building a stainless tumbler

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#1 Post by **bradaz11** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 5:17 pm

thinking of knocking up a tumbler for SS pins. what would actually be needed? is there any reason why I couldn't take something like a protein shake bottle and baffle the inside, then put a rubber sheet liner in and rotate that on a driven bed?

failing that, i can probably liberate a pvc/acrylic drum from work and modify that.

also, where is the best place to get pins from these days? i've only really seen them in stock at JD reloading, and £60 for 5lb seems expensive to me.

#2 Post by **dromia** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:27 pm

I got mine as a sponsor freebie from STM in the states a couple of years ago, can't abide steel pin tumbling it is too much of a faff on, anyway STM sell the damned things for $40US for 5lbs add shipping to that and see how that compares to the UK price.

#3 Post by **bradaz11** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:37 pm

yeah, their cheapest shipping is $50 so that does equate to the UK price

#4 Post by **1066** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 8:09 pm

Proops brothers were listing stainless steel pins recently for £20 a 1kg - Unfortunately looks like their out of stock, might be worth a call.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1kg-1mm-x-8mm ... 7675.l2557

or Spud1967 usually has them in stock.

Yes, make your own if you're half handy. Either of the drums you mentioned will work ok, I've also seen stainless steel seamless breadbins and large stainless biscuit barrels with "o" rings at out local pound stretcher shop for less that £10.

A small continuous rated motor, maybe a fridge cooling fan is about all you'd need - maybe something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25W-UNIVERSAL ... xy0NtTDJs5

Barrel:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/StainlessStee ... sqjhWduG-w

#5 Post by **ovenpaa** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 10:14 pm

I used a Doga 24v motor which looks like a windscreen motor, driving through a timing belt and a power supply from eBay and a speed controller. I suspect the drums will wear out first.

#6 Post by **rox** » Sun Nov 22, 2015 11:53 am

bradaz11 wrote:thinking of knocking up a tumbler for SS pins. what would actually be needed?

A used treadmill is a pretty good parts kit for a wet tumbler. You can use it as-is and just build a frame with some rollers & bumpers to keep the drum(s) in place on the belt, or cut down the frame for a more compact system where the drum sits directly on the rollers. Either way you get a drive, motor, rollers, controls and mounting parts. With the first approach you might even get away without having to put it on the books as shooting kit. Cheap ones on eBay can go for £50 or so.

A hexagonal drum is best, but they aren’t easy to find. I brought one from these guys in the US:

http://www.candmtopline.com/tumbling_barrels.html

Alternatively you can make something from a cylindrical container, ideally with agitators inside. The challenge being to fix the agitators firmly and keep it watertight. There’s a wealth of build reports and guides online.

#7 Post by **ovenpaa** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:57 am

This is an ingenious method and costs very little

#8 Post by **ovenpaa** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:58 am

This is how he made the drum

#9 Post by **bradaz11** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:29 am

excellent. the old drill I have i doubt will be up to task. wonder how much wiper motors are in a UK scrappy. *google says £10*

I'm just about to order some bits from Brownells, anyone know what their stainless pins are like? or should i get them from jd's or spuds?

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