Does anyone tumble clad?

[Martin_V3i]

If I was to be looking to buy a tumbler today, it would be the Harbor Freight dual tumbler, mainly because it seems that they don't offer the single barrel now and the price is right. For $69.99, the dual should be a bargain. My single barrel has had so many tumbling hours on it, it's crazy. Still works perfectly. Aquarium gravel, tot lot gravel, driveway gravel, all work. I just use a several drops of dish washing liquid and enough water to cover the contents, and let it run. Don't overfill the barrel. The instructions are pretty clear about weight. I wonder though if the second barrel might load the motor. Good luck!

 

[EmuDetector]

more important, who is the tumbling addicted person who wants to buy all my clad and tumble it? i will sell it with room for you to still make money

 

[Rattlehead]

I dump a LOT of my dirty clad in the vending machines here at my workplace. I'm sure those guys hate me.

 

[Pop pop!]

Has anyone tried cleaning coins in a brass vibrating tumbler with walnut media? Just wondering if that would do much.

i just thought the same thing, that how i clean my brass when reloading

 

[DJW]

Has anyone tried cleaning coins in a brass vibrating tumbler with walnut media? Just wondering if that would do much.

I use a Dillon tumbler with walnut media overnight in the garage.. Tried my 2500 but the bowl is made for easy empty and the coins all slid thru the bottom slots without cleaning.

 

[Miata Mike]

I tumbled a small amount of clad in my Lyman tumbler with the greenish corn cob media for 6 hours after scrubbing enough to identify the state quarters. They turned out very nice.

Next time out I will do a write up with pictures.

 

[GroundSweeper]

Tumble just enough to keep the CoinStar from choking on 'em

 

[NoxDude]

Hello,
I have always tumbled my dirty clad but never had satisfactory results.
How long? Any particular solution? What type of grit?
HH!
Tom

Simple solution. Works every time. Some white vinegar, rock salt and pebbles. Tumble for 30 mins. That's it. Dish soap does not work.

Noxdude

 

[NoxDude]

Simple solution. Works every time. Some white vinegar, rock salt and pebbles. Tumble for 30 mins. That's it. Dish soap does not work.

Noxdude

Hello,
I have always tumbled my dirty clad but never had satisfactory results.
How long? Any particular solution? What type of grit?
HH!
Tom

 

[longbow62]

I have a frankford arsenal tumbler with stainless steel pins. My issue is the coinstar rejected about a 1/3-1/2 of them. Maybe I ran them in the tumbler to long? Of course a lot of this clad had been in the ground a long time.

 

[UT_Dave]

I have a frankford arsenal tumbler with stainless steel pins. My issue is the coinstar rejected about a 1/3-1/2 of them. Maybe I ran them in the tumbler to long? Of course a lot of this clad had been in the ground a long time.

I wonder if you just got unlucky with a really picky machine? I fed about $700 in dug and tumbled clad into a machine last year and only had about $2 rejected and 10 Cents of that was a silver Rosie I had missed. I just tumble with aquarium gravel and dish soap and let them run over night. They don't get shiny clean, but clean enough to handle without getting my hands dirty.

I haven't tried feeding any zincs into a machine. I try not to dig them. But I have a small coffee can mostly full of them anyway. Not sure whether to just throw them away, or toss them out like bird feed in one of the heavily detected parks around here, just to be a dick.

- Dave

 

[longbow62]

I just did dimes and quarters. Heck the drink machine at work wouldn't take the rejected coins either!

 

[C-Dredge]

I do not clean silver or wheat cents or anything that is even casually collectible. For my everyday clad, I have a Harbor Freight Rock tumbler. I use Stainless steel pins. The solution is water, dish soap and some Lemi-shine.

 

[UT_Dave]

I just did dimes and quarters. Heck the drink machine at work wouldn't take the rejected coins either!

Dang... I wonder what the deal is. Do your really think you just tumbled them too long with the SS pins?

- Dave

 

[longbow62]

That's my only explanation other than a great deal of them being in the ground a very long time. You know like red and corroded very badly. Then a long tumble with the stainless steel pins.

 

[John Madill]

i tumbled clad for the first time when someone gave me a nice rock tumbler. used dish soap and white vinegar. did pennies separately. Coin star liked the results. only pennies kicked back were heavily nicked on the edges. Here is a before pic also.

 

[AKSpotmom]

I use a dab of dish soap, a little vinegar and the Southern Shine stainless tumbling media that we already had for tumbling brass. If it is remotely able to be shined it will look like new, even zinc pennies. Never put even a single penny in with clad (they will ALL turn copper color) and don't tumble anything of value. It's just for spending money. I wait till the end of the year and do it all then. About 1 hour per batch.

The tumbling media comes in all kinds of sizes, but this is what we use, Southern Shine tumbling media , the stuff will last a lifetime. We dump the coins and media into a 1/4" mesh basket submerged in water, shake to separate coins from media and pull the basket out with just coins in it and dump the media back in the tumbler. Rinse the coins good and spread out on a towel to dry. I hand roll everything, Coinstar takes a cut anywhere I have seen it and I won't pay it.