Is a tumbler a necessary tool for reloading?

RemingtonMarlin

RemingtonMarlin

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Hi, I am a newbie in handloading. I looked up the Lee Modern Reloading book. Mr. Lee did not mentione anything about tumbler.

Do I need a tumbler for reloading?

Thanks a lot.
 
Techniclaly, no. You can clean off cases by wasing them, wiing them etc.

But for a $60 investment, you willl save yourself hours of wasted time cleaning. I cleaned my first batch of handloads by hand, then went out and bought atumbler, because I value my time.
 
Thanks a lot. I just worried about the noise of it cause I live in apartment building. I want to buy a Lyman pro1200. I thought it only would take a few minutes to clean the cases.

By the way, if I don't clean the case at all as Lee precision claimed that their 4 die set do not require the cleaning?
 
Three of four dies I would still use a tumbler & NO they are not noisy. I toss in my spent brass, after a day of shooting---same caliber only & not mixed, run it for 1.5 hrs & it is clean & looking like new. Easier to handle & study as you reload.
 
I cleaned my first rounds by hand as well (steel wool in a trim base). It sucked :( . Took a looong time. Got the tumbler and haven't looked back. The only time its loud is if I turn it on with just the brass in it, no media :redface: . Add the media and its just a hum in the background.
Lee may claim that you don't need to clean cases before hand, but dirt and other crud will build up over time, possibly damaging dies or causing cases to stick. An ounce of prevention....?

(E) :cool:
 
Cost me $350 in total.

Ordered from EBAY:p .

For die set, scale, puller, pro1200 tumbler, and lee classic turret press.
Still need pro disk power measure, riser, trimmer etc:eek: .


Thanks for all the inputs.
 
The Lyman 1200 was my first tumbler, and it's still running after 20 years. I just got a Lyman 2500 for the larger capacity and am pleased with it.

Now I'm using 2 tumblers.

Is it necessary? No.

Do you want to protect your dies and brass as much as possible? Then the answer is yes.
 
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Or the cheapo method of soaking in hot water w/dishwashing detergent and a bit of concentrated lemon juice. Rinse with hot water and leave to dry :)
 
RemingtonMarlin said:
Mr. Lee did not mentione anything about tumbler.
[...]
Do I need a tumbler for reloading?
Click to expand...

Lee did not mention tumblers because Lee Precision does not make them.

Are you loading hundreds of pistol rounds? Yes, get a tumbler.

Are you loading tens of rifle rounds? No, you don't need one.
 
It depends

If your shooting pistol and you have carbide dies the dirt can not scratch the die. So no you do not need a tumbler.

If you really feel the need to clean your brass you can put them in a clothes washer zipped up in a ladies underwear bag. So no you do not need a tumbler. (Make sure they are dry before loading)

If you are shooting at the range and you are carelful about where your brass is ejected you do not need a tumbler.

Clean brass has zero effect on the accuracy of the ammunition.

Now If you like bright shiney casing then you definitely need a tumbler.
 
Managed for about 30 years without one, but, like others, wasted a lot of
time farting around cleaning brass by various methods by hand, including
using steel wool with a drill-powered ( and later Foredom powered) 3-jaw case holder collet.

Now that I have one ( I bought the RCBS Vibratory Tumbler) I can't imagine why on earth I didn't do so a lot sooner !

Just gotta have nice, clean, shiney brass ! About an hour & a half with the green corn-cob media, followed by 5 or 10 minutes with untreated "lizard litter" and your good to go. Fair warning though, make sure you do a
one by one inspection of the primer/flash hole ... polishing media gets stuck in there, particularly in the small rifle primer style cases. Just poke it out with a straighted-out paper clip !
 
I think tumblers are one of the items that you don't need initially, but will probably want to be one of the things you add to your reloading gear eventually.
 
All tumblers do is make shiny brass. Shiny on the outside that is, they do rather little on the inside, where the carbon build-up is of more concern. I tunble 'cause I linke shiny brass and it's easier on dies. But even though I tumble, I still toss them in an ultrasonic of hot water with a few cups of vinegar and some BC brass cleaner. Once they come out, they're much shinier than new, and the pockets and insides are also nice and clean. If they weren't so much shinier, you might mistake them for new brass
 
beretta boy said:
Managed for about 30 years without one, but, like others, wasted a lot of
time farting around cleaning brass by various methods by hand, including
using steel wool with a drill-powered ( and later Foredom powered) 3-jaw case holder collet.

Now that I have one ( I bought the RCBS Vibratory Tumbler) I can't imagine why on earth I didn't do so a lot sooner !

Just gotta have nice, clean, shiney brass ! About an hour & a half with the green corn-cob media, followed by 5 or 10 minutes with untreated "lizard litter" and your good to go. Fair warning though, make sure you do a
one by one inspection of the primer/flash hole ... polishing media gets stuck in there, particularly in the small rifle primer style cases. Just poke it out with a straighted-out paper clip !
Click to expand...
X2, except that I recently picked up an RCBS Sidewinder and at present will be using walnut shell medium.
 
gushulak said:
No it isn't, unless you want to spend countless hours cleaning brass by hand using countless internet recipes......

Get a tumbler and save your time and energy.
Click to expand...

Sure it is. Depends whether you want just plain ole 'clean' or 'clean and shiny'

For plain jane 'clean,' all you need is an old ice cream pail, hot water and soap (the birchwood casey brass cleaner works good.) Brass will come out clean of dust and debris, and the soap will also remove a good portion of the carbon as well. The brass won't look any better coming out than it did goin in, but it WILL be plenty clean enough for sizing and loading, etc.

Clean and shiny - a tumbler is the easiest and most effictive way, hands down.
 
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