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Hi to all,
So I’m a newbie to FAC shooting and thinking ahead with regards to reloading.
I am looking at wet tumbling cases with steel pins but the question I have is regarding the actual tumbler itself, why is it tumblers for brass are sooooo much more expensive than tumblers for rocks?
Is it ok to adapt a rock tumbler for brass?
Anyone able to point me in the right direction with this i.e tumbler speed, what type of “tub” material is best, steel pin size etc...

Thanks in advance.

Yes, rock tumblers are ok. Check capacity before you buy, some are smaller than their pictures infer.

So I’ve just finished building a DIY one with the help of a friend. I suspect it’s the same as other ‘shooting’ things - they’re often the same as something else in the industry but the price tag is higher when shooting is mentioned!

If you modify a ready made rock tumbler I’d highly recommend adding in internal baffles. I used 25mm 90° plastic edging that I stuck in place with a hot glue gun.

As for pins, I’ve got a kilo of 1.5x6mm SS pins. You wouldn’t want any wider as they’ll likely not go through primer pockets flash holes.

I’ve found that a mixture of just under 1/2 tsp of citric acid crystals, a good squirt of Aldi Eco washing up liquid and about a tbsp of cheap car wash n wax works wonders for me. Tumbler on for 2-2.5hrs then invert the cases whilst they’re still in the water to get the pins out!

Make sure you get as much water off as possible before drying them out somehow. If it’s not sunny outside I stick them in the oven at 70°C for 40 minutes, shaking halfway to help get rid of more water. If you leave them to dry with water on you’ll get water stains at the end of it all.

My 6l tub with the kg of pins has done 100 cases at a time there without any issues. I think for more cases I’ll need more pins!

Hope that helps

makarova wrote:Hi to all,
So I’m a newbie to FAC shooting and thinking ahead with regards to reloading.
I am looking at wet tumbling cases with steel pins but the question I have is regarding the actual tumbler itself, why is it tumblers for brass are sooooo much more expensive than tumblers for rocks?
Is it ok to adapt a rock tumbler for brass?
Anyone able to point me in the right direction with this i.e tumbler speed, what type of “tub” material is best, steel pin size etc...

Thanks in advance.

Just make your own.

There are numerous designs kicking around utube but basically, it's a case of the simpler the better. I think that I put my tumbler together for around £35 and that was after having to buy a dedicated power supply unit from Amazon. This was necessary as the usual laptop / gaming machine PSU's can't always handle the amperage spike when turning the tumbler on.

Every time that I use it I have a laugh when I think about the prices charged for shop bought equivalents. All you need is some ply, a couple of metal roofing brackets, some rollers, a plastic 6 litre drum (and lid), a windscreen wiper motor (get from scrappy) and a PSU. Nice little project for lockdown and the satisfaction of building something that works really well to boot.

LL

5KG Rotary Tumbler Jewelry Polisher Finisher 5 Speed Polishing Finishing Machine

Copy this into fleabays' search box and check that you see the 5kg version.This will do 150+ 308 size cases.....the 3 kg is a bit small.
I tried to put the link in, but it's around 5 pages long...........
I've had one for a couple of years and it's brilliant......as are the cases that come out.

Pete

Here's my tumbler - It's a 3 drum rock tumbler, £30 from a boot sale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcyAkj-LzA8

Fantastic information guys...
Thanks

makarova wrote:why is it tumblers for brass are sooooo much more expensive than tumblers for rocks?

I built this from a £40 eBay treadmill, with just 2 cuts and 2 welds. I bought the drum a while ago from the States - wasn't cheap, but you can make one from PVC pipe. That just leaves the pins. I don't have a cheap solution for them, unfortunately.

So with a little more research I am looking at a tumbler, 5kg, 180watt, from “eBay”.
I have already ordered the “pins” for wet cleaning. 1kg from amazon delivered, at a fraction of the price from the “specialists”.
Cheers