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  #1  
Old 07-07-2017, 05:55 PM
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Been reloading since 1969 and used Lyman vibrator type brass cleaners for years. Finally tried a Frankford (Frankfort?) Arsenal tumbler, don't have model # in front of me but it is a big one.

Used the stainless steel pins, brass polish liquid, water, etc. as directed.

OK..............so it did well, but separating those pins from the brass is a pain in the axx. Yes, I shook, washed repeatedly, used the magnet............etc. Still too much trouble.
Plus, some of the pins were stuck IN .45 acp inside of the primers so tight I had to pull them out with a set of needle-nose pliers. (I tumbled without removing primers first).

Never again!!

How many of you use a similar machine and just use the brass polish and water.................or something else easier to pour out??

Thanks and y'all have a great weekend, Bo in NC

Last edited by BoCash; 07-07-2017 at 05:57 PM.
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Old 07-07-2017, 06:31 PM
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I stick with corncobs and Turtle Wax.
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Old 07-07-2017, 06:40 PM
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Walnut hulls or corn cobs. With a paper towel or used dryer sheet, the pap turns grey from the dirt it collects.
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Old 07-07-2017, 06:44 PM
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This is another wet media thread, about the 8th in 2 years.

I use a Thumbler's Tumbler #2, a red monster that could hold about 5 qts. of water, along with stainless steel media (pins). Directions call for 2 pounds of brass, 4 qts very hot water, 5 pounds of pins, 1/4 teaspoon Limacine (citric acid), and 1 tablespoon of Lemon dish soap (I use Ajax). I deprime and size first, and let run 1 to 3 hours. Cleans brass to like new condition. I had Black Powder stained 45-70 & 12 gauge brass that was had been black for 20 years. Was like new in 3 hours.

The only pins that got stuck anytime were bent ones when brand new. I have cleaned from 22 Hornet to 450 3 1/4" Nitro Express and never had pins stay inside. But, I use a spinning media separator.

The few drawbacks include;

1) smallish size of batches and the brass is wet when done. To counter this I start cleaning brass of very large batches days before I need to load it.

2) brass is so clean, the power through/case mouth flaring die, sticks on straight wall cases. I just live with it!

A friend of mine stared using a 2 Qt. rock polisher, and got me interested. I would highly recommend this method to anybody wanting shiny clean brass. If you was less shine or slightly less sticking use a vibrating cleaner with walnut media. I used them for almost 30 years.

Ivan
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Old 07-07-2017, 07:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoCash View Post
Been reloading since 1969 and used Lyman vibrator type brass cleaners for years. Finally tried a Frankford (Frankfort?) Arsenal tumbler, don't have model # in front of me but it is a big one.

Used the stainless steel pins, brass polish liquid, water, etc. as directed.

OK..............so it did well, but separating those pins from the brass is a pain in the axx. Yes, I shook, washed repeatedly, used the magnet............etc. Still too much trouble.
Plus, some of the pins were stuck IN .45 acp inside of the primers so tight I had to pull them out with a set of needle-nose pliers. (I tumbled without removing primers first).

Never again!!

How many of you use a similar machine and just use the brass polish and water.................or something else easier to pour out??

Thanks and y'all have a great weekend, Bo in NC
One of the selling points of wet/ss pin cleaning is getting the primer pockets clean. Plus they take forever to dry if you do not decap first. The extra step alone keeps me from wet cleaning in general. Then getting all the pins out, time to dry, just not worth it for my weekly handgun or even 223 ammo. As noted, the brass is almost too clean, sticks in the powder thru & you can feel the add'l force needed for sizing. So I end spraying with Oneshot, another cost item.
I have used wet/ss for really tarnished rifle stuff, but it is rare. I dry tumble in cobb/walnut mix for general handgun & 223 needs. It's fast & does what I want, clean my brass.
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Last edited by fredj338; 07-07-2017 at 07:12 PM.
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Old 07-07-2017, 08:05 PM
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I use that exact machine but with an ounce of car wash and wax and 1/4 tsp of lemishine. Put the strainer under the cap when done and dump into an old pillow case and shake a few times to catch the pins. Works for me.
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Old 07-07-2017, 08:11 PM
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I used a dry tumbler for years, I have migrated to hot water, dab of dawn and a dab of lemishine. Swirl, let stand, swirl, let stand, for like 30-45 mins while I clean a gun. Rinse, let stand, rinse, let stand for another 30-45 mins, drain, let dry in the sun. Call it good.
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Old 07-07-2017, 11:35 PM
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I use the Rebel 17 stainless pin wet tumbler. De-prime brass, dump it into tumbler, add hot water, a little Dawn detergent and a tiny bit of Lemi Shine. Run for two hours, dump into media separator to separate pins from brass, rinse with water, dump onto towel, roll around to dry outside of brass, spread brass on old metal cooking sheet, then let set overnight before reloading.

