Harbor Freight dual drum tumbler

If you watch YouTube videos AvE calls it Chineseium. (sp?)

on a serious note please let us know how well it works.

I've used one extensively for a couple of years, it works great for a small batch reloader, but for a heavy shooter it quickly would become a hindrance by its size. Make sure you keep the flange bearings oiled with some 3-in-1 oil and don't try and stuff too many cases in at once, it gets pretty heavy with cases, ss pins, and water. I ordered a few extra belts as I've been told they break often, but when I picked up my tumbler it had two extras with it in the box. It would be good to give it a once over by taking off the silver top plate on the one end and make sure everything is aligned properly and doesn't need adjusted at all, I try and do this periodically when I'm doing the oiling maintenance on it.

I just use a couple (and I mean 2-3 drops of dawn) and a quarter of a 9mm case of lemishine (i twisted a wire handle around the base of a 9mm case for a dipper). I only run it about 45 minutes per batch. The most tedious part is separating the pins from the cases, I've yet to try one of those manual crank separators, but people seem to think they work pretty well. Occasionally, there is a log jam of ss pins in the case that don't want to fall out, especially on smaller cases 9mm and under. After loading the cartridges I send the whole cartridge through my vibratory media with some polish to keep them from tarnishing so fast.

As to the foul smell, we've always said that's the smell of China (@Hokie_PhD, "Chineseium" I'll have to remember that), as much of their different products that come from there have the same smell, especially anything with lots of petroleum products (rubber) in it's makeup.

I got my first HF rotary in about '90. It worked until I "improved" it some 12 years later and I got a dual drum from HF. I made a drum out of a protein powder jug (about 7" in diameter and 10" long w/screw cap). Neither of mine stunk (?). So far this rotary has tumbled thousands of cases for hundreds of hours. Also used to to clean small rusty parts/tools. Still working good...

I used my HF duel tumbler once, then spent money for a large unit.

If it has any type of motor on it .............. They don`t seem to last long at all. Prices are good but if things don`t last, what good are they. J s/n.

Wow, never tried it without the pins. How do the primer pockets look and the inside of the cases? After I get done separating the pins from the brass, I put the brass in the oven on the lowest temp to dry them out.

For some reason They stink when There New. The rubber drums must be made from Ground waste. Good luck with it.

I have used mine to clean thousands of cases over the last four or five years. Never tried any liquid. I use walnut (usually lizard bedding) or corn cob media with a couple drops of Meguiar's Auto Polish/Cleaner and run the drums overnight. It works great for me and my single stage press reloading operation. When it finally wears out, I will probably just get another one from Harbor Freight - I like it a lot.

Guess I should oil the bushings once in a while - glad that was mentioned!

Sav .250 said:

If it has any type of motor on it .............. They don`t seem to last long at all. Prices are good but if things don`t last, what good are they. J s/n.

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Good thing that no one here has testified that they have owned and used them for many years without problems........

I like mine but then I am a low volume loader. After a week or so the smell went away. For me I wanted to see if I would like the wet tumbling before I spent the big bucks. I have no doubt that it will die at some point but then I am not going to bitch about the $40 I spent on it. I will just take it apart and recycle what I can and move on with life. Most likely I will have a better set up by then so what the heck.

If your not doing a Lot of Tumbling Then a HR tumbler Is Ok. They will work and work Decent. . In order to make it run better , I found they must be adjusted. The manufacturer Just slaps them together. The first One I had the motor Burned up after a month. Returned it and got another.
There are several thing to Do to " tune Them".
First make sure The fan pulley is alined with The Motor pulley.
The shaft caps have to Be pushed in Tighter to reduce noise and rotation.
Last a lot of oil Or grease

I used my HF tumbler for a couple of years without issue. I then made a single canister with 4" PVC that is the total width of both drums combined. Didn't gain much other than I don't have to deal with 2 drums now.

Other than the occasional belt giving out, my tumbler has done probably 100K worth of cases over the years.

