Is the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Wet Tumbler worth purchasing? (steel pins)

Wet tumbling with SS is the way to go imho. It's the only method that actually cleans the case. If you deprime first then you don't have to clean the primer pockets, you save time and effort. The pins don't get stuck in the flash holes. The first time you'll wash brass that was previously dry-tumbled you'll see how much grime and dirt comes out of there and you'll wonder why you've waited all this time before upgrading.

Separating the pins is super easy and quick for pistol rounds, a bit longer/more annoying for rifle rounds, but still much less annoying than removing walnut or corncub stuck into your cases. I bought a 5$ magnet at canadian tire and I use that.

The frankford arsenal and the lyman wet tumbler look OK, but personnaly I got a used Thumler's Model A Tumbler on ebay and SS pins on ebay (5lbs go for about 35$), and it ended up costing me about 130$ for a similar setup. Thumler's Model B are slightly larger, if you see one for a decent price, it's also a good alternative. Actually, I would have preferred a Model B to a model A.

You don't see many wet tumblers on the EE for a reason: people who own them keep them. There was a used Thumler model B going for 150$ earlier this week on the EE, it was sold within an hour I think.
 
I get Lemi shine at Canadian Tire and use Dawn concentrated dish soap (usually on sale at Walmart).

I still use my Quick Tumbler for a quick polish on brass that is already clean (removes the light oxidization from sitting after stainless tumble). Toss them in for an hour and they come out bright and shiny.
 
adrenaline681 said:
Okay i took the plunge :p What other products i need? Just that Lime Shine, water and dish soap? Can I get the Lime Shine it from any groceries store?

What should i do with my Quick-N-EZ tumbler? Sell it? Save it and use it in the future to powder coat bullets?
Click to expand...

I get my lemie shine (search for Lemi Shine Detergent Booster, 24-Ounce) from amazon.ca. 9.92$ for 24 ounces, which is enough for a lifetime. Use only a small dash of dawn and a pinch of lemie shine (about 1/2 a 9mm casing). The way it works:
-The SS pins do the actual cleaning;
-The dawn is used only to break water resistance so the SS pins don't "stick";
-The lemie shine polishes the brass and keeps hard water from leaving water residues.

The lemie shine is optionnal honestly, and it's almost 100% citric acid, so if you have that at home (it's a food additive used for cooking and canning), you can use it instead of lemie shine.
 
Just bought one at cabelas ..... and I wonder why I waited so long ..... nice and clean ..... which ever way you decide to clean them eventually you'll figure out what works for you
Just ask some of the great people on here for some advice .... take it and go from there
!!!!!!
 
I've read that after tumbling and rinsing its good to soak the brass in clean water with some lemishine for 10-20 min and then dry straight away. This is supposed to help maintain the shine after months or years. Anyone tried this?
 
I have got a Rebel 17 and I have been using it for 1.5 years now.
I will never use anything else, than water, detergent, lemishine and steel pins for cleaning brass. Best purchase.

The arsenal will be fine, I prefer the 17.
 
Avenida said:
I have got a Rebel 17 and I have been using it for 1.5 years now.
I will never use anything else, than water, detergent, lemishine and steel pins for cleaning brass. Best purchase.

The arsenal will be fine, I prefer the 17.
Click to expand...

I have the Rebel 17 as well as the Frankford Arsenal Platinum(yes, I have a problem;)). If you are going to do larger loads, the Frankford Arsenal Platinum is preferable, and honestly is a simpler design.

If you are cheap like me, buy bulk citric acid as opposed to Lemishine. Bulk citric acid is available at wine making stores. As a bonus, it works well to remove calcium buildup from dishwashers!
 
I've used my Frankford wet tumbler for a few years now and it's great, brass and primer pockets look like new. Lemishine and Dawn, outstanding results. I have the magnet and I use an old cookie sheet to oven dry at low temp. Whatever extra work involved is more than offset by not having to clean the primer pockets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom