THE DRUM SPINS FINE WHEN ITS FULL OF BRASS AND WATER!!!!! Just like I said in the video. It doesn't need inner tubes or vacuum cleaner belts or silly string or anything else to work fine.
Social media ,TH-cam, it doesn't get any better then this. I have learned form fellow You Tubers so much through the years ,and this is another great example. I will get on this new drum project right away...Thanks for sharing. great idea. great video....Canada
Good idea that I copied months ago. Works very well. I just use hot water, Dawn, and some lemon juice. The primer pockets don't come out spotlessly, but I am not a benchrest shooter so I don't care. Great improvement over the HB drums. Thanks for posting this.
I followed this exact video to make my own PVC drum. Thanks, TTF! I used sports grip tape on the drum to give it traction on the rollers. Sticks to itself and stays put even if it gets wet.
Great video, well done. I happened upon your fine video a week after I did the exact same mod. I cut my drum on my miter saw. Glued 3 1/4"X1/4" wooden agitator sticks inside using "Shoe Goo". For the fixed end cap, I used contact cement and a rubber band to get a tight fit. Pretty sure it's water proof. Didn't get a test cap, just used another cheap cap. I wrapped 2 turns of vinyl electrical tape around the cap to make it a nice force fit. Used old finishing nails for media. I use it for de-rusting steel parts, so I use baking soda and a handful of purlite. About 16 hours and all surface rust is gone, leaving a satin finish. Probably take only a few hours for my .243 brass, can't wait to try it (nails only!)
I sanded the shiny stuff from the inside of the tube and was able to cement pieces of my leftover pipe as paddles to agitate the media. I had some trouble getting the PVC endcap to not leak. I'm on my second try now. Otherwise the project went great. Thanks TreeTopFlier for all your time on this. I too am looking for a tumbler a little smaller than the big ones on the market.
I've got one did some alternations got a 4 inch PVC pipe 9 7/16 long. Capped one end & got a temporary removable cap for the other. I ran over 6 lbs total in weight it. Had problems with the roller bar not gripping the pipe, so I Leaned it some to the left by putting a block under the right side. So now there's more weight on the driving bar. Had to put a sheet metal screw under the right side of the frame to keep the shell holder block from walking out while running. Cut 4 strips of plastic off some leftover piece of 4 inch pipe & glued them inside, so it would agate the casings & SS pins. Removed the cover over the motor & bolted on some metal flashing to act as a heat fin. A towel underneath is helps keep the noise down.
The drive rollers are covered with a vinyl tube as stock...I was thinking that a latex surgical tubing over the drive shaft would provide extra traction if needed.
I tumble tons of brass with my Harbor Freight dual drum unit and have made all kinds of modifications, some better, others not so. One thing that is consistent is the need for the drum to be very dry and rough on the outside diameter (as the factory drums) for traction on the tubing covered rotating shafts. I discovered that about 20% of content fill area for pins content amount make the fastest, cleanest brass. You will also discover a huge improvement when using 1 squirt of the Liquid Lemi-Shine (Amazon) over the powder mix, or the Hornady One Shot case cleaner, both with a small amount of liquid dish wash soap, with Hot Water. I also found that filthy range brass swished around for a few minutes in a bucket of hot water and Simple Green make a huge difference on tumbling results. I tumble my brass for the Gorgeous, Jewelry look for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours only. The end product actually looks cleaner and better than brand new brass, every area. A modification of the ball bearing blocks will help the motor spin the shafts a bit faster and keep the motor from over heating as much. Prepare for plenty of profanity when installing that kit. Aren't we all happy to not depend on the old vibratory corn cobb, walnut media tumblers now?
Great idea! I'm using the black tubs to apply my powder coat to cast bullets. About 30 steel BB's, a couple tablespoons of powder and then I filled about half way with bullets and they looked amazing in minutes.
I will make one with the 4 inch PVC pipe but I will also use my drill make me a stand with rollers and connect the drill to the bolt on the plug thanks for this Idea saves a lot of money
I did this and it works great! bought a 2 foot piece and made 2 and I took the leftovers and made a small one the same size as the harbor freight drum for pistol brass
The Lemi-shine helps with the tarnish. Not mandatory, but helps a lot and shortens time needed for tumbling. Most people I've heard talk about this, say that Dawn dish soap is the best one to use. They do advertise that breaking up grease is a primary purpose, and also boast that Dawn is what the vets use to save the birds and animals caught in oil spills. Just an FYI. The HF tumblers mostly need "tweeking" when used for cleaning brass. Also, get some spare belts. Large "O" rings from the farm supply store work great. One commenter mentioned a computer fan. This is a really great idea if you are going to run the machine more than a couple hours. One guy was telling me that he ran his all day long. He also said he burned two of them up pretty quick. The third lasted almost a year by aiming a table fan at the tumbler. That's when he got the computer fan, and that machine is still going. One suggestion that I would make is to get some heavy wall rubber tubing that is a firm fit on the axle bars. Put 4 (four) one inch pieces on the two axles and I don't think that you would have any slippage at all. It's simple to do, too. Wet the rubber and the rod with rubbing alcohol, slide them into place, and allow to dry. 30 minutes max. They won't move, and the simplest way to get them off afterwards is to cut them off.
I love this mod. works very well. The only thing I changed was the cleaner and the glue. I used Zep Heavy-Duty Citrus Degreaser Refill. gets all the crud out and lanolin too. The glue I used Gorilla Super Glue. It has been months and both are just making CLEAN brass. No crud in the primer pocket or inside the case on a 2hr run.
I dont tumble brass, but I have found that removing the two silver plates on the right helps tons with cooling (and so does adding a 12v pc fan over it too!). If you really wanted to, you could bend the sides of the "box" to be able to use larger diameter pvc.
I'm just getting ready to build several of these big tubes. One thing I do is run my initial load for about 45 minutes...then let it settle overnight! The Lemi-shine I use just goes to work! I'm lucky that I can do my initial runs at work...but to save on your electricity bill!
