Wet tumbling brass

[Vann Kirkland]

For you guys wet tumbling your brass what tumbler are you using? Do you like it or wish you had another one? Tumblers to stay away from?


Corey

I use the Thumblers Tumbler, and absolutely love it. I purchased it at Midway.com. I use the stainless steel media with 1 tablespoon of Dawn, 1 teaspoon of Lemishine with distilled water. The brass comes out looking brand new, inside and out, including the primer pocket.

 

[Russell Sonner]

Rock Tumbler from Harbor Freight with stainless steel pins. Run it for a few hrs with a little Dawn and brass looks good as new.

 

[Joseph crow]

I use the Thumblers Tumbler, and absolutely love it. I purchased it at Midway.com. I use the stainless steel media with 1 tablespoon of Dawn, 1 teaspoon do Lemishine mixed in distilled water. The brass comes out looking brand new, inside and out, including the primer pockets.

When you all wet tumble do you find the brass tarnishes quickly since the brass is stripped clean?

 

[MadCowRacer]

I have the Lyman, it's great but it leaks from time to time. I think it has to do with pressure building when washing (lemishine and armorall wash and shine), since I don't get leaks when just rinsing or doing a quick grime wash with water.

I would stay away from the harbor freight tumbler. That was my first step and I will say that even if you get it for $40 that money would be better spent towards a Franklin or Lyman. This kits come with pins and the stuff you need to strain and separate as well. My harbor freight had tracking issues and the motor burned out in under a year. I wanted to see if I liked wet tumbling first.
That being said, I can guarantee you will like wet tumbling better and just put that money towards whichever one you choose

 

[Vann Kirkland]

Sorry, I tried to delete this one because I double posted, but don't know how....

 

[Russell Sonner]

When you all wet tumble do you find the brass tarnishes quickly since the brass is stripped clean?

No, mine stays like new.

 

[dfrahm]

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler

The Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler delivers a new level of brass cleaning performance. The small stainless pins easily penetrate...

ads.midwayusa.com

This is the one I use and I like it. I use the stainless pins and also picked up one of the magnets that has a release. Really helps with the cleanup.

 

[Vann Kirkland]

When you all wet tumble do you find the brass tarnishes quickly since the brass is stripped clean?

No, it doesn't tarnish any quicker.

 

[Russell Sonner]

I have the Lyman, it's great but it leaks from time to time. I think it has to do with pressure building when washing (lemishine and armorall wash and shine), since I don't get leaks when just rinsing or doing a quick grime wash with water.

I would stay away from the harbor freight tumbler. That was my first step and I will say that even if you get it for $40 that money would be better spent towards a Franklin or Lyman. This kits come with pins and the stuff you need to strain and separate as well. My harbor freight had tracking issues and the motor burned out in under a year. I wanted to see if I liked wet tumbling first.
That being said, I can guarantee you will like wet tumbling better and just put that money towards whichever one you choose

Been using mine for over 2 years and it is still working fine.

 

[dfrahm]

I also have the large Franklin Arsenal with the stainless pins. Bot it at Scheel's. It is awesome. Recommendations - GET THE MAGNET, as the pins will be hard to see and you'll . . .. just get the magnet! Also get a 'sifter' and find a bucket. After tumbling, dump as much water out as possible, rinse several times, then with as little water as possible pour the contents of the tumbler into the sifter which is over the bucket. You have to mess with it a bunch but the pins fall into the bucket. Warning - pins can get stuck almost anywhere and you have to make SURE they are all out of all pieces of brass before reloading! Final warning - do not use too much Lemi Shine. I'm sure there are chemical properties of the water we use, but I had brass that turned color one time. Thought I had ruined it, but just the outer molecule or so turned from 'brass' that shines up to the new color. I now use a small pinch, like an 8th of a teaspoon maybe.

 

[Robert M Boren Sr]

I bought the bigger of the two Frankford Arsenal tumblers. That thing is a champ. I've tumbled 2 loads a day almost every day for almost 4 months and it does a great job. Unless you load small batches I would spend up for a bigger tumbler. Even the larger Frankford Arsenal only can do about 450 pieces of 223

I have the frankford arsenal wet tumbler also, I can do 1000 or so 223 in it, I don't load by the peace, I go by weight, so I don't exceed what it recommends, wished I'd known about this years ago, I'll never go back to dry tumbling again.

 

[Stilts75]

Attached are pictures of the tumbler I built. Probably $200-$250 in parts. 1/3 hp motor. I use this in conjunction with the Dillon media separator.

 

[Flare]

Attached are pictures of the tumbler I built. Probably $200-$250 in parts. 1/3 hp motor. I use this in conjunction with the Dillon media separator.

Wow that's impressive Nice work there

Corey

 

[Stilts75]

Wow that's impressive Nice work there

Corey

Thanks Corey,
Lots of trial and error with hardware selection but once I figured out how I wanted it, it became a fun little project.
Jim