Brass tumbler recommendations

[osteodoc08]

Long story short, I had bought a Dillon Tumbler off the S&S and it was reported delivered by USPS but I never received it. Fought with USPS for months and am now ready to buy another tumbler. Looking for a medium to large tumbler capable of tumbling several hundred (500-600) at a time with room to spare. Want it to be fairly quiet and not vibrate all over the place.

Suggestions?

[LUCKYDAWG13]

maybe this https://www.harborfreight.com/18-lb-vibratory-bowl-with-liquid-drain-hose-96923.html I use this one but to small for your needs http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting/reloading/case-cleaning%7C/pc/104792580/c/104761080/sc/104661180/hornady-case-tumblers/2484627.uts

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got 4. One big Dillon, one medium sized lyman and 2 Frankfort arsenals. Heres what ill say about them.

Dillon its big and holds LOTS of brass but agitation is a bit lame. It shines when you have a lot of brass and aren't in a hurry

Lyman holds less but agitation is MUCH better and cleans brass in 2/3s the time the others do. It shines when you need brass cleaned fast


Frankfort arsenals. Capacity about the same as the lyman with agitation about the same as the Dillon. But you can buy two of them for the price of the lyman and 4 of them for the price of a big Dillon


Bang for the buck goes to Frankfort arsenals. One I have ran about daily (well maybe every other day anyway) for 5 years. It quit working one day so I bought another. Had some time one day and decided to take a look at the broke one. All that was wrong is one of the spade connectors going to the motor had broke off. Put a new spade on it and its been running for about 2 more years since. Is it as good as the other two. probably not but for the price there a bargain.

[JBinMN]

If ya do buy one, you may want to get a separator also. I bought one from Harbor freight & then had to order a separator after wards & it cost me more than a deal like this one:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/414369/frankford-arsenal-quick-n-ez-case-tumbler-master-kit-with-quick-n-ez-rotary-media-separator-110-volt

The total cost of the HF tumbler(approx. $65), separator without bucket(approx. $26+shipping), polish(approx.$7) & media(approx.$25) was approx. over $125 when I was done, not forgetting to add in shipping. I wish the deal above was going on when I was shopping for one... I would have got one from them.

The FA Tumbler there is 50 bucks & the other stuff is worth the extra 35 bucks the way I see it. I think they might even have a #$10 off a $100 deal going on right now, but not sure. You would have to search around, find something to bring ya up $15 or so to make ya over the limit, but that shouldn't be hard shopping there. LOL
;)

I am not sure of the amount of brass that will fit in that size for larger cases, but it will fit about 600 9mm according to the details on that page. I would bet it would suit ya pretty well unless you are doing large rifle cases or something like that.

G'luck with whatever ya decide.
:)

[GBertolet]

Go with the Lyman. I have both the Dillon and Lyman. The Lyman is more tumbler for the money, at half the cost, plus Lyman sells replacement parts if unlikely ever needed. Dillon's are well constructed, but the Lyman is a better value.

[tdoyka]

i've used the lyman turbo twin tumber for about 25+/- years. i don't have a problem, not one.

[David2011]

I've had the large and small Dillons with their respective media separators. The large one will polish a pile of brass, more than I would normally accumulate in my busiest months of shooting but at the time i thought I needed it. In agreement with Lloyd Smale, it also seemed to take longer than the small one to achieve the same level of polish. I found it to be unwieldy to handle. It's pretty heavy fully loaded and I ended up selling the polisher and media separator. My small one was the CV-500 which had a small open frame motor like a ventilation fan in a range hood. It burned out after a few years so I bought another one. The second motor failed in a month or so. I contacted Dillon and they treated me right on it. They had already introduced the CV-750 which has a much larger motor, about the size of the motor on my Delta drill press. I had to ship the polisher back to them but they converted it to the CV-750 motor which appears to use the same plastic moldings as the 500 did. The first time I turned it on it was surprising how much more power it had. The old little motor took a while to spool up with a full load. The new bigger motor came on at full speed RIGHT NOW. I've been using it for probably 8 years since the conversion and am very happy with it. I haven't used other brands of vibratory polishers so can't offer any other opinion. I have 2 Thumblers that are workhorses but they are much slower using corn cob media than the Dillon.

[Jeff Michel]

Thumler's tumbler model B. I've used mine for 5 years, not a hitch. I have burned up everyone else's brand of tumbler in 18 months or less.

[dragon813gt]

I have two FAs. One is old and agitates like no ones business. I bought it from a family friend and he used it for many many years. First time I used it, it shook itself off the bench top onto the floor. That one can't be run on the bench.

Second one is five years old. Doesn't agitate as well. The bowl is cracked where the nut tightens it down. But it's been this way for over two years and it's still working. The bowl is bigger but because of less agitation it takes longer to polish the brass.

I see no need to spend more money for another brand. If one breaks I can replace it for little money. For large quantities of brass I use a cement mixer.

[pertnear]

I have a FA that I've been using for over 20 yrs & its still going strong! It seems to be bullet proof...:smile:

[fgd135]

I've used a Lyman 1200 tumbler since about 1994 with no problems whatsoever, and it still cleans brass rapidly and well.

