Harbor Freight tumbler died

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Morne
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Harbor Freight tumbler died

Post by Morne »

So my first tumbler kicked the bucket. Harbor Freight tumblers are cheap things with plenty of quirks. I got faster at replacing the belt in that thing than a pit crew at a car race swapping tires. At least you could buy replacement belts (and I always kept a few on hand). This time, though, a part broke that there is no purchasable replacement for. I think when I experimented with stainless steel pins media the extra load finally drove it over the edge (long story as to why that even became necessary).

Fortunately, I recently got a Vibrashine Vortex along with a pile of other reloading stuff. That is doing yeoman's work. But I wonder if I want to use the stainless steel pins in it. It's doing great with simple abrasive media thus far.

Thoughts?
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buckeye43210
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Re: Harbor Freight tumbler died

Post by buckeye43210 »

You could try building your own wet tumbler.

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Sevens
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Re: Harbor Freight tumbler died

Post by Sevens »

Hmmm, if your dead tumbler used a "belt" and judging by what b43210 posted... I'm thinking you were talking about an ACTUAL tumbler. Like a rock polisher, like a rolling drum, like the old-school Thumler's Tumbler. They are supposed to be amazing but horribly slow and low-capacity.

The vibratory tumbler that is just a big round vibrating bowl is what the average "tumbler" is called... certainly a misnomer, but there it is. It is only with those that I have experience.

My first tumbler was a Frankford from Midway. It worked. It even lasted a handful of years. When it died, I replaced it with a Berry's. Wow... I expected basically the same thing but the Berry's was far better. Better cord, better switch and actually a lot more quiet. I must have beat on the Berry's tumbler for about 4 years when it gave up the ghost. It is a hard-use item -- it vibrates for a living. I didn't ask for any more than it gave.

The Cabela's house brand tumbler is merely a green colored Berry's and when my original Berry's gave up the ghost, I just snagged a Cabela's tumbler to replace it. Same thing in a different color. Using it with a lamp timer for a 3.5 hour run time and corn media with a splash of NuFinish gives me all I need from clean brass.

Definitely not to the level of crazy clean & gorgeous that sonic cleaning can do, but good enough for me.
I like to swap brass... and I'm looking for .32 H&R Mag, .327 Fed Mag, .380 Auto and 10mm. If you have some and would like to swap for something else, send me a note!
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JustaShooter
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Re: Harbor Freight tumbler died

Post by JustaShooter »

Sevens wrote:a 3.5 hour run time and corn media with a splash of NuFinish gives me all I need from clean brass.

Definitely not to the level of crazy clean & gorgeous that sonic cleaning can do, but good enough for me.
Put about 1/8 cup (I use a 35mm film canister full) of mineral spirits into the media with your NuFinish and run for a few minutes to distribute it and make sure it isn't clumping, then add the brass. It really cuts the carbon and other crud (and keeps the dust down) and should cut your run time to a little over an hour. I'll run 4 batches or so before replenishing the mineral spirits, and I also cut up a dryer sheet into quarters and add it to the tumbler with each batch of brass to pick up the crud and keep the media cleaner longer.
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Sevens
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Re: Harbor Freight tumbler died

Post by Sevens »

I've used the mineral spirits on occasion but to be totally honest, the fumes from it kind of wig me out. I would estimate that mineral spirit fumes rival gasoline in volatility. I can't think of any other flammable liquid that seems as ready to "GO!" as mineral spirits.

Honestly, I haven't tried running my tumbler for less than 3.5 hours. That's what folks have been doing for a long time and it's worked for me. I find that it's hard to "decide" when to toss the media because it loses it's effectiveness but it does so at a crazy slow rate. Eventually, when I do toss it out and replace it... brass is even shinier for a bit. :P

To gather filth I use simple squares of paper towel. Works well.
I like to swap brass... and I'm looking for .32 H&R Mag, .327 Fed Mag, .380 Auto and 10mm. If you have some and would like to swap for something else, send me a note!
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