Tumblers

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

Any recommendations on tumblers that use pins?

Frankford, Harbor Freight RCBS?

 

I need to casually suggest a Christmas present idea to my family 

[Jack Spade 22]

I recently bought the frankford arsenal wet tumbler and couldn't be happier.   Also purchase the media separator and the magnet.  These will make your life much easier.  I think Midway USA has the frankford on sale.  My sister and I just ordered one for our dad for christmas. 

[Warden Callaway 4,441]

15 minutes ago, Jack Spade said:

I recently bought the frankford arsenal wet tumbler and couldn't be happier.   Also purchase the media separator and the magnet.  These will make your life much easier.  I think Midway USA has the frankford on sale.  My sister and I just ordered one for our dad for christmas. 

 

Me too.  I bought the pins and magnet but never found them necessary.  Simple Green and Lemi Shine do a greatbjob.

 

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L 1,955]

Franklin Arsenal wet tumbler, a drop or two (NOT MORE) of Dawn and a 9mm case full of lemi shine.  I have never found it necessary to use the pins.

[Yul Lose 6,238]

I like this one and don’t use the pins. Rebel 17.

 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

7 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

I like this one and don’t use the pins. Rebel 17.

 

 

X2!

Cry one time and buy this one!

I use ceramic in mine.

OLG 

[Yul Lose 6,238]

Just now, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

X2!

Cry one time and buy this one!

I use ceramic in mine.

OLG 

I have the ceramic but rarely use them.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

Just now, Yul Lose said:

I have the ceramic but rarely use them.

Found the ceramic did a better job cleaning my BPCR cases.

They come out looking like polished gold, inside and out.

OLG 

[Shooting Bull 1,943]

Regardless of which tumbler you choose I'll recommend not using the pins.  They're a pain in the butt to separate after the cleaning is done.  Mr Yul Lose up there turned me on to Strat O Sheen burnishing compound.  A teaspoon of that plus combo car wash/wax gets my brass every bit as clean as with pins.  You'll also hear lots of folks recommending Lemi Shine.  That works great if you have hard water but is totally unnecessary if you have naturally soft or filtered water.

 

Strat O Sheen

 

P.S.  I have the Frankfort Arsenal tumbler and love it.

[Smoky Pistols 661]

^^^^^^^ What he said!  Got rid of my pins and went to just Lemi-Shine and Brass Juice in my Frankford Arsenal tumbler and have never been happier with the results.

 

https://www.thereloadingstation.com/products/brass-juice-case-wash

 

You can search in this forum for a thread or two on the subject.

[Matthew Duncan 1,245]

1 hour ago, Shooting Bull said:

... I'll recommend not using the pins.  They're a pain in the butt to separate after the cleaning is done.  ...

 

Hmmm.  I dump my wet brass with SS pins into my former dry media/case separated with enough clean water to "rinse" the brass.  Pins fall right out!

 

 

[Yul Lose 6,238]

42 minutes ago, Matthew Duncan said:

 

Hmmm.  I dump my wet brass with SS pins into my former dry media/case separated with enough clean water to "rinse" the brass.  Pins fall right out!

 

 

If you don’t use pins you can skip this step. I have one too and haven’t used it in years.

[Shooting Bull 1,943]

1 hour ago, Matthew Duncan said:

 

Hmmm.  I dump my wet brass with SS pins into my former dry media/case separated with enough clean water to "rinse" the brass.  Pins fall right out!

 

 

 

I used that exact separator with running water for over a year. No matter how long I tumbled I ALWAYS found pins still inside brass. Broke two decamping pins because of it. Strat O Sheen is a simple rinse and done. I’ll never go back to pins. 

[Michigan Slim 5,027]

1 minute ago, Shooting Bull said:

 

I used that exact separator with running water for over a year. No matter how long I tumbled I ALWAYS found pins still inside brass. Broke two decamping pins because of it. Strat O Sheen is a simple rinse and done. I’ll never go back to pins. 

I was given some brass cleaned with pins. I'm on my third recapping pin. Grateful for the brass though!

[Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L 145]

Can the liquid method be used in a vibratory tumbler?

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

25 minutes ago, Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L said:

Can the liquid method be used in a vibratory tumbler?

No, not safe if the motor is underneath. 

OLG 

[Sedalia Dave 11,868]

1 hour ago, Shooting Bull said:

 

I used that exact separator with running water for over a year. No matter how long I tumbled I ALWAYS found pins still inside brass. Broke two decamping pins because of it. Strat O Sheen is a simple rinse and done. I’ll never go back to pins. 

 

1 hour ago, Michigan Slim said:

I was given some brass cleaned with pins. I'm on my third recapping pin. Grateful for the brass though!

 

Been using a wet tumbler with pins in straight wall cases for about 5 years and have yet to find a pin inside a case.

 

I found that too much or too little water in the media separator can cause pins to stick inside. You need enough water so that the cases fully submerge as they tumble but not so much that they fail to rise up above the water level as the cage is turned before tumbling back down into the water.

 

Another thing I learned is to not process too many cases at one time. I have a RCBS media separator and about 300 .38 specials is the most it will reliably separate at one time.

[John Kloehr 849]

31 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Been using a wet tumbler with pins in straight wall cases for about 5 years and have yet to find a pin inside a case.

One thing I read is pin length can make a big difference in if they get stuck or not, which can mean changing pins based on caliber.

