Post your Home Made Pin Tumblers

[swampratt]

We have a lot of new guys here to the reloading and I thought I would bring up this topic again.

Please feel free to tell about your tumbler and post some pictures.

My pin tumbler was made from a treadmill that i got during big trash.. someone stuck it to the curb.
Nodric Track and it had a DC motor in it and rollers at the front a rear and had a small ribbed belt to drive one of the rollers.

I mounted the rollers into an old steel file cabinet and mounted the motor and added duct tape to the powered roller to give my container traction to spin.
I also stuck tape o the container to dampen the harshness and give more traction.

The container is a 2 quart V8 bottle.
My pins are cut from stranded copper wire like 4 gauge THHN.
I clean 1 quart worth of brass in this 2 quart bottle and add lemishine and hot water and about 1/8 teaspoon of dawn or Wash and wax.

This deal pulls less than 2 amps at 12 volts.

Here are a couple pictures.. My 2 year old grandson is helping.
I have the amount of Lemishine I use in my hand and this much will allow me to be finished tumbling in 1 hour.

 

[Profreedomokie]

 

[swampratt]

Nice. Looks like PVC and duct tape along with Unistrut and some fuel line in that mix
Very heavy duty I like it.

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

I used to have a thumlers tumbler. Do y’all think it’s just as cheap to build one?

 

[swampratt]

If you are crafty you can build one for less than 2 super sized lunches at a fast food joint.

I have a welder and a drill and many other tools and some skills and only thing I had to purchase for my tumbler was a roll of duct tape.

I even made one from a junk copy machine. The motor was tiny and got kind of hot so I placed some aluminum pieces on it to act as a heat sink.

I gave my neighbor a sewing machine motor and belt I pulled out of a fill ditch and he purchased some steel rod and made himself one.
I did use bearings out of a couple of those harbor freight tires they sell for $4 I had a few laying around that had bat tubes but good bearings.

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

If you are crafty you can build one for less than 2 super sized lunches at a fast food joint.

I have a welder and a drill and many other tools and some skills and only thing I had to purchase for my tumbler was a roll of duct tape.

I even made one from a junk copy machine. The motor was tiny and got kind of hot so I placed some aluminum pieces on it to act as a heat sink.

I gave my neighbor a sewing machine motor and belt I pulled out of a fill ditch and he purchased some steel rod and made himself one.
I did use bearings out of a couple of those harbor freight tires they sell for $4 I had a few laying around that had bat tubes but good bearings.

I just got a free treadmill. I think I might try and build one out of it.

 

[PBramble]

I've got a treadmill and a 30 gallon container. I wonder how may I could tumble at a time.....

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

I've got a treadmill and a 30 gallon container. I wonder how may I could tumble at a time.....

answer: all of them

 

[Profreedomokie]

I found this older thread while looking for the things you made thread. I rebuilt my pin tumbler today. I wanted to take up less bench space, so I redesigned it.

 

[swampratt]

Very nice! You went heavy duty on it.
Even added a expanded metal guard. Sweet


I have read some people take some water hose and tie it into a knot and toss it into a round tumbler container to add agitation.
Didn't you add lumps in your container?