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Tumbling with SS Media

Would tumbling with stainless media in this work?

image_11471.jpg


http://www.harborfreight.com/3-1-2-half-cubic-ft-cement-mixer-67536.html
 
ryzetupu.jpg
EddieCoyle said:
I'm in.

I just ordered a Thumlers Model B and some media.

How do you people dry the cases?

What's the best way to separate the media? I have an RCBS Media separator. Can I use that?
Click to expand...

Jim,

I have a bucket that I drilled a bunch of holes in (literally the whole bottom) that fits into a bigger bucket. I dump the contents of the tumbler into said holy bucket and swish it around in the bigger bucket which is half full of water. This gets all but a few pins into the big bucket. Then simply dump the water into the sink (I installed a laundry sink finally) and pour the wet media back into the tumbler drum.

For drying, either leave the brass out in the sun on a black Navy blanket or similar product and collect it in an hour or use a heat shrink gun on the cases while standing up in an ammo spam can.
 
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I got a top for a terrarium at petco. It has a lip if you turn it upside down, and will keep the cases from rolling off. Wire mesh let's air circulate around cases. I found a cool water rinse with some lemishine in the water will give no water spotting. I beleive the citric acid pasivates the surface of the brass.

B
 
eisenhow said:
I place them on a table with an old towel underneath. If I want to speed things up I turn on the fan. My basement is pretty dry, A/C on most of the summer and forced hot air in the winter.

DSC_4966.jpg


I use a similar setup but I use one of those heater fans instead. Like this:

91qyTdDsLRS._SL1500_.jpg
Click to expand...
 
EddieCoyle said:
I'm in.

I just ordered a Thumlers Model B and some media.

How do you people dry the cases?

What's the best way to separate the media? I have an RCBS Media separator. Can I use that?
Click to expand...

Does your clothes dryer have a sneaker rack?

You can buy a stainless mesh basket that will fit in your dryer (on the sneaker rack), and dry your brass with forced hot air in 15 minutes.

Stainless mesh baskets can be had at The Container Store.

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/elfa/components/elfaDrawersAccessories?productId=10009304&N=80348

ETA: To see the setup, scroll down to "Air Drying Is For Chumps" at the link...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/362008_.html&page=2&anc=3315579#i3315579
 
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I am running a LOT of .22 lr brass, which I use for swaging into jacket for .224 bullets.

I built a rotary tumbler system for almost free from old parts:

[video=youtube_share;5u4mSA6BbRc]http://youtu.be/5u4mSA6BbRc[/video]

And, I found that the ONLY media separator with slots small enough to hold onto the .22 brass while allowing the pins to fall through was the Dillon media separator. I tried all the other brands, and their openings were too large. The slots on the Dillon are .200" wide. As Bob J indicated, I fill the box (which normally catches the dry media) with water, and rotate, and the pins all fall free to the bottom. I rinse well with clean water to remove soap residue.

I dry by placing in a shallow pan, and placing in oven with door propped open slightly, at 300 for about an hour. I can dry a large batch that way very quickly. I have also used the fan method with a towel on newspaper. That takes a lot longer, but is effective.
 
asp said:
.

I'm planning on making my own tumbler. Will report back when it's done.
Click to expand...
Tumbler v1 was a total disaster. I had a free 1750 rpm motor and attempted to MacGyver some gear reduction and rolling devices for a 5 gal bucket with lid... Bucket leaked, drive slipped, and it spun way too fast. Lost interest and bought a vibratory tumbler.

Tumbler v2 will be coming to life shortly. My girlfriend's neighbors were tossing a power wheels. In less than 30 seconds I determined that the source of the unit not working was a bad fuse on the + terminal. Silly city-folk... I ripped out the 6V battery, the AC to DC charger was in the seat area, and I took the drive axle, motor, and gear reduction. It might take some funny business with wiring/electronics to get it working correctly, but that's no big deal. Maybe by the weekend I'll have something figured out, but it's a start.

Still unsure what I want to use for a bucket, but whatever I decide on... it's going to be cheap.
 
I use my oven to dry them.throw them in on a cookie sheet, 5 min at 250 turn, then turn oven off and crack the door for another 10 and they are dry and cool enough to handle with your hands

Sent from my T-Mobile Galaxy S III
 
Has anyone found a cheaper source than stainlesstumblingmedia.com? I've got my tumbler built, but I'm trying to save every dime I can. Better used for primers and powder...
 
MConnelly2 said:
Has anyone found a cheaper source than stainlesstumblingmedia.com? I've got my tumbler built, but I'm trying to save every dime I can. Better used for primers and powder...
Click to expand...

Look @ posts 87 & 88. Last spring when I ordered media there was a 25lb min order (in 5lb bags). If you get a few people to go in together you could save some $. Group buy anyone [wink]
 
I haven't tried it but I am thinking a few cups of spent primers would work nicely.

-tapatalk and Devin McCourty blow chunks-
 
MConnelly2 said:
Yeah, I saw that, but no chance I could get a 25lb order together.
Click to expand...

