Tumbling Round Balls

[gdk]

I am intersted in trying to tumble some .390 round balls I have molded. My questions are, can you use a vibrating tumbler, how many balls, and for how long. Any info would be greately appreciated.

Thanks

Gary

[Daryl]

I suggest you put some balls in a glass jar, 1/2 full & place it in the media and turn on the tumbler.  The vibrations will rotate the jar a certain direction.  Turn the jar end for end to whichever way is necessary for the jar lid to always be trying to tighten. If placed the opening direction, you'll be fishing balls from the media, even after a short period of time. Fellow who moly coats by tumbling mentioned this several years ago.

I don't think it matters how much time, as long as it's enough. I suspect you're trying to hammer down the sprues. I would think 1/2 hour might be enough. The balls won't get much if any smaller to a certain point, then that's it.

[longcruise]

I do this with a vibrating case cleaner.  You should remove all medi and cover the bottom of the vibrator with balls.  There should be just a little space for them to roll around a bit.  Don't let them stack by any means!

1 Hour for Lee mold .535 balls leaves no indication of where the sprue was.  The Lee leaves a small flat sprue so not sure how a larger sprue might fare.  T'were me, I'd use some kind of a cutter to cut the sprue off before vibrating.

Never have done this in a tumbler so don't know what to tell you about that.

Hope that helps.

[Daryl]

What happens if they touch, Mike?

[Michigan Flinter]

I made some trays about 3/4 thick with a cover on them place your balls in and screw down the cover place in back of your truck or in the trunk .Let ride around for a week or two. You will have nice round balls. If you cut off part of the spru it will change the weight some.  Eric D. Lau   Riverdeale  Mi.

[wbgv]

very similar to Eric...I made a wooden box 12"x12"x6"H...would put it in the back of my pick-up[tied town]..toss in about 50 balls ...my work was about 15 miles of back mt.roads to and from work..1 week and you couldn't tell where the sprue was..looked like swaged balls..

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Here's some radical thinking.  I pay no attention to the sproo when I load.  I just load the ball as it comes to hand from my pouch.  I cannot see any difference in my shooting accuracy as a result of the more casual approach.

[longcruise]

What happens if they touch, Mike?

That's what you want.  But it's important that they not be tightly packed in the bottom of the vibrator.  It's the vibrating about against each other that rounds them and takes the sprue down.  If they are stacked in more than one layer they tend to stay in one place together and develop flat spots.

[Daryl]

TKS Mike - kinda figured that. Putting them in a jar as I suggested above would probbly work fine as they are inconstant contact, round and round they go. Too, you don't have to empty the bowl and they are contained inside the jar.

[Pete G.]

place in back of your truck or in the trunk .Let ride around for a week or two. You will have nice round balls.

I think if I did that I would have flat spots on my balls.

[gdk]

Thanks for all the info guys. It is great to have such a huge knowledge base to call upon.

Gary

[longcruise]

TKS Mike - kinda figured that. Putting them in a jar as I suggested above would probbly work fine as they are inconstant contact, round and round they go. Too, you don't have to empty the bowl and they are contained inside the jar.

Yeah, I think that would work fine.  If I get your gist, you are talking about a tumbler as opposed to a vibrator.

[Daryl]

Yes - vibrator - the media in the tumbler rolls the barrels instead of shaking them and rattling them. It is one of the way guys put moly on their varmint bullets. The direction of the roll is constant and always in one direction. The lid's direction must be correctly placed, so the roll is always tightening it.

[longcruise]

Ok, now I get it!  I can see how it would work.  My vibrator with media tends to roll cases through just as you descrive the jar.  Might try it.  Saves having to dump the media and will keep the tub clear of the lead residue.

[Daryl]

The lead wash, perhaps deposited on the barrel drum and having to dump and store "dusty red" media were concerns of mine - well, maybe not concerns per se', but work I didn't think necessary.

[Leatherbelly]

   Wouldn't that dimple the balls, like a golf ball? To what end?

[Robby]

Gary, I'm not sure if this what you mean by tumbling, but pictured here is a tumbler I made from an old salad bowl and a variable speed motor.

Leatherbelly, It does kind of dimple them up like a golf ball. At the time, I made this I was trying to make my smoothbore more consistently accurate. I wasn't worried about the sprue as much as making the balls, what I call randomly consistent. My results, with weighed and tumbled hand cast balls, were that my groups were tighter and more consistent. I was very confident hunting with my smoothy out to eighty yards, And I don't take a chance if I think wounding is in the mix. I tumble everything now, rifle and smoothy balls.
Robby

[RonT]

I've been toying with design in my head to use a rotisserie (sp?) motor off a grill, a screw top plastic jar of some sort, and two rollers.  Maybe mount the lid to the drive, add a couple "speed bumps" on the interior of the jar, and mount on latteral  rollers.
Never thought about it 'till this thread but my ADD kicked in and am gonna' have to try it.
R