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Thread: Frankford tumbler review.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Frankford tumbler review.

    I purchase the larger model a while ago, and finally tried it with the pins. Excellent.
    Tried dish soap... good. Tried TURTLE WAX MAX POWER CAR WASH, even better. Tumbled for 1.5 hrs and rinsed.....spotless. Final quick tumble using Ultra Shine Car Wash and Car Wax by Armor All to help prevent tarnish. Dry with towel, and set in sun to dry case interiors. Looks like new.
    Cleans quicker than dry media, and no dust.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bird View Post
    I purchase the larger model a while ago, and finally tried it with the pins. Excellent.
    Tried dish soap... good. Tried TURTLE WAX MAX POWER CAR WASH, even better. Tumbled for 1.5 hrs and rinsed.....spotless. Final quick tumble using Ultra Shine Car Wash and Car Wax by Armor All to help prevent tarnish. Dry with towel, and set in sun to dry case interiors. Looks like new.
    Cleans quicker than dry media, and no dust.
    Congrats on your apparent success! Questions: Did you use anything (e.g., Lem-n-shine) in addition to your waxes (and, I assume water)? And, what "formula" (e.g., say, one cap-full, or teaspoon, or ??? added to the water? Lastly, to what level did your solution attain? My best results have been, with brass in my tumbler, to add water+soap+lem'n shine+wax to a level just about the thickness of one of the cases I'm tumbling above them.
    Just curious... I'm always open for a hopeful improvement on what I've been doing.
    geo

  3. #3
    Boolit Master


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    I bought one of large Franklin tumblers a few months back. I used lemi-shine on some of the worse brass cartridge cases I've ever seen. After cleaning, it was very obvious a lot of the brass was way past unusable with really bad corrosion. I didn't use anything but Lemi-Shine and water. Worked great.
    Last edited by littlejack; 09-13-2023 at 02:36 PM.
    If a 41 won't stop it, I wouldn't bet my life on a 44.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    georgerkahn,
    No lemi-shine. The TURTLE WAX MAX POWER CAR WASH is slightly acidic, possibly a similar ph to the lemishine. I have not tried lemi-shine, so I dont know for sure. I used about 1oz per gallon.
    The armorall wash and wax about 2oz per gallon, and have reused it a couple of times so far.
    I wish I had bought this tumbler years ago, as its so much quicker and cleans better than the dry methods.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy Tall's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bird View Post
    Cleans quicker than dry media, and no dust.
    I bought the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler maybe 2 months ago. I used the solution that came with the unit and NO stainless pins. My brass came out looking very clean after 2 hours. I let it dry overnight and then put it in the Lyman vibratory cleaner with a squirt of Simichrome. It's very shiny after an hour.

    I ordered 2 32 OZ bottles of the FART juice on Amazon.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy Iron369's Avatar
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    I’ve had mine for years. It’s been fine. I recently bought a vibratory shaker as part of a large lot of reloading equipment and I think it cleans the brass better. My brass was always clean but never very shiny with the wet tumbler.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master slim1836's Avatar
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    I run my brass through with Dawn and water for about an hour to get rid of most of the dirt, drain and then use Lemi-Shine with Dawn for 1-2 hours. Then off to the dryer. Clean enough for me every time.

    Slim
    JUST GOTTA LOVE THIS JOINT.

  8. #8
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    I use the dawn and water solution with pins for an hour then use Maguires wash and wax with a 380 case full of lemi-shine, for 2-3 and it looks new when it comes out. I fill mine to the point where the top starts to angle back to the threads.

  9. #9
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    Dishwasher Powder 1/4 teaspoon, dishwash liquid a good squirt and a half teaspoon of citric acid and no pins for all but the dirtiest brass, 45 mins and its sparkling the dishwasher powder is the gamechanger

    Cheers

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    One of the few Midway-branded products I would buy. They're inexpensive, work well, and will last fifteen or twenty years, maybe longer, then thow it away and buy another.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bird View Post
    georgerkahn,
    No lemi-shine. The TURTLE WAX MAX POWER CAR WASH is slightly acidic, possibly a similar ph to the lemishine. I have not tried lemi-shine, so I dont know for sure. I used about 1oz per gallon.
    The armorall wash and wax about 2oz per gallon, and have reused it a couple of times so far.
    I wish I had bought this tumbler years ago, as its so much quicker and cleans better than the dry methods.
    Thanks for reply/info! "Me too"!!!! after I first got mine, albeit mine is the Thumler's Tumbler variety for ss pins/liquid.
    geo

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Wash the dirt off with dawn and water then use NuFinish and acetone with walnut in the tumbler overnight. Is it better, i have no idea but i tried it after reading on here and the brass is clean enough for me
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check