Thread: DIY tumbler

Here is my budget tumbler build. It's 100mm pvc pipe with and blank cap on one end and screw cap on the other end. It's powered by a windscreen wiper motor via an m8 thread coupler. The caster wheel are el-shitto budget things but do the job. Frame is made from J-frame. It's currently powered from a 12v battery charger. I was running it off a computer psu that @gadgetman kindly gave me but I fiddled with it too much and rooted it. @P38 is also a legend and gave me the rubber for the agitators. They're glued in with superglue. The tumbler itself cost me under $20 to build although is close to $100 if you include the ss media. I've learned that the whole tumbler system works better with a short wide drum. I originally had it about a third longer but the brass and media would separate and only half the brass would get clean. I also only use dish washing liquid on its own. I tried with citric acid as well but unless you perfectly rinsed the brass it would tarnish after a few days. I also found the wider the case mouth the better. My 308 brass had a better internal clean than my 7mm Saum. The motor gets quite hot with use but doesn't seem to mind the load too much. If it burns out I'll go rip another one out of a wreck.