be careful with the exposed Pulley and Vee belt .... just begging to mangle some little fingers.

Cheers
Pete

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## Tommy

My buddy has a blasting cabinet full of walnut shell. If I get a block of wood with 10x5 holes drilled half a case length deep, could I just blast em for 10 mins do you think? With a flip halfway of course

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## deye223

> @deye223
> 
> Nice work 
> 
> I see you swapped the "O Rings" for some car inner tube.
> 
> Good thinking batman. 
> 
> Can't believe an Aussie would think of this .......... Are you sure your Not a Kiwi 
> ...


we smarter dan u tink  :Thumbsup:  ......... and as for the last bit i an aussie so not a prob but if i was a Kiwi i would put a gaurd on it hay bro  :Grin:   :Thumbsup: 




> My buddy has a blasting cabinet full of walnut shell. If I get a block of wood with 10x5 holes drilled half a case length deep, could I just blast em for 10 mins do you think? With a flip halfway of course


hmmmmm nope not for me the inside would still be chockablock of carbon .

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## Tommy

The idea was to blast inside.

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## P38

> we smarter dan u tink  ......... and as for the last bit i an aussie so not a prob but if i was a Kiwi i would put a gaurd on it hay bro


Chur bro.  :Thumbsup: 

Cheers
Pete

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## deye223

i forgot to post these up

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## zimmer

Heh deye223 did you slow you one down in the end?

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## deye223

narh just left it as is and it does the job

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## P38

> narh just left it as is and it does the job


Looks like it does a very good job.  :Thumbsup: 

Will have to build me one.

Cheers
Pete

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## TeRei

Could you give us the spec dimensions for the metal frame please. Tidy outfit. :Thumbsup:

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## deye223

> Could you give us the spec dimensions for the metal frame please. Tidy outfit.


here ya go mate

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## TeRei

Thanks. My son and his mate now have a project with a cut off saw and welder.

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## Beaker

> Thanks. My son and his mate now have a project with a cut off saw and welder.


Maybe they should make a production line....

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## deye223

> Maybe they should make a production line....


and i'll wait for the royalty cheques  :Thumbsup:

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## cambo

I'm trying to work out RPM's to make something similar.
 @deye223 What pulley sizes did you use? And what rpm is the motor turning at?

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## zimmer

> I'm trying to work out RPM's to make something similar.
>  @deye223 What pulley sizes did you use? And what rpm is the motor turning at?


I am part way thru building a clone of his. (Must remember to send him some royalties!) If he doesn't reply real soon and i don't want to steal his glory, but he did post the motor details early on. It is standard 1400 rpm. He didn't post the pulley sizes but you can work it out. Watching his video you can count the drum revs/minute and work back from there.

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## deye223

sorry fellas i was hacked and have just got my modem up and running again (pricks) they took 24.6 gig in 2hrs  ?

now the pulleys are 5" and 21/4" if i was doing it again i would change the 21/4 to 3" and yes the donk is 1400rpm 

now the shaft size will alter the drum speed i have 1/2" and would rather 20mm but will think about changing it one 

day .

shit i procrastinated on this for 2 years and then said to me self ef it i'm gunna do it and went out a bought a welder 

and did it so it will be a loong time before i change it unless it shits itself but looking at the weay i built it i don't think

it will , you know back yard engineering it is either under engineered or built like a brick shit house and i prefer  the latter .....

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## redrover

Question for  Dye.

What do you think the optimum RPM is for a tumbler drum the size of yours? 

Timing your video shows it is doing about 36 RPM, and in the commentary you seem to be suggesting that it is too slow.  But later in the thread somebody asked if you had changed it to slow it down (though I havent seen where you had suggested that this was necessary) and you said that you had not.

I am asking because I am making a tumbler with a drum of a similar diameter to yours, and I am trying to determine pulley sizes, etc. Taking the pulley sizes (allowing for -6mm to obtain Pitch Circle Diameter of the pulleys) and the driving rod diameter you have used, and deducing that the outer diameter of the tumbler rim the driving rod bears on is about 178mm, I calculated that the drum would be doing just over 40 RPM. A bit more than the video shows it doing, but I suppose that in a driving system like this, 10% slippage is quite possible.

Thanks in Advance.
Red

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## redrover

Oops - got your name wrong. Sorry, deye223.

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## deye223

yeah that's about right i think and i stress think with more speed it would be to rough on the brass even though the drum is FULL of hot water and this helps cushion the blow

after running it severl times i am more than happy the way it does the brass .


cheers D

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## TeRei

deye223 is there any reason to buy a bigger motor than your one? Looked at the site and they had a huge range. You don't need the motor going flat out anyway?  Getting the bits together finally. Thanks.

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## deye223

nope the 1/3 hp is more then enough even with a 40lb drum

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## TeRei

Just awaiting quote for freight from Oz for the motor. Thanks. Just doing 400 243 cases for the new gun.