Or, you can place large rubber bands... Or, a few beads of silicone around the circumference for some traction.. yes, the silicone trick might need a good steady hand to make sure you have a consistant thickness.
Great idea! I made my own. Also, added a 4" clear circle from TAP plastics for $3. Fits very snug and you can see inside. Rubbed some silicone caulking around the inside and outside edges and its watertight. Poked some holes in a test cap with a small nail to use for water drainage.
Great video--I have been using this Harbor Freight wet tumble for several years and will try your PVC solution but will probably use a plug on both ends and cut of the stud on one end and consider it the fixed end. Thanks again. Oh incidentally I also use Lemishine why as you said because all others seem to use it but only a small amount, believe it is the citric acid that helps in the cleaning process. I clean only 9mm cases after de-priming and sizing for those clean primer pockets.
Unless you're going to make jewelry out of your polished brass, one to two hours in a vibrating tumbler is perfectly sufficient for cleaning brass. Quicker, neater, cheaper, easier. Tips from a 30 yr reloader: Throw in 3 or so 2" square torn pieces of USED dryer sheets to collect dust. Add a few squirts of 50/50 mix of Nu Finish Car Polish/mineral spirits to get shiny brass.
I used pins to start wet tumbling after I switched from my dry tumbler, then I tried wet without pins, I use dawn and lemin shine but increased the shine to double the amount and it cleans and shines as good as with the pins. I tumble for one hour.
I was trying to use 6 inch PVC, I had 2 foot, but the ends were over 55 bucks. so, I may go with the 4 inch for now, just doing small loads anyway. AND the hot glue gun is a great idea .
I don't think a 6" pipe would fit into the frame anyway...could be wrong. Glue gun works great, what ever you use for the baffles, don't make them too big so the little motor doesn't have to lift to much weight as material piles up on the baffle. Thanks for watching...come back and share your results.
For dry media (Rice) and plastic bottle from Fiber supplement works well too. Used scraps of ant fatigue mat a for "paddles" in side. add a rubber or so it for extra grip.
I don't know if it's been said yet ... but if you're needing more weight to get more friction you could use PVC pressure pipe which is more than twice as heavy as the foam core that you used. I will personally be making one of these later tonight. I bought the same tumbler for knife blades but the small canisters prove less than desirable for knife blades more than 4 inches overall. Also PVC glue is not meant to be used without a cleaner or primer. It's a two-step or three step.
Nice! Those are big cases. Did you use bumpers, something like I did inside the drum to spin the cases? Anyway, thanks for coming back and letting us know.
Ya I tried the bumbers and I found a good way to make them. I tried cutting them with a hacksaw and almost cut my hand off. I tried putting them in sideways in one of those handheld PVC cutters and it fit perfectly, just squeezed it and it cut right down the middle. I tried superglue and sanding them the first time and they fell out after the second run. The second time I did hot glue covered with super glue and then I just poured in a bunch of PVC glue, swirled it around and let it dry haha. It's working so far. I do need a stronger cap for the bottom side if you have any requests. Thanks again
If you cannot find a couple of O rings or motorcycle innnertubes to make friction bands for he 4" drum, Harbor freight includes several belts in the package that fills that requirement very well.
thanks for this great video.I love it being a bit of a McGiver myself .I took a 1" piece of the 4" pipe and cut it into 1.5" pieces and glued them to the inside of the container .they seem to be glued solid .I will see as i use it .It seems to turn fine as it is . I will see if I have to add rubber strip to the drum.
I have the same set up, instead of glue, I screwed half pipes inside and for traction I wrapped the big PVC pipe with a rubber self fused tape, which gets replaced after a year of two.
Cut two thin strips of rubber inner tube and wrap them flat around each end of your PVC tube and it won't slip in the tumbler. Lemi-Shine is nothing more than a detergent booster with lemon oil in it! A large box of 20 Mule Team Borax or Oxi-Clean and a bottle of lemon juice will achieve the same result but you get about five times as much for about the same price! Just an FYI!
I got some traction tread material ( it is supposed to keep your feet from slipping off of stairs etc.) and put it on the rollers to keep them from slipping on the outside of the tumbler container.
Ive never had any problem with the drum slipping when it was full. If someone is having trouble traction tape seems reasonable. Another suggestion that seemed good was to stretch flat vacuum cleaner belts over the drum. But just to be clear, I have never needed to do any of that.
Hey I also took off the top metal plate over the motor and I put a computer fan. Hopefully that will add more years of life for that little hot motor. :P
The drum works fine without any coatings, I really gave everyone the wrong impressions in this video. I just made and update partly because of this. th-cam.com/video/roN67_oGpx8/w-d-xo.html Thanks for watching.
I haven't had to do anything other than keep it clean to make it work. It slips in the video because the drum is empty. When full it runs fine. If you try this I would run it first without modifying anything. Thanks for watching.
The best way to keep that drum a spinning is to put anti slip stair tape on the PVC drum. Even when it gets wet, it will keep spinning on the full length rubber rollers in the Harbor Freight tumbler.
What is the difference in diameter between the original drums compared to your PVC version? If I understand correctly, the mod isn’t about increasing capacity but in making things more efficient for rifle brass. Correct?
The diameter is 4.5" on both stock drums and the pvc. The advantage of the single pvc drum is longer cartridges have more room to migrate back and forth, also the interupters give better agitation In my opinion.
That will do it. Or use turtle wax car [wash and wax] for your soap. The inside will stay clean everywhere. Bonus: if you don’t rinse them, just shake them around and get all the excess water out of the cases, they shed water and dry very fast and you get no water spots on your brass.
Try spraying the outside of the PVC body with Flex Seal. It should give it a rubbery traction that may help it turn with the drive rods more easily. You could also try wrapping it in some type of athletic tape. Another option would be a brush-on bed liner material.
