Frankfurt Arsenal Rotary Tumbler -- Should have done this sooner!

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primalmu

primalmu

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I found the above tumbler on Amazon for an awesome price ($130) and decided to pull the trigger. I had just gotten done cursing the dusty, disgusting mess that my Lyman vibratory tumbler is and was getting really tired of the mess. All I can say is money well spent! Considering the tumbler came with $35-45 worth of stainless steel pins, the deal was a no-brainer.

My current procedure is to first tumble just with Dawn dish detergent to clean the brass before resizing. I dry the cases (in the clothes dryer, but I'm going to experiment with drying in the oven for noise reasons), then decap/resize. I follow up with a second tumble, this time with Dawn, steel pins, and 1 tsp of citric acid powder (Lemishine).

Although the process is slightly more labor intensive in terms of case handling, the time requirements seem are roughly the same as the vibratory tumbler with far superior results. Even the Wolf .223 cases I tumbled are positively beautiful (yes, I do reload some steel cases). Granted, I'm going to hold onto the Wolf cases for a few months to see how they are affected by removing the polymer coating -- I don't expect many problems with the low humidity here in the Sonoran desert.
 
primalmu said:
I found the above tumbler on Amazon for an awesome price ($130) and decided to pull the trigger.
.
Click to expand...

I have a couple and love them. I saw that price on Amazon and was shocked. It was lowest recorded price for the FART (Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler) I have ever seen.

Get yourself a dehydrator, works awesome for cases.
 
Last edited:
Good for you! You are finally on the F.A.R.T. bandwagon. I got mine 2 years ago.

AR-Bossman said:
Get yourself a dehydrator, works awesome for cases.
Click to expand...
Or ... just put them on a flat in front of a running fan that you already have. ;)

I deprime prior to cleaning. I moved up from Dawn to ArmorAll Wash&Wax ... cases stay brighter, longer with that little bit'o'wax.

Precleaning only happens if the batch if FILTHY and then in a container with hot water + Dawn, manually agitated (I close it and shake it) for awhile, then rinsed.

Enjoy! :)
 
My 2 cents worth regarding cleaning with a tumbler + pins:
Basically any dishwashing liquid will work, why everybody mentions Dawn I don't know. LemiShine is a plus but not really a must have. The pins do 99% of the work anyway. Be sure and get a magnet with release from Amazon for a couple bucks, makes picking up the pins a breeze.
I never bother trying to 'dry' the brass in an oven or so. What for? Just pour them on a big towel, rub them down and wait an hour.
 
I've used the single drum HF wet tumbler for a little over a year and it works well for me based upon the volume I shoot. With a $130 sale price, I'm wondering whether it makes sense to jump on the Franklin Rotary wet tumbler, and have the HF, as a backup, or whether that's a waste of money that could be used to buy more reloading supplies.

Any thoughts?
 
the count said:
... LemiShine is a plus but not really a must have. The pins do 99% of the work anyway. ...
Click to expand...
Correct. The pins are responsible for the scrub-a-dub and the Lemishine (primary ingredient, citric acid) eliminates tarnish on the brass and makes them look pretty(ier).

If you do not mind your cases being dull, do not add the citric acid, although the added expense is negligible.

BTW, the wax provided by the AAW&W also slightly eases the insertion of the clean, unlubed pistol cases during resizing in carbide dies ... at least, *I* can feel the difference. :)
 
I wet tumble with a Thumler's model B high-speed, but the same principles apply to your Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART...:) ).

As others have posted, I started with Dawn but for the past 3 years have used auto wash and wax as the cleaning agent. The auto wash and wax leaves a microscopic (it can't be seen or felt) coating on the brass which impedes the return of tarnish. Simply, put, the cases stay shiny much longer.

And speaking of shine, you may want to use 1/4 TSP of Lemi-Shine per tumbling batch. It's the Lemi-Shine that gives the brass that brilliant, jewelry-like shine. Without the Lemi-Shine, the brasses would tumble and come out very clean, but dull looking. I learned this on a batch that I forgot to add the Lemi-Shine - clean but dull looking.

One caution about using Lemi-Shine, less is not more. Too much added to a batch, and it will actually darken the brass. I stick with no more than 1/4 TSP per batch. At that rate, one jar of the stuff will last nearly a lifetime.

Bayou
 
the count said:
My 2 cents worth regarding cleaning with a tumbler + pins:
Basically any dishwashing liquid will work, why everybody mentions Dawn I don't know. LemiShine is a plus but not really a must have. The pins do 99% of the work anyway. Be sure and get a magnet with release from Amazon for a couple bucks, makes picking up the pins a breeze.
I never bother trying to 'dry' the brass in an oven or so. What for? Just pour them on a big towel, rub them down and wait an hour.
Click to expand...

Of the selection of dish detergent I have at my house right now, my generic Dawn is the easiest to rinse off. I use it for all of my water bottles for that reason. ;)
 
I put my wet brass in a mesh laundry bag and close the clothes dryer door with one end of the bag stuck in the door jamb. The brass hangs right above the lint trap. I run it on delicate (to keep temps lower) for 15 or 20 minutes and it's bone dry.
 
Deprime first- the primer pocket gets cleaned, eliminating any primer pocket cleaning later
( Lee Depiming Die is usually the cheapest )

I have been using a Harbor Freight food dehydrator to dry cases, amount of time needed to dry depends on
type of and number of cases ( 100 pistol cases about 20 min., 100 rifle cases about 30 min.
300 pistol cases about 1 hr 300 rifle cases about 1 1/2 hr )
( DO NOT use the dehydrator on food after using it on your cases )

One thing to be Extra vigilant about is the pins, Check the cases for pins still in them before you load them
( you DO NOT want these pins in your guns barrel )
 
I had thought about depriming first, but that won't get around me using two tumbling cycles (I like to remove all of the case lube after resizing). Using the stainless steel pins only for the second cycle cleans the primer pockets just fine, and polishes out any marks from resizing.
 
primalmu said:
I found the above tumbler on Amazon for an awesome price ($130) and decided to pull the trigger. I had just gotten done cursing the dusty, disgusting mess that my Lyman vibratory tumbler is and was getting really tired of the mess. All I can say is money well spent! Considering the tumbler came with $35-45 worth of stainless steel pins, the deal was a no-brainer.

