Did a little looking around and there seems to be dry and wet tumbling. Seems the wet tumbling does not take as long, witch probably is not a bad thing. looking for a decent one that works well, leaning to a dry tumbler. Going to be reloading 40s&w
Anny recommendations?

thinking about this oneFrankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Case Tumbler Master Kit Quick-N-EZ Rotary

I have that tumbler, not the other stuff. Does a fine job for my needs.

I have that one also, well 2 actually.. does the job fine!

I've an RCBS "separator" that is a pain, but I really like it to separate the brass from the media..works great. I'm thinking if you spin that one very fast, with it being open on top, it'll fling stuff all over the place!

Frankfort Arsenal makes a rotary wet tumbler that uses (comes with) stainless steel pins. Besides water, a little soap and maybe some Le-mi shine, that's all you need. I have an older Lyman 3200 Vibratory Tumbler/Cleaner and it works fine, But I've been wet cleaning lately, just using water/vinegar/salt/dawn with good results. Takes 20-30 minutes to clean, rinse and let dry. Not polished, but clean.

I've seen the results from the FA w/SS pins; and I think I'm going to go that route. I de-cap before cleaning, so the primer pockets get cleaned too-bonus!

I have the very same (dry) tumbler. I picked it up at a reloader supply store. Inexpensive, and does a fine job.

But that other stuff? I got this at a dollar store. The bucket with lid holds 7# of media... and a cheap plastic colander works fine...

I've been using a Lyman 1200 for over twenty years.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

I have the Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler. It works great. Just add the brass, stainless steel pin, water and a little brass cleaner. When they are finished, rinse with fresh water and let dry. I then throw them in the Lyman 1200 with corn cob to finish them.

Sent form my SAMSUNG S5 using Tapatalk

Wet tumbling + drying time = dry tumbling.

I just want clean brass to relOad, so dry tumbling 2-3 hrs is fine. I will use wet/ss for really tarnished cases, but for me, removing pins, drying brass, just a pita for everyday shooting.
Buy quality gear, I can't say this enough. I have been using an ultrvibe for about 25yrs. It runs every week for 3hrs on avg, still going strong. The fa & hf models are very spotty as to qc.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I have used dry tumblers for 40yrs, Used a Frankford wet tumbler for the first time a couple months ago, and I won't be going back. I love that little tumbler.
It beats dry tumbling by a ton, for me.

How and why?? I'd like to hear the particulars.

I've been thinking about a "wet" tumbler w/SS pins but it just seems so messy sounding, and then you have to rinse and dry it all???

The very best tumbler for the money available today is the Berry's 400. Berry's makes them for Cabela's, Kempf, Sinclair, Brownell, Graf's and a few others. The only difference is the color so buy the one that costs the least. I have the Green one from Cabela's and it's powerful and quiet. Like I said, for the money there is no better IMO...
Cabela's has it on sale right now for only $46.74.
Cabela's Model 400 Vibratory Case Tumbler : Cabela's

https://kempfgunshop.com//index.php?...mart&Itemid=41

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadin...prod36851.aspx

Graf & Sons - GRAF VIBRATORY TUMBLER 110v w/SWITCH & CLEAR LID

reloading accessories, reloading products

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I have one of these...It's actually running right now. Comes with walnut media and bottle of polish. It's a great value in my opinion. Has everything you need in one package. Thumbs up from me.

Barry's 400 appears to be the exact same unit as the Frankfort Arsenal tumbler in black instead of gray. So, I would have to agree with you that Berry's 400 is also a very good value.

I had a Dillon 500 and the motor took a dump. I wrote Dillon and was told they no longer have the motors for the CV-500 but if I send them the tumbler they will upgrade it to the CV-750 for a cost of $128. Considering a new CV-750 costs only $16 more @$144 I passed on their offer.

The Berry's is on sale @ Cabela's for only $47 so IMO no need to cry an extra $100 when the Berry's does a very good job cleaning brass.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

When I go, I go all out.

I bought the Dillon CV-2001 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/trekkie/14125801486/ vid of it running with walnut media)

I do both 223 and .40 in it for now. i got the 'big one'. I also got their nice tumbler media separator thing. I'm sure you can make one but I was doing the big purchase of the 650 and decided at that point the additional $40 between the smaller one and the big tumbler wasn't 'that big a deal'. The separator is really nice

IMG_0310

Really easy to use. There are other ones out there, but I was getting everything there and it was like $60 with the stuff so figured what the heck, was not disappointed.

I had the cabelas one (I think cabelas anyway) for 20-25 years and it finally quit so I got the Frankfort one cause it was a good price and it looked identical.. 45 bucks for 20-25 years works for me..

Thanks for all the info ended up ordering the Cabela's 400 4 quart 12" should do the trick. I have been collecting 40 s&w brass for a while, quit counting them at about 2000!!

Not necessarily a great one, but I got 1 from Harbor Freight Tools. It does what I need it to do. Bob

I have the Thumler's Tumbler.

Thumler's Tumbler Model B High Speed Rotary Case Tumbler 110 Volt

While it isn't cheap and the stainless steel pins cost another 45 bucks once you see the results you won't ever use any other method. I've tried the vibrator and wore one out in 6 months. I then tried an Ultrasonic and didn't like the red tinge on the brass caused by the vinegar/soap/salt mix mentioned previously. That red tinge is cause by the zinc being leached out of the brass. Read up on Dezincification of brass and you'll understand my concern.

The formula used for wet tumbling with stainless steel pins is chemically near inert, in 2 gallons of warm or hot water you add 2 tablespoons of dishwashing soap and 1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine. For your 40 caliber brass a 1 hour bath will leave you with brass that looks nearly new.

However, it will be so clean and dust free that you will find flaring the cases becomes a real pain in the shoulder. Because as the flaring punch is drawn out of the case the case acts a bit like a chinese thumb cuff and really grabs on to the case. Because of this my preparation has evolved to take this into account.

Step one is to lube the cases lightly. What works for me is to use the rubber pad for the RCBS Lube pad and place the wet pad on top of a full tray of cases. This leaves a rather tiny ring of lube on the mouth of each case.

Step two is to size and de-prime all the cases. The only special aspect here is that after running a batch of brass through the die it should be cleaned so it won't corrode.

Step three is to then flare all the cases. Again, after a batch of brass you will want to clean your flare die, not only is corrosion a potential issue the flaring die also gets pretty crudded up after 3 or 4 hundred cases.

Step four is into the tumbler. Depending on the caliber the run time can range between 1 hour and about 3 hours with bottle neck rifle cases taking the longest time in the cleaning cycle. The reason for this is the bottleneck impedes the circulation of the stainless pins in and out of the cases as they are tumbled. 38 special and 357 Magnum cases generally come out good after about 1 hour 45 minutes, again due to the depth of the case impeding pin circulation.

Step five is to separate out the media and a tumbling media basket can make quick work of that. After that I like to give the cases a good rinsing in plain water. Don't know if that is really needed but why risk contaminating the powder with left over soap or Lemishine residue.

Step six is to dry the brass and I've worked out an effective method that won't harm the brass and insures it's bone dry. What I do is put the brass into a warm oven pre-heated to 135 degrees for exactly 24 minutes. After that the trays are set on top of the stove to cool down and finish drying any traces of water that may be left. The reason for this is I found leaving the brass in the oven for too long will allow it to start to tarnish and I like my brass to look new. After the complete drying and cooling cycle the cases then go into 1 quart ziplock bags so they will stay nice and shiny.

Now, there is one critical limitation to the wet tumblers that you need to pay attention to. It's also probably a limitation for the vibrators and may be in part due to my wearing my vibrator out. That is the maximum weight capacity. With 2 gallons of water and 5 lbs. of stainless steel pins the remaining weight capacity of my tumbler is just 2 lbs. For 45 ACP at 75 grains per case that means 185 cases. To determine the max count is pretty simple, you take 1400 and divide that by the weight for one case.

Scooter are you sure you aren't using 1 gallon of water? Capacity of the Thumler's B model is 15 pounds and 2 gallons of water weigh approx 16 pounds?

I know I only use 1 gallon in my STM tumbler which is about the same as the Thumler's with a few minor upgrades.

Thumler's Tumbler Ultra-Vibe Case Tumbler 110 Volt

The Ultra-vibe 10 is the ultimate reloader's tumbler. I have trashed 4 blue MidwayUSA, rebuilt & trashed 2 Harbor Freight tumblers. This Thumler will be given to my grand children. It isn't cheap, comes up on sale, and is the best one out there.

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S&WHF 366

I'm glad you took advantage of the sale Cabela's is running. That tumbler will serve you well, good luck!

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I have the Berry's 400. Works fine. For a separator, I went the Dollar Store route. Collander, large bowl, large scoop with slots.

I use the 18 pound HF tumbler. It is a fine machine that can quickly process 1000 pcs of brass in about 90 minutes. If you look for online coupons it can be had for around 135.00 delivered.

18 Lb. Vibratory Bowl w/ Liquid Drain Hose

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The American dream is alive

I am a cheapskate , and I use and like the Harbor Freight two tub tumbler. Its cheap , but works just fine. If you shop you can find it on sale for a bunch off of the regular price. Mine is about a year old now and no signs of wear on it at all.

I like spotlessly clean brass, including primer pockets, without a lot of work or time involved. Always use Lee universal deprimer before cleaning.

Chose the Harbor Freight rock tumbler, dual drum version, along with SS pins. Both drums filled with Brass, topped with water, 1/4 tsp lemishine and a couple drops of Dawn. 2 to 3 hours later, quick rinse then place into 6 rack $15 jerky dehydrator for 30 minutes to dry. Perfect brass every time, and even after dozen+ reloads, hard to tell cleaned brass from brand new. Ready for loading.

An example of 30 carbine rounds before and after.

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	30_carbine_brass_after_a.jpg (243.9 KB, 37 views)

I like the Lyman myself.
But whatever you get, get the BIGGEST one avalible. You won't regret it.

Here's my Harbor Freight Case cleaner (OK, it was originally a cement mixer), but stuff a 5 gallon plastic bucket into the opening and glue some PVC strips to act as agitators it works well. I can clean 3000 at a time. I've found that Zip wash and wax eliminates the tarnishing problem normally found with stainless pin cleaning.

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Minimize the variables

Hey John I just got an EM from Harbor Freight and they are having a store wide 50% off sale.

Very happy with my extreme tumbler

Stainless Tumbling Media | Thumler's Tumbler High Speed Model B


I use a half a crawdad trap with a screen over the entry hole to separate the pins from the cases and a SS screen colander to strain out the pins from the water.

No more picking media out of primer pockets and clean clean cases.

.41 cal

Looks like the newer version of my older Thumbler. I like it a lot and love clean brass! I would have used a flash for the pic of the brass but would have blinded me.

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I guess the last 10 or 12 posts missed the fact the OP already bought a tumbler lol...

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Or, maybe like most of us, after a while he will wish he had something that might work a little better? Heck, might as well start off with buying a couple models, as they are cheap enough and can always find a good use, and might get lucky and find perfection.

I use a Frankford Arsenal with Walnut media to start, then finish up with My Hornady with corn cob media and polish. I also have an Ultrasonic which I use in a pinch.


thewelshm

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I got one at Harbor Freight, paid $49 minus a 25% off coupon, came to about $38 bucks, works great.

I switched to wet SS tumbling a couple of years ago. I still use the old vibe cleaner & untreated walnut to remove sizing lube from loaded rounds. Those interested in wet tumbling might consider one of these. I'd buy one if I didn't have a Thumler B.

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The triple smoker

I struggled with the dry methods for nearly 20 years and was never happy with the lack of cleaning or dust. In fact I gave up tumbling and decided dirty brass was better than the dry process a decade ago.

A few years ago I tried the wet SS pin method and I'm thrilled with the results. I always deprime first so the pocket can be cleaned and I even leave on the sizing lube and the soap does a terrific job of removing it.

The drying process concerned me, but I came up with a decent idea I've been really happy with. I rinse the brass a few times while still in the container with the pins. Then while still submerged in water I remove the brass a handful at a time while dumping out the pins. I place the brass on a towel for a bit and then I run several handfuls at a time in a simple hot-air popcorn popper. They are jostled back and forth for about 30 seconds. It gets the brass up around a 100 to 150° and I dump them in a cardboard box to cool (not plastic - ask me how I know ;-). I get no discoloration or spotting and the brass is clean and dry.

I haven't seen anyone else mention the hot-air popper. It's a bit noisy, but I couldn't be happier with the results. They are about $10 used at a thrift store and about $20 new.