I wanted to try out wet tumbling so bought a dual drum HF rock tumbler. The rubber drums work ok, they are a little finicky and I had to mess with them a bit to get them to seal. There are a number of youtube videos on how to build a better drum using PVC or ABS drain pipe. My favorite was a guy that used an applesauce jar. That's what I'm using now. Seneca Original 47.8 oz jug. Fill it 3/4 full of cases, add hot water to cover plus an inch or two over, lemi shine 1/4 teaspoon, squirt of Dawn and a cap full of armour all wash and wax add 2 lbs of SS pins and I'm good to go. 2 hours and the brass is better than new. The wash and wax is a great addition. Cases are shiner and stay shiny over time. I seperate the cases and pins with a sand toy sifter that somehow is still around after the kids grew up. A magnet does the final gathering of the pins after sun drying the brass on a old towel. I like shiny, I like clean no mess on my hands brass handling. I batch prime as a separate task and clean brass is nice. Just joined a local shooting club and if I shoot more I'll think about moving up to a larger capacity tumbler. For now I'm good with the HF unit. Oh, and BTW, lube it, or lose it, as stated above.

Wow. I guess my HF tumblers were assembled on a Tuesday by a well fed, sober worker that was wearing his glasses. I've owned two, about 12 years apart and all I had to do to them was plug them in and flip the switch. (Or perhaps the tumblers knew I was an electrical mechanic and were afraid to foul up?)..

I know I am off topic here but I don't understand why folks mess around with the HF tumbler, then buy pins and then make a drum when you can buy a full on kit made for this job on sale for $119 ? If it was me I would just save up a bit more and get the better tool. On sale at Amazon much better for the job especially with 223 , I bet the Harbor Freight tumbler cleaning 223 will get old very fast how many 223 cases can you put and tumble in a tiny 3lb drum ?
If you have a very low shooting volume you maybe ok , from my personnel experience every time I try to save money and go cheap on a tool I regret it a short bit later and end up buying a better tool costing me more in the long run for $119 to get the FART its a great deal on a good tool IMHO , anyway sorry for getting off topic a bit ,

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Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler 7L
by Frankford Arsenal
$119.99
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I've used my dual can HF tumbler for about 5 years now. I always just use walnut media, as I am not part of the brass jewelry crowd. MY results are good, clean brass, even though I can't see my reflection on them. I don';t need to see my ugly mug in my brass anyway!

My tumbler has never broken a belt and never had a motor issue. There IS a weight limit to these machines, and if you exceed it you will eventually experience problems, so don't overload it!

I acquired a Thumlers model B for a very good price at an estate sale about 9 months ago , and it has taken over the majority of my tumbling needs. But for small batches I still use the HF tumbler. It has been problem-free.

I have used a vibrating brass cleaner with walnut or corn media for years. It has worked fine. I add a tap of brass cleaner and a sheet of fabric softener once in a while. I clean 50-100 cases at a time. Is there any advantage to a tumbler with stainless pins? If so, what is the advantage?

Some reloaders want the inside of their cases and the inside of the primer pockets to be pristine and glossy...

I reloaded for 12 years before I got a tumbler. I had no one to impress at the range and nope, I had no ruined dies and yep, I could spot any defects. I just wiped my cases with a solvent dampened rag as I inspected it. I let my targets do my bragging, not how shiny y brass was...

Rblum said:

I have used a vibrating brass cleaner with walnut or corn media for years. It has worked fine. I add a tap of brass cleaner and a sheet of fabric softener once in a while. I clean 50-100 cases at a time. Is there any advantage to a tumbler with stainless pins? If so, what is the advantage?

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To me there are a few very practical advantages to wet/SS pin tumbling. I realized these *after* I started using this method.

• When confirming that the 50 charged cases in the loading block have powder in them prior to bullet seating, it's easier to see the powder level when the case interior is brass colored and not black.
• I find it much easier to spot those 9mm cases with the internal "shelf" that I want to avoid loading. Yes - it is questionable whether these need to be worried about or not. But if you are trying to catch them it's easier with a clean interior.
• I find case inspection (finding mouth cracks, etc.) easier when the case is very very clean.

None of these are critical to safe or effective loading, obviously. But they are benefits I find worthwhile.

Lastly, on a much more qualitative front, I get tremendous satisfaction out of taking some incredibly rank scrounged brass I find at some of the places I shoot, and transforming it into virtually brand new brass.

Is wet tumbling needed? Definitely not. Is it more of a hassle? Definitely. Will I continue to do it? Most definitely.