Tumbler barrel source.

I hate to start a thread just for this purpose, but does anyone still make rotary tumbler barrels with screw on lids? Back when I was a kid tumbling stones 50 years ago, barrels with screw on lids were a dime a dozen, now all the lids are 3-5 pieces and a PITA. Also I have had a few come off if the rubber barrels swell, nice mess

You can buy foods like pretzels, nuts and such in clear plastic jars with screw on lids. Don't know if this is what you want or if they will hold up, but take a look.

Tom

I have seen these sold for tumbling brass for reloading but they are far from a dime a dozen.

Frankford Arsenal Rotary Case Tumbler Lite

Just the drum, they still want $70.

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler Drum

This is what I did: http://nwnative.us/Grant/movies/20161202_161105.mp4

If it doesn't work in your browser you'll have to download it, sorry.

metalmagpie

kenton said:

I have seen these sold for tumbling brass for reloading but they are far from a dime a dozen.

Frankford Arsenal Rotary Case Tumbler Lite

Just the drum, they still want $70.

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler Drum

Click to expand...

got one of those and they do work and easy to use

None of the links in this thread seem to work.

I would imagine that any of the tumbler manufacturers would have drums available as accessories or replacement parts.

I have two tumblers and they have nice, heavy rubber drums. But the lids are also a combination of rubber and metal and they are a tight fit into the drums so that the water or other liquid would not leak out. They also have an external aluminum cap which is held in place by a central screw-on knob. This cap has an outer edge that is tapered so it helps to hold the drum's rim tight against the cover. Four pieces all together: rubber-metal cap with a central stud, aluminum cap, an aluminum washer, and a screw-on knob. The tops are a bit difficult to remove but, so far there are no leaks. And the drums are so thick that I would guess it will take a century of use to wear them out. Sorry, in spite of how well made these drums are, I can't mention the brand name here. But I would recommend them. PM me, I guess.

I had one of these decades ago.

The drum, as I found out later was just a short length of 4" underground drain pipe with the standard plastic push on caps on each end. Cheap, and when the pipe wears out you just cut another piece from the length you have acquired from a builders skip.

kenton said:

I have seen these sold for tumbling brass for reloading but they are far from a dime a dozen.

Frankford Arsenal Rotary Case Tumbler Lite

Just the drum, they still want $70.

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler Drum

Click to expand...

Links don't work right for me, maybe my browser and windows 7 combination. By dime a dozen I meant popular.

Maybe this google search link will work?

frankford arsenal tumbler - Google Search

They want $90 for a 3.3 liter tumbler on Midway. Could wait for a sale or free shipping.

kenton said:

Maybe this google search link will work?

frankford arsenal tumbler - Google Search

They want $90 for a 3.3 liter tumbler on Midway. Could wait for a sale or free shipping.

Click to expand...

There is a 7 liter model on Amazon of that brand on sale for $165. From the Q & A on their website it looks like it has a 1/5 HP motor from the wattage someone listed. I am wondering how much weight that thing can tumble?
I wonder if it could manage 25 pounds of parts and media? I basically need it to use blast media to remove rust off parts made of 12L14 hex stock. The stock is delivered by a local metal yard looking like it was salvaged from the Titanic. I have been experimenting with a couple small HF rotary tumblers. 70 grit aluminum oxide in a rotary does the trick. I run the parts in 400 piece batches every couple weeks. 400 parts weigh about 105 pounds, if I could run 50 parts at a time that would be great. Since the HF model can handle 6# and is a little less than 1/5 the wattage of the Frankford, I suppose the Frankford should handle 25 pounds.