Best Tumbler?

[Sniffer]

I searched this topic and didnt find any recent threads so here goes.

I already have a wet tumbler setup (so please dont recommend one of those). I very much doubt that any other tumbler will get the brass as clean as the wet setup does (spotless). So why do I want a dry tumbler if it doesn't clean so well you may ask?

Well, as good as wet is it has some downsides. Mouth peening being the main one and a PITA. I have one gun that has a tight chamber and it seems no matter how long I clean the brass in the wet tumbler the mouths get peened enough to give me hassle (tight closing the bolt). I have tried with pins / without pins. Longer time / shorter time. More brass / less brass. My other practice gun is a little less fussy but it still happens. I am sure peening is the issue because when I trim and chamfer the peening away the issue goes away too.

So I am hoping that the more sedentary dry tumbler will eliminate the peening issue and still get the brass clean enough.

It seems there a bunch of different options out there. As mentioned for volume reloading (like 9mm) I will still be using the wet setup. This will be for precision rifle so probably 500 cases max (more likely 300).

Are some noisier than others? Plan to use this outside under my deck so it stays dry (have heard they can emit dust?).

Do some clean better than others? If so why (different / better technology)?

Are there more efficient / powerful versions?

The Lyman keeps catching my eye as some of their models have an "Auto Flo" feature (best I can tell this means that there is a plug in the bottom of the bowl that lets the media flow out of the tumblers when the cycle is complete (should make brass retrieval easier?). Is this feature worth having or a gimmick? Do you run the tumbler while the media is flowing?

What is good for media?

Thanks in advance.

 

[TJCote]

In my opinion, one clear winner in the dry tumbling category…Thumler Tumbler. Best quality, fast and less noise than all others I have seen or used.
After I got one, I stopped wet tumbling altogether.

After you run out of brass to clean, you can polish some rocks, too.

 

[homer76]

I've been reloading for just over 25 years and have used the RCBS Vibratory Polishers. My first one survived 15 years of hard use before it died and have a second one.

The auto flo feature sounds like a gimmick to me. I just dump the contents into the rotary media separator. The loose media pours through it and the media that are in the cases come out after a few turns.

The media is dusty. I wear a dust mask. I also find running the Vibratory polisher for a while with some used dryer sheets removes a lot of the dust. After I run it with the dryer sheets I add my brass.

A friend of mine recently gave me his Dillon Vibratory Polisher. The thing is a monster and seems to take more than double the amount of casings my RCBS does

They are both just as noisy. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them on the market. They all get reasonable reviews. Pick the one that suits the volume you need. I usually try not to load up my tumblers too full. They seem to work better when they aren't filled with too much brass.

I prefer crushed walnut shells from the pet store. I will add a small amount of car polish and mineral spirits to the tumbler and let it mix thoroughly before I add the brass.

 

[savagelh]

I have had a few
They're all basically the same. Princess auto even sells one and they're pretty good for taking it in on waranty if something goes wrong. I also use the lizard bedding walnut from pet smart. It's finer than the stuff you buy for brass and doesn't get stuck in the flash holes. I also ad a small amount of nu finish polish.

 

[EXCRider]

I have had a few
They're all basically the same. Princess auto even sells one and they're pretty good for taking it in on waranty if something goes wrong. I also use the lizard bedding walnut from pet smart. It's finer than the stuff you buy for brass and doesn't get stuck in the flash holes. I also ad a small amount of nu finish polish.

+1 for Princess Auto

They are all cheap chinesium, no point paying extra for a reloading sticker.

 

[maynard]

I have one of those Lyman's with the auto-flow feature. The plug is duct taped in place after the first time it popped out while running, dumping all the media on the gargage floor. I use extra fine corn cob that is small enough not to get stuck in the flash holes.
A dry tumbler will never get the brass as clean inside and out as a wet tumbler.

 

[45C]

I went through a couple of dry tumblers, I had to tap the cases together to make sure they were completely empty.
I’m using a wet tumbler now and would never go back.
I don’t have a peening issue though, also I stopped using pins
I burnt out an RBCS and one from crappy tire, so I’d avoid them

 

[Bfranklin]

Dillon makes a bigger one that I use.

I'm sure in concept they are all the same.

 

[Gatehouse]

I've got a RCBS regular one and a Lyman large model (not the drain plug model) and they have been working well for many years. I would have bought the dillon really large one if I could have found one when I bought the Lyman. They all seem pretty similar really. I havent' tried the Thumler posted above or a Princess auto one but sometimes I wonder if the RCBS, Lyman etc are just different branded ones of the PA or Frankford Arsenal ones. I have a covered porch outside my shop so I use it out there. Yes, using them inside can create dust but how much depends on how much you use them.

I use 50 lb bags of crushed wlanut sand blasting material from PA and it is dustier than the RCBS media but it's also 10x cheaper. The solution is to pour it outside in a light wind and much of the dust gets blown away. I also usually had some polish or paint thinner depending on what I am doing (clean polish/or remove lube)

I use a Dillon basket/tub separator and it's the best for removing media but it's also bigger and $$$ than most solutions.

For volume brass cleaning I stick with my cement mixer, hot water, soap and citric acid. No pins.

 

[Sniffer]

I went through a couple of dry tumblers, I had to tap the cases together to make sure they were completely empty.
I’m using a wet tumbler now and would never go back.
I don’t have a peening issue though, also I stopped using pins
I burnt out an RBCS and one from crappy tire, so I’d avoid them

So what is your secret?

Is this on rifle cases or pistol cases?

I dont notice it on pistol cases but I do on rifle cases. For me I found that pins lessened the issue (and got the cases cleaner). It was as if the cases the pins cushioned things more and the cases bashed into each other less.

