Home-Made equipment

[Boots]

You know, every box of ammo you buy more or less comes with a "reloading tray". Sure the holes are close together, but it's basically free (or at least pre-paid)

+1 I agree. That's what I started doing until I got bored one day in the garage.

[CodeDog]

Home made brass cleaner.
Coffee can
2x4
fan motor
glue
Total cost $2

[freonr22]

[Stryfe76]

Home made brass cleaner.
Coffee can
2x4
fan motor
glue
Total cost $2

Ok I need more details on this! I'm assuming there is some sort of unbalanced weight on the motor shaft?
Is it mounted to the wood base or the can?

[J-cat]

So this is my homemade reloading tray...

U awesome!

[rsrocket1]

ghetto media sifter $2

I was about to make a sifting drum out of pebble screen and wooden sides cut into a hex shape. I know that flipping the brass helps empty the shells of media. Simply rolling the shells isn't as good as flipping and if you shake a pile of shells, they just end up base down full of stuff.

I stopped by the local thrift store and found this:



It looks like an old raffle ticket cage. Notice the square "paddles" inside the cage (perfect flippers). It didn't have a price tag and the guy at the cash register said $2. Sold.

The clear plastic rod is a window blind rod from the garage stuff.

You can see how much I spent on the sifting bucket



A few rotations one way and a few the other way and not a single grain of walnut shell left. Note the spilled walnut shells on the side. That was from my first experiment using my son's waste basket which had screened walls, but a solid base, not so good.



These are the shells sitting in my $0.25 basket. Notice the stylish Halloween bats on the sides.

I could drill holes in the bucket to capture the rod and put a lid on the bucket to hold in the dust, but by using the cut up used dryer sheets in the tumbler, there is no dust at all!

Cage:$2
Rod:$0
Bucket:$0
case holders: $0.25 not really a part of the sifter

Fun factor of ghetto inventions: priceless

[CodeDog]

Ok I need more details on this! I'm assuming there is some sort of unbalanced weight on the motor shaft?
Is it mounted to the wood base or the can?

The motor is mounted to the can which rests on flexible mount bushings made from dabs of dry silicone.
The shaft is unbalanced with a 158 grain bullet attached to it.





Results:

[rsrocket1]

Totally ghetto cool. I may have to make one myself. My concern is that it looks like the main motion of the insides is around in circles and not from the outside over the top and down like most commercial tumblers. This might make the mixing of the shells not too good. I wonder if you could use a mixing bowl with a lid and a post bolted to the center. Or maybe a bundt cake pan?

[CodeDog]

Totally ghetto cool. I may have to make one myself. My concern is that it looks like the main motion of the insides is around in circles and not from the outside over the top and down like most commercial tumblers. This might make the mixing of the shells not too good. I wonder if you could use a mixing bowl with a lid and a post bolted to the center. Or maybe a bundt cake pan?

Actually it cycles counter clockwise and center up, outside down.
If I drop shells on top of the media they get sucked down around the outside and reappear coming up in the middle later.

If even cleans the inside of the shells and the primer pocket well.
It is faster and cleans better than commercial cleaners. I don't know why, it just does.

The only down side is that it makes a lot of noise, and I mean A LOT.
I have to wear my shooting ear plugs when it's running.
It vibrates so vigorously that it walks across the table while its running.

Next time I use it I'll post some before and after photos of the shells.

[Boots]

Actually it cycles counter clockwise and center up, outside down.
If I drop shells on top of the media they get sucked down around the outside and reappear coming up in the middle later.

If even cleans the inside of the shells and the primer pocket well.
It is faster and cleans better than commercial cleaners. I don't know why, it just does.

The only down side is that it makes a lot of noise, and I mean A LOT.
I have to wear my shooting ear plugs when it's running.
It vibrates so vigorously that it walks across the table while its running.

Next time I use it I'll post some before and after photos of the shells.

To deaden the noise... spray some underliner or that stuff for truck beds. Anything that's dense that you can adhere to the metal can.

[Stryfe76]

The motor is mounted to the can which rests on flexible mount bushings made from dabs of dry silicone.
The shaft is unbalanced with a 158 grain bullet attached to it.
Results:

You are my hero!!!

[CodeDog]

To deaden the noise... spray some underliner or that stuff for truck beds. Anything that's dense that you can adhere to the metal can.

That would lessen the vibration and make the cleaner less effective.
It is the vibration that does the cleaning as well as the noise.
I know this because I already tried and succeeded in quieting it down with padding under the can.
Unfortunately, while much quieter, it also stopped cleaning the shells effectively.
I also tried using an water bottle on top of the can as a vibration dampener. I got the idea from the large water tanks they put in the top of tall buildings to absorb earth quakes.
Dropped the noise to almost 0 but also stopped the cleaning action. Sigh

My plan now is to replace the silicone blobs I am using for bushings with some springs. Then the can should really start to jump around!
I am hoping that if I can amplify the vibration enough I can shorten the run times to 30 min.

To reduce the noise I am going to run it inside a card board box with egg cartons lining the walls of the enclosure.

[Boots]

That would lessen the vibration and make the cleaner less effective.
It is the vibration that does the cleaning as well as the noise.
I know this because I already tried and succeeded in quieting it down with padding under the can.
Unfortunately, while much quieter, it also stopped cleaning the shells effectively.
I also tried using an water bottle on top of the can as a vibration dampener. I got the idea from the large water tanks they put in the top of tall buildings to absorb earth quakes.
Dropped the noise to almost 0 but also stopped the cleaning action. Sigh

My plan now is to replace the silicone blobs I am using for bushings with some springs. Then the can should really start to jump around!
I am hoping that if I can amplify the vibration enough I can shorten the run times to 30 min.

To reduce the noise I am going to run it inside a card board box with egg cartons lining the walls of the enclosure.

No it shouldn't that much... if at all. I used to do custom car stereo installs and it's a common practice to dampen the resonance of the sheet metal (tin can in this case) but if the can itself is still being vibrated, everything inside is still going to be in motion (media & brass)
The only issue is the added overall mass that you motor has to move will be increased... but you can just compensate that will a larger counter balance (added weight)

[Craigwood]

I needed a custom mount to fit my Dillon Square Deal B and my Hornady LNL AP presses on a rollaway tool box. Some scrap aluminum strut material and joiner pieces with some angle and flat bar from Metals Supermarket and instant (well almost) custom mount.

I couldnt help but notice you have a Hornady L n P AP. How do you like it. How would you compare to the Dillon. The way I figure and made my decision because I couldnt get up close and touch either, is.... Hornady makes ammo. And they make Reloading stuff. Do you think if they make ammo, they can make Reloaders?? Great customer service too.

[Lead Waster]

CodeDog, if you can get the thing to stop moving across the floor (bolt it down to a piece of plywood?) it would be more efficient as the vibrations would be transmitted to the can, rather than walking across the floor.