Others have suggested that too. I personally didn't need it, it works fine with the weight of the water and brass on the rollers. If you keep the interior interrupters small the barrel doesn't have to lift a lot of weight at one time...also reduces load on the motor.
Try a cylinder hone and scrach up the inside of the pvc pipe then add the half rounds the surface of the inside of the pipe should now be ruff enough for the oins to move .
I've made several of these since and have never had to use anything to get it to rotate. In the video, it didnt turn because it was empty and didnt have any weight on it. I have an updated video on this topic.
Very good ideas. Amazing that hot melt glue works and PVC doesn't work. I wonder how epoxy from Harbor Freight would stand up. I've been using that on almost everything where strength is important but it's not as quick as hot melt glue.
I have had a few come off over time and its pretty simple to put them back on. On the last one I tried gorilla glue and it is showing real promise. Its a little hard to do because you have to put them on one at a time and let them cure in the bottom before moving to the next one.
+TreeTopFlier. Just had an idea. I wonder if mounting those half pvc pipes on the bottom end cap would work better. Just tip the end of the tumbler up 10 - 30 degrees so all the brass slides to the end of the drum.
I use 2 pounds of pins. I haven't weighed it but I would guess full, it's 5-6 lbs. I would say the foam core pvc is lighter than than the two rubber drums it comes with. Thanks for watching!
Cases ever come out pink? That's the Lemi Shine leaching the zinc out of the brass. The Marine Metals Manual (green cover ) calls it dezincification. Use very little. Use litmus paper to keep your solution at the right ph. no more pink cases.
Some good info here! I have the same HF Tumbler and it works great with pistol brass and stainless pins. I've been thinking about doing something similar as you have done. Thanks for the video! Your videos are always top notch! Edit: Your links for the test plug and glue in plug give a 404 error. Evidently they moved the pages.
+KSFWG Thanks for the heads up on the links! I think I got them fixed, at least they are working on my end. Let me know if they are working. Thanks as always for watching!
Hi. Have you experienced a coating of "muck" inside your drum? Mine collected quite a bit after only a couple of runs. It's possible it's just not visible inside the black rubber drums OR that it doesn't stick to the rubber.
Hi, yes this is a problem and will cause poor results. I'm contemplating a video about this subject. What I believe you (and myself) are seeing is a combination of oils from case lube and carbon from burned powder. It doesn't only contaminate the container but also the stainless steel pins. Eventually it will begin to transfer a dark graphite like haze to your otherwise clean brass. This residue is very persistent. I use the strongest non solvent cleaner I can find to clean the pins and drum. Zep Industrial purple. www.homedepot.com/p/ZEP-128-oz-Industrial-Purple-Degreaser-ZU0856128/100047759
I did this several years ago with my lortone 33b long before I saw this video and it works great! Interesting how I used the same components you did including hot gluing in the 1/2 " pvc pieces. I used ABS for the main piece as my home depot had that but only had pvc up to 3". The ABS works just as well though. Nice to see this info out there.
How about putting surgical tubing on the internal rods of the tumbler. Improve movement of drum or not ?. I'm not exactly certain how the tumbler moves. Does improved traction in this area help tumbling? You have a great idea here. Will this help motor efficiency.?
I haven't had to add anything to the barrel or drive rods to make it work fine. With a full drum it doesn't have any problems. The best thing you can do for the motor is adjust and square the motor so the belt runs straight and work a dab of grease into the bushings that support the rods. Thanks for watching!
my only concern would be the motor crapping out due to excess weight, but you could always swap in a lortone motor for $30 and their replacement belts are suppose to be a lot more burly and still work with the harbor freight unit ;)
Im not really sure its extra weight, the foam core pvc is pretty light and this is, after all, a rock tumbler. At any rate, if you use a coupon, you can pick this up for $49. At that price, Im not sure its worth worrying about. Ive done thousands of rounds and I am still on the original belt...Hope this helps, and thanks for watching.
I'm not sure if the interior coating is different on the solid core but maybe...one concern, I imagine the solid core would be much heavier. Thanks for watching!
TreeTopFlier Good point on the weight. I think I have some solid core stuff, I will give it a shot to see if it is a problem. As far as the smooth exterior causing it to not grab on the rollers unless there is weight inside, I have used a couple of wide rubber bands on the outside of a plastic jar I use to dry tumble and it works great.
The Lee decap die is universal and the brass doesn't even ride on the sides of the case. You put them in the shell holder and the pin lines right up and knocks out the primer.
I've tried your project and it doesn't want to turn. I've tried with little weight and more weight. I was wondering if I change the belt if it going to bring more strength? Thanks. I'll send you a video...
what about a larger pvc pipe? something like a 6 or 8" pipe? maybe add some self amalgamating rubber tape on the outside to help the rollers bite in a bit easier?
TreeTopFlier thanks. think i'll just do up my own using a drill and recycled containers. i dont have the HF tumbler, so it'd be easier/cheaper to just rig up a drill for me i think.
Rather than hot gue, why not scratch throught the shiny innier coating with a rotarry burr, on a dremel type tool, or a round rasp? Then pipe glue would do just fine.
+GunFun ZS You sure could do that, I tried hand sanding to break the surface and get a bond...no dice, it looks to be about 1/16" thick. There may be advantages to keeping the coating intact. This is Drain pipe, not pressure so it is a cellular core not solid pvc. The coating keeps the water out of the core. The hot glue gun worked better than I would have thought and it was super easy. Those puppies are stuck down good. Bottom line, this is just one way to skin that critter I'm sure there are many. You kinda have to use what you have access too. Epoxy would probably work also. Thanks for commenting/watching!
TreeTopFlier Yep. I have two vibratory tumblers with dead motors which are probably going to get ball bearing HVAC motors from surplus center. Unless they get salvage motors from a friend's pile.
