New tumbler

[Vulcan Bob]

Hi all, after 23 years of use my trusty Midway "rebranded Lyman" tumbler bit the dust, motor death. Well since I've had such a good run with it I decided to get another Lyman, a Pro 1200. Mail ordered it and got it today and my first observation was that the bowl was thin and felt flimsy and the top sure enough had the sifter slots and no in line on/off switch. Oh well I fixed the slots in the top with duct tape "trimmed to look nice" to keep the dust down and loaded it with media and fifty 38 Special cases and turned it on. Wow it was nice and quiet, turned it off and removed the top and turned it on again to see how the media was moveing, holy turtle Battman,media velocity was on the slow side. Compared the shape of the new bowl to the old and they were quite different and the old bowl was much thicker and sturdier than the new one so I swapped the bowls out and tried again. Much better, the media was moveing right along and the "new" bowl dident affect the quiet running either. Two hours later I had nice clean and shiny cases. A run to the hardware store will fix the no switch problem and I should be back in buisness.Take care now and thank's for looking!
'

 

[novalty]

Hope this one holds out well for you. I have a Lyman Turbo 1200 that has been going well for the past 2 years. It is getting a workout now, as I have about 2000 pieces of brass: 38 special, 357 mag, 45acp, and 9mm. I left the slots open on mine, and just run it outside. One thing that I do like about having the slots, is that I run corn cob media, and can use my air compressor to blow out the dust and not have media flying everywhere--dust mask required. I toss some cut up used dryer sheets in the mix too, and that helps cut down on the amount of dust that collects on the outside of the bowl.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Sorry to say but I HIGHLY doubt your new Lyman tumbler will last anywhere near as long as the first one. First off, where was the old one made and where is the new one made? There you go, not good...

It's too bad you didn't come here first because I'm fairly sure you would have gotten more than one recommendation for the Berry's 400 Tumbler or the Cabela's Model 400 (same one) or the Blueberry 400 tumbler Kempf is selling (same one) and there's one other I just can't remember right now.

I bought the Cabela's 400 on sale about 2 years ago and it's very good. All the reviews list the Berry's 400 tumbler as the best on the market today.

 

[olskool]

i have a ultra vibe 18 i bought back in the early 80s it still works perfect. before that i used hot water and vinegar

 

[blujax01]

The Pro 1200 is still USA made. At least the one I bought a few years ago is. They have dropped their UL Listing though.

I too was disturbed by the lack of an I/O switch but plugged the tumbler into a $3 power tap that has a switch. I just have to remember not to plug anything else into it.
I hadn't kept up with cleaning the inside of the bowl and when I finally got around to it, it took a lot of serious work with a scraper to cut through the crud.

I ran mine wide open until I read some sage advice here to cover the slots with tape or a rag to keep the dust inside. The lid is slotted to use as a sifter (which never worked worth a hoot) not to keep the motor cool so I'm okay with that.

Overall I rate the 1200 a C+. Not stellar but adequate to the task. So far...

 

[traub]

Thumbler's Tumblers

Does anyone have experience or opinions about Thumbler's tumblers?

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Does anyone have experience or opinions about Thumbler's tumblers?

I had a little twin drum Thumbler and used it hard for years,gave it to a buddy who says it still running just fine, heck the thing has to be a least thirty years old,I got it used,just a few new drive belts needed. The thing thats a bit off a hassel is the removal and install of the drum lids, not all that bad though. The new big drum models do look good but are a bit expensive.

 

[rsrocket1]

I use a power strip and plug the tumbler into a lamp timer on one of the sockets. That way I can set the timer to a certain time (usually 2-3 hours) and let it go. At the end I just shut off the power strip so it doesn't go back on.

 

[Rule3]

Does anyone have experience or opinions about Thumbler's tumblers?

I bought a small used one (vibrating type). It is so quite you can barely hear it. It is very well made.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/260403-just-scored-local-pawn-gun-shop-thumbler-tumbler.html

I have Lyman 1200 Turbo Pro which works well but much louder. I bought a extra solid lid for the top. I use it in the garage but the slotted lid should be illegal.

 

[aphelion]

I had the old Midway tumbler that went 20 years, too. But the motor finally gave out, so I looked at what was available. Everything seemed cheap and flimsy compared to the old Midway - except for one, the Dillon. Cost more, but worth it. I now have Dillons in both sizes. They are great machines.