I use no polish or case lube due to being more concerned with bullet set back than I am with a little extra shine or a little extra effort on the press.
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Old 07-08-2017, 08:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoCash View Post
Been reloading since 1969 and used Lyman vibrator type brass cleaners for years. Finally tried a Frankford (Frankfort?) Arsenal tumbler, don't have model # in front of me but it is a big one.

Used the stainless steel pins, brass polish liquid, water, etc. as directed.

OK..............so it did well, but separating those pins from the brass is a pain in the axx. Yes, I shook, washed repeatedly, used the magnet............etc. Still too much trouble.
Plus, some of the pins were stuck IN .45 acp inside of the primers so tight I had to pull them out with a set of needle-nose pliers. (I tumbled without removing primers first).

Never again!!

How many of you use a similar machine and just use the brass polish and water.................or something else easier to pour out??

Thanks and y'all have a great weekend, Bo in NC
I use the same set up except I added a media separator and a 5 gallon bucket. This:
Frankford Arsenal Standard Media Separator - MPN: 121925
Pour the contents of the tumbler into this and shake well over a 5 gallon bucket. It will get 95-99% of the media separated from the brass. I always clean my brass well before i need to load it, so wet brass is not a problem for me; I lay it out an a couple of old towels and let it dry. I size and deprime my brass before tumbling.

Last edited by Just another 22 shooter; 07-08-2017 at 08:55 AM.
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Old 07-08-2017, 09:41 AM
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I use the Frankford Arsenal tumbler and also my old Lyman Turbo 1200 vibratory for cleaning cases. I mostly still use the Lyman unless I want to really clean some seriously dirty cases with the SS pins and soap/water/lemishine. I usually resize/deprime before running the Frankford for 2 reasons.

1. Get the primer pockets clean along with the rest of the inside and outside of the cases.
2. I find that if you try to resize after cleaning them in the Frankford, it cleans all the oils off of the case which makes for really tough resizing even with carbide dies. So you need to add a little lubricant of some kind back to the cases. And to me that defeats the purpose of wet tumbling.

Another thing I usually do after wet tumbling and separating pins from the cases is to put my cases on a tray and dry them in my oven at 205 degrees instead of letting them air dry. That speeds the drying process and isn't dependent on having a hot, sunny day to dry them.

For removing the pins from the cases, I pour them into my Dillon CM-500 media separator and wash and rinse them with clear water while rotating to separate the pins. I've found that you do get an occasional short pin that gets stuck in the primer pocket, which I pry out with a small jeweler's screwdriver and throw away.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:51 AM
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I've used the same Thumler's Tumbler Model B since 1978 with jeweler's rouge treated walnut shells. I have no intention of switching to the wet method because of the extra steps needed. I'd rather spend that time reloading so I could shoot more.

Sometimes we lose sight that the reason we tumble brass is to remove grit to protect our dies and firearms. The fact that the brass comes out shiny is secondary.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:52 AM
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I do it without the pins (cus Im not patient enough to deal with sorting out the pins) and Im happy with the results I get. I use hot water, lime shine and car wax and it works for me. They also sell larger/thicker pins to prevent the problem youre having.