Thanks for the video, I'm thinking already. If you want to save a few bucks just buy a pound of citric acid for a couple bucks instead of Lemi-Shine. Same stuff.
For me, it's both. Longer cases have more room to migrate and tumble, so even if you end up with a similar volume and case capacity you get better results. All In my opinion of course.
So if Chicago Electric calls for 3 pounds per drums, and you add the PVC modifications does that mean that you can add 2 pounds of media, 2 pounds of brass?
I haven't weighed it out. I use 2 pounds of pins. I would guess the tumbler weighs less than the other two tumblers together since the pvc is foam core (pretty light). I think you will run out of space before you reach a weight issue. It runs fine and doesn't seem to be struggling, getting hot or overloaded in any way.
+Numisaccent That hasn't been my experience at all. If the rollers and drum are clean it works fine without any additional traction material. The interrupters I put in the drum are fairly small and don't cause the drum to have to lift too much material at one time so the torque is marginal. Here is a link to another video started part way through if you want to see it in operation for yourself. I do give it a push start at first but that's all it takes and I do that with the stock cans too. th-cam.com/video/31er2Euw4Ic/w-d-xo.htmlm47s Thanks for watching!
The original drums are rated for 3 lbs each so that would be a total capacity of 6 lbs. I haven't weighed a loaded drum but I would guess it's about 6lbs. The two rubber drums seem to weigh more than the foam core pvc drum. I think you will run out of capacity before you overload. After running for hours the motor stays cool so it seems to handle the load fine.
Oh, as I said in the video, mine works fine when it has the weight of the water and brass in it. The tumbler was empty in in the video when I turned it on. Thanks for watching!
Great Video, I like your design with the baffles. So, after a year plus, how is everything holding up? I am getting ready to purchase your items, any mods I should know about?. Thanks again for the info.
Great question. The only problem Ive had is several of the baffles have come off and I glued them back on. Last time I had to replace one I used gorilla glue. I haven't run it yet but it looks solid I think that might be a better way to go.
Link for 4" removable test plug www.lowes.com/pd_23521-138-334033___?productId=3880611&pl=1&Ntt=4+inch+test+plug I couldn't find the 4" glue in test plug.
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THE DRUM SPINS FINE WHEN ITS FULL OF BRASS AND WATER!!!!! Just like I said in the video. It doesn't need inner tubes or vacuum cleaner belts or silly string or anything else to work fine.
Social media ,TH-cam, it doesn't get any better then this. I have learned form fellow You Tubers so much through the years ,and this is another great example. I will get on this new drum project right away...Thanks for sharing. great idea. great video....Canada
Thanks Canada!
Good idea that I copied months ago. Works very well. I just use hot water, Dawn, and some lemon juice. The primer pockets don't come out spotlessly, but I am not a benchrest shooter so I don't care. Great improvement over the HB drums. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for watching!
I followed this exact video to make my own PVC drum. Thanks, TTF!
I used sports grip tape on the drum to give it traction on the rollers. Sticks to itself and stays put even if it gets wet.
Great video, well done. I happened upon your fine video a week after I did the exact same mod. I cut my drum on my miter saw. Glued 3 1/4"X1/4" wooden agitator sticks inside using "Shoe Goo". For the fixed end cap, I used contact cement and a rubber band to get a tight fit. Pretty sure it's water proof. Didn't get a test cap, just used another cheap cap. I wrapped 2 turns of vinyl electrical tape around the cap to make it a nice force fit. Used old finishing nails for media. I use it for de-rusting steel parts, so I use baking soda and a handful of purlite. About 16 hours and all surface rust is gone, leaving a satin finish. Probably take only a few hours for my .243 brass, can't wait to try it (nails only!)
I sanded the shiny stuff from the inside of the tube and was able to cement pieces of my leftover pipe as paddles to agitate the media. I had some trouble getting the PVC endcap to not leak. I'm on my second try now. Otherwise the project went great. Thanks TreeTopFlier for all your time on this. I too am looking for a tumbler a little smaller than the big ones on the market.
Glad you got it to work. It still works for me. I just dont need that much capacity, plus this is not nearly as loud when running.
I've got one did some alternations got a 4 inch PVC pipe 9 7/16 long. Capped one end & got a temporary removable cap for the other. I ran over 6 lbs total in weight it. Had problems with the roller bar not gripping the pipe, so I Leaned it some to the left by putting a block under the right side. So now there's more weight on the driving bar. Had to put a sheet metal screw under the right side of the frame to keep the shell holder block from walking out while running. Cut 4 strips of plastic off some leftover piece of 4 inch pipe & glued them inside, so it would agate the casings & SS pins. Removed the cover over the motor & bolted on some metal flashing to act as a heat fin. A towel underneath is helps keep the noise down.
The drive rollers are covered with a vinyl tube as stock...I was thinking that a latex surgical tubing over the drive shaft would provide extra traction if needed.
I tumble tons of brass with my Harbor Freight dual drum unit and have made all kinds of modifications, some better, others not so. One thing that is consistent is the need for the drum to be very dry and rough on the outside diameter (as the factory drums) for traction on the tubing covered rotating shafts. I discovered that about 20% of content fill area for pins content amount make the fastest, cleanest brass. You will also discover a huge improvement when using 1 squirt of the Liquid Lemi-Shine (Amazon) over the powder mix, or the Hornady One Shot case cleaner, both with a small amount of liquid dish wash soap, with Hot Water. I also found that filthy range brass swished around for a few minutes in a bucket of hot water and Simple Green make a huge difference on tumbling results. I tumble my brass for the Gorgeous, Jewelry look for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours only. The end product actually looks cleaner and better than brand new brass, every area. A modification of the ball bearing blocks will help the motor spin the shafts a bit faster and keep the motor from over heating as much. Prepare for plenty of profanity when installing that kit. Aren't we all happy to not depend on the old vibratory corn cobb, walnut media tumblers now?
