Brass Tumbler Material Brain Storming

[jpfabricator]

I have a good friend who does reloading. As a birthday present, I want to build him a wet brass tumbler.
I need some sugestions on the tumbler "drum".
It needs to be
Cheap
As abrasion resistant as possible
Able to be sealed and opened easily
Around 8" in diameter by 12" long
An agitating fin on the interior of the drum would be ideal, but it can be added after the fact.

The only thing I come up with is a stainless steel pipe with a bolt on flange on one end, and a welded cap on the other.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker

 

[brino]

how about a stainless steel spaghetti pot?
the lid may need a gasket and some clamps, but that could be done.....
or perhaps a pressure cooker?
-brino

 

[Billh50]

what about a piece of 8 inch diameter PVC. you can use pvc glue to add fins in and tap one ends of the tube for covers and glue a piece of PVC sheet on other end.

 

[hanermo2]

What the construction guys use to mix and carry concrete in, about like a bucket ?
Its plastic, thick walled, very heavy duty, and semi rigid.
Would seem ideal, and costs maybe 3$.

 

[Fabrickator]

I just bought one a while back. They're not that expensive by the time you buy a motor and stuff, unless you have access to freebie parts.

The bowls are made out of high impact polypropylene (or something) like a gas can. What is VERY expensive is the media. I have corn cob, walnut shell, and a coated plastic type from HF. I also bought a bottle of the recommended polishing additive they sell and it works a lot quicker. You just put a tablespoon or so in the corn cob and it blends in. I like the corn cob best for just polishing brass.

 

[jpfabricator]

Stainless pins will be the media. I have looked at the pvc, just wondering how long it will last?
I have most everything needed for the frame, and motorizing.



Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker

 

[jpfabricator]

Fabrickator, he has a dry media tumbler. He dosent like it because of the media prices.
He found out that using lizard litter from a pet storr is cheaper, you might try it.
He dosent really need a wet tumbler, its more of a want. Its also a chance for me to build somthing!

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker

 

[Fabrickator]

Mine can be run wet or dry, I've tried it both ways. I prefer dry.

 

[dlane]

I use stainless steel pellets as media it lasts forever , in a HF 2x rubber barrel tumbler with water and dawn sope works good for small batch reloading.

 

[middle.road]

Dirt cheap tumbler. Using a cooler jug. Not quite sure yet how long the plastic will last before it wears through.
I made this up to knock the rust off of some hardware, and some scale off of some Evaporust pieces.
One shortfall was I put a couple of mill clamps in to de-scale. too much weight. Just using sand for now. Need to add a fin. _Dan