 

[992B]

Bob, I have found on tumblers that if the motor is removed from its place in the tumbler body and the bearings at each end of the shaft cleaned with alcohol and a q-tip and let dry. When the alcohol has evaporated put a couple drops of Rem-Oil on each end of the motor at the bearing. I prop the motor as to let the oil settle into one bearing, then turn the motor over and do the other bearing Let the oil settle in over 3 or 4 hours on each bearing. Haven't found one yet that this trick did not work!! A friend sent his RCBS tumbler back for a motor warranty and it quit running in a few hours. He used my oil the bearings trick and it is still working well. Gary

 

[lhump1961]

Does anyone have experience or opinions about Thumbler's tumblers?

I have a Thumbler's Tumbler and love it. It is a little more effort as it is a wet tumbler but the stainless steel media does a great job. A couple of hours gives you very clean brass (including primer pockets) ready to go and if you prefer brass that looks new you can go for 3 hours or more. My reloads look like factory!

Brass that shines like new doesn't shoot any better but I'm kind of anal so...

 

[Zappa]

I've been running a Lyman Turbo 1200 since the 80's, and it's still chugging along just fine. I've had that loaded up heavy many times, and once I forgot about it and left it running for several days straight. The lack of an inline switch was never a big deal, I keep it near an outlet anyway in the "War Room". I'm still using the original rubber nuts too, but the foam cushion material below the bowl is pretty much flattened out now. I wonder if I can get just a replacement foam pad?

 

[papajohn428]

I've been running a Thumler's Tumbler for about 25 years and love it. If you fill it up it's a lot less noisy, and I leave my brass in there for a day or two at a time, I like it spotless. I had to replace a few parts a couple years ago after a cat knocked it off a high shelf, aside from that it's been maintenance free. The 4" round vacuum cleaner belts (o-ring type) can be had for a buck of two each, and they last for years. I run mine dry with lightly-dampened walnut media, dump it into a Dillon sifter, and it's ready to load again.

 

[hotrod150]

Been thinking of upgrading from my old Thumbler's tumbler. The edges of the drum get slick and then if I load it up heavy the rollers underneath just spin without turning the drum. Then either lighten it up and/or scuff the slick edges again.
The Dec 2012 flyer from Midway lists a Franklin Arsenal "Quick-n-EZ" vibrating case cleaner with a whirl-o-matic style case/media seperator for $63. Looks like a pretty good deal if the vibrator is any good. Anyone?

 

[BillyWayne]

Yes, I have the Quick n EZ. Should change the name to "Quick to die." After a few weeks of tumbling the thing just died. I turned it on and it quivered for a second and then that was it. I am going to see if Midway will replace it. I may get something else that I trust will last longer.

 

[358156hp]

Often times, you can buy replacement electric motors for tumblers if you just search a little bit for them. Have the old one in front of you, you'll need the numbers off it. The last time I bought one, the guy at the electronics shop told me that the original was a pretty cheap unit in it's day, and that there are much better replacements available, but I did notice that the cost was higher than buying a new "el cheapo" tumbler. I bought the motor anyway, and it's still plugging away.

 

[novalty]

I just got done tumbling a bunch of brass last week in my Turbo 1200. Cleaned about 900 pieced of 38 Special, about 1,700 pieces of 357 Magnum, 300 pieces of 9mm, and 100 pieces of 45 acp. Ran 4 hours each night, Monday-Friday, and about 8 hours on Saturday an 12 hours on Sunday. Biggest workout I have given mine, but still going strong.

 

[gwpercle]

Does anyone have experience or opinions about Thumbler's tumblers?

I have a big red octagon barrel tumbler , the one with the rubber liner. Bought it in 1974 and it's still polishing brass. I've used it with water and grit to tumble polish rocks , with treated walnut shells for brass. You can also use it to wet polish brass cases with water and stainless steel pins. Mine's like the that pink bunny that just keeps on going. The only thing relaced is the belt...but they wear out in time.

I will buy another if I outlive this one. They also make a heavy duty line of vibrator polishers now and should be good also .

gary

 

[iouri]

Does anyone have experience or opinions about Thumbler's tumblers?

Just received mine today. Did first batch. Kind of mixed feelings: brass comes out shiny but per their recommendation can do only like 230 9mm at once. When you reload you have to wipe drum dry or the motor will just spin w/o drum. So (maybe it's buyers remorse) I think it's kind of not worth the money asked. Can be improved in so many ways ...Like put more powerful motor, make it gear driven instead of belt or at least put rubber bands on the drum.