Recommend Tumblers for cleaning BP cases

[HPT]

What brand & model tumbler do you recommend for cleaning BP brass? I shoot approx 500 rounds/year so don't need a production or Cadillac model - just something that will work with water & ceramic media. Looking for response from those with actual experience.

[August]

Thumbler tumbler. Or, the Cadillac model, RCBS Sidewinder. Both work equally well. One is easier to use.

[Bent Ramrod]

I bought my Thumler's Tumbler used and use it to clean black powder shells with ceramic media. Very nice, reliable and, especially, quiet. Four hours or so of tumbling leaves the brass bright without giving it the worn, overpolished look that dry media and abrasives do. It even cleans out the primer pockets, and doesn't get stuck in them.

I've used it for .45-2.6", .45-2.1", .40-90 and .32-40. I should really use the smaller ceramic beads on the .32-40 as the larger beads sometimes have to be poked with a wire to get them out of the shell, but it's not too much trouble. I have a lifetime supply of the larger ceramic beads and half a life's worth of the cleaner that I bought from Steve Rhoades. The same treatment with the same stuff is also good for much-fired, grungy, brownish-yellow smokeless brass.

[HPT]

Which model of Thumbler's Tumblers are you guys using?

[Southern Son]

I am using my Hornady Vibratory case cleaner. I bought it for pistol cases in 1994 and it has just kept going. Takes longer than the Thumbler with ceramic media, and it don't do nearly as nice a job, but it does it good enough that there is no fouling left inside the case and the outside is shiney. More than once I have left the cases in overnight and the following day, it just made them look more shiney. I saw in a recent gun mag that Hornady are bringing out an ultrasonic case cleaner. I might look into one of them, but I will have to wait for the one I have to cark it before I can justify a new case cleaner with the Minister of War and Finance.

[montana_charlie]

Which model of Thumbler's Tumblers are you guys using?
The Thumler's tumbler that 'everybody' uses is the 15-pound Model B. But Thumler's also makes a 12-pounder that should do just as well...for a few bucks less. It's the AR12.

Lortone makes a line of high quality tumblers, too.
Their biggest is the 12-pound QT-12, while the QT-6 has a drum of the same diameter...but only half as deep.
It's the diameter of the drum that determines 'how far' the brass travels in a given amount of time. And it's the 'distance traveled' that determines how much cleaning happens.

Lortone's QT-66 has two half-depth drums which allow you to run ceramic in one with (say) walnut in the other...both at the same time. If you need to run big loads, the 12-pound drum fits in the QT-66 frame.

Lortone also makes the 45C, which is rated at 4-pounds, but it still has a drum diameter big enough to be useful for cleaning brass.

I use a (secondhand from eBay) QT-12, and I have two barrels for it. I clean in ceramic first, then tumble in walnut to 'dry' those cases without possibility of 'water spotting'.

There are lots of options, and Cadillac is not the only 'good car' on the road.

CM

[dromia]

I have two Thumlers tumblers a model B that I use wet and a very old one that I use dry.

I use the dry one for all my case cleaning not just black powder cases, had it many years and I am very happy with Thumlers produsts. If I was ever to get a vibratory cleaner it would be one of theirs.

[HPT]

Thanks for the replies. Think I'll keep an eye on E-bay and see what pops up.

[Hip's Ax]

I didn't want to pay for the Thumler's and ceramic when I first got into black powder. I scrubbed the brass with Dawn and test tube brushes and then dried them and put them in walnut and polish for hours. They never were actually clean after all of that.

Eventually I gave in and ordered a high speed Thumler's model B and ceramic and compound from Buffalo. Now that I've used that I can't imagine living without it.

[Wayne Smith]

I've been using my Lyman vibratory with 3mm ceramicballs and water for years. I use the small basket with the solid top to run the ceramic media.

[Lead Fred]

I have an older M10 Hornady tumbler. I went to buy another one. So I could clean more at once.

Well todays Hornady tumbler is Chinese made hunk of junk compared to the older one. I didnt buy a new one, and am still using the older one.

[doulos]

the Thumblers tumbler model B is the one i have. It makes very short work of BPCR cartridge cleaning. I also wet clean my .44mag stuff with the same ceramic. For smaller case you can just fill your Tumbler with corn cob media and it will do everything a vibrating tumbler will do. they are very heavy duty and versatile.