 

[Sniffer]

I've got a RCBS regular one and a Lyman large model (not the drain plug model) and they have been working well for many years. I would have bought the dillon really large one if I could have found one when I bought the Lyman. They all seem pretty similar really. I havent' tried the Thumler posted above or a Princess auto one but sometimes I wonder if the RCBS, Lyman etc are just different branded ones of the PA or Frankford Arsenal ones. I have a covered porch outside my shop so I use it out there. Yes, using them inside can create dust but how much depends on how much you use them.

I use 50 lb bags of crushed wlanut sand blasting material from PA and it is dustier than the RCBS media but it's also 10x cheaper. The solution is to pour it outside in a light wind and much of the dust gets blown away. I also usually had some polish or paint thinner depending on what I am doing (clean polish/or remove lube)

I use a Dillon basket/tub separator and it's the best for removing media but it's also bigger and $$$ than most solutions.

For volume brass cleaning I stick with my cement mixer, hot water, soap and citric acid. No pins.

Thats what I plan to do. Want to avoid dust all over the place.

 

[recce]

I've never noticed any neck peening either.
How much water are you adding? I fill to 3" below the top and use pins.

 

[45C]

So what is your secret?

Is this on rifle cases or pistol cases?

I dont notice it on pistol cases but I do on rifle cases. For me I found that pins lessened the issue (and got the cases cleaner). It was as if the cases the pins cushioned things more and the cases bashed into each other less.

Rifle cases mostly, I probably only do a 100 or so at a time. Fill with hot water,a quiet of dawn,a dash of lemi shine and tumble for 3 hrs.
No peening but I like to chamfer for ease of bullet seating

 

[Sniffer]

I have one of those Lyman's with the auto-flow feature. The plug is duct taped in place after the first time it popped out while running, dumping all the media on the gargage floor. I use extra fine corn cob that is small enough not to get stuck in the flash holes.
A dry tumbler will never get the brass as clean inside and out as a wet tumbler.

Oof, that would not be cool. Sensing the design and / or quality could be better.

The pictures and video I saw show it dumping into a basin looking thing and the outlet was designed that it was just making it in despite the basin being as close as it could be. Don't designers try the final product?

I agree that a dry tumbler will never get brass as clean but the peening is really starting to get annoying. I find that if I wet tumble to the point the brass is clean the mouths are peened.

 

[Sniffer]

I've never noticed any neck peening either.
How much water are you adding? I fill to 3" below the top and use pins.

I get it as full as I can. I also use pins. Maybe I should get more pins and try?

Pins add hassle for processing but I think they are worth it. They get the brass cleaner and reduce (not eliminate for me at least) the peening issue.

 

[Sniffer]

Rifle cases mostly, I probably only do a 100 or so at a time. Fill with hot water,a quiet of dawn,a dash of lemi shine and tumble for 3 hrs.
No peening but I lake to chamfer for ease of bullet seatin

I am half filling the drum with brass so quite a lot more.

I had to trim / chamfer (I have a Giraud) to fix the peening issue but I felt that I was taking off more than I liked. It has to add up if you are removing a decent amount of material each time?

 

[recce]

I use the whole 5 lbs of pins that came with the tumbler, not sure if adding more than that would make a difference.
You also have to keep in mind there is a weight limit for the drum. IIRC is is 30 lbs.

 

[acrashb]

as good as wet is it has some downsides.

Ultrasonic does not peen the case mouths, does an okay job on the primer pockets (if you are fussy you'll still be manually cleaning / uniforming them) and is quiet.

The Lyman keeps catching my eye as some of their models have an "Auto Flo" feature (best I can tell this means that there is a plug in the bottom of the bowl that lets the media flow out of the tumblers when the cycle is complete (should make brass retrieval easier?). Is this feature worth having or a gimmick?

It's worth having, as the bowl is also the separator so there is no separate, super dusty/dirty, step. Unlike someone else in this thread, my plug has never popped. Twenty+ years of using the thing.

Do you run the tumbler while the media is flowing?

Yes, the shaking moves the media out. swishing something through the brass while this is happening will get the media out of the cases.

What is good for media?

Crushed walnut. Regular corncob sticks in the primer pockets. With the walnut you will have some bit stick in the flash hole, so depending on your load method you either push it out manually when priming or, if on a progressive, run the cases through a deprimer befor priming.

 

[Unholysavage]

The solution I found for peening was switching to mandrels to set neck tension *after* wet tumbling to get the case lube off. The remaining external imperfections at the mouth were cleaned up once I trimmed, chamfered and deburred as a final step.

I don't know if it was the reduced neck tension or the graphite dry lube I used to lubricate the necks (or both), but my ES and SDs dropped significantly since moving to mandrels.

 

[Sniffer]

The solution I found for peening was switching to mandrels to set neck tension *after* wet tumbling to get the case lube off. The remaining external imperfections at the mouth were cleaned up once I trimmed, chamfered and deburred as a final step.

I don't know if it was the reduced neck tension or the graphite dry lube I used to lubricate the necks (or both), but my ES and SDs dropped significantly since moving to mandrels.

I use basically (maybe even exactly, right down to the graphite lube) the same process. Been doing this for a while and I prefer it.

Ultimate Reloader did a video this week showing the difference in consistency with this process compared to others using the data from an AMP press. Seemed pretty conclusive to me.

I did find that even after the mandrel the peening was still there (was like a raised ring around the mouth, you could both see it and feel it). Not a surprise really as that isn't the purpose of the mandrel.

Trying to avoid trimming each time. That was the only thing that fixed this issue and I had to remove more material than I felt comfortable doing. If I had to do that each time it has to have a negative effect long term.