Stainless Steel Tumbling on the Cheap

Hardcase · January 3, 2014, 07:15 PM

So I've been intrigued by the idea of stainless steel media and wet cleaning for a while, but not enough to want to pony up a couple of hundred bucks to see if it works for me. So last weekend, I decided to try it out on the cheap (or, as my Scottish grandfather would say, "thrifty".)

Harbor Freight had a dual drum 6 pound rotary rock tumbler on sale. A lot of you have probably seen this thing before - two three pound drums and a bright red frame. It was forty bucks, out the door.

I ordered some stainless steel pins from Amazon, just to get them quickly. Seems like five pounds was around $30.00 or so and they came with a little packet of Lemi-Shine.

Now, it doesn't take a rocket science to do the math here - two three pound barrels and five pounds of media leaves a half pound for water and brass. That doesn't even seem worthwhile. And I looked online and saw plenty of stories about broken belts and shady performance. But looking at the collection of belts that came with the tumbler, they actually seem pretty robust, so I thought that maybe the six pound limit was more of a guideline than a fast and hard rule.

So, I divided up the stainless steel pins between the two barrels.

Then I added 75 pieces of nasty, cruddy .223 range brass to each.

I filled each barrel up with hot water and added a squirt of dishwashing soap and a spritz of Lemi-Shine.

That's actually enough Lemi-Shine for both barrels (and maybe a little more) - a little bit goes a long, long way.

Two hours later, I drained the barrels out into a cheesecloth-lined colander and rinsed the brass in cold water. Nasty, black water went down the drain, pins went back in the barrels and shiny brass is ready for further work.

So far, I've run about 750 really dirty cases through this process, so five cycles, with no problems. I haven't actually weighed the contents of the barrels, but I'd guess that it's between 4.5 and 5 pounds each. That's significantly greater than what the tumbler is rated for, but the motor is not running hot and the belt is not slipping. I do put a drop of oil on the roller bearings before each run, so perhaps that helps.

Aside from the stainless steel pins versus other media controversy, the one thing that does give me pause is that this is a cheap Chinese-made piece of gear and I'd rather buy American goods. Well, I'm pretty sure that I'll be buying a Thumbler's product fairly soon, now that I have satisfied my curiosity about wet tumbling, so that assuages my conscience some.

Also, it's not a fast process and it's more labor intensive than a vibratory tumbler. I can't say that it gets the brass cleaner than one, either, just shinier. Also, just as it's possible to get dry media stuck in the flash holes of the brass, with the bottlenecked .223s, the steel pins get stuck in the case and need to be shaken out. If there's a technique to stopping that, I haven't found it yet.

I like my brass neat and shiny and I'm not under any time pressure, so this works just great for me.

So, if you aren't averse to buying cheap...er...being thrifty, and you're not trying to clean thousands of cases, this seems like a fairly low-budget way to get into the game. And as far as water and steel versus dry corncobs, let's just say that I'm not ditching my vibratory tumbler just yet.

Wreck-n-Crew · January 3, 2014, 09:18 PM

Quote:

So, if you aren't averse to buying cheap...er...being thrifty, and you're not trying to clean thousands of cases, this seems like a fairly low-budget way to get into the game. And as far as water and steel versus dry corncobs, let's just say that I'm not ditching my vibratory tumbler just yet.

They look great! I have the single drum version that you have. Plenty enough for me since I load pistol ammo only. Mostly 9mm with a few 45acp.

I wet wash, dry then use the Lyman red walnut (don't like to dirty up my media) to polish. I know some use the dryer sheets, but I thought they took too much polish out and not enough grime. Mine come out with super clean primer pockets.

Grinchman · January 4, 2014, 09:50 PM

Thanks for posting your experience with the harbor freight tumbler. I have been looking at this exact one. I also have been thinking of the pins. I know what I am buying now.

GermanShep · January 4, 2014, 10:29 PM

I purchased that very same 2 drum tumbler from harbor freight a couple of months ago and have been very pleased with it to this point. I was interested in wet tumbling with SS pins but wasn't ready to drop $200 on a Thumbler. I have cleaned approx 2500 9mm cases and 500 .223 cases and it has been working extremely well. The main disadvantage is the relatively small drum size and weight limit mean that you must clean your brass in smaller batches, which works fine for me. I was a little concerned with how the motor would hold up over time and i guess time will tell but for $40 it was not that big of a risk.

Sure Shot Mc Gee · January 5, 2014, 12:33 AM

I always wanted to try pins. But couldn't see paying 400.00 for a slow speed rock tumbler. I didn't think one of those Harbor Freight tumblers would work because of their (fast) rotating barrel speed. Although I do happen to have a Harbor Freight single barrel ball roller. Looks like my H/F ball roller is going to be a duel purpose tool from now on. Thanks for the posting Hardcase.

cuinhel · January 5, 2014, 01:16 AM

This is a great method! I didn't like the small batches at first, but what would take you 24 or at last over night with the regular tumbler only takes 2 hours in the wet tumbler with stainless steel pins and the inside and primer pocket are perfect. So you actually get a lot more done. I liked this setup so much, went and picked up a second set. I split 5lbs into 4 barrels, not into 2. You should really only need 2.5 lbs split up between the two. Give it a shot.

I have a few recommendation for anyone wanting to do this. Use very little lemishine and just a drop of dish soap, you don't need more than that. Make sire you rinse the heck out of your cases, otherwise Thye will get a tarnish on them and its frustrating. Something's air drying them gives the same result. I took this all a step further and bought a $20 food dehydrator from HF and use it to dry my brass. They come with 5 trays and that is a lot of room for brass.

