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Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

Thumblers Tumbler with ball bearings


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This changes how I have used the unit. It still does not like to be over half full. It turns freely but does not clean as well. I run it with S/S media and brass to the half way point. After the brass is cleaned I take it to the sink and pour out the dirty and fill it to the top of the brass 2 times and dump it. I fill it almost all the way to the top and let it run for about 10 minutes. This gives the brass a good rinse. Now its ready to be separated and set out to dry.

I still use the corn cob and old vibrating tumble to put a final shine on the brass. The corn cob never gets dirty and last somewhat longer. It still breaks down.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Can you give us some details of what ball bearings you used. I'd like to make the same mod. Thanks!

I just used skateboard bearings. They are not a tight fit for the rods but they do work great. I used the O-rings on the housing to keep them from spinning in the frame. I don't think this is needed. My base started flexing after a while so I took a 1/4 threaded rod and ran it from side to side. This really stiffened up the base.

The rotation is so slow that I think any bearings would work. This was not a high tech project.

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I've been running my Thumler with more than the recommended weights too and had great results. A little longer in the tumbler is all it takes and don't forget the Lemi-shine. It is what makes the brass shine up really nicely.

2 Tbsp Dawn detergent

1 9mm case full of Lemi-shine

2 hours in the tumbler

I did find somewhere the optimal ratio of brass to SS media is something like 1:2, so that means only 2.5lbs of brass to 5lbs of media. I generally run a lot more brass than that, but I did notice it doesn't shine as well as when I stick to the 2.5-3lbs of cases. When I do that, it is incredibly shiny right out of the tumbler.

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  • 5 months later...

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