Best for the $ liquid/SS pins case cleaner system?

[pertnear]

I got my FART on sale on Amazon last year for 99.00 shipped plus tax. It was a black Friday sale. Hold on bf is almost here.

The FART is rightly held in high regard

Don't frustrate yourself thinking about it. Wait for a sale & get a FART. It works great & it designed for the task.

[Bama]

I just got the Lyman model, since I saw it's on Amazon for $139.39. Wow, turned my well loved .45acp brass into looking brand new including the primer pockets, clean primer pockets being my reason for wanting this. Some of them were pretty well gunked up. At this point, I don't think I'm going to completely stop dry tumbling my brass every week, but I might take it all and reset primer pockets to spanky new every so often. I know I could use one of the case prep tools to clean them, but this way fed my gadget curiosity.

If you have to reload fairly quick after wet tumbling with ss pins, use plain corn cob media in vibratory to make sure cases are dry. Also if you are looking for replacement drums for rotary tumblers, look in some of the lapidary supply cat. They have been doing wet tumbling for a long time and are usually very heavy duty. sometimes it pays to check out if there is a local rock club in your area. I picked up two of mine that way at VERY good prices!

[StuBach]

I’ve done fine with the harbor freight double drum one. With coupons and a sale I got it for less than $30 so for the price it can’t be beat. Some day maybe I’ll buy one of the big custom rigs but for now this one does all I need and I only run for 10-30 minutes but I also use SS chips rather than pins (plus lemishine, dawn, and a spritz of armorall)

[JimB..]

Had a FART, got a large STM, sold the FART, regretted not having the FART for smaller batches, bought another FART.

I very much prefer the STM, it is larger, slower, heavier, and much much quieter. Alas it is also much more expensive and not the right tool for small batches.

[Hogan]

Anyone else wash theirs twice? I wet tumble for 30 or 40 minutes with dawn, no pins, dump dirty water, run it again. Then rinse.
Process brass, I use lube, then final tumble with pins to clean the pockets.
Rinse, i use a strainer then a magnetic separator. Final rinse in a bucket, dump in car wash, rinse again. My ocd kills me.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

I have the HF two drum tumbler and the FA tumbler. Before I got the FA I would be happy using the HF after a good range day. It might take me 4-5 cycles to process all the brass but it was fine. I would rinse and then air dry on a towel overnight. After I picked up the FA I also bought a food dehydrator. I can now clean enough brass to fill all of the dehydrator trays, making things much more efficient. Unless I shoot less than 300 rounds I don't even use the HF anymore.

Like dkonrai, I tend to clean my brass twice. I wash (with pins), prep all the brass, and then rewash just to get the case lube off. I know it's more than needed but I enjoy it. Every round I fire reminds me of my attention to detail (insert OCD and shrink jokes as needed) and makes me smile. If I just wanted to blast rounds I'd simply go buy the store ammo. This is a hobby that I enjoy spending the extra time with.

Rick

[Stephen Cohen]

I saw a cement mixer on u tube being used as a tumbler by fitting a plastic drum inside for wet media and pins, seems an idea I will have to try as my mixer sits idle year after year. Regards Stephen

[Big Boomer]

Can't thank you all enough for the responses. I looked over the FA offerings and believe that is the way I should go. Will also need the magnet and the device to get the SS pins separated from the cases. Thanks. Big Boomer

[WheelgunConvert]

I like clean brass, inside and out. Wet FA with SS pins works well for me. I deprive prior to tumbling and the pockets are cleaner as well. Probably a bit more time, but I like the no residual crud.

The only downside is that you have to pay attention to what you tumble together. Everything wants to get stuck in a 45.

[waco]

I have both Lortone and Thumblers. Great products. I'm sure others work well too.

[NyFirefighter357]

I have a F.A.R.T, a HF double & a DIY wiper tumbler, they all work well. The DIY only cost me about $20 to build. I have found the trick to cleaning very dirty brass is to run it for 20-30 min. then drain off as much water as possible & add new solution. The Lemi-shine 1/4tsp is just to soften your water, the soap is to put the dirt "in solution". It only takes 2-3 drops of concentrated Dawn in a F.A.R.T. to clean a tub of brass. With the F.A.R.T. after I'm done tumbling I put the screen on one side & dump the excess water out into the sink and remaining water & pins out into a 2.5gal bucket. I shake the tumbler into the bucket to get as much of the pins as I can out. I then fill the tumbler with clean (sometimes hot) water to rinse and run the tumbler for a minute or two. I then dump the excess water into the sink and remaining water into the bucket and shake to get as much water and any loose pins out. I then add a strong magnet & chamois strips & tumble for a few minutes. The magnet gets most of the remaining pins & the chamois dries the brass about 99%. I then dump the brass on a towel and spread out to air dry or placed under ceiling fan. I never get spots with this method. BTW don't let your brass sit long after it stops tumbling it will get dirty as the grime settles out of solution, best to leave it running then let it sit.

[John Boy]

https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-d...ler-67632.html
Only: $54.99

[Drew P]

The most economical is to buy a bills tumbler on eBay (thumbler clone) and don’t use any pins at all. The pins are expensive, but I found that they don’t really help my cleaning process, I don’t care about primer pockets or inside cases. I only clean so the brass looks clean and won’t hurt my dies etc.

[Omega]

The most economical is to buy a bills tumbler on eBay (thumbler clone) and don’t use any pins at all. The pins are expensive, but I found that they don’t really help my cleaning process, I don’t care about primer pockets or inside cases. I only clean so the brass looks clean and won’t hurt my dies etc.

They get clean with just lemishine and dish soap, but if the insides don't get cleaned enough, you will still have build up on your dies when you size, maybe just a little at a time but it builds up. The FART kit comes with pins, which is a good value since the pins go for around $40ish.

[jmort]

I have pins and chips. Like the chips better, but agree with Omega, you want clean brass, use some sort of media.

[gwpercle]

My old Thumbler's Tumbler , the red , rubber lined drum, model B has been in service since 1973 with only a few belts replaced. 45 years service cleaning cases and polishing rocks...can't complain .
Gary

[Walter Laich]

I have pins and chips. Like the chips better, but agree with Omega, you want clean brass, use some sort of media.

+1 on chips. They seem to work in half the time compaired to pins

[wendyj]

I went with the Franklin tumbler last year. Don't like cleaning primer pockets. Bought a gallon of wash and wax from Walmart. One cap full and a tad of Lemishine. Never any spots and brass is spotless. Like wheelgun convert stated make sure all neck sizes are the same or you will be pulling ss pins and stuck cases out and recleaning.

[trixter]

A friend gave me a (very old) dual tumbler. The barrels are the same as the Thumlers full size. It is ugly but works perfectly. I have not used pins or chips, just Dawn and Lemi-shine. I like the results.

[500Linebaughbuck]

i've bought a HF and i love it.

[John Boy]

The best burnishing solution there is ... Strat-O-Sheen Powder Burnishing Compound, 5-lbs.
https://www.riogrande.com/Product/st...-5-lbs/3390175

It's concentrated powder: mix 3 oz powder to 1 gallon of water ( I use distilled water - pH 7)
That yields 26.7 gallons of burnishing solution