What's a good case vibrator/cleaner?

[jeff43]

What's a good one for the money?Mine quit on me today,it was a Frankford Arsenal.Ive had it since about 2008, I had to splice wires back together several times that came off or wore into.I can't complain about it , it's been a good one.

[wileecoyote]

Search harborfreight.com and you will find several models with good reviews. They always have 25% off coupons in the weekly mailbox ads and numerous magazines, so they are very cheap with high value to cost ratio. I've heard from many reloaders which like their units best for the value.

[Tempest455]

Trust me, go with wet stainless tumbling. You will never go back to dry tumbling.

[wileecoyote]

[quote name="Tempest455" post="1096726" timestamp="1389992003"]Trust me, go with wet stainless tumbling. You will never go back to dry tumbling.[/quote] I've never tried it but read that this method does produce "shinier" results if glamour is your thing, but that it adds more wear and tear on the brass, so shorter overall brass life this way. How many times have you done this to the same cases before signs of thin walls such as case splitting or head separation? Any other unique issues or costs?

[Tempest455]

I've probably cleaned close to 1,000 rounds this way. Not sure about the wear and tear. Many of the F class guys I shoot with use this method as well. It cleans the inside and primer pocket and saves a lot of time. I'm cleaning Lapua brass that cost $1.00 case and I have not had any issues w/ wear.

 

Here is a great video some guy did that shows you how to get into this on a budget.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKTdx7VRsd8

 

I've never tried it but read that this method does produce "shinier" results if glamour is your thing, but that it adds more wear and tear on the brass, so shorter overall brass life this way. How many times have you done this to the same cases before signs of thin walls such as case splitting or head separation? Any other unique issues or costs?

Edited January 17, 2014 by Tempest455

[Guest SavageOne]

What's a good one for the money?Mine quit on me today,it was a Frankford Arsenal.Ive had it since about 2008, I had to splice wires back together several times that came off or wore into.I can't complain about it , it's been a good one.

Five years? Terrible service out of a tumbler. I have two Llymans that have been going since the late 80s. I also have a Frankford Arsenal that I bought in 2004. I've had to reattach the wires to the motor as well. Must be a common problem. Don't know anything about the Harbor Freight tumblers, likely as good as the Franford Arsenal.

[wileecoyote]

Thanks. I am familiar with the method but have avoided it because it is more expensive for the media and stainless steel is much harder than brass so it seemed likely to wear the brass over time, which is what others have reported. I have tried a few methods including ultrasonic, corn cob, walnut, and various media additives but my favorite method is walnut shell media followed by water rinse and air dry. Cheap, easy, and very effective without brass wear. If you want it shinier just let it run longer. I've never had an issue with primer pockets remaining dirty if tumbled properly.

[Tempest455]

Not sure where you are hearing about this wear issue?

 

You might want to spend some time over on "Accurate Shooter" and read up some on wet stainless tumbling. I can guarantee you, there is not a bunch of more finicky hand loaders than you will find on those forums. Many are national F class and benchrest competitors using the wet tumbling method. I've never seen any reported issues of excessive wear. Nor have I seen any issues myself.

 

Food for thought.

[wileecoyote]

[quote name="Tempest455" post="1096756" timestamp="1389994628"]Not sure where you are hearing about this wear issue? You might want to spend some time over on "Accurate Shooter" and read up some on wet stainless tumbling. [size=4]I can guarantee you, there is not a bunch of more finicky hand loaders than you will find on those forums. Many are national F class and benchrest competitors using the wet tumbling method. I've never seen any reported issues of excessive wear. Nor have I seen any issues myself.[/size] [size=4]Food for thought.[/size][/quote] Thanks, I'll check in to it. What did it cost you for the equipment and media to clean 500 pistol cases at a time? Just ballpark comparison, but I'd expect it to cost at least 5-10 times more than walnut shells or similar media, and the main benefit would be shinier brass.

[Trekbike]

If you stay with regular dry media route, I've had good luck out of my Lyman Pro 1200.  

