Recommend a good 7 liter or so rotary tumbler.

[Dualkit]

Have to remake 64 parts USPS lost, figured I would make them out of hex bar ends dug out of the scrap can, they are really rusted bad, I figured I would tumble them first to see if they are salvageable. Two 24oz cups of what look like ceramic gum drops, with my last 12oz of glass beads (HF was out of them again) within 3 hours the slugs look great. On the crappy Chinese tumbler they would be nowhere near done in 8 hours and 40 parts stripped the gears. With the eye test I would say the Chinese tumbler was running 40-50 rpm, I put the lathe on 100 rpm. I suppose that was the secret.

 

[DavidScott]

Here, link, is what I would get for a rotary tumbler, if it is what I think it is. I took one of the gearboxes apart for a local competitor to copy it. It was extremely well made with big bearings and gears in an oil bath with a brushless motor. It looked like it would last for years as a rotary tumbler. If you went with the steel drum get a bed liner sprayed in it first. A customer gave me a nice vibratory first so I never tried it.