Hillbilly brass tumbler

So you want a brass tumbler but you have no money for such luxuries.  No problem.  Here's what I did.  

After searching for the right motor, a pal at work handed me this power window motor.  You see, the tumbler must turn very slowly, otherwise the brass and media will just cling to the side from centrifugal  force.  The window motor has a worm gear that reduces the speed dramatically.  Perfect for tumbling.

To attach the drum to the motor I used a 12 gauge shell, cut it to the right length and ran a long bolt through the primer pocket.  The shell fit tight over the window motor's gear and I just used a hose clamp to retain it.

Bungee cord keeps the drum from falling out of the wood.

12 gauge "coupler"

The "drum" is actually just a hand cleaner bucket.  To prevent the bolt from cracking the plastic, I used fender washers inside and out.  Inside the drum you must place some kind of agitators.  Just like the inside of a dryer, something needs to scoop the brass and media up and get them tumbling.  Otherwise, the stuff will just sit at the bottom and never get clean.  I use lengths of vinyl tubing glued to the drum. I had initially thought of just leaving the lid end of the drum hang out in the open, but the drum was just too floppy.  So, I ran a bolt through the lid and used it as an axle, supported by wood.  The wood on the lid end is hinged so that the lid can be removed.  I simply put the unit on it's end and scoop out the brass.  Does it look stupid? Yes.  Does it polish brass?  Yes.  Cost me $0.00 Good enough!

I run my tumbler either off of an old car battery or usually a battery charger.

I use walnut media, aka lizard litter, as my media.  I also add brass chips from the key cutter at work.  They increase the shine and decrease the time necessary to polish the brass dramatically.  I would suggest something metallic in the media.  In my experience, plain walnut media just won't remove carbon deposits from brass and it takes forever.

Be aware that window motors are not used to running for long periods of time.  They will get a little hot, so I only run mine for about an hour at a time.  You can certainly run the whole thing off of a timer so that it cycles on and off with rest periods in between.  I've never felt that the motor was getting so hot that it was going to catch fire, but just the same.

Brass chips from the key cutter.  The sharp edges really clean up the brass cases well.

drum in motion