Last edited by triemferent; 07-08-2017 at 11:56 AM.
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Old 07-08-2017, 04:20 PM
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If I were to start reloading today I would probably go with steel pins and a wet tumbler system. Ive seen unbelievably great results from such set ups. Because I have all equipment that I'll ever need already, I am sticking with the Dillon Vibratory tumbler and the Lyman green media. It works more than well enough for my target shooting needs.
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Old 07-11-2017, 01:12 PM
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Been using the FA wet tumbler/ss pins for about 3 years now. Yes it's a little more effort, but the results are more than worth it to me. Warm water, squirter of dawn and dash of lemishine is all it takes. Tumble 3 hours and ohh la la, pretty brass! All my brass is tumbled long before I load it and usually 24 hours and all is dry and ready for storage container till needed. Still use my Lyman 3200 for what little rifle brass I load, not as clean, but not sure I want to try getting ss pins out of 223/308 brass. Oh, and I no longer have to clean primer pockets!! :-)
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Old 07-11-2017, 01:42 PM
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I bought a Frankford wet tumbler about a year ago I'm happy with the way it works. Little bit of dawn and lemishine hot or cold water seems to work equally as well, 5 gal bucket separator and the Frankford magnet for the pins that get away. I still use my Lyman 2400 turbo for smaller batches but when processing large quantities of dirty range brass wet tumbling is the way to go. I deprime with a universal deprimer and tumble before I do anything else, really dirty brass is hard on a set of dies.
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Old 07-11-2017, 01:47 PM
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Lizard litter & a cap full of NU-shine car wax.......Shiny in no time and no wet mess to deal with... straight to the loader.....old school......
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Old 07-11-2017, 01:48 PM
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I also use corncobs and put maybe a teaspoon of mothers mag polish added every couple of months. They come shiny like new and I only deprime after I tumble every single time, no problems.
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Old 07-11-2017, 04:49 PM
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My simple method for shiny brass is soak an old terry towel in lemishine, drop of dish soap. Ring it out so it is damp. Roll your cases in the towel for 4-5min. Then repeat in the same towel that has been rinsed in just water, 1min is enough. They will be shiny on the outside, almost like tumbling with pins with virtually no dry time.
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Old 07-11-2017, 05:18 PM
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I use a Thumler's Ultra-Vibe 18. Holds about 5lbs fine, crushed walnut shell (won't stick in flashholes) and ~300 .44 Special or ~500 .38 Special. Run dry w/dryer sheet 4-6 hrs. Made a media separator from 2 plywood discs on a broomstick axle, encircled with 1/4" hardware cloth, across the opening of a wooden box. Brass comes out shiny and clean - a little residue left in primer pockets, but no probs w/reprime or extra friction in carbide sizer.

Larry
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Old 07-11-2017, 10:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike, SC Hunter View Post
Lizard litter & a cap full of NU-shine car wax.......Shiny in no time and no wet mess to deal with... straight to the loader.....old school......
Same here. More than shiny enough for me, and the effort/time spent on it is minimal.
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Old 07-12-2017, 06:38 AM
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Anyone think it might work with steel bb's?
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Old 07-12-2017, 07:15 AM
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I use a thumblers tumbler. Started with the pins and was too much a pain in the rear to separate. Bought an rcbs media separator, filled the bottom with water and after a few spins the pins were all sitting in the bottom! Used it like that for a little while but I still got tired of the extra step and now just use hot water, dawn soap, and Lemishine. No more pins. The inside and primer pockets aren't cleaned like with the pins but I'm good with that.
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Old 10-19-2017, 03:36 PM
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My Frankford dry tumbler is gasping for breath and circling the drain as I type this. Any opinions of a new effective DRY tumbler would be welcome. I'm especially interested in quiet as that thing is constantly running. Cheers!
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Old 10-19-2017, 04:35 PM
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Hornady just announced today that they are coming out with there own wet tumbler. No price available at this time.
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Old 10-19-2017, 06:35 PM
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I use a Lyman 1200. Corncob, no polish, no chemicals, nothing but corncob and electricity. It might take a little longer, and I might change corncob more often, but it works just fine for cases I just recently shot. Might not for brass that spent weeks or months on the gtound, but I don't want to be using those anyway.