 

Also heard dry tumbling increases lead dust exposure.

 

So I'm leaning towards wet, and away from pins.

 

I have been leaning towards a Frankford Arsenal tumbler, but will take a close look at the Rebel.

 

I am getting the sense from this forum (for this topic), I would like to sit down with @The Original Lumpy Gritz and ply him with drinks of his choice and just listen to him explain every aspect of what he does, how he does it, and the tools he uses. Then just buy them and do it his way.

Edited November 18, 2020 by John Kloehr

[Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L 145]

3 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

No, not safe if the motor is underneath. 

OLG 

How so ? Lyman Turbo 600, the bowl is solid with a ventilated cover. I suppose some splashing could make its' way down the sides of the bowl?

[Shooting Bull 1,943]

2 hours ago, John Kloehr said:

One thing I read is pin length can make a big difference in if they get stuck or not, which can mean changing pins based on caliber.

 

Also heard dry tumbling increases lead dust exposure.

 

So I'm leaning towards wet, and away from pins.

 

I have been leaning towards a Frankford Arsenal tumbler, but will take a close look at the Rebel.

 

I am getting the sense from this forum (for this topic), I would like to sit down with @The Original Lumpy Gritz and ply him with drinks of his choice and just listen to him explain every aspect of what he does, how he does it, and the tools he uses. Then just buy them and do it his way.

 

Good whisky and he likes cigars too. Despite him being a pain in my a$$ he’s a pretty good dude. His wife is an absolute gem. No idea how he got so lucky. 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

22 minutes ago, Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L said:

How so ? Lyman Turbo 600, the bowl is solid with a ventilated cover. I suppose some splashing could make its' way down the sides of the bowl?

Then ask Lyman.

Add it up, water-gravity-electricity......

OLG 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

6 minutes ago, Shooting Bull said:

 

Good whisky and he likes cigars too. Despite him being a pain in my a$$ he’s a pretty good dude. His wife is an absolute gem. No idea how he got so lucky. 

She lost a bet 

OLG 

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

23 minutes ago, Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L said:

How so ? Lyman Turbo 600, the bowl is solid with a ventilated cover. I suppose some splashing could make its' way down the sides of the bowl?

There are vibratory tumblers that will work wet or dry. 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

2 hours ago, John Kloehr said:

 

 

2 hours ago, John Kloehr said:

 

I am getting the sense from this forum (for this topic), I would like to sit down with @The Original Lumpy Gritz and ply him with drinks of his choice and just listen to him explain every aspect of what he does,

 

Would be a very boring 30 seconds of your time 

OLG 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

3 minutes ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

There are vibratory tumblers that will work wet or dry. 

Please post a link to such.

OLG

[Warden Callaway 4,441]

I have an ultrasonic cleaner and tried cleaning brass. It didn't work well. I can't see a vibration cleaner working well with soap and water either.  

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Abrasives/Tumblers/Vibratory-Tumblers?navid=12100022
 

https://www.stuller.com/products/47-5054/11588430/?groupId=123056

 

 

This is basically Lyman stuff, read description:

https://raytech-ind.com/metal-finishing/twin-tumbler.html

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

11 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

I have an ultrasonic cleaner and tried cleaning brass. It didn't work well. I can't see a vibration cleaner working well with soap and water either.  

I may try it out. I have a very large Thumblers vibratory that’s wet/dry. I just found this out....it was given to me years ago.

There seems to be industrial and jewelry polishing applications for vibratory wet tumbling. I do know on my Thumblers the vibration intensity is adjustable, but I’ve always used dry media.

 

I’ll get back on this....

Edited November 18, 2020 by Dirty Dan Dawkins

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

2 minutes ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Abrasives/Tumblers/Vibratory-Tumblers?navid=12100022
 

https://www.stuller.com/products/47-5054/11588430/?groupId=123056

 

 

This is basically Lyman stuff, read description:

https://raytech-ind.com/metal-finishing/twin-tumbler.html

With he prices of the first 2 links. They should run while under water 

That last one looks interesting 

OLG 

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

7 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

With he prices of the first 2 links. They should run while under water 

That last one looks interesting 

OLG 

I have a Lyman branded one just like it. 
My Thumblers looks just like link at Stullers. 
 

I do like going to the MSC sales counter and their catalogs. It’s a pretty neat place to find about anything for maintenance and machine shops.

Edited November 18, 2020 by Dirty Dan Dawkins

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

You could do a lot of brass with this

 

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/09117631

[Warden Callaway 4,441]

I bought too soon.  Not long after I did,  Frankford Arsenal came out with a smaller model.  As I don't like to mix my brass with Sawmill Mary's and I don't like to mix calibers,   I always have a small load. 

 

The small model, two even better would be more convenient.  

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,185]

37 minutes ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

You could do a lot of brass with this

 

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/09117631

Or I could put a down payment on a house 

OLG 

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

11 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Or I could put a down payment on a house 

OLG 

 

Or retire in a third world country!

 

Hey was that guy putting a cylinder head in there?

Edited November 19, 2020 by Dirty Dan Dawkins

[Dirty Dan Dawkins 879]

3 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

I bought too soon.  Not long after I did,  Frankford Arsenal came out with a smaller model.  As I don't like to mix my brass with Sawmill Mary's and I don't like to mix calibers,   I always have a small load. 

 

The small model, two even better would be more convenient.  

I was wondering what size everyone used.