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## deye223

thats gunna be a lot as they are heavy

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## TeRei

Deye223 the steel is 30mm/30mm/2mm? The cases are unrelated but the dollar is going to make kiwi hunters fade if it goes to 40 vs the yank $. Your own tumbler is adding another dimension to reloading.Getting there.

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## deye223

yeah that will do it you can use smaller but i like the chunky look

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## gadgetman

Check out trademe. Get some good motors that would be suitable for $15-$50.

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## stumpy

I have this made already for someone who is making their own tumbler ........ make me a good offer .... these bits are stupidly expensive ..... watertight

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## Tommy

Hahaha that is EXACTLY what I've made. There's a Chinese guy on Avondale called Tap World or something that sells all the bits for around $50. 150mm push on cap, bit of pipe, and the spin on lid with o-ring. I glued a couple of bits of conduit in mine to act as agitators

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## TeRei

Deye223 my motor is on its way. Can you tell me what pillow bearings you used. Please see this selection and see what ones you have used. Thanks. I need the right size to go with your rods too?

Housing Pillow Block - Ball Bearing Unit Components - Industrial Bearings - Farrell Bearings

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## Jimmynostars

> Deye223 my motor is on its way. Can you tell me what pillow bearings you used. Please see this selection and see what ones you have used. Thanks. I need the right size to go with your rods too?
> 
> Housing Pillow Block - Ball Bearing Unit Components - Industrial Bearings - Farrell Bearings



Decide on shaft size, give bearing supplier a dingle and ask about suitable bearings and housings?

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## Tommy

Go into your local SAECO Wilson branch and corner one of the staff that looks awake

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## deye223

> Decide on shaft size, give bearing supplier a dingle and ask about suitable bearings and housings?


it's just 12mm rod and bearing but i will be changing to 20mm bearing and 20mm pipe when i get around to it . these are the ones i used and will be using 

2pcs Pillow Block 8 10 12 20mm Bore Zinc Alloy Inner Diameter Metal Ball Bearing | eBay

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## TeRei

Deye223 any reason for upgrade to 20mm for the rods? Better turning?

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## Tommy

They are hardly going to wear out.. Quite slow + relatively small load = a bloody long time

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## deye223

yeah mate because when it's full and over 40lbs it bows the rods out a fair bit and as pipe is stronger than rod plus the bigger dia thats where i will end up

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## cambo

I've been in the middle of making a tumbler as well.
Gone real simple though. Using a 12V wiper motor and a 10L paint bucket spinning on skateboard wheels. Still got a little to go before it's fully operational, but I have given it a test run to test my ideas and it works fine.
Stainless pins are going to be the most expensive part. Everything else has been free so far.
This tumbler will be great for doing the tons of brass for the AR's.
Test run was using a 7ah spotlight battery. I have now wired in a laptop DC power supply to power the wiper motor. A 3 way switch means I can change direction to wind the bucket on/off. I've also slowed teh speed down a bit. Didn't realise I had it in 2nd gear for test lol.
I like the idea of using some conduit for agitators. Might have to steal that idea  :Thumbsup: 

Here's the test run vid I made.


I've also been making a smaller version using a battery drill motor and old coffee tin to do smaller batches of brass.
Only thing left to do is attach grip tape to the drive rods. Test run with tin full of water worked OK. I have since closed the gap between the ends so the rods don't bend too much.

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## Tommy

> yeah mate because when it's full and over 40lbs it bows the rods out a fair bit and as pipe is stronger than rod plus the bigger dia thats where i will end up


40lbs!!! Holy shit! You're gonna need a lot of SS pins..

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## deye223

no thats it all up full of water pins and brass 15lb of that is pins

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## TeRei

My motor on the way. Just organising the steel.

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## TeRei

Motor arrived from Oz. Steel organised. Start on the minor bits shortly.

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## 300CALMAN

Ok so I didn't make my tumbler but I did find the secret ingredient to make cases shine. OK not so secret ingredient of lemi shine is CITRIC ACID. yep that's right. Tried it and look at the results...

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## stub

how much did u use and what form did u buy it in

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## 300CALMAN

Powder, look on Tar Me. Used about 1 gram, 2 liters of water, approximately 1.5kg of pins with 3 teaspoons of Palmolive, 100 cases. Apparently bad idea to let cases sit in it for too long, it can leach the brass. This only took about 2 hours to tumble.

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## Maca49

And I've got single phase 1 HP motors for $70 each + freight

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## Beaker

> how much did u use and what form did u buy it in


Try super market (baking/spice section).....