When I just started out I used gallon baggies with water as hot as I could stand. Shook them a lot, set them mouth down to dry (works best if you deprime first). Works fine (not as pretty) but takes more operator time to shake and set each one so it will dry.
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Old 10-19-2017, 08:13 PM
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I lube, size, de-cap, and flare all my handgun cases prior to cleaning in a Thumblers model B with Stainless steel pins. Yeah, in theory it could cause excess wear to my carbide sizing dies but I would expect that you would have to be coming close to 50 thousand cases sized before you would see any measurable wear. With the low cost of carbide sizing dies today a reduction in useful service life from 100K to "only" 50K cases is a cost I can accept for the convenience provided. The benefit of doing it this way I have brass that is clean, dry and only needs to be primed before I can build some ammunition.

As for Rifle cases, I load 300 BLK, 223 Remington, and 308 Winchester and my procedure for rifle cases is as follows. First is length sorting and trimming any cases that need to be trimmed. Trimmed cases are then deburred on the OD and have the ID chamfered. After that they are lubed, sized and de-capped and then go into the Thumbers. BTW I have had no problem with pins jamming in bottleneck cases. I will also note the RCBS media seperator is the Bees Knees.

I also tray up every case cleaned and hold them up to a light to check for pins jammed in the flash holes. Found out the Hard Way that Lake City brass has enough variation in flash hole size to cause a pin jam about 2 times with every 100 cases. After I got tired of dealing with stuck pins I got out some small pin gages and did a bit of checking. What I have determined is that if you drill out every flash hole with a 0.082 inch diameter drill you won't have problems with stuck pins. BTW, Remington UMC cases ALL, 100% of them, have 0.082 diameter flash holes. As a result my goto brand for commercial ammo to provide fresh once fired cases is Remington UMC. For Rifle brass I get Lake City cases from a trusted provider of once fired cases.

As for my cleaning formula, it is 1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine, 1 tablespoon of Joy dish soap, and 1 cap full of Turtle Wax Zip wax. Typically I only need to clean my brass for about an hour with handgun brass and 1.5 hours for Rifle brass to get good looking brass for reloading. To dry my brass I start out by towel drying it with paper towels and then it goes into an oven pre-heated to 135 degrees for 24 minutes.
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Old 10-20-2017, 02:28 PM
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Im happen to have the A wet tumbler also. XI also tumble with lizard litter and either Lyman or Dillon polish. The FA does a prettier job. I do deprime them first. But I do that anyway. I must admit that the brass does need some lube but what I do with that is either corncob or lizard litter with a bit of car wax. I do this mostly in the winter and reload in the spring and fall. I have been tumbling brass acquired in the buy of stuff I made a month or so ago. So far I have done almost 5000 rounds of rifle brass. . Last year I did 9000 rounds of 223 which I haven't even loaded yet tumbling any way can be a pain but it is almost necessary. I got a load of 30-40 brass and ammo that is seriously stained. Not gonna throw it out and tried dry tumbling...no workie...so into the wet machine...yeah more work but a minimal amount of hands on. Wet cases present no problem here. Put them on a big plastic tray on the tailgate of the pickup and sun dried in a few hours even in the winter
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Old 10-21-2017, 06:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogsawaste View Post
I use a thumblers tumbler. Started with the pins and was too much a pain in the rear to separate. Bought an rcbs media separator, filled the bottom with water and after a few spins the pins were all sitting in the bottom! Used it like that for a little while but I still got tired of the extra step and now just use hot water, dawn soap, and Lemishine. No more pins. The inside and primer pockets aren't cleaned like with the pins but I'm good with that.
+1^^^^ Same here, no pins.

I also only de-prime rifle cases every time I use the wet tumbler. Pistol cases don't get de-primed 1st. A couple spins with the media separator and most of the water is gone cutting drying time down to 1 day..
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Old 10-22-2017, 09:19 PM
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As an update, I bought a food dehydrator from the local Menard's for my birthday in Sept. This thing will dry 1,000 + pieces of 9mm brass in 30-45 minutes! Has 5 trays and can buy an additional 2 trays if needed/wanted. Cost was around $35 w/tax. About half what Hornady/Frankford want for their brass dryers. I process quite a bit of brass and drying time was never a big deal; but now, it's quick and easy!
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Old 10-23-2017, 01:08 AM
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Quote:
BoCash wrote:
Finally tried a Frankford (Frankfort?) Arsenal tumbler, don't have model # in front of me but it is a big one.

