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Old January 26, 2009, 04:45 PM   #1
medic0079
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home made media tumler

saw some other people did similar so I stole some Ideas and made my own.. sorry for the crappy pics i took em with the cell, if you want better ones or ideas let me know Ill take some nicer ones.










brass after 45 min of tumbling in corn media
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Old January 26, 2009, 07:21 PM   #2
cgaengineer
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Not bad, not bad at all!!!
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Old January 26, 2009, 07:43 PM   #3
mini14.223
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ok....how good does it work in how long of time and how much money do you got in it...i am very interested maybe you could give me some instructions
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Old January 26, 2009, 08:31 PM   #4
aerod1
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I bought mine from Harbor Freight for $39.00 and it works great.
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Old January 26, 2009, 09:34 PM   #5
medic0079
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works flawlessly, cost about $30, some stuff I had
the only problem i have with the harbor freight one is its size, the 39dollar one is dinky. this one I loaded 300 cases into and it cleaned them in about 1 hour.
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Old January 26, 2009, 10:43 PM   #6
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nice job! the only thing I can add is: Instead of paying big bucks for media designed for the job,, go a 'petsmart' store and buy lizard bedding.. It is ground english walnut shells. 25 lbs for $11. It works wonderful! It isnot dusty and doesn't cling to anything. I dump in a bit of liquid auto polish to get that purdy shine.
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Old January 27, 2009, 10:37 PM   #7
Uncle H
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Media

Most pet stores sell corn media in the bird section. There are usually two grinds-medium and small. I use the small.

People with birds use it in cage bottoms. It's much cheaper than gun store corn cob media.
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Old January 28, 2009, 07:34 AM   #8
GoldenRoyBoy
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She ain't purdy but ---

She ain't purdy, but she can dance! Lol!

Many of you guys are so inventive; I need to sit back and take notes! This day, and time it's good to save wherever we can. Great job!

Now tell me, does that Gal wiggle when she walks?

GRB
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Old January 28, 2009, 12:10 PM   #9
medic0079
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here is a crap quality cell phone video of it running....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDD_p9VX6RI
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Old January 28, 2009, 08:55 PM   #10
Sport45
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Great job with your tumbler. Looks like it works fine!

Here's another home-made tumbler I thought was neat. I copied this post from a cast bullets forum.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ronbo 18-Jul-2008
This post is older than the hills but I made a tumbler from a plan in the American Rifleman magazine in the mid 70's. Was made with plywood drum and two old style clothes dryer pulleys of the day, junked furnace blower motor. The only thing I bought was one belt for $5. Has been polishing brass in a hurry with corncob media for over 30 years. It leaks a little bit of media out of the door but I put it back in once in awhile. It is quiet and polishes to a high shine in an hour.
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Last edited by Sport45; January 28, 2009 at 11:18 PM.
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Old January 28, 2009, 09:20 PM   #11
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Thank's for the tips on the pet store media
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Old January 29, 2009, 06:42 AM   #12
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Came back to say ---

I came back to say yes, I did! I watched the video!
Your tumbler appears to work; and that's all anyone could ask for!

Good tumbling!
GRB
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Old January 29, 2009, 11:14 AM   #13
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This isn't mine, it was made by somebody I know. He said it works great.




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Old January 29, 2009, 04:22 PM   #14
Cinaed
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instructions

Ok medic0079 we need a list of components used to make this.

This is cool, but that thing in the light socket is not self explanatory. Is that what stirs the media and brass?
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Old January 29, 2009, 08:18 PM   #15
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For medic0079:

Does your version operate in the upright position, or do you lay it on it's side? Does it vibrate, or rotate? If it spins, how fast, and how do you regulate the speed, or does it matter? What kind of motor is that you have hooked up?
(I'm on dial-up, and I can't view your video).
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Last edited by TheOldPro; January 29, 2009 at 08:20 PM. Reason: Extra thought
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Old February 1, 2009, 12:24 AM   #16
medic0079
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sorry guys just got back to this....
i used a 5 gal bucket, a 6"buffer from harbor freight... 15 bucks, a cheapo plastic cutting board $3 bucks big lots, a hose clamp, 4 - 1/4" nuts/bolts, for the cutting board to ride on, 2 - 1/4" nuts/bolts for motor mount, 4 springs, and some cheap tupperwear from walmart, some 1/2 inch threaded rod, a 1/2" wing nut, 2 - 1/2 inch bolts to hold the threaded rod on the cutting board, some 3/4 inch conduit, and compression fitting, (had that at the house). that and some time was about it. it sits upright as you see it in the pics, and vibrates... the brass you see in the pics was 1 hour of tumbling in the corn cob media. no polish, although I plan on using some next time. I though it did a great job, considering that is about 5th time fired brass, never having been cleaned. I plan on taking pics of it in parts when I'm done, and posting a how to on another forum, ill update this one when I do.
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Old February 1, 2009, 01:45 PM   #17
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All of these look good, but got me thinking about a post I read someplace using your electric clothes dryer. I put about 100 washed, rinsed, mostly dried 357 cases into a cut off leg from a pair of jeans and closed off both ends securely. I took a small dab of car polish Finish 2001m and rubbed it on my hand and ran about 10 of them into it. The jeans leg with cases ran in the dryer for a normal drying cycle with some towels, made some noise but not obnoxious. Those cases came out sparkling, like new. Here is a picture.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSCN2043.jpg (230.9 KB, 67 views)
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Old February 3, 2009, 02:55 PM   #18
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For jal5:

Did you put the corn cob mixture in the pants leg also, or just the wax?
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Old February 4, 2009, 03:41 PM   #19
jal5
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No media in the pant leg just the car wax. I think between the heat of the dryer, the wax, and the tumbling up against each other they come out really good.
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