All, The other day my Lyman tumbler thumbed its’ nose at me and
walked off the job. It was probably offended by my using it for the
ignominious task of burnishing jewelry when all the while it was
destined to bring about glamour in shell casings for ammunition.
Nonetheless, since I have become dangerously addicted to the
capabilities of vibratory tumblers…please don’t jump to
unwarranted conclusions… I had the ominous task of expeditiously
finding a replacement for my indispensible item of equipment.
Henceforth, I went to the yellow pages ( not to be confused with
yellow snow, inspite of the obvious similarity ) and queried
"ammunition loaders". Right away it came up with a panoply of people
who polish gun shells. I suppose that a polished gun shell will
dispatch people with a certain amount of elan. I went to my nearest
purveyor of self defense killing devices and he got straight to the
point telling me that the appropriate machine was available in his
shop for an amount that was not identifiable on his box. It seems
that he was looking for a bar code and had overlooked the price tag.
Nonetheless he tested me with a price that was fifteen dollars higher
than the $59.95 price that was prominently displayed on the box. When
I told him that the telephone price quoted was "about sixty dollars"
he capitulated and delivered the device without further
aggrandizement.
When I got to my place of business I discovered that the gizmo was
not designed to be used WET. It was designed for dry burnishing
only…dilemna time. I carefully examined it and determined that
the basic chassis could readily be converted using the old bowl of
the defunct machine. Changing the bowl of the old machine was a
daunting task and I had to make sure that I sealed off the electrical
underpinnings by using O rings,the center spine has to be
isolated so that liquids couldn’t migrate downward.
I guess that the basic moral of this obfuscated bit of advice is
that you should determine beforehand whether your vibratory tumbler
has a WET capability ! And , since having a wet capability is subject
to various interpretations, one should be especially vigilant about
misinterpretation of mechanical capabilities of
various devices. Obtusely, Ron at Mills Gem Co. Los Osos, Ca
I have two Dillion Tumblers and have been happy with them. One I have
"O" ringed to handle wet stuff and the larger one I use a variety of
media in it.
I have two Dillion Tumblers and have been happy with them. One I
have "O" ringed to handle wet stuff and the larger one I use a
variety of media in it.
Jerry"
Can you explain this “O” ring business? I am new to this list but
saw this posting and as I am also in the market for a tumbler was
interested. Called the company yesterday and they said the dillon
was just for dry. I saw one somewehere for a decent price but
figured it was useless. But if I can adapt…
The other day my Lyman tumbler thumbed its' nose at me and walked
off the job. It was probably offended by my using it for the
ignominious task of burnishing jewelry when all the while it was
destined to bring about glamour in shell casings for ammunition.
It has always been my understanding that a vibratory tumbler designed
for polishing brass is not suited for processing a heavy load like
rocks or metal shot. The offset weight that provides the vibration is
too close to the shaft and will not supply enough vibration to turn
over a heavy load. I bought my tumbler from a reloading supplier and
had to send the first one back while they shipped the correct model.
The advantage of a VibraSonic or MiniSonic is that the vibration
intensity is variable. I have not used my MiniSonic yet but the large
Thumler vibratory works fine.
I quite agree with you, but your reference to my original post is not
really relevant.
In the first place you state that this model was not intended for
metal shot…I quite agree. On the other hand I was not using it
with metal shot…rather, I was using it with ceramic media.
Furthermore, I bought the damned thing at a swap meet for fifteen
dollars and it lasted for at least five years…and, it did a
damned fine job ! Come on now…what is the problem ? Does it do or
does it doesn’t ? At three dollars per year what’s the relevance ?
Ron at Mills Gem, Los Osos, Ca.