[wileecoyote]

[quote name="Tempest455" post="1096756" timestamp="1389994628"]Not sure where you are hearing about this wear issue?[/quote] I initially heard about the extended brass wear from several veteran reloaders, one of whom had a professional reloading business for more than 30 years. Then I read a few reports on the web and one old magazine article which confirmed it. I did a quick search and came up with a more recent report here, there are likely others: http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f93/brass-cleaning-using-stainless-tumbling-media-system-review-68500/ "... After doing this for several months I began to notice some things that caused me some concern...split necks. I began to experience some cracks in necks of 30-06 and 45-70 brass. So I tried annealing the necks to stop this problem. It helped, but didn't end the cracks. I think that the stainless media tends to work stress the brass and perhaps thin it a bit. I would only use it for an hour or two now, and only if the brass were really cruddy. I think that it does shorten case life..." Not saying it's a bad method, probably good for some folks depending on their volume and brass type/age. But the high startup costs, more time/steps to execute, and probable extended wear on brass which is recycled numerous times rules it out for me. Plus the main thing is that walnut shells work pretty well, and the bit of extra shine isn't going to make a difference for most shooters, so steel is probably best for long-distance bench rest competitors (assuming they are good enough to see the difference on paper based on media type, which I doubt) but there is no doubt the cleaner brass makes them feel better.

[Grunt67]

Trust me, go with wet stainless tumbling. You will never go back to dry tumbling.

 

 Totally agree. I went from a Frankford tumbler to a Thumblers Tumbler, stainless. Like

 night & day. Wear is NOT an issue. More expensive initially, but worth it, to me at

 least. The media doesn't wear out & have to be replaced like dry media.

 Like you said, I'll never go back to dry.
 

[frankmako]

back in 86 i got a thumber's tumber uv-18.  i ran it into the ground. during the 80's and most of the 90's it got used several times a week.  i would fill it up, turn it on and walk away to the next day.  but in 03 the motor went out. i never oil it.  did not know it had a place that you dropped a drop of oil into it.  so i called them and they send me a new motor free of charge.  hard to beat a company that stands behind their product.  hard to beat a product that you can run into the ground for that many years without any care.  

[markshere2]

Rotary rock tumblers are designed for quiet long life.

 

Vibratory tumblers seem designed to beat themselves to death.

 

I blew through two RCBS vibrators with lifespan of about a year each. RCBS replaced them, but...when the third one died, I wearied of spending my money to ship back dead equipment for replacement.

 

I got store credit and used it for partial payment on a chronograph.

 

I switched to Harbor freight tumblers.

 

First one lasted about 3 years of hard use.

 

I bought another recently.  I also acquired a thumblers tumbler that is the bees knees.

[jeff43]

I've probably cleaned close to 1,000 rounds this way. Not sure about the wear and tear. Many of the F class guys I shoot with use this method as well. It cleans the inside and primer pocket and saves a lot of time. I'm cleaning Lapua brass that cost $1.00 case and I have not had any issues w/ wear.
 
Here is a great video some guy did that shows you how to get into this on a budget.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKTdx7VRsd8

I may just stay withe the regular dry method, but I do like this.

[runco]

Trust me, go with wet stainless tumbling. You will never go back to dry tumbling.

Absolutely Agree!!!!  I have the thumlers tumbler model B.  Just fantastic.

[Jason in TN]

Harbor freight quick easy and it works. I am not crazy about heavy cleaning on my brass. Any cleaning wears it more and I don't need my brass polished to a high shine.

[dlm37015]

I use a cement mixer one with a rubber drum works great

[seez52]

How long does it take to dry tumble a batch to shineyness

[jeff43]

[quote name="seez52" post="1097229" timestamp="1390067484"]How long does it take to dry tumble a batch to shineyness[/quote
About 3 hours

[Static_USMC]

I can clean about 5500 5.56 cases per hour, got it off craigslist for $80

Edited January 20, 2014 by Static_USMC