$127.34 @ Amazon for Frankford wet tumbler

[osprey]

Mine was delivered by the man in brown this afternoon. Pins tumbling with soap right now to clean oil off them and possibly soften any sharp edges. First impressions are that it is of good quality. I will let pins tumble while I watch the Huskies kick the stuffing out of the Utes. Afterwards I am looking forward to cleaning a batch of 6.8spc for it's first tour of duty.

 

[osprey]

Well I did a batch of 6.8spc and 7.62x39 for a total of 110 pcs just for a shakedown run. While it did a great job cleaning the brass, I can't say I am sold on the process. It certainly adds many more steps that burn time. I am not sure the benefits outweigh the extra burden at this point. I reload often, usually in smaller batches of 20-100 rds at a sitting, and for many different calibers. I often will take 20 rds of dirty brass and deprime with universal de-primer and throw them in the tumbler and let them go 3-4 hrs. while I do other projectsin the evening. Next day after work I will snag them out of tumbler and fully prep an load them. With the wet tumble process I will need to change this up and increase the volume when I do wet tumble to build up my clean brass reserves and accomodate my spontaneous loading style. That being said, here was my basic process. Any insights on streamlining would be welcome.

1. Put brass in tumbler with dawn and citric acid and pins, tumble for 1.5 hrs.
2. Pour dirty water from drum and put sieve ends on and rinse brass under faucet catching pins in bucket.
3. Empty contents of drum into my dillion media seperator unit with catch bin 1/2 full of clean water. Rotate 15 turns each in both directions.
4. Empty casing out of separator onto towel and dry outside of casings.
5. Place casings upside down in loading blocks in front of heater overnight.
6. Pour contents of separator tub and bucket through fine screened strainer to collect pins and run water through them to rinse.
7. Place pins on cookiie sheet and place in oven at 300 for 1 hr to dry pins.
8. Collect pins in ziplock after they cool.

I stated this tumbling process at 9:30pm and my wife was wondering wtf I was baking at midnight in the oven. I like things simple and this process does not really qualify. I might have to try without pins as a couple people have recommended. This would greatly simplify the process if satisfactory results could be obtained.

 

[DizzyJ]

Well I did a batch of 6.8spc and 7.62x39 for a total of 110 pcs just for a shakedown run. While it did a great job cleaning the brass, I can't say I am sold on the process. It certainly adds many more steps that burn time. I am not sure the benefits outweigh the extra burden at this point. I reload often, usually in smaller batches of 20-100 rds at a sitting, and for many different calibers. I often will take 20 rds of dirty brass and deprime with universal de-primer and throw them in the tumbler and let them go 3-4 hrs. while I do other projectsin the evening. Next day after work I will snag them out of tumbler and fully prep an load them. With the wet tumble process I will need to change this up and increase the volume when I do wet tumble to build up my clean brass reserves and accomodate my spontaneous loading style. That being said, here was my basic process. Any insights on streamlining would be welcome.

1. Put brass in tumbler with dawn and citric acid and pins, tumble for 1.5 hrs.
2. Pour dirty water from drum and put sieve ends on and rinse brass under faucet catching pins in bucket.
3. Empty contents of drum into my dillion media seperator unit with catch bin 1/2 full of clean water. Rotate 15 turns each in both directions.
4. Empty casing out of separator onto towel and dry outside of casings.
5. Place casings upside down in loading blocks in front of heater overnight.
6. Pour contents of separator tub and bucket through fine screened strainer to collect pins and run water through them to rinse.
7. Place pins on cookiie sheet and place in oven at 300 for 1 hr to dry pins.
8. Collect pins in ziplock after they cool.

I stated this tumbling process at 9:30pm and my wife was wondering wtf I was baking at midnight in the oven. I like things simple and this pricess does not really qualify. I might have to try without pins as a couple people have recommended. This would greatly simplify the process if satisfactory results could be obtained.

I set the brass out on a cookie sheet to dry after its rinsed and pins separated. I also don't dry the pins. They haven't rusted yet.

That might decrease some of your time.

Also to add, I don't do batches that small. Mine are usually a minimum of 135 or more, so it helps to justify a little more effort.

 

[DizzyJ]

Ironically, I've got some 6.5 Creedmoor in the oven finishing up drying as we speak!! (Er, type)

 

[osprey]

Thanks for the input guys. I will play with the Frankford a bit more but I am not sure it fits well into my scheme. Don't get me wrong though I love how well it cleans the brass inside and out. I may just need to have some dedicated brass days and do higher volumes to make It worth the extra steps.

 

[DizzyJ]

Thanks for the input guys. I will play with the Frankford a bit more but I am not sure it fits well into my scheme. Don't get me wrong though I love how well it cleans the brass inside and out. I may just need to have some dedicated brass days and do higher volumes to make It worth the extra steps.

It is a little bit more of a pain. I only do it for rifle brass. Pistol still gets the walnut treatment.

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

You don't need 1.5 hours, especially if it's only that few pieces - i think i do about 30 minutes with it full.

 

[osprey]

The time in the tumbler is the least of my worries and is the least labor intensive part. If I have committed to the process I want to make damn sure cases are completely clean inside and out, including primer pockets, so a little extra time in tumbler does not phase me.

 

[osprey]

Well I have been shooting and reloading a bit more lately and therefore using the FA tumbler more. I have finally made friends with it and have streamlined the process so it is not terribly labor intensive. I will even say I like it now as it does a fantastic job on the brass. I have changed several things that have made me come around to a favorable opinion of the process. I do larger batches than before which saves on time and materials. I first deprime all brass with universal deprimer die. I then throw all the brass in tumbler with the dawn, lemishine, water and pins. I tumble for 1-2 hrs depending on brass load. When done I put the sieve end cap on and pour out dirty water, filling reservoir a few times with fresh water and dumping to rinse. I then dump contents in dillon media separator with tub filled 1/2 way with water and a pinch of lemishine. I rotate separator 10 times in each direction through water bath which removes all ss pins from brass. Brass then goes in dehydrator on 160 degrees for an hour or so. Ss pins get dumped into fine mesh strainer and rinsed and let drain while brass is in dehydrator. When brass is removed from dehydrator, ss pins go in dehydrator for an hour to dry unless I have another batch to wet tumble right away. I have been using 1/2 of the pins that came with the tumbler with great results and the lower volume of pins is a bit easier to manage. So far my biggest batch has been 700 pcs of 9mm, 38 sp and 357 mag combined. At this point I can confidently say the tumbler won't end up in the classifieds like I was initially thinking. Tumble on!

 

[B5Ben]

Looks like I missed this deal. It's back up to $180

 

[Member 5605]

@osprey
The more brass and pins you have in there the shorter your run time can be. More things to run up against each other.

$.02

 

[osprey]

@osprey
The more brass and pins you have in there the shorter your run time can be. More things to run up against each other.

$.02

Yes, I get that concept but the time in the tumbler is not an issue with me as I can be off doing other tasks. The time and trouble spent dealing with the ss pins was more of an issue for me and using 1/2 of the pins helps in this regard.

 

[Member 5605]

Yes, I get that concept but the time in the tumbler is not an issue with me as I can be off doing other tasks. The time and trouble spent dealing with the ss pins was more of an issue for me and using 1/2 of the pins helps in this regard.

Ah, now that makes perfect sense.

Completely understand now, thanks for the clarification.

 

[DizzyJ]

@osprey
The more brass and pins you have in there the shorter your run time can be. More things to run up against each other.

$.02

Interesting. Not what I would have thought. I figured less brass = less tumbling time. The first time I used mine, I put about 1,000 pieces of .223 brass in all at once, and it didn't turn out as clean and shiny as I thought it would.

 

[osprey]

Interesting. Not what I would have thought. I figured less brass = less tumbling time. The first time I used mine, I put about 1,000 pieces of .223 brass in all at once, and it didn't turn out as clean and shiny as I thought it would.

I would imagine there is a point where the volume of brass would hinder the tumbling process by restricting movement some. My largest load was only 700pcs of mixed 9mm, 38 and 357 and 90 minutes with 1/2 the pins and they all came out clean and shiny. You may have to up the dose of dawn and lemishine for a bigger load. Maybe try 1.5 tblspoons of dawn and 1.5 9mm shell casing of lemishine?

 

[DizzyJ]

I would imagine there is a point where the volume of brass would hinder the tumbling process by restricting movement some. My largest load was only 700pcs of mixed 9mm, 38 and 357 and 90 minutes with 1/2 the pins and they all came out clean and shiny. You may have to up the dose of dawn and lemishine for a bigger load. Maybe try 1.5 tblspoons of dawn and 1.5 9mm shell casing of lemishine?

Oh, I've since got my brass to come out very shiny. That was my first batch. I've got the ratios down pretty good now. I definitely don't run the tumbler completely full anymore.

 

[Rcguy33]

Back on sale at cabelas. 129.99. Picked one up this morning.
Frankford Arsenal® Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler : Cabela's

 

[DizzyJ]

Back on sale at cabelas. 129.99. Picked one up this morning.
Frankford Arsenal® Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler : Cabela's

Wow! Smoking deal!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Where are you guys getting the SS pins? Only place I know of in the N.W. has them for an insane price per pound, and i would have to get 3 pounds of them!
My Lyman has no isssues with a larger load of pins and brass, but im not running the volume some of you are!
Currently running the HF emory embedded plastic media, and it works awesome, but dosn't shine up like the pins do!

 

[LuckySG]

Where are you guys getting the SS pins? Only place I know of in the N.W. has them for an insane price per pound, and i would have to get 3 pounds of them!
My Lyman has no isssues with a larger load of pins and brass, but im not running the volume some of you are!
Currently running the HF emory embedded plastic media, and it works awesome, but dosn't shine up like the pins do!

I will send you a pm, I get them in 5# bags.