Cartridge Case Tumbler

[jimmyj]

Hi:
My old case tumbler has seen better days, so I am considering replacing it.
Suggestions ?

Thanks,
Jimmy

 

[Marshal Kane]

I'd suggest the RCBS vibratory tumbler. It's as good as any on the market but what makes it stand out is the warranty on parts. My RCBS went South after some years of service and RCBS sent me a new motor for free. So I installed the motor and the tumbler is working good as new. When this motor goes South, I will be calling RCBS again.

 

[1sailor]

I've been using the Cabela's vibratory tumbler for about 5 or 6 years now. Works great. I don't know ow many times I've forgotten it was running and left it on for more than 24 hours. Once I left it running for an entire 3 day weekend. Still running strong and does a great job. Adding a little chrome polish and Nu Finish sure made a difference. The cases in the pic below have been fired in excess of a dozen times and they come out looking pretty good.

 

[andy52]

I use two different tumblers depending on what condition the cases are in. For dry tumbling I use a Lyman Turbo 2200 Case Tumbler with Auto-Flo, for wet a Frankford arsenal rotary tumbler. The Lyman is a pretty large tumbler and I like the auto-flo feature for emptying, no need to try and lift the whole thing to empty it.

 

[Hasbeen1945]

I use both a dry media tumbler and wet SS tumbler. They both have a purpose. If I have just a few rifle cases to clean I use the dry media. If I have a large amount of pistol cases I drag out the RCBS rotary wet tumbler.

 

[SMSgt]

I drop mine off at the dry cleaners and have the wife pick them up on the way home.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I think the Berry's 400 is the best tumbler for the price available today. It's sold by several different companies in different colors and prices.

Barry's is charging $72.79 (in blue)
Grafs is charging $54.99 (in purple)
Cabelas wants $69.99 but that is a kit. (in green)
Sinclair/Brownells seems to have the best price right now @$51.99. (in red)
BERRYS MANUFACTURING BERRY'S TUMBLER | Sinclair Intl

I bought mine from Cabelas because at the time they had the best price. They are all the same.

 

[Bakebfr480]

Lyman Turbo tumbler.

 

[oink]

I've been using a Midway branded vibratory tumbler for many years without issue. I did add a switch a it didn't come with one but otherwise it's required no attention. However, it's so old I wouldn't count on my experience being indicative of current products. RCBS does, in my experience, stand behind their products well. I don't know about Midway as I've never tested their warranty service.

 

[mikld]

Sorta an aside; I was wondering how many "tumblers" are manufactured by the same company and just "branded" by a vendor. It would be easy to change the color of the paint and plastic drum/bowl, so how many manufacturers are there, really?

 

[mrdaputer]

Hi:
My old case tumbler has seen better days, so I am considering replacing it.
Suggestions ?

Thanks,
Jimmy

What cases do you plan on cleaning? How many do you want to clean at one time?

 

[gwpercle]

Midway replaced a very old dry vibrating type (there was a recall on them ) it still worked like a champ , Midway replaced it with a Frankford Arsenal , which looks very similar to the old. Been using it 4-5 years now and works just fine with Midway's treated walnut shell media.
I have a wet tumbler , Thumbler's Tumbler model B , used it to polish rocks in another hobby , but I find wet tumbling cases messy and then the extra drying step all to be a pain in the derriere .
Gary

 

[rockquarry]

Sorta an aside; I was wondering how many "tumblers" are manufactured by the same company and just "branded" by a vendor. It would be easy to change the color of the paint and plastic drum/bowl, so how many manufacturers are there, really?

I don't know for sure, but I suspect this may be true as all the vibratory brass machines seem to be basically the same. I've used a Dillon FL2000 for at least twenty-five years and it continues to works fine. I used a small Midway machine for about twenty years before it gave out, but it was used frequently, four to five hours at a time.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, just get one large enough for your needs.

 

[fredj338]

I have an Ultravibe, runs every week for 2-3 hours for the last 25y, still going strong but I do have another one if it ever dies.

 

[dave1918a2]

Ditto the Dillon FL2000. Used Mine for 25at least and still going strong.

 

[mrdaputer]

Midway replaced a very old dry vibrating type (there was a recall on them ) it still worked like a champ , Midway replaced it with a Frankford Arsenal , which looks very similar to the old. Been using it 4-5 years now and works just fine with Midway's treated walnut shell media.
I have a wet tumbler , Thumbler's Tumbler model B , used it to polish rocks in another hobby , but I find wet tumbling cases messy and then the extra drying step all to be a pain in the derriere .
Gary

I use a dehydrator works like a champ

 

[Skeet 028]

I happen to have a Dillon FL2000 that I haven't used for a long time but when I did it worked great. Gonna go on ebay soon. Using a Dillon 750 and it is fine. The onlky vibratory tumbler I had that didn't work well was a Frankfort Arsenal. It just didn't clean well at all. May have been me though..overloading it? I also have a Hornady that I use to tumble ammo. 15 mins gets all the lube off. Also use a FA wet cleaner and it does a great job.

 

[SMSgt]

Apparently, judging by the number of "how to clean cases and what's best" threads that routinely appear, case cleaning is far more complicated than reloading itself.

 

[Hasbeen1945]

Apparently, judging by the number of "how to clean cases and what's best" threads that routine appear, case cleaning is far more complicated than reloading itself.

Interesting to talk about. To HOT to go shooting. No hunting season open. Good time to talk reloading and equipment.

 

[bigedp51]

I have a Thumbler's Tumbler model B wet tumbler and a Lyman Turbo 1200 vibratory tumbler. And like them both "BUT" if you leave your cases in a wet tumbler too long you will peen the case mouths. And with a vibratory dry tumbler you can let the cases tumble all night and not peen the case mouths.

Below on the left a case wet tumbled too long with a peened case mouth. And on the right a brand new case right out of the factory bag. I trim my wet tumbled cases and debur every time they are wet tumbled. The case on the left had been trimmed and deburred and wet tumbled after shooting. So you can see what happens if you forget and let the case tumble too long.

If you have a semi-auto and your cases end up in the dirt you can scratch your dies and brass. And wet tumbling will scrub these cases free of any dirt and grit. And on the flip side cases fired in a bolt action or revolver that do not touch the ground can be dry tumbled. And I find that I'm using the Lyman Turbo dry tumbler with walnut lizard litter more than my wet tumbler.