For my brass cleaning needs, I’ve used a Thumler’s Tumbler Model B for 6 years. It works wonderfully. Add five pounds of stainless steel pins, a squirt of mild dishwashing soap, a squirt of a citric acid rinsing agent, and some de-capped dirty brass. Fill with water and turn it on.... After an hour and a half or so, you have very clean brass. Even down to the primer pockets.
A friend who is having some medical issues was trying to liquidate his precision hobby assets. I really didn’t need or want to replace my Thumler’s unit, but he was asking a great price for an Extreme Rebel 17 rotary tumbler that he had never used. As it turned out, there were some missing pieces because his storage techniques needed some help.
The newest edition to the loading room...
A shameless knock-off of the Thumler’s Tumbler Model-B. Except that the drum rides on heavier axles that have captured roller style bearings instead of the plastic bushings on the Thumler’s unit. And it has a much heavier base unit. Thus the number reference of “17”. It will handle 17 pounds maximum as opposed to the Thumler’s 15 pounds. The drum is identical.
The motor that they chose spins much faster then the Thumler’s unit. In my estimation, it spins two and a half times faster. I thought about this and decided to try and step that motor down to the same speed of the Thumler’s motor. I believe that the brass would have suffered and would probably turn out peened to he11 after being subjected to that much faster agitation. So I installed a continuously variable ceiling fan speed control switch. And you can see above, the box I mounted it in. Well, it turns out that it didn’t need much slowing down. When loaded, the drag on the motor is enough to slow it down some what. Although, I do slow it down a wee bit anyways with the switch.
So it works exactly the same as the Thumler’s Tumbler Model B. You get nice shiny clean brass every time. The Rebel looks much more robust then the Thumler. Time will tell if it stands up as well as the Thumler’s.
So here’s my “cleaning” station on my special Lapua “branded” (read: stickered) cabinet.
A friend who is having some medical issues was trying to liquidate his precision hobby assets. I really didn’t need or want to replace my Thumler’s unit, but he was asking a great price for an Extreme Rebel 17 rotary tumbler that he had never used. As it turned out, there were some missing pieces because his storage techniques needed some help.
The newest edition to the loading room...
A shameless knock-off of the Thumler’s Tumbler Model-B. Except that the drum rides on heavier axles that have captured roller style bearings instead of the plastic bushings on the Thumler’s unit. And it has a much heavier base unit. Thus the number reference of “17”. It will handle 17 pounds maximum as opposed to the Thumler’s 15 pounds. The drum is identical.
The motor that they chose spins much faster then the Thumler’s unit. In my estimation, it spins two and a half times faster. I thought about this and decided to try and step that motor down to the same speed of the Thumler’s motor. I believe that the brass would have suffered and would probably turn out peened to he11 after being subjected to that much faster agitation. So I installed a continuously variable ceiling fan speed control switch. And you can see above, the box I mounted it in. Well, it turns out that it didn’t need much slowing down. When loaded, the drag on the motor is enough to slow it down some what. Although, I do slow it down a wee bit anyways with the switch.
So it works exactly the same as the Thumler’s Tumbler Model B. You get nice shiny clean brass every time. The Rebel looks much more robust then the Thumler. Time will tell if it stands up as well as the Thumler’s.
So here’s my “cleaning” station on my special Lapua “branded” (read: stickered) cabinet.
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