Harbor Freight Tumbler and Polishing Media And Walnut Media Review

[@mke737guy]

I'm a reloader and we use walnut shell and add a few capfulls of Nu-Finish car wax or get the stuff that has a resin coating. Cheapest way to get walnut shell is at pet stores. Its sold as reptile bedding.

[@SABjork]

2 years later tumbling thousands of rounds of .308 and 5.56 it still works great. I did need to replace the threaded stem before I learned that you need to really tighten down the wing nut so it does not vibrate and damage the threads. I picked up a stronger threaded stem from the hardware store. Using corn cob 1420. brass looks brand new after 3-6 hours. Get the corn cob from the Andersons at $15 for 50 lbs. Walnut shell works but not as shiny as corn cob.

[@olekennyroy]

You may want to try tumbling for longer. Reloaders tumble brass in walnut shells for 3-5 hours.

[@rogerbalcer1]

I'm a retired CNC machinist we had tumblers that held 100-300 pounds of media !

[@rctechnologies]

I use mine to clean brass casings. I use walnut and a shot of motor oil and a thimble of rouge stick. tumble for 3-5 hours. You have to babysit the HF tumbler for those extended runs b/c it will shake itself apart (eventually). At one time I used blue Loctite on everything that is to remain assembled, so far so good. HF is definitely cost effective once you work out some bugs. HF also sells the bowls by themselves. I assume a bowl is supposed to wear out eventually.

[@revolution51]

I just got one of these. It is my new addiction.

[@Buckrun11]

I have the Dillon vibrating case cleaner for my ammo brass. You might try adding some kind of polishing compound to the walnut shells. I use a brass polishing compound from Dillon but there are all kinds out there. I haven't tried to polish steel parts in mine.

[@bc65925]

Thanks for the tip on where to get some media. Would have never thought about HF. I went to the local gander mtn and they have turned urban on me. Have no reloading stuff what so ever but they do have a store full of clothing.

[@chandlerdickinson]

Haven't tried it yet but i have heard rumors about pet stores having walnut shell bedding for lizards, might even be cheaper than the good ole HF

[@bc65925]

Chandler Dickinson Surely not, they really like to gig the fancy dan pet owners. I actually got a real nice Lyman large bowl tumbler off of what used to be the yahoo group "Freecycle". Someone was giving it and a bunch of 9mm brass for free.

[@Delereus1]

Have thought about taking an old bucket with some insulation to put over it to dampen the noise? Just started looking into blacksmithing and love the videos you are an artist with the railroad spike knives.

[@res1492]

you have to add a liquid for it to work

[@nomex1996]

Try Kitty Litter. Made of clay which is like smaller than 2000 grit. Mix with Walnut shells or Grits which is corn. Best ratio of media to parts is 70% media to 30% parts.

[@lfhbrickman]

Great review. No crap just the facts, perfect.

[@ramwall1500]

when I use my Tumblr I set it outside and just forget about it go out there 2 or 3 days later and have a pretty good finished product

[@smithraymond09029]

Mr. Dickenson, where are you located? That backdrop looks quite rural, yet I can hear the sound of traffic in the background.

[@chandlerdickinson]

smithraymond09029 I am in a little wooded area but there are neighbors and the road is just a few yards away...

[@douglasthompson2740]

I wonder if combining the two medias might quiet the ceramic stones down? I have used tumblers for years but only on polishing brass for reloading and it is all about the media used and time turned. Good video of a practical nature. Keep them coming. On your product suggestions: how about a hard tool steel welding hammer? They seem hard to come by. I have several that seem to be mild steel and the point needs frequent sharpening. Might be a good seller. Doug

[@TheStraycat74]

you can use Reptile Bedding Walnut, but you have to add rouge for polishing bright and shiny.

[@bodeine454]

Rouge powder? Where do you get it?

[@TheStraycat74]

@@bodeine454 easiest thing is to type "Polishing Compound Powder for Brass" into amazon. as a general rule I don't bother polishing my brass, I personally don;t care if it's bright and shiney for my plinking loads. I've run my brass both ways, with and without rouge polishing compound... either way it still shoots, but with rouge it's Pretty... I Ain't pretty, but once in a while, not often, I'll add that as an additional step JUST to get 'pretty brass'

[@bodeine454]

@@TheStraycat74 Ok, great, I'll search for it thanks...

[@dpmulvan]

That media is for the larger tumbler, you need smaller media like the small resin pyramids with some water then final polish with rouge and walnut shells.

[@MrSilverballmania]

I used walnut shells and flitz polish additive for tumblers I have the small one and big one I put in my parts from pinball machine parts screws wire guides, roll over wires, ect they come out like new takes about 8 to 12 hours but worth the wait

[@dpmulvan]

Also your adding way too many parts for such a small bowl, if people did their homework they wouldn't have so many poor results. Once you get a tumbler tuned and use the proper media they work great. You also need to add water for some media even though they tell you not to (lawyer thing)

[@TRprepper]

I have the same model, I use mine for ammo brass.

[@erichermosillo1590]

i use gojo in my media tumbler works great on keeping dust down and polishes better

[@rm-customs7405]

Would this be too harsh for small, lightweight wooden parts?

[@ronaldcox2741]

I use the pretty much same tumbler except it says Midway on it..I use it for my brass casings for reloading...I use the Lyman treated walnut media and it's awesome and I've had the same media for twenty years..If I were you I'd buy the best media I could find because it last forever..At least it has for me I have a new box of media but I haven't changed it out because the old is just as good...Oh yeah I tell ya another good media and it's cheaper than walnut..It's Corn Cob media it's good..If you can use the treated media it's got some kind of polishing compound in it works 10 times better than just regular media...The treated media smells like mothers car polish or something..Hope this helps.

[@chandlerdickinson]

Oh, I did add compound and yes it works much better

[@ItzWindyy]

wow, walnut media, i would have never expected that. With the stones, isn't there the chance of chipping or scratching nice pieces? Or is the tumbling minimal? thanks

[@chandlerdickinson]

ImGustyy if you put a polished piece in the tumbler you will be disappointed... but if you want to smooth the edges and expect a smooth but flat finish the stones worked very well... But super loudly! lol... the walnut shells and the sand or other blasting media worked just as well but took longer and was much less noisy...

[@ItzWindyy]

Pretty Interesting!

[@EDLaw-wo5it]

How do you keep the thumbscrew from coming loose? I can not keep my lid on.

[@peterking2651]

E. D. Law Lock washer

[@michaelnemoyer4144]

so...almost a year later...is it still working the way you want? have you figured out any tricks for it?

[@BirdWhisperer46]

Guess not. LOL

[@hstetser5376]

Try walnut or corn cob media, and some nu finish car polish.

[@inertia210]

What if you went half stones and half walnut

[@chandlerdickinson]

inertia210 I have thought about that but haven't tried it yet...

[@culliganator]

You should have put all of the media in.

[@russellknox7395]

you need water and step up media to finishing very fine polishing media. it takes days or weeks not 2 hours. also fill only to 3/4 of tub with items that will fit this size unif. GoodLuck

[@jasonj8922]

Use some water and degreaser with the ceramic tumbling media, it will cut down on the noise some.

[@chandlerdickinson]

Rudy J Yes it does

[@Aikidoman06]

I have one I put a cooler over it to cut the noise down.

[@TheJiminiflix]

$45?? Cant find one on ebay less than $140

[@ChadAmI80]

Here is the link to the Harbor Freight one www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-metal-vibrator-tumbler-67617.html

[@ChadAmI80]

Here is the link to the media I bought - www.harborfreight.com/520-lbs-rust-cutting-resin-abrasive-tumbler-media-63672.html

[@sportsmansparadice42]

It didn't look like is did much at all. Maybe it needs more time depending on the material.

[@bobreichel]

Try using the stones for an hour and then cat litter for 3 hours and see the difference

[@DrCrunchyRiff]

Try a little water & soap. Better results. Maybe push the weight limit & up the time. Take it easy.

[@bentleygt3716]

stainless beads work better and give a high shine (i use that for jewelry). thanks for the demo.

[@sidescrollin]

You gotta let it run for hours...which should be fine because it requires no work.

[@JohnDavis-yz9nq]

Add water. Will make all the difference.

[@fredvondra]

How much water?

[@JohnDavis-yz9nq]

@@fredvondra about a cup with just a little Dawn dish soap

[@fredvondra]

@@JohnDavis-yz9nq Should I add anything to the fine Walnut media?

[@JohnDavis-yz9nq]

@@fredvondra I am not sure about walnut median. I only use the hard triangle stones because I need a blast finish on metal. I am sure there is more information here on KZbin about it.

[@delacruzctine]

I think you're supposed to add water

[@he-mansuncle7661]

Christine W. yup, even better with soapy water and the stones.

[@cschnick]

This tumbler explicitly states NOT to use water.

[@derekriggs7659]

when you show people stuff, hold them still for longer. we can't really see the result.

[@shanenedwicke]

The directions say do not add any water. This machine is not capable of water fyi.

[@koningbolo4700]

I have seen guys use a paintcan or some other container like one of those hdpe screw top bins (tied/taped to one of the wheels of a riding lawnmower) and some square nuts to finish pieces from rusted up to nice and shinny in a matter of an hour or so. Roadking uses it in some of his restoration video's...You could go more poorman (but highly functional) then that... I guess kitty litter, walnut shells (after a couch munching session), ball barings, masonry sand, pee gravel, short pieces of stainless steel welding rod, misc. pieces of bathroom tiles, river pebbles are worth a try. Maybe build a plywood and styrofoam shroud to the shut the thing right up?

[@voeunsavothy508]

you forgot polish

[@johnsmithy9304]

3 hours minium

[@runningwater7721]

Sand is better than anything

[@williamjones6053]

Dis white boy racist ..he look racist ..bet he be saying yee hawlz and republikkkans..look how he dressed live in a trailer house wid a rebel flag ..racist

[@beatfarmerfan]

William Jones you sound like a racist. Learn how to spell. and talk.