Which Tumbler?

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Crawlin

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I am trying to figure out which tumbler to buy. I will be doing loads of about 500 or so 45/40 brass every other week or so. I found some on different sites but I want to spend a little less $50. Any ideas?

Also, if anyone has one for sale or one they want to get rid of, I post a thread on Buy/Sell.
Tumbler/Bullets Needed!
 
Which tumbler

Crawlin--Vibratory tumblers are all built about the same. I'd go with whatever you can find for cheap. Harbor Freight has had tumblers but I don't know about them @ present. I have a Berry's that I bo't @ a gun sho. Wouldn't pay for one of the "name brands" unless it was used and cheap.

This is one area where we as reloaders can safely skimp.
 
Keep watching Ebay.

I have a Dillon. It's more than 20 years old and going strong. I've heard that the Midway tumbler is appearantly nearly the same unit. That said, Dillon and RCBS have some of the best customer service departments available. What I like though, is that I've never had to call them. So having a quality product is even better than having service to back it up.

But I'd think that any of the vibratory case cleaners like Lyman, RCBS, Lee, Midway or Dillon would be good bets. Just get one large enough for the batches of rifle cases you'll be cleaning at one time. Too small of a unit will not serve you well.

-Steve
 
Is there a difference in quality between rotary or vibratory tumblers? Would both work equally as well?
 
Midway(Franklin) and Natchez(RCBS) both sell tumbers in the $50 range. A bit less if you catch tham on sale.

Joe
 
Vibe or roto?

Crawler--you wrote:
Is there a difference in quality between rotary or vibratory tumblers? Would both work equally as well?
Click to expand...
They'd WORK equally, the difference is that, rotary tumblers are usually designed for jewelry work and are much smaller, and, (I understand) that they do their work more slowly. Polishing rocks takes days and days of tumbling.

That said, if you get a bargain on a large enough rotary tumbler, I'd say go for it. But the vibratories that most reloaders use, are not that expensive.

Just noticed that I just went over 1,000 posts. Whoop de doo or something. Do I get a free ice cream cone?
 
When I bought my hornady one it was based on this:

I went into several local places and turned them all upside down to get a good look at the motors on them. I brought the hornady one home. It's been going for about 6 years now. And brother, it has polished A LOT of brass.

There have been times when it has ran 12 hours a day for 2 weeks straght. This happens when you, your dad, 3 brothers, and one brother-in-law all reload(2 of you on progressives) and you are the only one with a tumbler.:scrutiny:

The dillon ones are a little better judging by the motors physical construction, but at the time I couldn't afford the extra cost. And so far I haven't needed another one.
 
Crawlin, you can buy a tumbler at Harbor Freight for $39. I just bought one.

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It work fine. I ran three batches of 400 9mm with walnut. You can see the 1200 in the tall plastic container. I left each batch in for two hours. I ran two batches with Nu-finish and one without. They all looked the same but the Nu-finish ones were just smoother to the touch.
Rusty
 
I've got both of the Dillons, as I reload around 500 rounds a week. I started with the small one, but quickly outgrew it. Usually I have both going at the same time. Here is my brass cleaning station in my basement:

DSCN1874Small.jpg
 
Anyone know how many 45's you can fit into the larger bowls?

Anyone use the tumblers with the "auto-flo" feature, i.e, it drains the media out by itself...so to speak?
 
Consider this too

Well I also was gonna buy the tumbler from Harbor Freight, Unfortunately they are not on sale for $31 bucks anymore. So what I did was buy the RCBS tumbler from Cabelas for $59.00 (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...53_TGP&parentType=index&indexId=cat20853&rid=) AND get a $20 cabelas card.

Harbor Freight is having a huge sale this weekend. If their tumbler is on sale I may pick it up and do a comparison with the rcbs tumbler.

Just food for thought.
 
I have the Frankford Arsenal one from Midwayusa and it works well.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=317981

I use corn cob media with a bit of case polish. If you use the corn cob media I recommend buying it at the petstore. They sell it for pet bedding for about $10 for a 25lb bag vs. $16 for a 15lb bag packaged for case cleaning. Ground corn cobs are ground corn cobs. Same stuff just different package.
 
Is there a difference in quality between rotary or vibratory tumblers? Would both work equally as well?
Click to expand...
The old rotary tumblers have been around for a very long time, they were expensive, not very many people owned tumblers back then. About 25 years ago the vibratory case cleaners came out, they were an instant hit! The magazines testing the new vibratory cleaners just raved about the new case cleaners, not only were they very fast compared to the old rotaries, but they were at a reasonable price, finally the average reloader could have a motorized case cleaner.

They each have advantages and disadvantages.

Vibratory cleaners
Advantages: Reasonable price and very fast compared to the old rotaries.
Disadvantages: Noisy.

Rotary cleaners:
Advantages: Quiet.
Disadvantages: They needed to be quiet because they were so slow, they were also beyond the price range that the average reloader was willing to spend.

The reloading consumer voted with their dollars, vibratory cleaners sold like hotcakes, while the rotary sales fell flat on their face, there are very few rotaries remaining on the market.
 
Not Sure

Hey Idrive,

Not sure how long the sale on the tumbler is on for but the $20 deal for buying rcbs cleaning stuff is good through November something. Look at the link.

...And yes I did the cabowabo one night. If memory servers me right I was talking to my wife the next day.

Tammy "What did you guys do last night"?
Steve (AKA CaboWabo) Long Pause.... "I'm not sure but I woke up in my own bed, by myself and my underware and wedding ring was still on. That's a good thing right"?

Tammy "Click"

She did'nt talk to me for about a week.:evil:
 
My Harbor Freight tumbler blew up recently. :eek:

Got about 5 months use before the motor mounts broke away from the base plate, causing the whole thing to flop around and gouge the bench before the shaft weight got wedged and over-heated the wiring. :banghead:

Fortunately I found it before it really started to burn(although I suspect the breaker would have tripped first . . .maybe).

dexter
 
My Lyman 1200 has been working for me for about 23 or 4 years now. I need a bigger one but it just wont quit! Maybe I'll get one of the ones recommended here.
 
I told you Harbor Freight guys to go Franklin Arsenal. There's not enough price difference when you factor in the long warranty Franklin Arsenal has been known for. I'm all for saving a buck, but sometimes you go so cheap you spend more than you save.

I've owned a lot of HF stuff and generally speaking, I've wished I'd went the next level up when it comes to their small motor stuff with Chicago Electric on it.
 
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