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## cambo

Cheaper to buy in bulk from the likes of Bulk Barn. Supermarkets only have it in 80gram boxes that are a ripoff in price. 
Trade Me has listings for 1kg, or more, of citric acid (approx $6-8/kg) 

Also helps if you use a squirt of dishwasher rinse aid in the mix  :Wink:

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## zimmer

> Ok so I didn't make my tumbler but I did find the secret ingredient to make cases shine. OK not so secret ingredient of lemi shine is CITRIC ACID. yep that's right.


Found this a while back and had to laugh at his efferts to identify what Lemi Shine really consists of.
What’s in Lemi Shine? – UPDATED » Chemistry Blog
I just use Hansells Citric Acid from the supermarket, cheap as.
For my Ultrasonic tank which holds 5 litres water I use 1 teaspoon of Hansells and a couple of squirts of dishwash liquid.
For my SS tumbler, 7 litres water,  I use 1/2 teaspoon of Hansells and a couple of overflowing caps of car wash liquid.
For either method you don't need to add much. The big mistake, certainly with the Ultrasonic is adding too much citric acid which attacks the brass alloy.

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## Beetroot

How long is everyone tumbling with stainless media?

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## Tommy

Two to three hours. 

Going to try regular auto dishwasher powder (and Palmolive) and see if it does much different. Free sacrificial .223 range brass of course

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## stub

> How long is everyone tumbling with stainless media?


Depends how clean u want your primer pocket brass is clean inside outside in about 25 mins 3 hours for almost perfect primer pockets

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## Kscott

> How long is everyone tumbling with stainless media?


I've got one of these:
Jewelry Polishing Tools 5kg Capacity Rotary Tumbler Rock Tumbler Polishing Machine Jewelry-in Jewelry Tools & Equipments from Jewelry on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

With 9mm I'll tumble for 1 hour with @150 in the container, fill with water to cover, drop of dish washing liquid and a sprinkle of citric acid powder. Same time for 223 but I do less in one run, prob @60 at a time.

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## 300CALMAN

2-3 hours is fine.

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## Beetroot

> Depends how clean u want your primer pocket brass is clean inside outside in about 25 mins 3 hours for almost perfect primer pockets


2 to 3 hours seems a lot, I think I'd try cleaning primer pockets by conventional methods before tumbling to try save time/power bill. 
I wouldn't be doing huge volumes, so wouldn't be a huge head ache.

Does everyone rinse their brass thoroughly after tumbling to stop the citric acid leaving marks/stains on the brass.

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## zimmer

> 2 to 3 hours seems a lot, I think I'd try cleaning primer pockets by conventional methods before tumbling to try save time/power bill. 
> I wouldn't be doing huge volumes, so wouldn't be a huge head ache.
> 
> Does everyone rinse their brass thoroughly after tumbling to stop the citric acid leaving marks/stains on the brass.


Don't get marking with SS process as the amount of citric acid I use is far less than with the ultra sonic process. With ultra sonic I used to do a neutralisation step after the citric acid step where I rinsed the hell out of the cases in a bucket of water with a teaspoon of baking soda added. With SS tumbling again I use less citric acid and the brass gets a good rinse after in water as part of the flushing out the little mongrel pins - but no baking soda. And yes I clean primer pockets b4 tumbling. If you want clean primer pockets as part of SS tumbling that is what takes a lot of extra time.

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## zimmer

The other thing I do which may prevent water staining is fairly quickly dry the outside of the brass by rolling them around on an old towel, blow out the inside using compressed air (and check for any stuck pins at the same time) and then they go straight into a food dehydrator.

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## 300CALMAN

Well 2-3 hours cleans the pocket out fine for me. They get a quick rinse and then a rinse in meths and a quick dry in the small oven at 120C. They come out just perfect.

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## Tommy

> 2 to 3 hours seems a lot, I think I'd try cleaning primer pockets by conventional methods before tumbling to try save time/power bill. 
> I wouldn't be doing huge volumes, so wouldn't be a huge head ache.
> 
> Does everyone rinse their brass thoroughly after tumbling to stop the citric acid leaving marks/stains on the brass.


I give them a couple of rinses, last one in hot water and it all air dries relatively quick

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## Kscott

> Does everyone rinse their brass thoroughly after tumbling to stop the citric acid leaving marks/stains on the brass.


Put into a media separator filled with water, turn a couple of times and it'll separate the pins from the cases (they'll fall to the bottom)...

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## Tommy

I've been thinking about making a rangi separator out of a shopping basket and a chopped off 20l square plastic container. That would complement my current level of rangi-ness, and better still, cost $0.00

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## Glycerine

my media separator,



how i dry my brass,

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## TeRei

> They are hardly going to wear out.. Quite slow + relatively small load = a bloody long time


Got my steel. What is the length of your 2 bright steel rods please. Also what is the length of the main body of the barrel before you put on the bottom cap and top please.

