Tumbler Question?

[HANDLOADER]

I am going to buy a tumbler today and need to know if I should watch out for anything..

 

[Halo]

Not really, as long as it vibrates your cases against your media, you're all set!

 

[jak67429]

I like the Frankford arsenal. get the package deal with the separator. works great

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Buy any brand you like except perhaps harbor freight and some guys even had good luck with those. But if I was buying one right now, I'd get the frankford arsenal unless I had a need for a huge one, then I'd get either a Dillon or a Thumbler's tumbler.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Der Verge]

I have the Lyman Twin, and LOVE it. I like having two bowls of different size. This way I do not have to use 3lbs of media for 1 box of shells.......Also, the lid for the big bowl is like a built in separator. Thus far, it has been great.

 

[rondog]

Yup, dis one... http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=414369&t=11082005

Get some corncob media for polishing, needs to be fine-ground, not the big, coarse stuff from Wal-Mart or pet stores. Get it from Midway, or any gun shop should have it.

Get some extra brass case polishing liquid too, avoid anything with ammonia in it, like Brasso, ammonia weakens brass. NuFinish car polish works good too. The Frankford Arsenal stuff that comes with the tumbler is good too, just order some extra.

I prefer to clean my cases in one step, then polish in a second step. For cleaning, I go to PetSmart and buy "Kaytee Walnut Litter". It's ground walnut shells for bird cage litter, and it's small and abrasive enough to work great for scrubbing cases. Then, I'll polish them with the softer corncob media, with the liquid polish added in.

Put the corncob media in the tumbler, approx. 3/4 full, add 5-6 tablespoons of polish, then run the tumbler 5-10 minutes to let it all mix together before you put any brass in.

You might also want to pick up some 2-gallon plastic paint buckets with lids from Home Depot, those are great for storing your media in. Great for keeping brass in too. I have one full of 9mm, one full of primed .40S&W, several full of primed .45's, and a couple full of baggies of various other calibers. 3 quart Glad food storage containers are great too, one of those holds the perfect amount of media for a tumbler.

 

[scrat]

Size. if you buy a small one cause you think that extra $5.00 savings makes a difference. Your wrong. get a good sized bowl tumbler. The smaller ones just well dont do any justice. lets just put it that way.

 

[M47 Dragon]

I've had really good luck with the Cabella's Tumbler Kit (comes with media, polish and a separater bowl). Not a bad deal at $57.00.

I suspect another company makes these for Cabela's to sell with their name on it, but I have no idea who...

 

[GearHead_1]

I've mentioned this before but I have several different tumblers including an RCBS, Dillon and 3 of Midway/Frankford Arsenals. For the money spent I would tell you to pick up on the Midway kit. It's a good value and I've had one of my 3 Midway tumblers for over 12 years without a hesitation. RCBS's medial separator anti-dust cover is also something worth looking at. No sense breathing the lead dust if you don't have to. There are other companies marketing this same type of cover for less money but I think it was originally RCBS's design.

 

[aerod1]

I got mine from Harbor Freight and once I learned the bottom screw wasn't tight enough it works great.

 

[rangerphil]

Ditto on the Cabelas tumblers. They are made by Berry Mfg and the price is hard to beat.

 

[lgbloader]

I have a Midway Model 1292 and this thing looks beat, but it still works great. It has tumbled thousands upon thousands of pieces of brass.

I am probably going to buy a couple more as tumbling brass is bottlenecking my entire handloading operation, you know what I mean?

I have 3 x progressive presses (Color not important), 1 x Turret (again, color not important), and 1 x single stage press (not including my retired rockchucker) and only one itty bitty tumbler...

My stratagy is kinda lopsided, ain't it?

Cheers...

 

[Halo]

I think they're all fairly comparable. FWIW, I still use an old Lyman Turbo 1200 a neighbor gave me 7 or 8 years ago, and it was far from new then. It's still going strong, turning out bright and shiny brass.

 

[Griz44]

I have had a lot of problems with my Cabelas kit. It keeps wearing out the media and I have to buy more of it. Other than that, the tumbler is a good value and just keeps on trucking....

 

[45ACPUSER]

Media hints......
buy lizzard litter aka ground walnut..walnut cleans better the CC

buy fine ground corn cob not the large stuff it will get stuck in cases....CC polished better then walnut

Nu Finish car polish works well.....cut it with some mineral spirits..

Flitz and Iosso are great additives for CC

Cut up strips of paper towel or use used dryer sheets this helps keep media clean....

Tumble in the garage to keep mess down along with noise!