Great idea! I'm using the black tubs to apply my powder coat to cast bullets. About 30 steel BB's, a couple tablespoons of powder and then I filled about half way with bullets and they looked amazing in minutes.
I will make one with the 4 inch PVC pipe but I will also use my drill make me a stand with rollers and connect the drill to the bolt on the plug thanks for this Idea saves a lot of money
Go for it!
I did this and it works great! bought a 2 foot piece and made 2 and I took the leftovers and made a small one the same size as the harbor freight drum for pistol brass
Wow, that's Great! Thanks for coming back and letting us know.
The Lemi-shine helps with the tarnish. Not mandatory, but helps a lot and shortens time needed for tumbling. Most people I've heard talk about this, say that Dawn dish soap is the best one to use. They do advertise that breaking up grease is a primary purpose, and also boast that Dawn is what the vets use to save the birds and animals caught in oil spills. Just an FYI.
The HF tumblers mostly need "tweeking" when used for cleaning brass. Also, get some spare belts. Large "O" rings from the farm supply store work great. One commenter mentioned a computer fan. This is a really great idea if you are going to run the machine more than a couple hours. One guy was telling me that he ran his all day long. He also said he burned two of them up pretty quick. The third lasted almost a year by aiming a table fan at the tumbler. That's when he got the computer fan, and that machine is still going.
One suggestion that I would make is to get some heavy wall rubber tubing that is a firm fit on the axle bars. Put 4 (four) one inch pieces on the two axles and I don't think that you would have any slippage at all. It's simple to do, too. Wet the rubber and the rod with rubbing alcohol, slide them into place, and allow to dry. 30 minutes max. They won't move, and the simplest way to get them off afterwards is to cut them off.
I love this mod. works very well. The only thing I changed was the cleaner and the glue. I used Zep Heavy-Duty Citrus Degreaser Refill. gets all the crud out and lanolin too. The glue I used Gorilla Super Glue. It has been months and both are just making CLEAN brass. No crud in the primer pocket or inside the case on a 2hr run.
Very nice! The ones I put on several years ago with regular gorilla glue are still holding strong.
I dont tumble brass, but I have found that removing the two silver plates on the right helps tons with cooling (and so does adding a 12v pc fan over it too!). If you really wanted to, you could bend the sides of the "box" to be able to use larger diameter pvc.
I'm just getting ready to build several of these big tubes. One thing I do is run my initial load for about 45 minutes...then let it settle overnight! The Lemi-shine I use just goes to work! I'm lucky that I can do my initial runs at work...but to save on your electricity bill!
you should put a bicycletube over the drums for better friction
I was thinking of skateboard tape...
Or, you can place large rubber bands...
Or, a few beads of silicone around the circumference for some traction.. yes, the silicone trick might need a good steady hand to make sure you have a consistant thickness.
I was thinking plastidip or a rubberized undercoating spray
Hornady Ultrasonic brass liquid cleaner works great mixed as directed. No Lemi shine or dish detergent.
Great idea! I made my own. Also, added a 4" clear circle from TAP plastics for $3. Fits very snug and you can see inside. Rubbed some silicone caulking around the inside and outside edges and its watertight. Poked some holes in a test cap with a small nail to use for water drainage.
Great video--I have been using this Harbor Freight wet tumble for several years and will try your PVC solution but will probably use a plug on both ends and cut of the stud on one end and consider it the fixed end. Thanks again. Oh incidentally I also use Lemishine why as you said because all others seem to use it but only a small amount, believe it is the citric acid that helps in the cleaning process. I clean only 9mm cases after de-priming and sizing for those clean primer pockets.
Unless you're going to make jewelry out of your polished brass, one to two hours in a vibrating tumbler is perfectly sufficient for cleaning brass.
Quicker, neater, cheaper, easier.
Tips from a 30 yr reloader:
Throw in 3 or so 2" square torn pieces of USED dryer sheets to collect dust.
Add a few squirts of 50/50 mix of Nu Finish Car Polish/mineral spirits to get shiny brass.
I dont like one shot for surfaces that come in contact with powder. Fine powders will stick to it. Graphite powder for the win. My opinion.
I'm using empty mayonnaise jars for my rock tumbling. Works great
Nice!
Man that is epic never would've thought of that. It is great idea because you can get alot of use and abuse on those things
Be careful because glass can break...
Heck yeah man good way to put those to use lol
Be areful with the glass jars i had someold shells and brass etc in some of those and they gave haha
I used pins to start wet tumbling after I switched from my dry tumbler, then I tried wet without pins, I use dawn and lemin shine but increased the shine to double the amount and it cleans and shines as good as with the pins. I tumble for one hour.
Interesting, I may give it a try.
I was trying to use 6 inch PVC, I had 2 foot, but the ends were over 55 bucks. so, I may go with the 4 inch for now, just doing small loads anyway. AND the hot glue gun is a great idea .
I don't think a 6" pipe would fit into the frame anyway...could be wrong. Glue gun works great, what ever you use for the baffles, don't make them too big so the little motor doesn't have to lift to much weight as material piles up on the baffle. Thanks for watching...come back and share your results.
Use skateboard tape...
For dry media (Rice) and plastic bottle from Fiber supplement works well too. Used scraps of ant fatigue mat a for "paddles" in side. add a rubber or so it for extra grip.
That's a good bit of home style engineering that apparently works....thanks for this.
+Reg Sparkes Thanks for watching!
To get the half round baffles to stick with the regular pvc glue, use the purple primer first.
I have the same machine been using it for about 5 years with no worries. Can do 30 .308 or 30-06 with no problems
Nice
Thanks for the video, switching away from the vibratory tumbler, already have th HF rock tumbler
I don't know if it's been said yet ... but if you're needing more weight to get more friction you could use PVC pressure pipe which is more than twice as heavy as the foam core that you used. I will personally be making one of these later tonight. I bought the same tumbler for knife blades but the small canisters prove less than desirable for knife blades more than 4 inches overall. Also PVC glue is not meant to be used without a cleaner or primer. It's a two-step or three step.