My current procedure is to first tumble just with Dawn dish detergent to clean the brass before resizing. I dry the cases (in the clothes dryer, but I'm going to experiment with drying in the oven for noise reasons), then decap/resize. I follow up with a second tumble, this time with Dawn, steel pins, and 1 tsp of citric acid powder (Lemishine).

Although the process is slightly more labor intensive in terms of case handling, the time requirements seem are roughly the same as the vibratory tumbler with far superior results. Even the Wolf .223 cases I tumbled are positively beautiful (yes, I do reload some steel cases). Granted, I'm going to hold onto the Wolf cases for a few months to see how they are affected by removing the polymer coating -- I don't expect many problems with the low humidity here in the Sonoran desert.
Click to expand...
Try using Armor all Wash n Wax it will help prevent oxidation of the brass since the pins really take it down to the raw stuff. I use 2tbs & 1/4tsp of Lemishine. Rinse them well shake in a towel then into a cheap Walmart dehydrator. Have fun!
 
solman said:
Cannibal, How long does it take to dry brass in a food dehydrator?
Click to expand...

Fully loaded, sitting in the garage, at this time of year in N. Texas, it takes just over an hour. In the summer I just put them on a towel and let the sun do the work. However now that it's cooling down I was getting some water spots on the brass. The dehydrator solved that problem.
 
Cannibul said:
Fully loaded, sitting in the garage, at this time of year in N. Texas, it takes just over an hour. In the summer I just put them on a towel and let the sun do the work. However now that it's cooling down I was getting some water spots on the brass. The dehydrator solved that problem.
Click to expand...


FYI - Rather than use any heaters, dryers, dehydrators, etc., my technique for drying is to use the rotary media separator. Once the pins are separated from the brass, I throw a dry towel in the squirrel cage with the wet brass and agitate back and forth vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Repeat with a second dry towel. This removes 99.9% of all moisture from inside and outside of the brasses. The primer pockets retain some moisture, but letting the brasses lay exposed to open air for a half hour does that job.

All the Best -

Bayou
 
here is an idea to help dry brass......

I picked up 25lbs of walnut media at harbor freight a few years ago, it is really dusty, but does a good job. to dry my brass, I wet tumble for 1hr, maybe 1.5 hrs if it is a lot of brass then I put the brass on a large bath towel i have confiscated for my own uses. I dry the outside decently, then dump all the wet brass into my vibrating tumbler with walnut media and some nufinish. 20mins in there and they are all dry, no issues of media getting clogged anywhere. this even works well in 223rem or 9mm with small case mouths. total time to clean and dry a FART full of brass is about 2hrs and they are brilliantly clean with nufinish applied for easier resizing and they don't tarnish.

of note, for .223 if it is clean-ish brass I will resize, trim, remove primer crimp etc BEFORE I tumble. if it is dirty it gets 30-45 mins in the FART then I just set it out to dry for a few days and process it when I get around too it. as long as I remove primers before I wet tumble it will dry out in a few days. if I need it done now I try to dry it in walnut media
 
CrankyCraig said:
Try using Armor all Wash n Wax it will help prevent oxidation of the brass since the pins really take it down to the raw stuff. I use 2tbs & 1/4tsp of Lemishine. Rinse them well shake in a towel then into a cheap Walmart dehydrator. Have fun!
Click to expand...
This is what I do as well works great !
 
primalmu said:
Although the process is slightly more labor intensive in terms of case handling, the time requirements seem are roughly the same as the vibratory tumbler with far superior results. Even the Wolf .223 cases I tumbled are positively beautiful (yes, I do reload some steel cases). Granted, I'm going to hold onto the Wolf cases for a few months to see how they are affected by removing the polymer coating -- I don't expect many problems with the low humidity here in the Sonoran desert.
Click to expand...

Get the Frankford Arsenal Media Separator. It'll make the process so much easier. Frankford Arsenal sells two different media separators. Make sure you get the right one. Like this:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B6S8JUC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

FA's brass dryer is pretty nice, too. Load it up and your brass is dry in an hour. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RPABBG0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
primalmu said:
My current procedure is to first tumble just with Dawn dish detergent to clean the brass before resizing. I dry the cases (in the clothes dryer, but I'm going to experiment with drying in the oven for noise reasons), then decap/resize. I follow up with a second tumble, this time with Dawn, steel pins, and 1 tsp of citric acid powder (Lemishine).

Although the process is slightly more labor intensive in terms of case handling, the time requirements seem are roughly the same as the vibratory tumbler with far superior results.
Click to expand...
You can cut the handling time by decapping with a Lee Universal Depriming Die, then tumble with the pins and liquid. It will save the first tumble.

You can set the die up in a very inexpensive single stage station.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/807734/lee-reloader-single-stage-press
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/136543/lee-universal-depriming-and-decapping-die
 
I use this Frankford depriming tool has done a great job for me
 

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ArchAngelCD said:
You can cut the handling time by decapping with a Lee Universal Depriming Die, then tumble with the pins and liquid. It will save the first tumble.
Click to expand...

I don't think you understand. I like to clean the brass before resizing to cut down to residue on my press. I also don't like to leave the case lube on, so I have to clean before and after resizing. Hence the two cleaning cycles.
 
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