$35.00 or $200.00 Tumbler?

[farm23]

I am thinking of getting a tumbler. I only load for 44 & 45 so no range brass to contend with. The reason for even thinking of a tumbler is do better see any faults in my brass. I will not load more than 100 [most of the time less] of brass at any one time. I know part of the reason for the big price difference is capacity of the tumbler and maybe noise. For small batches would the inexpensive work just as well and as long as the expensive ones? I would rather pay for quality if there is a reason to do so and are there features worth extra money?

 

[PO2Hammer]

The wet system sure makes them look nice, but after years of dry tumbling, I'll stick with it.
The $35 dry system is quick and easy. My Lyman has been running ~15 years without a hitch and I've only gone through 3 bags of walnut media in that time.
Add a sifter and you're set.

 

[badkarmamib]

I have tumbled over 1K of my own brass combined with range pickups, in a $35 Frankford Arsenal tumbler in the last year. A little metal polish mixed into crushed walnut media, and all but the worst range brass looks new after a couple of hours.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Dry works just fine for me.

 

[Scooter22]

Yeah get the dry cheepie. I've been running a 20 year old Midway vibratory with walnut media from the pet store. A spoon full of mineral spirits thinned NuFinsh polish makes my brass look new. I process 50 -200 cases at a time so I don't need a set up like someone doing 100s or more cases at a time.

 

[DudeRick]

Both, wet tumble cases, dry tumble loaded rounds.

 

[ms6852]

I do the sonic cleaning on range brass than dry in the toaster oven. Eventually I will do a dry tumble in walnut media with polish.

 

[ray15]

You could do a harbor freight cheapie rock tumbler and wet tumble for cheap since you do small batches. I have a full size wet tumbler (clone of a Thumler's Model B rock tumber) I bought new off of ebay for $135. I do collect range brass and it's nice to be able to do 500 9mm at a time in 2 hours.

 

[edwardware]

My Frankford Arsenal probably had 500 hours on it, still going strong. My new Berry's is the same, but quieter.

I would pick one of the two, but no more.

 

[dgod]

I have the Hornady and the RCBS Dry Vibrator, a little NuFinish and Walnut Media, makes them look like new.

 

[ewlyon]

Cheap tumbler and plain corncob media gives me great results.
Tumbler is a used lyman purchased from a pawn shop but it has no problems with me leaving it on for 12-16 hours at a time and afterwards the brass looks darn near new at least on the outside.

 

[farm23]

Wow good information. I see Midway has one that they probably rename and the Frankford is inexpensive. Noise is not a big issue since I will use in my shop and not in the house.

 

[Walkalong]

For your volume, all you need is a small inexpensive one to start. You'll know when it is time to upgrade. I started by just wiping down cases, then got a Lyman 1200 in a trade and used it for years before adding a larger one to the mix.

 

[FROGO207]

I now wet tumble and love it. My deprimed brass looks like factory new when done. BUT for years I used an inexpensive vibratory tumbler and it worked just fine for cleaning brass as well with less fuss. Before that I used a bit of 000 steel wool to polish them and that was OK as well. Comes down to how clean and what it is worth for you.

 

[primalmu]

I'm gonna go against the grain here -- since moving to wet tumbling, I'll never go back to a dry vibratory tumbler. Yea, its a bit more time intensive and requires drying the brass, but I love not inhaling the dust from my Lyman vibratory tumbler. I end up hanging a delicates bag full of brass on the dryer door and running it for 30 minutes or so.

 

[Walkalong]

but I love not inhaling the dust from my Lyman vibratory tumbler.

You're letting the mix get too dry. Sprinkle a little water in it when needed.

 

[Spade5]

I have the Harbor Freight that I think cost about $40 and I bought 2 pounds of stainless pins for about $25 and it works fine for me. A few drops of Dawn and maybe a teaspoon or less of Lemi Shine and two hours later, they are clean and shiny. The pins can be a pain getting out with 223 but I have no issues with straight wall pistol brass. Rinse well and put the brass on a towel and let them dry or I sometimes put them in an aluminum pie pan and into the toaster oven for 20 minutes or so. I also have a 30 year old Thumbler and use walnut shells and a dash of Nu Finish and get good results but it doesn't clean the pockets and there is dust inside the brass. I think the we tumble works the best and other than the strong rubber smell, the Harbor Freight works fine for me.

 

[primalmu]

You're letting the mix get too dry. Sprinkle a little water in it when needed.

You know, I do live in Tucson where average humidity is about 4%. It doesn't take long for the media to dry out.

 

[nettlle]

I have a Thumler's Ultra Vibe 10 which is a little pricier than many tumblers. It is quiet and appears better made than less costly tumblers I have owned. It may last longer than cheaper tumblers but that remains to be seen. Still it's just a tumbler and doesn't tumble any faster or better than the cheaper models.

 

[preacherJohn]

I bought a dual drum rock tumbler from Harbor Freight and my dry tumbler went into retirement forever! They have a single drum model and a double drum model. I caught the double drum on sale, and with my 20% coupon I ended up with about $35 in it. Then a quick trip to Ebay to buy 2lbs of stainless steel shot (one pound for each drum), a small bottle of Lemi shine (detergent for dishwashers) and Dawn dish soap. My brass looks better than new and I only run the drums for about an hour. There's a lot of videos on this at Youtube and you won't find a better way to clean your brass. https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html

 

[Dudedog]

I now wet tumble and love it. My deprimed brass looks like factory new when done. BUT for years I used an inexpensive vibratory tumbler and it worked just fine for cleaning brass as well with less fuss

Yes

I dry tumbled for a long time. I bought a Lyman Cyclone Wet tumbler and am really happy with it.
Does a much better job cleaning..
I use car wash and wax and a dab of citric acid (available in the canning section sipermarkets, lots of people use Lemishine which has citric acid in it, the canning stuff is less expensive)

My Frankford dry tumbler worked hard then died after about 5 years, was inexpensive.
I have never used it, but for small batches I would lean towards the Harbor Freight drum..
If you deprime first the wet tumbled brass comes out spotless including the primer pockets.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Wet tumbling is great for large batches but for only 100 or so I still dry tumble.
My dry tumbler is a Hornady, I managed to break the tub once don't recall how.
Called Hornady to order a new one and they sent one no charge.

 

[edwardware]

. . . but I love not inhaling the dust from my Lyman vibratory tumbler.

Why would you inhale dust. . . put the lid on, and occasionally replace the dryer sheet. Viola, no dust.

 

[primalmu]

Why would you inhale dust. . . put the lid on, and occasionally replace the dryer sheet. Viola, no dust.

The lid has open slits, so there's no keeping the dust in. There's a thread on here regarding one of our members having issues with elevated lead levels due to his vibratory tumbler. I'll definitely pass on that...

 

[hdwhit]

My home-built rotary tumbler gave up the ghost recently after more than 20 years of service. I replaced it with a Frankford Arms vibratory model and have been very pleased with the result.