I'm new to reloading so please excuse my lack of experience/knowledge. I just acquired 1000 once-fired nickel plated 9mm cartridges. I need to purchase a vibrator/ tumbler of some kind and want to get one that does brass as well as Nickel shells. I'm leaning towards the Frankford unit and it is "reasonably" priced south of the border (W.M.). I'm a buy once, cry once type of guy so I need a good unit that will do the job.
Case Cleaing Choise, Wet / Dry or?
- Thread starter Eggbert
- Start date
used a vibratory cleaner for many years. Switched to wet ss tumbling 4 months ago and suspect I will never use the vibratory again. SS takes has a few more steps and takes longer, but is worth it in my mind. Spotless brass and no pocket cleaning required.
I went with the wet tumbling not just for the dust factor, but also for the noise factor (I'm an apartment dweller). The FA platinum tumbler is less noisy than my dishwasher. And the stainless steel "media", as long as you don't lose it down a drain, will likely last forever.
- Location
- West Quebec
Wet tumbling here with great results
I'm in the process of building a DIY wet tumbler. I had an old 1/4 hp exhaust fan kicking around so it was a no brainer. If I was to buy, I'm thinking the Thumler Model B is the way to go. It's belt driven so it would be a little quieter than the Frankford and the rubber insert is removable for cleaning.
I'm dry tumbling at the moment and will for quite a while to come (until I use up the 2/3 of a 50lbs bag of media I have left). After that I will definitely look into SS/wet tumbling before buying more media. Dry tumbling works fine for my purposes and I've never had issues with dust which many others have complained about.
- Location
- West Quebec
Have the same one and it's perfect for my needs and quiet
- Location
- West Quebec
It is a nice unit and you can get spare parts if you need them..
- Location
- West Quebec
I'd recommend the Rebel by Tumblers tumbler if your looking
Rickster66
Regular
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
I've only ever dry tumbled and haven't seen any real reason to go wet. I have lots of friends who like the squeaky clean results from wet but I've been happy with the shiny brass I get from dry tumbling with treated walnut media. The priming flash hole gets cleaned when I de-prime as the pin pushes any crud out the bottom. I just don't have the time to do the wet tumble. It adds too much time for no noticeable, for me, performance improvement.
I switched from dry tumbling to a straight ultrasonic cleaner back before the SS pin wet tumbling was introduced. Or at least before it was so widely known.
I found that the cases were cleaner inside and out with the US cleaner than dry tumbling. And of course there was zero issue with media stuck in the cases. It works so well for my needs that I'm not at all interested in moving up or across to SS pin wet tumbling. There simply won't be enough of an improvement to justify it.
I don't de-cap my handgun cases since I use a progressive. So the insides will often still have a slight stain here and there. But they are easily clean enough for handgun shooting. For rifle I do decap before cleaning and that lets the cleaning action from the US energy get into the primer pockets and through the flash holes well enough that the brass comes out looking brand new. Can't ask for better than that.
For cleaning brass the magic trick is the cleaning solution. 1:4 of cheap white vinegar:water plus a little dash of liquid laundry or dish detergent.
I found that the cases were cleaner inside and out with the US cleaner than dry tumbling. And of course there was zero issue with media stuck in the cases. It works so well for my needs that I'm not at all interested in moving up or across to SS pin wet tumbling. There simply won't be enough of an improvement to justify it.
I don't de-cap my handgun cases since I use a progressive. So the insides will often still have a slight stain here and there. But they are easily clean enough for handgun shooting. For rifle I do decap before cleaning and that lets the cleaning action from the US energy get into the primer pockets and through the flash holes well enough that the brass comes out looking brand new. Can't ask for better than that.
For cleaning brass the magic trick is the cleaning solution. 1:4 of cheap white vinegar:water plus a little dash of liquid laundry or dish detergent.