Good solution. I did similar but two test plugs and I run it in my lathe.
I like the way you think. CREATIVE
Thanks for the idea. I shoot 300 wby and the brass was just a little too big for the rubber drums. This worked great.
Nice! Those are big cases. Did you use bumpers, something like I did inside the drum to spin the cases? Anyway, thanks for coming back and letting us know.
Ya I tried the bumbers and I found a good way to make them. I tried cutting them with a hacksaw and almost cut my hand off. I tried putting them in sideways in one of those handheld PVC cutters and it fit perfectly, just squeezed it and it cut right down the middle. I tried superglue and sanding them the first time and they fell out after the second run. The second time I did hot glue covered with super glue and then I just poured in a bunch of PVC glue, swirled it around and let it dry haha. It's working so far. I do need a stronger cap for the bottom side if you have any requests. Thanks again
If you cannot find a couple of O rings or motorcycle innnertubes to make friction bands for he 4" drum, Harbor freight includes several belts in the package that fills that requirement very well.
thanks for this great video.I love it being a bit of a McGiver myself .I took a 1" piece of the 4" pipe and cut it into 1.5" pieces and glued them to the inside of the container .they seem to be glued solid .I will see as i use it .It seems to turn fine as it is . I will see if I have to add rubber strip to the drum.
I have the same set up, instead of glue, I screwed half pipes inside and for traction I wrapped the big PVC pipe with a rubber self fused tape, which gets replaced after a year of two.
Cut two thin strips of rubber inner tube and wrap them flat around each end of your PVC tube and it won't slip in the tumbler. Lemi-Shine is nothing more than a detergent booster with lemon oil in it! A large box of 20 Mule Team Borax or Oxi-Clean and a bottle of lemon juice will achieve the same result but you get about five times as much for about the same price! Just an FYI!
I got some traction tread material ( it is supposed to keep your feet from slipping off of stairs etc.) and put it on the rollers to keep them from slipping on the outside of the tumbler container.
Ive never had any problem with the drum slipping when it was full. If someone is having trouble traction tape seems reasonable. Another suggestion that seemed good was to stretch flat vacuum cleaner belts over the drum.
But just to be clear,
I have never needed to do any of that.
I was thinking about getting a frankford tumbler, but forget that, i'm doing this instead :) belated thanks for the upload
To get more friction on the steel drive rods put on some scrink tubing. tjl
I did skateboard tape and it works perfectly.
Hey I also took off the top metal plate over the motor and I put a computer fan. Hopefully that will add more years of life for that little hot motor. :P
late question but do you have the fan routed to blow air down upon the motor or pull air out?
Paint the exterior with spray bed liner. It will help it turn when it's light.
The drum works fine without any coatings, I really gave everyone the wrong impressions in this video. I just made and update partly because of this. th-cam.com/video/roN67_oGpx8/w-d-xo.html Thanks for watching.
I was listening to your tumbler...
Yours runs LOTS louder than mine. I am wondering if you need to replace a bearing.
if you can get the Drive roller bars out fit them with heavy "O" Rings for traction
I haven't had to do anything other than keep it clean to make it work. It slips in the video because the drum is empty. When full it runs fine. If you try this I would run it first without modifying anything. Thanks for watching.
As far as gluing to PVC, try PVC cement, that's what it's for.
Rubber bands on the pipe for traction.
Except pvc cement will sometimes let go(fail) even if prepped properly. I've done enough plumbing repairs to know.Contact cement or epoxy is better.
I use Armor All Car Wash instead of dish soap. The brass stays shinier for much much longer
Interesting, they do tend to dull over time in storage. Thanks for watching and posting.
The best way to keep that drum a spinning is to put anti slip stair tape on the PVC drum. Even when it gets wet, it will keep spinning on the full length rubber rollers in the Harbor Freight tumbler.
What is the difference in diameter between the original drums compared to your PVC version? If I understand correctly, the mod isn’t about increasing capacity but in making things more efficient for rifle brass. Correct?
The diameter is 4.5" on both stock drums and the pvc. The advantage of the single pvc drum is longer cartridges have more room to migrate back and forth, also the interupters give better agitation In my opinion.
You may want to try jet dri for your dishwasher in your solution. Jet dri is a surfactant and may help to keep that gunk from sticking to the sides.
Haven't tried that. Isn't jet dry a spot remover, aka water softener treatment?
That will do it. Or use turtle wax car [wash and wax] for your soap. The inside will stay clean everywhere. Bonus: if you don’t rinse them, just shake them around and get all the excess water out of the cases, they shed water and dry very fast and you get no water spots on your brass.
What is the recommendation on the pulley changing the belt out for better one or making small adjustments with it.
I would try to align everything and run the belts it comes with. They come extra belts. I'm still on the original belt.
Try spraying the outside of the PVC body with Flex Seal. It should give it a rubbery traction that may help it turn with the drive rods more easily. You could also try wrapping it in some type of athletic tape. Another option would be a brush-on bed liner material.
Others have suggested that too. I personally didn't need it, it works fine with the weight of the water and brass on the rollers. If you keep the interior interrupters small the barrel doesn't have to lift a lot of weight at one time...also reduces load on the motor.
I used that nonskid tape they sell for putting on stair steps. Coarse sandpaper would probably work too if you can find the right glue.
Your only mistake was using that thick-walled pipe, I used the thinwall stuff because it is so much lighter than the thick wall. Works like a dream
Nice. I like the idea for the inside. Good build. 👍🏼
Thanks for watching, also there is an updated version to this video for how to install the interrupters
Where did you find that locking lid????
Plumbing isle at Lowes. Pretty common. Usually referred to as test plugs.
Use heat shrink tubing for traction
Try a cylinder hone and scrach up the inside of the pvc pipe then add the half rounds the surface of the inside of the pipe should now be ruff enough for the oins to move .
If you have to give the drum a start by hand every time, Take 4 of the tumblers spare belts and put them around the drum and it will start by its self
6:23 - what if you spray the outside with something like a Flex Seal to give it grip? Anyone try this?
I've made several of these since and have never had to use anything to get it to rotate. In the video, it didnt turn because it was empty and didnt have any weight on it. I have an updated video on this topic.
Spray that tube outside with some flex seal spray and the rubber may grip better with the rollers.
It works fine with water and brass in the drum... been using it that way for years.
Very good ideas. Amazing that hot melt glue works and PVC doesn't work. I wonder how epoxy from Harbor Freight would stand up. I've been using that on almost everything where strength is important but it's not as quick as hot melt glue.
I have had a few come off over time and its pretty simple to put them back on. On the last one I tried gorilla glue and it is showing real promise. Its a little hard to do because you have to put them on one at a time and let them cure in the bottom before moving to the next one.
+TreeTopFlier. Just had an idea. I wonder if mounting those half pvc pipes on the bottom end cap would work better. Just tip the end of the tumbler up 10 - 30 degrees so all the brass slides to the end of the drum.
there is probably a lot of different ways to skin that cat....this method has worked for me.
Have you tried Sand Paper on the inside of the Pipe so the Glue will HOLD better ? tjl
Use the purple primer.
A few strips of electrical tape on the outside will make for better traction if the weight isn't enough.
I'd put some cheap hover vacuum belts around the tube that would give you some nice grip on the rollers.
you mentioned purchasing 5 lb of pin media but how much do you use in your PVC drum? And do you exceed the 6 lb rating of the tumbler?
I use 2 pounds of pins. I haven't weighed it but I would guess full, it's 5-6 lbs. I would say the foam core pvc is lighter than than the two rubber drums it comes with. Thanks for watching!
lemi shine has acid in it....it is what really creates the shine on the brass
Cases ever come out pink? That's the Lemi Shine leaching the zinc out of the brass. The Marine Metals Manual (green cover ) calls it dezincification. Use very little. Use litmus paper to keep your solution at the right ph. no more pink cases.
Great video, mine wouldn't turn very good either so I rapped some rubber bands around it and that gave it traction! 🏹
Some good info here! I have the same HF Tumbler and it works great with pistol brass and stainless pins. I've been thinking about doing something similar as you have done. Thanks for the video! Your videos are always top notch!
Edit: Your links for the test plug and glue in plug give a 404 error. Evidently they moved the pages.
+KSFWG Thanks for the heads up on the links! I think I got them fixed, at least they are working on my end. Let me know if they are working. Thanks as always for watching!
+TreeTopFlier
The links seem to be working now. Thanks!
+KSFWG awesome thanks
Hi. Have you experienced a coating of "muck" inside your drum? Mine collected quite a bit after only a couple of runs. It's possible it's just not visible inside the black rubber drums OR that it doesn't stick to the rubber.
Hi, yes this is a problem and will cause poor results. I'm contemplating a video about this subject. What I believe you (and myself) are seeing is a combination of oils from case lube and carbon from burned powder. It doesn't only contaminate the container but also the stainless steel pins. Eventually it will begin to transfer a dark graphite like haze to your otherwise clean brass. This residue is very persistent. I use the strongest non solvent cleaner I can find to clean the pins and drum. Zep Industrial purple.
www.homedepot.com/p/ZEP-128-oz-Industrial-Purple-Degreaser-ZU0856128/100047759
what did you use for a plug on the end of the 4 inch pipe
Does PVC glue work on the inside agitators or did you need a different glue?
Not on foam core drain waste vent? (most common). Its glazed inside...not pvc
What size is the pvc baffle you used? Looks like 1" cut in half.
That's 1/2" PVC cut in half. The actual outside is near 1".
I did this several years ago with my lortone 33b long before I saw this video and it works great!
Interesting how I used the same components you did including hot gluing in the 1/2 " pvc pieces.
I used ABS for the main piece as my home depot had that but only had pvc up to 3".
The ABS works just as well though.
Nice to see this info out there.
How about putting surgical tubing on the internal rods of the tumbler. Improve movement of drum or not ?. I'm not exactly certain how the tumbler moves. Does improved traction in this area help tumbling? You have a great idea here. Will this help motor efficiency.?
I haven't had to add anything to the barrel or drive rods to make it work fine. With a full drum it doesn't have any problems. The best thing you can do for the motor is adjust and square the motor so the belt runs straight and work a dab of grease into the bushings that support the rods. Thanks for watching!
my only concern would be the motor crapping out due to excess weight, but you could always swap in a lortone motor for $30 and their replacement belts are suppose to be a lot more burly and still work with the harbor freight unit ;)
Im not really sure its extra weight, the foam core pvc is pretty light and this is, after all, a rock tumbler. At any rate, if you use a coupon, you can pick this up for $49. At that price, Im not sure its worth worrying about. Ive done thousands of rounds and I am still on the original belt...Hope this helps, and thanks for watching.
Cool idea! I think if I use solid core instead of cellular core PVC, I can use the PVC glue on the inside.
I'm not sure if the interior coating is different on the solid core but maybe...one concern, I imagine the solid core would be much heavier. Thanks for watching!
TreeTopFlier Good point on the weight. I think I have some solid core stuff, I will give it a shot to see if it is a problem. As far as the smooth exterior causing it to not grab on the rollers unless there is weight inside, I have used a couple of wide rubber bands on the outside of a plastic jar I use to dry tumble and it works great.
How do you de-prime the dirty brass? Won't that muck up your resizing die? Or your even your de-capping die?
The Lee decap die is universal and the brass doesn't even ride on the sides of the case. You put them in the shell holder and the pin lines right up and knocks out the primer.
Cool vid, are both rods supposed to turn or only one?
Just one turns, the other rolls with and provides support
Good video... Very helpful. I'll try this mod for sure.
I've tried your project and it doesn't want to turn. I've tried with little weight and more weight. I was wondering if I change the belt if it going to bring more strength? Thanks. I'll send you a video...
Not sure why it won't turn. Will it run without the drum? The motor is either stalled/bound up or the belt is slipping.
@@TreeTopFlier yes, it runs perfectly.
@@TreeTopFlier I was able to get some skateboard tape and it work now perfectly. Also I was able to make 2 sets out of it. Thanks again. Esteban
Curious as to how much extra volume did this project actually yield?? I don't see how it could have gained much. Nice job though!!
Skateboarding tape on the drum or rubber bands to get it to turn
what about a larger pvc pipe? something like a 6 or 8" pipe? maybe add some self amalgamating rubber tape on the outside to help the rollers bite in a bit easier?
I don't think a larger pipe will fit in the housing. As for grip, one person mentioned spray on flex seal...sounded like a good idea to me.
TreeTopFlier thanks. think i'll just do up my own using a drill and recycled containers. i dont have the HF tumbler, so it'd be easier/cheaper to just rig up a drill for me i think.
between the water, pins and brass you don't need to baffles
Rather than hot gue, why not scratch throught the shiny innier coating with a rotarry burr, on a dremel type tool, or a round rasp? Then pipe glue would do just fine.
+GunFun ZS You sure could do that, I tried hand sanding to break the surface and get a bond...no dice, it looks to be about 1/16" thick. There may be advantages to keeping the coating intact. This is Drain pipe, not pressure so it is a cellular core not solid pvc. The coating keeps the water out of the core. The hot glue gun worked better than I would have thought and it was super easy. Those puppies are stuck down good. Bottom line, this is just one way to skin that critter I'm sure there are many. You kinda have to use what you have access too. Epoxy would probably work also. Thanks for commenting/watching!
TreeTopFlier Yep. I have two vibratory tumblers with dead motors which are probably going to get ball bearing HVAC motors from surplus center. Unless they get salvage motors from a friend's pile.
Thanks for the video, I'm thinking already. If you want to save a few bucks just buy a pound of citric acid for a couple bucks instead of Lemi-Shine. Same stuff.
No reason not to do that but, for me, I dont use that much, Im still on my original container.
How does it give you more capacity? Is the volume increased somehow or by capacity do you mean that it allows for a larger part to be tumbled?
For me, it's both. Longer cases have more room to migrate and tumble, so even if you end up with a similar volume and case capacity you get better results. All In my opinion of course.
Good video, Thanks for the idea!
Awesome stuff. Thank you! And all links still work.
Could you use just 2 test plugs? One on each end?
No, the motor side won't clear.
You could if you insert the test caps a bit deeper. But the test caps cost more than a cheap end cap.
So if Chicago Electric calls for 3 pounds per drums, and you add the PVC modifications does that mean that you can add 2 pounds of media, 2 pounds of brass?
I haven't weighed it out. I use 2 pounds of pins. I would guess the tumbler weighs less than the other two tumblers together since the pvc is foam core (pretty light). I think you will run out of space before you reach a weight issue. It runs fine and doesn't seem to be struggling, getting hot or overloaded in any way.
Your new pvc barrel should have some kind of rubber traction on the outside when on the rollers to have a better turning. Weight is not the solution.
+Numisaccent That hasn't been my experience at all. If the rollers and drum are clean it works fine without any additional traction material. The interrupters I put in the drum are fairly small and don't cause the drum to have to lift too much material at one time so the torque is marginal.
Here is a link to another video started part way through if you want to see it in operation for yourself. I do give it a push start at first but that's all it takes and I do that with the stock cans too. th-cam.com/video/31er2Euw4Ic/w-d-xo.htmlm47s Thanks for watching!
+Numisaccent I suggest one of those thin mouse pads glued to the outside. I may try one inside too.
+Bert Payne it works fine bare. You can see it in operation in my "wet tumble range brass video" I would try it bare first.
+Bert Payne maybe some of that flex seal paint.
Josh Speer Good idea. Love that stuff.
What is the max weight that it can take and work properly?
The original drums are rated for 3 lbs each so that would be a total capacity of 6 lbs. I haven't weighed a loaded drum but I would guess it's about 6lbs. The two rubber drums seem to weigh more than the foam core pvc drum. I think you will run out of capacity before you overload. After running for hours the motor stays cool so it seems to handle the load fine.
Bro use flex seal spray spray the inside with it
That might be interesting.
Great video
thank you
You should put a bicycle Tube over the pipe.
Why?
to get more grip and prevent slipping
Oh, as I said in the video, mine works fine when it has the weight of the water and brass in it. The tumbler was empty in in the video when I turned it on. Thanks for watching!
I was thinking vacuum belts a couple of them but a bicycle tube might work also.
@@caltick electrical tape works well
Love the idea !!!
+chevy6299 If you give it a shot, come back and let us know what you think, would love to hear. Thanks for watching!
Would this work to polish aluminum?
I would think so but cannot say for sure. There may also be better cleaning solutions for aluminum.
Thank you.
Great Video, I like your design with the baffles. So, after a year plus, how is everything holding up? I am getting ready to purchase your items, any mods I should know about?. Thanks again for the info.
Great question. The only problem Ive had is several of the baffles have come off and I glued them back on. Last time I had to replace one I used gorilla glue. I haven't run it yet but it looks solid I think that might be a better way to go.
Link for 4" removable test plug
www.lowes.com/pd_23521-138-334033___?productId=3880611&pl=1&Ntt=4+inch+test+plug
I couldn't find the 4" glue in test plug.
a glue in test plug is just a plug
Since that glue sticks so good inside, I might have just tried running full beads inside instead of glueing pvc inside.
I dont know if that would be enough but no harm in trying.
I actually used clear silicone.