Thumler's Tumbler Users, or Amateur Chefs.

[JimDandy]

So my Christmas present finally arrived. And I've been cleaning my vibratory cleaned brass in my new rotary wet tumbler. Aside from wanting to cry at the blackish gray water coming out of supposedly clean brass insides... Any of you have a system for pouring out the contents and not losing those steel pins?

I've been looking around for a nice mesh strainer/colander like say.. this. But the problem is the ones I find local are either small mesh and small bowl, or large mesh, and no bowl.

For the amateur chefs answering who haven't seen the pins, think the center part of a office staple without the ends maybe a little thicker, but not much (tho certainly more rigid)

The plan is to put the colander/strainer in a big ass bowl to collect the unlikely one or two pins that still make it through the fine mesh or tear a hole etc that will eventually happen, while I rinse the brass and shake the pins out from inside the cases.

Just wondering if anyone had a good collection method for these damn pins. It's sooo much more effective inside the case, in the primer pocket, less of that red dust, and so much quieter its worth it. I just need to find a collection/seperation method.

[anode]

I found a kitchen strainer at a outlet kitchen store that works for the pins. The mesh in the strainer is very small an no pins can make it thru.

[ScottRiqui]

Did you get the complete kit from StainlessTumblingMedia.com? If so, did you get the media separator as well?

I'm still waiting for my kit to arrive, but my hopes are that the pins that don't stay in the tumbler barrel would end up in the bottom of the media separator, then I could pour them back into the tumbler barrel.

[eowiggy]

If your looking for a DIY solution, try straining through a cheesecloth.

Aquarium stores also sell very fine mesh bags to hold filter media.

[JimDandy]

I was thinking of the Kitchen Strainer route, just hoping someone had a brand/model to keep an eye out for and call around to find.

[Fire_Moose]

Pool net

[oldandslow]

jd, 3/4/13

I've got about 5000 cases through my Thumbler's tumbler. I bought the RCBS media separator which costs about $40. It is two half buckets with an inner plastic cage. You put all the tumbler contents into the cage, fill the half-bucket with water, spin the cage about five times and all the SS pins drop to the bottom of the water filled bucket leaving the cases in the cage. It makes things a lot simpler. I don't have a simple DIY setup as this one works so well.
Good luck.

best wishes- oldandslow

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I've done 10's of 1000's of brass cases in the last month or so... you know, when I 1st started, I was trying to use a strainer, to catch the brass, I found I was losing alot of pins, as some stayed in the cases... I finally ditched the strainer, & pour directly into my "big bowl" then take that to the sink, & rinse pins & brass, pouring off the water, but leaving the brass & pins in the bottom of the bowel, & swirling around the next rinse, after 4-5 rinses ( after the water is crystal clear, & there is absolutely no suds, I leave about 2.5" of water in the bowel )... next I take the bowel back to the tumbler, & pick the brass out of the water, 2 cases at a time, & give them a tap to insure all the pins are out, & drop them into my strainer that I put over the mouth of my tumbler... ( I have had a couple sizes of cases... 380 acp for example ) that the flash hole size is conductive to 2 pins sticking in them... I keep a needle nose plyers on hand for those occasional stuck pins once I get all the cases into my strainer, I swirl them around, & move it in front of my little space heater to dry... the water & pins are left in my bowl... ( the 2.5" of water I left in my bowl is just the right amount for the next tumble ) I pour the water & pins back into my tumbling drum, add next brass, & my cleaning chemicals, & repeat the process... I find I lose a lot less pins doing it this way

[zplinker]

Dillon's brass separator works pretty well. It dumps out the pins, collects them in the tub, and the brass stays in the drum. Do this at the sink and you can rinse the brass quickly and easily. Having a magnet handy will help round up any stray pins.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I got my pins off "evil bay" & mine are non magnetic... not sure if non magnetic stainless is more corrosion resistant, since the iron level is lower or not ??? my pins are wet all the time

[JimDandy]

I think I found what I was looking for.. This flour sifter should let me "pan for gold"

[david_r]

Or you could use a five gallon bucket or 55 gallon drum

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24071

[ScottRiqui]

If you go with the EZ-Strainer from US Plastics, I believe that even the "coarse" model (600 micron) will be fine enough to catch the stainless steel pins.

[serf 'rett]

I'm using a small Thumler A-R1 with a 3# barrel. I picked up a cheap colander/bowl combination for around $1 at Walmart. Works great. I can easily rinse and separate the pins from 150 pieces of 9pm brass in about 3 to 4 minutes. A key feature of my colander is it has slots instead of holes. The slots allow the pins to quickly drop through to the lower bowl when the mix is stirred during rinse.

To use the type set up I have, you would need to break down the large batch into smaller colander sized loads.