Tumbling

[Bruce R]

I'm wanting to built a tumbler for cleaning coins, I can build the machine, but does anyone out there know the exact cleaning process ?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Loco-Digger]

There are so many. I only tumble my clad on some tokens. I used to use small gravel (similar to aquarium gravel) and a dash of mister clean to clean and sanitize. I now use Lemon juice to barely cover the coins and 3 tblsps of salt. The weak acidity of the lemon juice cleans the coins way better than soap and gravel. Just don't mix copper coins with your nickels dimes and quarters. Once you tumble the nickels dimes and quarters, do not throw out the concoction. Use it to tumble your pennies. Do not do it the other way unless you want pinkish quarters.

If you can build one for under $34, go for it, or else you can pick one up at Harbor Freight relatively cheap.

 

[Carolina Tom]

If you use anything other than water and soap, be careful, as it builds up pressure in the drum, and seeps out. It usually finds some key part of the tumbler, and corrodes it to the point that the tumbler won't work.

I know this sounds like experience talking...

I get mine just clean enough to go through the Coin Star machine, using dish soap and water... and maybe a little sand of pea gravel.

 

[cache finder]

Get this tumbler, has worked great for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Rotary-Dual-T...sd-20&linkId=b61caf882a6453d7a88182e68dc585dd

 

[Bruce R]

I saw one on TV about 25yrs ago, it was a stainless drum with holes in it and it ran in an open top vat of heated liquid. It was at some fancy hotel in Beverly Hills, they washed all their coins so they'd look brand new when they made change for their customers. I've already made a small version of the stainless drum with a door on it. I just didn't know what solution to run it in, I was going to try water, Dawn, and C.L.R. What about putting lead shot in with the coins ?

 

[xr7ator]

I clean the clad I find with a hard plastic bristle brush once I get home just to read the dates and that is good enough to go through a coin star machine. (95% of 'em)
I find the lemon juice and salt with no gravel to work amazingly well. DON'T RINSE WITH HOT WATER or they'll turn rainbow colors. Use cold water to rinse. I've never had a drum leak any solution, ever. After this process, sometimes the coins tend to be a little etched. Then, I will put them in with gravel and a little comet and they come out so nice that you can't tell they are dug coins in the least bit.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I saw one on TV about 25yrs ago, it was a stainless drum with holes in it and it ran in an open top vat of heated liquid. It was at some fancy hotel in Beverly Hills, they washed all their coins so they'd look brand new when they made change for their customers. I've already made a small version of the stainless drum with a door on it. I just didn't know what solution to run it in, I was going to try water, Dawn, and C.L.R. What about putting lead shot in with the coins ?

The casino I watched cleaning coins on TV used small ball bearings as the cleaning medium and some tarinish remover.