biglou13 Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 For years I've only utrasonic cleaned ( for space restraint) recently , now living in more humid climes, have noticed brass tarnishing, in some cases severely I bought a harbor freight tumbler recently. Along with walnut media and nu finish brass comes out shiny! My my concern is second batch I ran was under 1 hour. Wing nut was almost too hot to handle..... im thinking safety hazard! is this normal? what if I needed to run longer than 1 hour? those with hf 5# tumbler how long do you run? Does it generate heat? i have a feeling I'm going to exchange this one...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armydad Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 I'm not sure which tumbler you are referring to. I have the large large vibratory tumbler (Chicago Electric). Bowl, lid and nut are plastic. I haven't had any issues with heat anywhere on the unit and I've had it run as long as 4 hours with no issues. I also have their 2-unit, rotary tumbler setup for wet-tumbling and no issues with heat either - though I did switch to Rebel Extreme rotary tumbler for the capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglou13 Posted August 13, 2016 Author Share Posted August 13, 2016 http://www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-metal-vibrator-tumbler-67617.html this one, wing nut on mine was metal.. I'm exchanging it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglou13 Posted August 13, 2016 Author Share Posted August 13, 2016 (edited) running replacement now. this one is quieter already.... i pretty sure last one was a lemon!!! replacement went 40 minutes.... metal base was warm.... wing nut stayed cool. Edited August 13, 2016 by biglou13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dberm118 Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Would recommend returning and getting the Frankford arsenal. Same size runs bitchin and its 39.99!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglou13 Posted August 13, 2016 Author Share Posted August 13, 2016 no shipping and had a coupon........ ok i've heard wildly varying times for time in tumbler? how long are you running? how often do you add more nu finish? i cant complain with fine walnut, i may throw in a handful of rice (since i'm not eating it, doing lo- carb), is corn cob any different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbu Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 on the Franklin tmbler, I added a section of rubber fuel line around the stud to keep the media and brass from rubbing on it. It will wear and break eventuality otherwise. Time? Depends on how nasty the brass is. usually just fire it up then dry fire, reload, gun smith, or generally keep busy. But normally at least an hour, probably is overkill. I add more stuff to enhance the action when I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armydad Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 23 hours ago, biglou13 said: http://www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-metal-vibrator-tumbler-67617.html this one, wing nut on mine was metal.. I'm exchanging it Glad you're up and running. The link you sent shows the one I have - the 18lb model off to the right side of the add. I've played around from 1 hour to 4 hours. I didn't notice a great difference past an hour or so. The only recipe I've tried is HF's walnut and Nufinish. It is important to clean and/or replace the media from time to time. It does appear to wear out. It's fairly obvious when this happens as it won't clean nearly as well. I recently purchased a bag of corncob from Zoro - love that company. I'm going to give it a try with mineral spirits - also bought from Zoro as my local home improvement store didn't carry it. I'm still playing around with dry tumbling and wet tumbling as I figure out my preferred method for processing/reloading. I've acquired a descent supply of brass, so I'm cleaning much less frequently, and in bulk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Anyone know what size that wingnut is? Mine disappeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stangs55 Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Go get yourself a wet tumbling setup from HF http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) If you should get one of those you can build (very easily) a single container to run on it. Edited August 16, 2016 by Steve RA Image didn't transfer properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 On August 13, 2016 at 5:19 PM, biglou13 said: no shipping and had a coupon........ ok i've heard wildly varying times for time in tumbler? how long are you running? how often do you add more nu finish? i cant complain with fine walnut, i may throw in a handful of rice (since i'm not eating it, doing lo- carb), is corn cob any different? I run 4 hours in walnut then 4 hours in corn cob. Both very fine particles. Walnut is sharp and cleans the brass. Once the sharp edges wear down it won't come out clean any longer. Corn cob polishes the cases to a high shine. I put a capful if diluted new finish in the corn only about every 3-4 loads. Too much polish and the corn turns green and gets gunked up and quits polishing as well. I buy both in 40 pound bags and change both about every 10 - 12 loads or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglou13 Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Do you dilute nu finish with water? 40# bags I imagine it's pretty cheap . What does that cost? Where do you get 40 # bags? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 No water! I mix it with mineral spirits at about 25% wax/75% spirits. Turn on tumbler and run a bead around real quick then let the tumbler run 5 minutes before adding brass. If you don't do that the wet stuff will compact in some cases. We usually buy stuff from drill spot or grainger online when they have free shipping or just google local blasting companies and go pick it up. I use cat litter buckets to store it in and it lasts a few years at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 I think I paid $20-$25 for a bag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglou13 Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 On August 14, 2016 at 11:56 AM, twodownzero said: Anyone know what size that wingnut is? Mine disappeared. M6 http://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/67000-67999/67617.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stangs55 Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Anyone know what size that wingnut is? Mine disappeared.M6 wingnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Intended to go with my post above. Sorry - still not transmitting image as worked on prior media. Edited August 18, 2016 by Steve RA Still not receiving image properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Test #2 Still doesn't work as in prior forum. Edited August 18, 2016 by Steve RA Still attempting to post image as in previous forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 3 hours ago, Steve RA said: Test #2 Still doesn't work as in prior forum. Nothing works as in prior forums! Frustrating that I can't seem to be able to do much at all by phone. Haven't really done much with the PC yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now