Franklin Tumbler set

[grimblyd]

Bought this online.

Suggests tumbling for .5-1 hour. Tried the .5... Went to 1 hr. not terrible. Added some of the brass polish that came with the set to the media that came with the set. Brass was starting to look ok.

That gunk that is at the bottom of the shell casing though. Doesn't seem to really get it out. Is that normal for any tumbler or do I need to tumble longer? Or did I just buy a not very good setup?

Different media needed perhaps?

As always, thanks in advance for any information or insight you share!

Dan

 

[supernova]

Frankford Arsenal? And what do you mean by gunk? Tumbler media or powder fouling?

 

[calibrecarstairs]

Tumble until it's clean enough for your liking and don't worry about the suggested time. Dry tumbling doesn't do much to clean the insides of cases.

Inside and out of some cases in progress.

Other ideas in no particular order...

Dryer sheet cut into strips and added to the mix to collect dust and dirt.

Any car polish works as well as ammo polish at less than half the price.

Lyman faqs says tumble with the lid on to keep in the heat generated during tumbling. I cover the whole thing with a blanket. Result is shorter time and more shine.

 

[supernova]

Pistol brass comes clean on the inside but it takes a lot of tumbling. By then the outside looks brand new. With bottleneck cartridges you can speed up the tumbling by wiping the carbon off the necks with steel wool before tumbling.

 

[grimblyd]

Frankford Arsenal? And what do you mean by gunk? Tumbler media or powder fouling?

Whoops. You're correct. Frankford Arsenal. And I meant powder fouling.
thanks

 

[supernova]

You'll want a wet SS tumbler if you want spotless cases inside and out in short time. The vibratory tumblers will get the outsides just as clean but with more time - sometimes 12 hrs+. They'll get brass clean enough to reload very quickly. The staining and powder fouling inside doesn't affect anything.

 

[Redblack]

Yes, wet tumbling is the way to go for spotless brass inside and in the primer pockets.

 

[reomack]

I clean the cases with a sonic set up first then use a vibratory cleaned to polish it up all nice and pretty.

 

[burnaby]

Wet Tumble for pretty brass.
Vib tumble clean enough for sizer.

 

[grimblyd]

You'll want a wet SS tumbler if you want spotless cases inside and out in short time. The vibratory tumblers will get the outsides just as clean but with more time - sometimes 12 hrs+. They'll get brass clean enough to reload very quickly. The staining and powder fouling inside doesn't affect anything.

Cool. Thanks. Once again I think I asked the wrong question. Should have asked what you answered, which is that powder fouling isn't an issue.

Dan

 

[Kryogen]

I have stopped using vib tumbler because of the dust. Either dirty lead dust or corncob dust on the cases... I prefer wet ss cleaning and us cleaning.