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## TeRei

Anyone help. Went into Saeco here locally. The dude said the 21/4 pulley was very small.He wants the ratio between the 2 pulleys; the shaft size to run the pulleys ; the belt size and diameter. He also commented the brite steel shaft size of 12mm was tiny and said I needed to go bigger. Is there a special dimension or make of the pulleys because he says there is a standard pulley which has a bushing which avoids any need for matching.Seems tone turning into a major. Told him DYE's project was Aussie made and thought there would be commonality of parts between Oz and Nz.The frame is done so just want to finish the hardware. Thanks.

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## Tommy

> Anyone help. Went into Saeco here locally. The dude said the 21/4 pulley was very small.He wants the ratio between the 2 pulleys; the shaft size to run the pulleys ; the belt size and diameter. He also commented the brite steel shaft size of 12mm was tiny and said I needed to go bigger. Is there a special dimension or make of the pulleys because he says there is a standard pulley which has a bushing which avoids any need for matching.Seems tone turning into a major. Told him DYE's project was Aussie made and thought there would be commonality of parts between Oz and Nz.The frame is done so just want to finish the hardware. Thanks.


Just go to pickapart bro, the SAECO guy has his collar buttoned a little tight methinks. We're talking a couple of kg here

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## Tommy

> Got my steel. What is the length of your 2 bright steel rods please. Also what is the length of the main body of the barrel before you put on the bottom cap and top please.


My drum is 350mm long overall, 150mm pipe

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## deye223

tommy i just got out of hospital i will get my son to dig it out of the back room and measure the pulleys when i see him tonight if you want 


cheers D

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## Tommy

> tommy i just got out of hospital i will get my son to dig it out of the back room and measure the pulleys when i see him tonight if you want 
> 
> 
> cheers D


You mean @TeRei

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## deye223

oops ............ yep

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## TeRei

The frame came up beaut but the advice from Saeco did my head in. Simple me just wants the name of all the parts etc  so I can buy them.Keen to finalise it. Crikey I bought the motor from Oz and the seller could not have been more helpful.

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## deye223

small 2 1/4 " and the other is 5" but if you used a larger rod i would go 5 1/2" i got mine from here 

Aluminium V Belt Pulley A Section Single Groove Various Sizes From 1 1 4 TO 20" | eBay

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## TeRei

So what shaft do I need for the pulleys? Are they cut to size or do you make them? What is the size i.e. length and make of the belt please.Thanks. Will contact the seller in Oz for the pulleys. Saeco quoted me minimum of $590 to supply subject to confirming specs.

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## Tommy

$590.....?  :Wtfsmilie:

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## SlimySquirrel

Just dug this thread out.. Motor Bearings and Steel Rods ordered.....

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## Ruger

This thread inspired me when it was first started.  Scrounged a few bits from the local scrap deal ( tube, motor and frame) ,  bought some bearings and bolts from tradezone store. S/S media and pick up magnet from Cabelas. Tumbler has been up and running for a year now and cleaned tens of thousands of cases.

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## SlimySquirrel

That's a nice unit boss. I just can't justify $550 + for a new one, and, I'd rather learn how to build one. If the motor shits itself, I can always spend more on that later if it ends up being a good investment.

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## SlimySquirrel

Mate, just out of interest. What did you use for the agitators and how did you fix them in?

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## Ruger

The agitators are some blocks of nylon or plastic I got from a friend.  They were sealed to the pvc with silicone sealant and screwed from the outside.  
Before I got the nylon I was just going to use some L shaped stainless steel and pop rivet it on.

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## SlimySquirrel

Thanks man. Reckon the nylon is the way forward.

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## Kudu

The stainless steel media I've found round here seems bloody expensive. Could you just use a whole lot of stainless screws or nails???

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## P38

> The stainless steel media I've found round here seems bloody expensive. Could you just use a whole lot of stainless screws or nails???


 @Kudu

Give it a try and let us know how you get on.

Cheers 
Pete

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## Kscott

The media pins are a good shape and small enough to clear out primer pockets. Buy once.

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## redrover

> The stainless steel media I've found round here seems bloody expensive. Could you just use a whole lot of stainless screws or nails???


Serious Shooters in Ak is the cheapest source of stainless pin media that I have found. $45 for 1.5kg. Still not as  'cheap as chips' but a better price than at most other local suppliers.

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## Sideshow

How many kg of pins  for how many cartage's?

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## homebrew.357

Hi, this looks like a new project for me, have old washing machine motor, small and large V pulleys, large plastic box to put it all in, right, will have a brew and get in to it, Cheers.

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## Kscott

> How many kg of pins  for how many cartage's?


My Frankford Arsenal rotary tumbler is 7l, came with 2.5kg of pins to clean 1,000 223 at a time.

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## Sideshow

Thanks Kscott since I'm only cleaning 50 at a time I'll only need half a kg :Thumbsup:

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