[mold maker]

As with all tumblers with an off balance weight, the bearings will eventually wear to the point that the armature drags on the fields. An ocassional application of oil will prolong the enevitable, but it is exactly that.
The motors aren't made to be used in such a fashion but survive the abuse for a long time. Those that claim extreme life simply aren't using them as many hours as others. I have had examples of all the major brands and they all surcomed to the same fate. Since they all have oil impreginated bronz bushings, and side torque applied by the weight, it is enevatable that that is the week point in design.
The one exception in my experience was one (1966) that over heated and caught fire. It was promptly replaced, but not my underwear. Thank goodness I had it on a timer and a smoke detector imadiately over it.
Talk about a rude awakening. Three ft high flames just 2 yards from my modest powder supply, and in the basement directly under my bed. Being 10' tall and bullet proof didn't matter.

[Jack Stanley]

I bought a Dillon FL-2000 back in the eighties with very little problems with it . It's done a lot of cleaning but , my other tumble does the most at one time . I bought a brand new cement mixer with the idea in mind to only use it for brass . I've stuck to that even when I needed a cement mixer to actually mix cement . It will clean an immense amount of brass at one time and it didn't cost all that much to begin with . Plus it has been trouble free for many years .

Jack

[salpal48]

The Thread of Tumblers Go round and round. Which one is The beast or last the longest. Most Good machines are not Cheap and Cheap ones are not Good.
There should be 2 you should look at Lortone and Thumler Model B
I have posted a Photo of my tumblers . Any questions just ask

[Juan Jose]

Take a look atThumbler's Tumblers. The rotory models.
Way overbuilt (that's a good thing) for brass.
Large capacity & great customer support.
You get what you pay for.

[mold maker]

STM, a sponsor at the top of the page, also sells a very over built tumbler with ball brngs. They have the SS pins also.

[Murphy]

Lyman 1200 Turbo. It has the closed in top without any the sifter style lid. And while the Auto Flow model was a good idea, I've read too many bad things about it. My first Lyman 1200 lasted a good 14-15 years. I was also bad about leaving it on and over loading it. I now use a light timer to avoid over working it. I also have the STM Rebel 17 and have zero complaints in regards to it. The Tumblers Tumbler Model B is a great tumbler also. Sad, it died early as well due to being over loaded and long runs. I see STM offers the Tumblers Tumbler Model B for $189. Their Rebel 17 is only $30 more, I'd go with the Rebel for what it's worth.

Murphy

[wildphilhickup]

I bought a Cement Mixer from Harbor Freight. I did not install the "paddles". I can clean 5,000 9mm cases in about 4 hours.

I have run it for about 5 years. I can use any polish media as the drum is metal. (obviously)

The noise drives my neighbors crazy. But not much worse than their whiney dogs.

I use those colored sorting trays to separate the brass.

[No Blue]

Got a FA, it works. If you have a cooking supply source, the wire mesh frying baskets work great to separate the brass from media. Just do it over a plastic tub to collect yur media.

I use another fry basket in the sand blast cabinet to clean nuts, bolts, washers, and other small junk. Just shake it a bit and it exposes another surface to blast.

[6bg6ga]

Bought the big Dillon and never looked back. The type of media makes a difference as does the additive you use. I use Lymans cleaner polish, lizard litter and some baking soda. I have clean bright shinny brass in about 1.5 hrs.

[John Boy]

Looking for a medium to large tumbler capable of tumbling several hundred (500-600) at a time with room to spare.
197644 ... http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660227_200660227?cm_mmc=Bing-pla&utm_source=Bing_PLA&utm_medium=Construction%20%3E%20Cement%20Mixers&utm_campaign=Klutch&utm_content=49414

[Jack Stanley]

Yeah!! that's what I'm talking about ol' John !!;-)

Jack

[osteodoc08]

As an update, I was able to pick up a RCBS tumbler for cheap and for some reason, found my Lyman turbo I had forgot about. My thumblers tumbler of my fathers keeps on chugging. All churning brass in 3 part harmony

[mold maker]

I've used a Northern Tool mixer similar to the picture for over 11 years. I even tumbled the red NC mud out of range scrap before smelting, after I found a live round in it.
I understand that someone makes one with a plastic barrel that should work for citric acid cleaning of large volumes.

[375supermag]

Hi...

FWIW, I have been using a Thumbler's tumbler for many years with no issues whatsoever.
Recently, I decided I wanted a second tumbler, so I decided after reading some reviews to purchase a Lyman 1200.
So far, I am very impressed with this tumbler. I have used it to polish several thousand cases in batches. The majority had been cleaned in a mix of hot water, Lemishine and dawn dishwashing liquid, but were not shiny and had been tarnished by exposure to water. While the lemishine removed the dirt and tarnish, it left the brass with a pinkish hue.

I ran the lyman tumbler with walnut shell media for a few hours and every case came out looking like brand new brass. It works just as well as the older Thumler's unit and runs at a comparable noise level.

While it hasn't run trouble-free for 30 years like my Thumler's unit, it seems like a very good piece of equipment.
I am well pleased with my new Lyman 1200 tumbler.