Better way to clean brass than Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Case Tumbler?

[Stopsign32v]

Well it doesn't do a bad job but it gets media everywhere! I don't have a lot of room, if I did I would go the cement mixer route. What do you guys suggest? I'd like to get the brass as clean as possible. I gotta figure something different out.

[fc60]

Greetings,

Watch the Second Hand stores and CraigsList for a good used Lortone QT-12 rock tumbler.

You can use pins, dry media, or just tumble with soap and water.

The lid seals the drum so nothing to leak out.

Cheers,

Dave

[725]

Lee universal deprime die to knock out the primers, hot soapy water (dawn) & "Semi-shine", agitate & mix around for 10 minutes (more or less depending on how dirty they are)in the sink or plastic bowl, Q-tip the primer pocket when they are wet, dry them out on a nail board (finishing nails stuck in the air like a bed-o-nails). Let 'em dry in the sun or an oven on low heat for 20 minutes or so. Now that they don't have oil, lube, carbon or sand from the firing line on them, they can be tumble polished if you feel like it. Can load just fine w/o the tumble. If you do tumble, just a tiny amount of "NU-Finish" car wax will make 'em look like new.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Don't know what your situation is exactly. I use a fairly inexpensive Midway USA (probably Frankfort Arsenal--I'd have to go and look) vibrator tumbler. 3rd one I've purchased in about 20 years. It came with a bucket and sieve, available separately also. Pour in the media, add the brass, screw on the lid. The lid is transparent plastic so you can see when the brass is shiny. Unscrew and remove lid, pour contents into sieve which sits on top of bucket and the bottom is down into the bucket maybe 6 inches. Rotate the sieve back and forth inside the bucket until the media sifts through into the bucket, then grab two or three cases at a time and turn them upside down so media trapped inside them falls out into the sieve, toss the shiny brass into another container. Even so, you'll find a small amount of media from the primer holes in the second container, easily dumped back into the bucket. There's bound to be a little dust, especially after the media has been used a few times. You can always take the entire operation out of doors.

DG

[Stopsign32v]

Here is the mess I was dealing with. It got them pretty clean but the corn cobs randomly stuck and dust...It was terrible.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283222508_1226374827_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/h6v67y13n6)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283695985_cc835ae739_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/5dgo9fkY37)




And this is what we've gone to. I remembered right after making this thread the Harbor Freight idea people had, looked it up, and ran by there since I had to go to Walmart anyways. It's been running since 12:45pm so we will see what the cases look like around 3:45pm.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283222268_a5937f4036_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/0tk4n53626)

[45_Colt]

Here is the mess I was dealing with. It got them pretty clean but the corn cobs randomly stuck and dust...It was terrible.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283222508_1226374827_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/h6v67y13n6)


The only time I've had a mess like that was when the lid came loose. You did have a lid on the tumbler?

I also add some mineral spirits to dampen the media prior to adding the brass. This prevents dust when pouring the cases/media into the separator.

45_Colt

[45_Colt]

OK, looked at the Frankford unit, on the net. It doesn't appear to have a lid seal. If not I can see that level of dust exiting the unit. Using a Dillon there is a heavy rubber grommet (seal) in the lid. Like a food service 3.5 or 5 gallon bucket (food stuff comes in them).

I wouldn't be able to deal with that mess either. Can make a seal or get a different unit that has a seal.

45_Colt

[Minerat]

I pre wash/soak in Dawn and citric acid bath for 20 to 40 minuets until the tarnish is gone then vibrate tumble, with the lid on, corn cobb media adding a cap full of Cabelas liquid case polish every third batch to keep the dust down and keep the brass shiny. I also put a used dryer sheet in to collect a little of the grunge off the media. If really tarnished I run them thru my RCBS sidewinder using the dawn/ citric acid bath for a couple of hours then polish with the vibrator tumbler.

[JimB..]

These guys advertise in the header. Have one of these 40lb units and it works really well. Tumbles more slowly than the fart, much quieter. Think that they also make a 17lb version.

https://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/stm-40-tumbler.html

[Stopsign32v]

The only time I've had a mess like that was when the lid came loose. You did have a lid on the tumbler?