Thanks for posting this OP for posting.

January 3, 2014, 07:15 PM	#1
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	Stainless Steel Tumbling on the Cheap So I've been intrigued by the idea of stainless steel media and wet cleaning for a while, but not enough to want to pony up a couple of hundred bucks to see if it works for me. So last weekend, I decided to try it out on the cheap (or, as my Scottish grandfather would say, "thrifty".) Harbor Freight had a dual drum 6 pound rotary rock tumbler on sale. A lot of you have probably seen this thing before - two three pound drums and a bright red frame. It was forty bucks, out the door. I ordered some stainless steel pins from Amazon, just to get them quickly. Seems like five pounds was around $30.00 or so and they came with a little packet of Lemi-Shine. Now, it doesn't take a rocket science to do the math here - two three pound barrels and five pounds of media leaves a half pound for water and brass. That doesn't even seem worthwhile. And I looked online and saw plenty of stories about broken belts and shady performance. But looking at the collection of belts that came with the tumbler, they actually seem pretty robust, so I thought that maybe the six pound limit was more of a guideline than a fast and hard rule. So, I divided up the stainless steel pins between the two barrels. Then I added 75 pieces of nasty, cruddy .223 range brass to each. I filled each barrel up with hot water and added a squirt of dishwashing soap and a spritz of Lemi-Shine. That's actually enough Lemi-Shine for both barrels (and maybe a little more) - a little bit goes a long, long way. Two hours later, I drained the barrels out into a cheesecloth-lined colander and rinsed the brass in cold water. Nasty, black water went down the drain, pins went back in the barrels and shiny brass is ready for further work. So far, I've run about 750 really dirty cases through this process, so five cycles, with no problems. I haven't actually weighed the contents of the barrels, but I'd guess that it's between 4.5 and 5 pounds each. That's significantly greater than what the tumbler is rated for, but the motor is not running hot and the belt is not slipping. I do put a drop of oil on the roller bearings before each run, so perhaps that helps. Aside from the stainless steel pins versus other media controversy, the one thing that does give me pause is that this is a cheap Chinese-made piece of gear and I'd rather buy American goods. Well, I'm pretty sure that I'll be buying a Thumbler's product fairly soon, now that I have satisfied my curiosity about wet tumbling, so that assuages my conscience some. Also, it's not a fast process and it's more labor intensive than a vibratory tumbler. I can't say that it gets the brass cleaner than one, either, just shinier. Also, just as it's possible to get dry media stuck in the flash holes of the brass, with the bottlenecked .223s, the steel pins get stuck in the case and need to be shaken out. If there's a technique to stopping that, I haven't found it yet. I like my brass neat and shiny and I'm not under any time pressure, so this works just great for me. So, if you aren't averse to buying cheap...er...being thrifty, and you're not trying to clean thousands of cases, this seems like a fairly low-budget way to get into the game. And as far as water and steel versus dry corncobs, let's just say that I'm not ditching my vibratory tumbler just yet. __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

January 4, 2014, 09:50 PM	#3
Grinchman Junior Member Join Date: June 25, 2006 Location: central IL Posts: 14	Thanks for posting your experience with the harbor freight tumbler. I have been looking at this exact one. I also have been thinking of the pins. I know what I am buying now. Last edited by Grinchman; January 6, 2014 at 01:34 AM.

January 4, 2014, 10:29 PM	#4
GermanShep Member Join Date: September 23, 2013 Posts: 65	I purchased that very same 2 drum tumbler from harbor freight a couple of months ago and have been very pleased with it to this point. I was interested in wet tumbling with SS pins but wasn't ready to drop $200 on a Thumbler. I have cleaned approx 2500 9mm cases and 500 .223 cases and it has been working extremely well. The main disadvantage is the relatively small drum size and weight limit mean that you must clean your brass in smaller batches, which works fine for me. I was a little concerned with how the motor would hold up over time and i guess time will tell but for $40 it was not that big of a risk.

January 5, 2014, 12:33 AM	#5
Sure Shot Mc Gee Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,876	I always wanted to try pins. But couldn't see paying 400.00 for a slow speed rock tumbler. I didn't think one of those Harbor Freight tumblers would work because of their (fast) rotating barrel speed. Although I do happen to have a Harbor Freight single barrel ball roller. Looks like my H/F ball roller is going to be a duel purpose tool from now on. Thanks for the posting Hardcase.

January 5, 2014, 01:16 AM	#6
cuinhel Junior Member Join Date: January 3, 2014 Posts: 6	This is a great method! I didn't like the small batches at first, but what would take you 24 or at last over night with the regular tumbler only takes 2 hours in the wet tumbler with stainless steel pins and the inside and primer pocket are perfect. So you actually get a lot more done. I liked this setup so much, went and picked up a second set. I split 5lbs into 4 barrels, not into 2. You should really only need 2.5 lbs split up between the two. Give it a shot. I have a few recommendation for anyone wanting to do this. Use very little lemishine and just a drop of dish soap, you don't need more than that. Make sire you rinse the heck out of your cases, otherwise Thye will get a tarnish on them and its frustrating. Something's air drying them gives the same result. I took this all a step further and bought a $20 food dehydrator from HF and use it to dry my brass. They come with 5 trays and that is a lot of room for brass. Thanks for posting this OP for posting.