out with the old in with the new dillon media separator and tumbler

[roval]

bought the large tumbler and the media separator last November during a visit to the Dillon showroom. unboxed it only this morning. it's replacing my frankford arsenal tumbler which is quite small. below is a pic of the old vs new. i really like the media separator.

short video in case you want to check out the separator. the tumbler is a tumbler so except for a rubber gasket and a bolted on tub. there's not much to see.

 

[Laphroaig]

i really like the media separator.

Me too! For years I struggled with a cheapo colander type separator I got from Midway. I'd always end up dumping every case to be sure all of the media was out. I bought the Dillon a couple of years ago and it gets 100% of the media out of my cases very quickly. I suppose that any make of the rotary type separators will do the same in addition to the Dillon.

 

[roval]

i like the separator as it seems sturdy but time will tell.

below is my first- full as i can make it load- considering the tub was 2/3 full with media, for 45 acp. apart from this i only have about 800 loaded rounds of 45 acp.

i conclude that the big tumbler is a time saver as i would likely have to do 4 to 5 loads in my small frankford arsenal tumbler. i also conclude that i don't have enough 45 acp brass. i better start scrounging more at the range. i envy those that have buckets of the same caliber.

i also realize that for this amount of brass. i should only put half in the media separator as the brass starts spilling over the side.

as some spilled over, i then had to transfer the media and spilled brass back to the tumbler , empty the brass from the separator and do it again. large as the cage for the separator was, it still isn't that big.

 

[glc24]

Yeah,really nice separator for sure. I have the small Dillon. I'm using the Frankford wet tumbler now! But if I ever go back to a vibratory tumbler, it will be the large Dillon!

 

[jmorris]

I too like the Dillon separator.

I made one to roll down a bank of cement mixer sized tumblers that was pretty much just a extra large, heavy duty version of the Dillon.

 

[roval]

I too like the Dillon separator.

I made one to roll down a bank of cement mixer sized tumblers that was pretty much just a extra large, heavy duty version of the Dillon.

that machine is cool. "serving cement mixer tumblers...." YOU are one the guys I envy with your buckets of brass per caliber.

 

[lightman]

I've got 2 of the larger tumblers and a separator. I often run the tumblers in 10 and 12 hour shifts for days at a time. The motor finally failed on the first one and it was old enough to be covered under warranty. The newer ones have a limited warranty. I bought the 2nd one and used its box to ship the older one back in. I run 20-20 grit corncob in mine with a cap full of polish and a cap full of mineral spirits mixed in. The separator does a good job but I managed to break a latch. They are a little tricky to deal with if you have something in your other hand. So be careful with it. They warranted it too although I was embarrassed admitting that I managed to break it! Its hard to go wrong with Dillon!

 

[lightman]

that machine is cool. "serving cement mixer tumblers...." YOU are one the guys I envy with your buckets of brass per caliber.

I envy his skills too. He is a world class fabricator. From his workbench, brass sorters, lead melting pot, everything looks professional.

 

[jmorris]

Roval, that one wasn’t for me it was the dry tumbling bank for a business in town, for these.



I built them a half dozen pretty large wet tumblers too, and an over head crane so they could load/unload them.

 

[roval]

Roval, that one wasn’t for me it was the dry tumbling bank for a business in town, for these.

View attachment 821224

I built them a half dozen pretty large wet tumblers too, and an over head crane so they could load/unload them.

that looks like a major operation . where do such operations get their brass? PD ranges , military ranges?

 

[jmorris]

I am not real sure to be honest. I know they borrowed a dump trailer of mine a time or two to pick up brass they won at .gov auctions.

They do go through tons of brass, literally.


When things were tight a few years ago they were getting supplies from anywhere they could, just like the rest of us.