I also add some mineral spirits to dampen the media prior to adding the brass. This prevents dust when pouring the cases/media into the separator.

45_Colt

Yes the lid was on but 2 things

1) It was leaking from the area circled below
2) There was much better movement/cleaning with the lid off (no mess got out the top)

But with both of these said I did fail to mention that where the bar for the lid goes into the blue pot, it is cracked. So I'm sure this is the cause. Still, there shouldn't be a crack from the operation of the unit and just shows poor engineering.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283239666_f79308e745_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/2r19WDSX65)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283619059_356a6de23c_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/7UdX362g1a)

[Stopsign32v]

Holy smokes! Not bad for a trip to Harbor Freight and $65.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283678909_da6dd5cf70_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/P96i1vk1m3)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52282429017_c47f566cd3_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/t89X8xVREW)

[JimB..]

Yes the lid was on but 2 things

1) It was leaking from the area circled below
2) There was much better movement/cleaning with the lid off (no mess got out the top)

But with both of these said I did fail to mention that where the bar for the lid goes into the blue pot, it is cracked. So I'm sure this is the cause. Still, there shouldn't be a crack from the operation of the unit and just shows poor engineering.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283239666_f79308e745_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/2r19WDSX65)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283619059_356a6de23c_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/7UdX362g1a)

#1, that is broken.
#2, call frankfort arsenal and ask them to send you a replacement.
#3, put the repaired unit on a shelf now that you’re wet tumbling, one day you’ll want it for powder coating.

[Stopsign32v]

#1, that is broken.
#2, call frankfort arsenal and ask them to send you a replacement.
#3, put the repaired unit on a shelf now that you’re wet tumbling, one day you’ll want it for powder coating.

Yea I probably will do that. Thanks for the advice, never thought about it for powder coating. Always just use the Whipped Cream container.

[wilecoyote]

#1, that is broken.
#2, call frankfort arsenal and ask them to send you a replacement.
#3, put the repaired unit on a shelf now that you’re wet tumbling, one day you’ll want it for powder coating.

I agree.
today I use my F.A. for molycoating only
I found it sensible to interpose oversized washers and grover rings between the winged nuts and the plastic of the bowl and lid.
this reduces the possibility of loosening of the w. nuts without having to tighten them excessively, and bigger washers avoid overstress on the plastic. the noise remains very annoying, but after a little less than twenty years it works ok and bowls and lids are still intact.

[oley55]

frankly I can not imagine cleaning and rinsing wet tumbled pins n brass anywhere except outside over concrete or asphalt. Just the rinsing and flushing always seems to float some pins out on the ground. not sure I’d want those pins making it into a sink trap and sitting there forever.

[44Blam]

I have a FART (Franklin Arsenal Rotataing Tumbler) and I tumbe with water/soap and steel pins. It gets my cases very clean and isn't a huge effort. Those steel pins are about the only thing I've seen take powder coating off a boolit. My thought is that if it can take the PC off a boolit, it can get the crud out of a case...

EDIT: For the pins, I bought the mesh filters and what I do is take the top off, install the filter and then tip it back over and take the bottom off in a sink. I then rinse everything really well with hot water and dump into a media seperator. The pins all come out of the cases and life is good. I do keep a strong magnet around to pickup loose pins. I've been doing this for a few months and was worried about pins maybe going down the sink, but I took the p trap off a couple weeks ago and it was void of any of those pins...

For drying, I lay an old towel out and have a fan blow on it. They are dry in a few hours.

[Stopsign32v]

frankly I can not imagine cleaning and rinsing wet tumbled pins n brass anywhere except outside over concrete or asphalt. Just the rinsing and flushing always seems to float some pins out on the ground. not sure I’d want those pins making it into a sink trap and sitting there forever.

It's just water, dawn, lemi shine, and the brass. It literally couldn't be easier.