Brownells resells the PelletsLLC media. Even with the C&R discount it still $42.85 ($46.99 regular price) for a 5lb bag. When I bought it last April direct from Pellets LLC it was $33.20/5 lb including shipping. I'm not sure what the current price and minimums are but if you only need 5 lbs it's not a huge difference.
 
swampy said:
I thought about using diatomaceous earth (Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator.) [thanks wikipedia] I don't think it alone would be good but perhaps a couple scoops to enhance walnut shell media might speed up cleaning tough dirty brass.
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Be very careful. Untreated diatomaceous earth is such fine powder that it can be easily inhaled and cause silicosis. Some are worried about dust generated during the tumbling process, and using diatomaceous earth would only exacerbate this problem.

Also from Wikipedia:
[h=2]Safety considerations[/h] Diatomaceous earth is approved for use in food, but poses an inhalation hazard because it can cause silicosis. Natural or dried diatomite generally contains crystalline silica. Diatomite produced for pool filters is treated with high heat (calcining) and a fluxing agent (soda ash), causing the formerly silicon dioxide to assume its crystalline form. A mask is necessary for working with DE products.
The crystalline silica content of the dust's particulate is regulated in the United States by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and there are guidelines for the maximum amounts allowable in the product and in the air near the breathing zone of workers.[SUP][23][/SUP]
Click to expand...
 
What do you folks do with the water removed from each tumbled batch? I'm gathering that some are pouring it down the drain. Does it bother you that you're dumping lead-contaminated water down the drain? I'm on a septic system and don't know what the long-term effects would be in dumping into the septic (or in the neighbor's yard!) over time.
 
I haven't read thru the entire thread yet - but I noticed a number of people wondering what to use to dry brass after it comes out of the tumbler wet - I started using an ultrasonic to clean brass a few years back - and after washing it to get all the cleaning solution off - I had the same problem. I tried air drying and that left corrosion behind and the inside of the brass took forever to dry out (especially in my basement in the colder weather).

So I ended up getting one of these food dehydrators from Cabela's:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Open...d+dehydrator&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products


It's perfect for .223 brass - there is a series of holes around the outside circumference of the dryer - I put the cases neck end out and line them up directly with the holes - so the hot air is forced directly into the case.

1/2 hour at 125-150 degrees dries the cases out completely. It comes with multiple trays - I've only used it without any of the extra trays installed - that's all I need to dry out the batch size I can get thru the ultrasonic at one time (about 100 pieces)
 
rutilate said:
What do you folks do with the water removed from each tumbled batch? I'm gathering that some are pouring it down the drain. Does it bother you that you're dumping lead-contaminated water down the drain? I'm on a septic system and don't know what the long-term effects would be in dumping into the septic (or in the neighbor's yard!) over time.
Click to expand...

The water going into the sewer is going to get caught in the sewer plant - not sure if sewage processing is really going to take lead out of the waste stream. Some sewage plants actually sell their "product" as fertilizer , so contaminating the sewage stream with lead is probably not the greatest idea.

The bacteria in your septic system are not going to process lead either. So you're essentially pumping it into the ground.

During warm weather the water if left outside in a bucket - especially a black bucket - would just evaporate rather quickly - and leave just the residue behind.

If you want it to evaporate faster pour it into a masons mixing tub or something like that . What you really need if you want to be totally anal about it - is probably a sun powered distiller to cleanse the contaminants from the water.
 
SOB...just had a batch of 5.56 tumbling in the garage. Had middle child helping, did not notice he put the 'drum' (a 1 gallon water jug from the dollar store that up until now worked fine) on the rollers 'backwards'. While I got sidetracked getting small child up from her nap, it walked against the pulleys and worked the lid loose.

Ever seen the mess a couple hundred pieces of brass, 5 pounds of stainless media, and a gallon of soapy water mix makes on an already messy garage floor?

FML...just what I needed today. Figures it would happen while I'm home sick with the shingles and the drugs were starting to wear off...
 
Yeah, the best magnet I could find was a $%^&ing tiny little clip thingy holding the kids artwork on the fridge. It could hold almost 10 pieces of stainless media at once. I even looked for a crappy speaker I could smash the magnet off the coil on - nada. This week has just totally sucked so far.
 
MConnelly2 said:
Yeah, the best magnet I could find was a $%^&ing tiny little clip thingy holding the kids artwork on the fridge. It could hold almost 10 pieces of stainless media at once. I even looked for a crappy speaker I could smash the magnet off the coil on - nada. This week has just totally sucked so far.
Click to expand...

Depending on the alloy of stainless they used - it may not be magnetic.

Your best bet is to find an old dead hard drive - open the thing up and take the magnet out of that and see if it works. The magnets in hard drives are STRONG.

Start growing your finger nails out - and get some knee pads and start picking.
 
Mark and I have one of those magnets used to pick up scrap metal with a trigger that causes it to retract in the case to drop everything..... Works great when I have a few escapees..... Also works great when separating steel cases from our range pick up brass...

Magnetic-Pick-Up-Tool-Quick-Release
 
calsdad said:
Depending on the alloy of stainless they used - it may not be magnetic.

Your best bet is to find an old dead hard drive - open the thing up and take the magnet out of that and see if it works. The magnets in hard drives are STRONG.

Start growing your finger nails out - and get some knee pads and start picking.
Click to expand...

The Pellet LLC pins ARE magnetic. A magnet from a hard drive is exactly what I use to pic them up.
 

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