Used the stainless steel pins, brass polish liquid, water, etc. as directed.
I assume from the description that this is the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, not the vibratory tumbler that they also market.
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Old 10-23-2017, 01:14 AM
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Quote:
Bo Cash wrote:
How many of you use a similar machine...
I used a rotary dry tumbler for many decades until the drive mechanism broke down. I now use a vibratory tumbler.

All of my brass is decapped, soaked (not tumbled) in a fairly concentrated weak acid solution, and air dried. After sizing, it is dry tumbled to remove the sizing lubricant.

I have no problem with the primer pockets getting clean. I have no problems with the brass getting shiny enough to facilitate a detailed visual inspection. I have no problems with the brass remaining untarnished after being stored for as long as 20 years. In short, I have found no need to invest in a sealed rotary tumber of the media to do wet tumbling.

Since you have, I hope it is getting you the kind of results you expected.
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Old 10-23-2017, 04:07 AM
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Originally Posted by MyDads38 View Post
As an update, I bought a food dehydrator from the local Menard's for my birthday in Sept. This thing will dry 1,000 + pieces of 9mm brass in 30-45 minutes! Has 5 trays and can buy an additional 2 trays if needed/wanted. Cost was around $35 w/tax. About half what Hornady/Frankford want for their brass dryers. I process quite a bit of brass and drying time was never a big deal; but now, it's quick and easy!
What brand is the dehydrator you bought, if you don't mind me asking?
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Old 10-23-2017, 05:53 AM
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Guess I'm just old fashioned, I have always used a Lyman vibratory tumbler with walnut media and a cap full of NuCar polish and a used dryer sheet. I plug it in and go about my rat killing for the day. Dump it out in the media separator, put in jar marked needs sized and flared and they're clean and sparkly. Outside of tumbling time I may have 5 minutes invested.
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Old 10-23-2017, 09:19 AM
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What brand is the dehydrator you bought, if you don't mind me asking?
Brand name is NESCO, model American Harvest. $33.99 + tax here in Indiana.
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Old 10-23-2017, 12:18 PM
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Guess I'm just old fashioned, I have always used a Lyman vibratory tumbler with walnut media and a cap full of NuCar polish and a used dryer sheet. I plug it in and go about my rat killing for the day. Dump it out in the media separator, put in jar marked needs sized and flared and they're clean and sparkly. Outside of tumbling time I may have 5 minutes invested.
Pretty much the same here.

I couldn't see spending the money on a new ultrasonic just because it's the latest innovation. Especially when having to deal with pins, fluids, and then drying brass.

No thanks, as I just don't see the added benefit. My brass has always been clean and shiny using the old fashion way. Also, brass doesn't need to be "sterile" to work. Heck, they really don't even have to be cleaned, but function will be affected eventually. So all you really need is the heavy debris gone.

Don't let that stop anyone though. Use what you want.

Last edited by iPac; 10-23-2017 at 12:23 PM.
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Old 03-29-2018, 09:37 PM
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Guess I'm just old fashioned, I have always used a Lyman vibratory tumbler with walnut media and a cap full of NuCar polish and a used dryer sheet. I plug it in and go about my rat killing for the day. Dump it out in the media separator, put in jar marked needs sized and flared and they're clean and sparkly. Outside of tumbling time I may have 5 minutes invested.
Me too.....Simple, effective process.......From the gun to the vibratory tumbler to the Dillon........No need to over complicate it.
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Old 03-30-2018, 09:43 AM
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Waiting as we speak for my new RCBS rotary tumbler. My lyman quit after years of use. Been using a Thumbler’s with corn cob media.
Always decap with a lee die before cleaning . Then resize.
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Old 03-30-2018, 12:23 PM
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Once you commit to SS wet tumbling you almost have to buy an additional media separator.

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Wet/Dry Rotary Media - MPN: 507567

There is NO comparison to the quality of clean you get when you wet ss pin tumble. Yup it's more work but absolutely worth it IMO. I struggled early on tying to learn an efficient system but now I got it down to a pretty simple straight forward process. I also invested in a large food dehydrator to quickly dry my brass during the cold winter months.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-De...06303/45074199
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Old 03-30-2018, 02:08 PM
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Default Brass cleaning

Just started using the Fr. Arsenal wet tumbler a few weeks ago.
Super clean brass, inside and out.
Less work than I thought previous.
I do not miss the dust associated with dry media separation.
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Old 03-30-2018, 05:10 PM
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Once you commit to SS wet tumbling you almost have to buy an additional media separator.

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Wet/Dry Rotary Media - MPN: 507567

There is NO comparison to the quality of clean you get when you wet ss pin tumble. Yup it's more work but absolutely worth it IMO. I struggled early on tying to learn an efficient system but now I got it down to a pretty simple straight forward process. I also invested in a large food dehydrator to quickly dry my brass during the cold winter months.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-De...06303/45074199
You are right. Wet does a much prettier job. For the most part I dump the wet cases into a plastic bucket on the tailgate of my P/U. But did buy a dehydrator at an estate sale, new never used for 4 bucks. I may have to dry some fruit or something before I use it for brass.
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Old 03-30-2018, 05:30 PM
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I've run my Frankfort Arsenal tumbler for near 20 years now. Not sure the size but it's about 10" across . I settled on walnut media and NuFinish car polish maybe 12 years ago. No need fixing what isn't broke.
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Old 03-30-2018, 05:50 PM
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I've run my Frankfort Arsenal tumbler for near 20 years now. Not sure the size but it's about 10" across . I settled on walnut media and NuFinish car polish maybe 12 years ago. No need fixing what isn't broke.
I corn cobb vibrated for many years and used some liquid metal polish as well. I got sick and tired of cleaning the thick black caked crud that would stick to the inside walls of the vibrator unit. No residual mess to keep clean with SS wet tumble method.
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Old 03-30-2018, 06:15 PM
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I corn cobb vibrated for many years and used some liquid metal polish as well. I got sick and tired of cleaning the thick black caked crud that would stick to the inside walls of the vibrator unit. No residual mess to keep clean with SS wet tumble method.
Should have mentioned that I throw a used fabric softener dryer sheet in with each load. The sheets pick up the grease/crud. I haven't cleaned the inside of that tumble since learning this trick. I tried wet cleaning once and found I would always get a drop or two of water stuck in the base of a case now and then (unless I oven dried.)
To each there own.
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Old 03-30-2018, 09:39 PM
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I still use both methods, dry vibratory with the Lyman green media and my FA rotary wet tumbler. The FA definitely cleans out the insides of the cases better and I like it for running range pickup brass as some of that will be very tarnished and full of dirt and grass and stuff. But I recently ran into a problem with wet tumbled 45 ACP brass and my Lee powder thru expander die. The wet tumbling cleaned the brass so well that it was sticking on the downstroke from the Lee expander die. I ended up running them through the expander die without throwing a powder charge into them and using a few drops of Hornady 1 shot on the inside of 1 case out of 20 or so. After belling the cases I then threw all the powder charges and finished them up. I just got into loading 45 ACP and haven't ordered a shellplate kit yet for my Dillon for it and I'm loading on my old single stage press. I figure I will order a shellplate kit in the next few weeks for the Dillon though.
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Old 03-31-2018, 12:39 AM
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Should have mentioned that I throw a used fabric softener dryer sheet in with each load. The sheets pick up the grease/crud. I haven't cleaned the inside of that tumble since learning this trick. I tried wet cleaning once and found I would always get a drop or two of water stuck in the base of a case now and then (unless I oven dried.)
To each there own.
^^THIS^^
The used dryer sheets are free since my wife uses them on just about every load of clothes she washes. Heck I have a large peanut butter jar stuffed with them - even though I use a couple of half sheets per tumble. It also collects a lot of the fine dust.
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Old 04-01-2018, 11:04 PM
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I use a Frankfort Arsenal rotary tumbler, their cleaning solution, pins and media separator and then dry the cases on a baking sheet at 200 degrees for 45 minutes. Works like a charm.

I deprime with a Lyman decapping die beforehand and just run my normal reloading process afterward as I would new cases. I’m using carbide dies and everything works just as it should. Cases look like new again.

Last edited by jmclfrsh; 04-01-2018 at 11:05 PM.
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