[Kenstone]

Yes the lid was on but 2 things

1) It was leaking from the area circled below
2) There was much better movement/cleaning with the lid off (no mess got out the top)

But with both of these said I did fail to mention that where the bar for the lid goes into the blue pot, it is cracked. So I'm sure this is the cause. Still, there shouldn't be a crack from the operation of the unit and just shows poor engineering.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52283619059_356a6de23c_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/7UdX362g1a)

OK then
Gorilla tape inside and out over those cracks (after cleaning), tape across the hole, then poke a NEW hole thru it.
Put a fender washer under the nut that holds the bowl in place.

And a well-nut instead of a wingnut to hold the lid on.
Well-nuts at any hardware store, in both inch and metric thread sizes:
303159
The rubber is compressed when hand tightened and will never loosen up while vibrating.
jmo,
.

[Kenstone]

then grab two or three cases at a time and turn them upside down so media trapped inside them falls out into the sieve.
DG
Instead of that...
Just return the sifted cases into the tumbler but WITHOUT ANY MEDIA.
With the tumbler turned on, the cases (no media) will vibrate violently, stand on end, and the media in the primer pockets (and case) will fall out.
Try it, thank me later,
:coffee:
.

[slughammer]

OK then
Gorilla tape inside and out over those cracks (after cleaning), tape across the hole, then poke a NEW hole thru it.

And a well-nut instead of a wingnut to hold the lid on.
Well-nuts at any hardware store, in both inch and metric thread sizes:
303159
The rubber is compressed when hand tightened and will never loosen up while vibrating.
jmo,
.


.....
And a well-nut instead of a wingnut to hold the lid on.
Well-nuts at any hardware store, in both inch and metric thread.....
.

How do I find that in a hardware store WITHOUT asking? When you say hardware store, do you mean Lowes or Home Depot or do you have a store where they know more about hardware than my children? I fear asking for a well-nut, it may make someone's head implode.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

[MrWolf]

Use a magnet for the pins. That is what I use and works great. The press and release type are my preferred ones.

[Sasquatch-1]

I have a Thumlers Tumbler that I have been using for well over 45 years. It has a center column in the bowl that uses a wing nut and washer to hold it in place. this will help avoid the cracking you see in the above pictures.

If you are at all handy, look on YouTube and look at some of the homemade tumblers. I made one out of 4" sewer PVC pipe, a glue on end cap and a removable end cap, some inline skate wheels, a bolt and a connector nut to attach the pipe to the motor, a windshield wiper motor, 1/4" all-thread for wheel axels and some wood. You will also need a good 12-volt power supply and something attached to the inside of the pipe to agitate the brass.

[Brassmonkey]

I want to build one like this out of an 80 gal air compressor tank :redneck:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSVV8E2WW0


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSVV8E2WW0

[Mal Paso]

The case separator has to be run In Water to get all the pins out. That pretty much keeps all the pins in one place then I use a magnet. I do it inside without any mess.

Rebel 17 I think is the tumbler with conventional pins.

[charlie b]

I want to build one like this out of an 80 gal air compressor tank :redneck:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSVV8E2WW0


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSVV8E2WW0

Saw a video where Miculek uses a cement mixer to tumble brass :)

[MUSTANG]

#1, that is broken.
#2, call frankfort arsenal and ask them to send you a replacement.
#3, put the repaired unit on a shelf now that you’re wet tumbling, one day you’ll want it for powder coating.

If one is frugal and saving $$$ wherever possible - Unscrew the retaining bolt; take the plastic drum off, clean the inside of the drum to get rid of the residue adhering to the drum; then place a length of Gorilla Tape/1000 mph tape/ Duct Tape / Duckl Tape on it.

It will fail after a while; but it would keep it useable until $$$ are free to but a new one; or...... repeat again.

Many years ago I was informed by a fire that I was so tight that I could squeeze the crap out of a Buffalo Nickel.

[Kenstone]

How do I find that in a hardware store WITHOUT asking? When you say hardware store, do you mean Lowes or Home Depot or do you have a store where they know more about hardware than my children? I fear asking for a well-nut, it may make someone's head implode.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

Huh :roll:

No need to respond here, you're wasting your wisdom on me...
:swagemine: