Anyone tried Frankfort Arsenals new platinum rotary tumbler

[glockky]

I have considered getting into wet tumbling with SS pins. The Frankfort Arsenal platinum series tumbler seems like a really good deal, if it will hold up to long term used. Even comes with 5lbs of SS pins. Anyone tried one yet?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/713881/frankford-arsenal-platinum-series-rotary-case-tumbler

[tomme boy]

If it is anything like their regular brass tumblers, no thanks.

[glockky]

Really I have one of there regular tumblers and it works great. I have had it for a few years and have tumbled a lot of brass.

[Bzcraig]

Really I have one of there regular tumblers and it works great. I have had it for a few years and have tumbled a lot of brass.


Yeah, this has been my experience as well.

[Walter Laich]

Seems SS pins are becoming one of the main ways to clean brass now. A bit more work but I do like the results.
Other folks see it as a bit much
to each his own--that's why we have Fords and Chevys

[jcwit]

Being as its a Frankfort Arsenal product its more than likely another quality product from china.

[tomme boy]

Ha ha exactly! Mine lasted a year. Wires kept breaking off till there was nothing left to wire to.

[xacex]

I had to fix my standard tumbler the first year, and it died after the third. I dont know if I would trust it after my experience. Honestly, for the price they want for it, and the materials it is made from you can do much better on your own, or just use a double drum HF tumbler and save your money. That little HF rock tumbler has cleaned more brass in a year than the FA standard did in three.

[detox]

I use an older RCBS Sidewinder. The cap is a slip fit that is easy to take off and does not leak. I have two barrels, one for stainless pins and the other filled with dry media to dry and polish cases.

[bobthenailer]

I have often looked at the RCBS tumbler but i got sticker shock !
There was a used one at a LGS for $175.00 and i thought that was high.
A lortone rock/brass tumbler is IMO a better product at about $200.00 new and will last a lifetime. i have a QT-6 and a QT-12 , the QT12 i bought at the same LGS few years ago in excellent condtion for $25.00 and the QT-6 i bought in the 1970s.

[glockky]

Well I got scared of the frankfort arsenal platinum tumbler and ordered the STM deluxe kit

[kayak1]

I keep on looking at ordering one of these:
http://www.biggdawgtumblers.net/

But if I do it will reduce my need to purchase the tig welder that I keep on looking at. If I get the welder I could make one my self (I would still order the drum).

[Reddirt204]

Kayak,
You know you want the tig... I made a tumbler drive out of an old treadmill and then fabbed up a barrel out of stainless steel sheet so needed the Tig welder :-) the barrel holds 20ltr of water (4 gal??) so about 1500 9mm get cleaned every time :)

Plus you would never wear out the Tig

Cheers
Reddirt204

Oops forgot to clarify, the drum is hexagonal with poly rings fitted each end, I found a round S/S barrel didn't stir up the mix enough

[Pepe Ray]

For the O.P.
I don't have mine yet. Ordered from Optics Planet. they were OOS. Claims the mftr. can't keep up.
Expect mine to be shipped 4/28.
Wish me luck.
Pepe Ray

[Bayou52]

For the O.P.
I don't have mine yet. Ordered from Optics Planet. they were OOS. Claims the mftr. can't keep up.
Expect mine to be shipped 4/28.
Wish me luck.
Pepe Ray

How about a report after you set up and tumble?

[Pepe Ray]

By using Google and all the other WEB stuff you can see for your self the performance of the St.Steel pin cleaning system.
The tuff question is "how durable is it?"
We'll see in time.
Pepe Ray

[LUBEDUDE]

I have the Frankford System and it does a good job. What sold me was the "system" all pretty much inclusive.

It does a good job, and is quiet since the inside if the barrel is rubber coated. Another selling feature for me was the built in timer.

The end caps are clear, so you have a visual on the ongoing process which is a plus!

The caps screw on and off super easy with huge coarse threads. It's like unscrewing a big jar of Mayo. Quick and easy! Not a bunch of wing nuts to jack with.

The noise level is about that of an older dishwasher, Not the new silent ones.

Of course being wet tumbled it is more labor intensive compared to dry tumbling.

If close to perfect clean primer pockets and extra shiny brass is your goal, I would recommend this system!

[LUBEDUDE]

The tuff question is "how durable is it?"
We'll see in time.
Pepe Ray

How durable?

I don't know. I have 3 Thumblers units. All three needed Redneck engineering to operate correctly right out of the chute. And the these are very limited on their load!

With the FA System you get SS pins ($46value) and a timer for a little bit more money than a Thumblers, plus the FA, carries a much heavier load as well as turns faster. And you don't have to re-engineer it. That's a better value in my book- assuming it holds up! :mrgreen:

[xray30]

I got mine from Grafs right when it came out. 1st thing you will notice is that it has a 30# weight limit. 15# of water and 5# of pins which leaves at the very most 10# of brass which is still quite a bit. Those of you who already SS tumble know that 5# of pins is not nearly enough to be totally effective with 10# of brass. To get the primer pockets totally clean, you will need to tumble at least 4 hours.

Back to the tumbler......

It worked well on the 1st batch of 5# of 223 brass tumbled for 3 hours. Still a little ring in the primer pocket, but not a huge deal. You can still faintly see the annealing marks, but another hour tumbling would take care of that. 2nd batch about 1hr in the drum stopped spinning and made a real loud "gear slipping screeching sound" and the drum stopped spinning. I contacted FA and they sent me a brand new setup. Hopefully this one lasts longer.

[LUBEDUDE]

I've done two batches of 45 Colt filled to the waterline. With water and pins, weighed less than 25 pounds.
The one bag of 5 pound of pins worked fine on the pockets as well as only 3 hrs. But then we're talking Large primer pockets on this side of the coin.

[mdi]

Does anybody know where the Frankfort rotary tumbler is made and by whom?

[Nueces]

Does anybody know where the Frankfort rotary tumbler is made and by whom?

The box mine came in says "Made in China."

[ultramag]

I've got one. It hasn't been used a bunch so far as most all of my brass is either loaded or at least prepped and ready to load this time of year. I have run it a couple cycles though, including an initial cleaning of the pins, and no complaints so far. FWIW, it does appear to be a sturdy well built unit. Only time in service will truly tell. The Thumler and Harbor Freight tumblers just didn't have the capacity to get me off the fence....this one did. While I may have to let it run an extra hour or two with just the 5 lbs. of SS media, batches of 1000 .45 ACP are well within it's limits and that was my mark. One of my first loads was 500 .38 Special cases. I ran them 3 hours and they came out perfect.

[MDphotographer]

I have had the FA rotary tumbler for about a month it has worked perfectly and the job it does cleaning brass is amazing.My first batch was 750 .40 S&W cases handled it no problem I would recommend this product to anyone.Only time will tell how it holds up.I did a youtube video on it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbE4cJ0qy9c

[LUBEDUDE]

Very good video MDphoto...., the only thing I disagree with is pouring contaminated water in one's sink. That is adding lead to your city's drinking water! Kind of like urinating in your soup pot. Yes they have excellent filtration systems, but only so far. Why add heavy metals to the mix? And keep in mind that you are Not the Only Reloader in your area.

Dirt is an excellent filter, I just pour it in a select spot in the back yard.

I'm not jumping your case, just food for thought for everyone.:)

[MDphotographer]

Very good video MDphoto...., the only thing I disagree with is pouring contaminated water in one's sink. That is adding lead to your city's drinking water! Kind of like urinating in your soup pot. Yes they have excellent filtration systems, but only so far. Why add heavy metals to the mix? And keep in mind that you are Not the Only Reloader in your area.

Dirt is an excellent filter, I just pour it in a select spot in the back yard.

I'm not jumping your case, just food for thought for everyone.:)

Where I live we have city water but guess what? The city water is drawn from wells! I would rather not put it back into the ground water much better to put it down the sink the amount of lead I am pouring down is much less then the amount of lead from the lead soldier pipes in the 30+ year old houses in the area.At least the waste water is being treated (yes they treat for lead too). BTW I was a plumber for 15 years before I blew my back out and my father was a plumber for 50 years

Glad you liked the video :)

[LUBEDUDE]

Where I live we have city water but guess what? The city water is drawn from wells! I would rather not put it back into the ground water much better to put it down the sink the amount of lead I am pouring down is much less then the amount of lead from the lead soldier pipes in the 30+ year old houses in the area.At least the waste water is being treated (yes they treat for lead too). BTW I was a plumber for 15 years before I blew my back out and my father was a plumber for 50 years

Glad you liked the video :)

I hear ya brother!

Looks like neither of us will convince the other though. That's alright with me. Not worth arguing over in my book.

I'd be proud to buy ya a Root Beer and Moon Pie and have a chat about guns and gear and such if you're ever in my neck of the woods.

Take care!

[Pepe Ray]

Well, I received an E-mail from Optics Planet. Apologizing for the delay. Manufacturer is dragging there feet.
Latest ETA Tue, 13th May. We'll see. Guess I chose the wrong distributor.
Pepe Ray

[stanford]

I just ordered one, if push comes to shove I will just replace the motor with a bigger one. I was going to build my own, but after looking at the prices of all the items I needed to complete the project the tumbler would have cost me about $500-$600 (I like my stuff to look professional). There is a place that I found on the web that sells commercial tumbling barrels, the one I had my eye on was $250. This tumbler and price was just cheaper for me and ready to run once I receive it.

[Bayou52]

Well, I received an E-mail from Optics Planet. Apologizing for the delay. Manufacturer is dragging there feet.
Latest ETA Tue, 13th May. We'll see. Guess I chose the wrong distributor.
Pepe Ray

Reports I've read tend to be pretty positive on the FART (Franklin Arsenal Rotary Tumbler). I assume yours has arrived by now. How do you like it?

Bayou52

[EddieNFL]

I bought one a few weeks ago and finally opened the box yesterday. The 5 lbs bag of media doesn't appear enough to do an adequate job, judging by the size of the drum. Has anyone added more media? Thanks.