[59sharps]

I use a ultersonic cleaner from harbor freight. w/ degreaser and water. works great. I also have a tumbler. But found the sonic cleaner works better for BP.

[HPT]

59 Sharps,

Very interesting, so here's a bunch of questions:

What model of ultrasonic cleaner do you use?
What do you use as a degreaser?
How many cases can you put in at a time?
How long does it take?
How clean do your cases get?
Do you still need to tumble them to get them shiny?

Any Pics of cleaner & cleaned brass?

[cajun shooter]

The Thumblers Tumbler Mdl B High Speed motor model with ceramic and a squirt of Dawn with Oxy will clean your cases inside and out to a like new condition with no pics needed for proof.

[montana_charlie]

I also have an ultrasonic cleaner, purchased for cleaning cases.
I thought it would eliminate the need for tumblers (of all types), and be useful for other things, as well.

It does a good job on jewelry, but I'm not as pleased with how it does with cases.

It does get them clean...but they still tarnish. After each cleaning they are a bit darker...on their way to brown.
Clean 'antique brown' may be as accurate as clean 'golden yellow', but it isn't as satisfying to look at.
Also, the brown color is not very helpful when it comes to trying to anneal the case.

What an ultrasonic cleaner really shines at is cleaning bullet moulds.

CM

[texasmac]

CM has "nailed it". I also have used both the Thumler's model B and a large ultrasonic cleaner. For brass I prefer the Thumler's. For cleaning everything else: gun parts, moulds, reloading dies, glasses, wife's jewelry (helped justify the cost ;>)), etc., the ultrasonic shines.

Wayne

[59sharps]

59 Sharps,

Very interesting, so here's a bunch of questions:

What model of ultrasonic cleaner do you use?
What do you use as a degreaser?
How many cases can you put in at a time?
How long does it take?
How clean do your cases get?
Do you still need to tumble them to get them shiny?

Any Pics of cleaner & cleaned brass?
Not home right now So I do not have all the info. It was from harbour freight something like $50. I do 50 44-40 cases at a time. If I had to do it again I would buy a bigger one w/ a longer cycle, the one I have only runs for 4 min then you have to reset it. I run it 4 time then change the water and do it again. Case come out clean on the inside. case do not come out bright of course but are clean.
Right now I'm using a comercial degrease. that I got as a sample. Ive also use degreasers off the shelf they seam to work fine. of course they do not come out bright. I do not put polish in my tumbler so when i tumble they do not come out shinny.
I have tumbled and as a test put them in the sonic cleaner after. was suprised how much more came out of the case.

[HPT]

Anyone use the methods described here to clean BP cases?

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

[Hip's Ax]

Anyone use the methods described here to clean BP cases?

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

VERY interesting!!!! :)

[mazo kid]

I have a Midway vvibratory that I bought new some 20+ years ago. I use that for shining up the brass mostly. I got a used Lortone off ebay about 4 years ago, don't know the model as I am just home from hip surgery and can't get to the basement for a while. That Lortone really does a great job with ceramic media and I got the machine for 1/4 of the cost of a new one.

[AviatorTroy]

I have always thrown the BP 45-70s in a plastic coffee can with some Dawn and hot water, give em a good shake and rinse, then tumble as usual. Never knew any different.

[John Boy]

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd220/Meadowmucker/IMGP0699.jpg
Starline 45-90 black powder cases that remained in the ammo box for 3 days. They were deprimed and washed with hot water and a small squeeze of Dash. Then put in the cleaner.

* Rotary Tumbler from Harbor Freight
* Kramer Industries 2mm ceramic polishing media - my next buy will be the 4mm media
* Rio Grande Strat-O-Sheen, Burnishing Compound, 339-017/5 ... 3oz of powder concentrate to 1 gal of water
Fill the tumbler between a 1/8 to 1/4 full with the ceramic media - pour in the Strat-O-Sheen solution - and ...
Run the tumber for One and a Half Hours!

[Mayor]

John Boy

Are you using the "balls" or angle cut media? Kramer lists a lot of different stuff.
Also have you compared Kramers price to Rio Grande's?

Mayor
aka: Hoof Hearted

[cwskirmisher]

I bought a Frankford Arsenal tumbler 5 years ago, and it died this week. Turned it on, walked away. 30 minutes later it was just humming - not vibrating. Took it apart, the motor bearing was shot. Called Frankford - no dice, they would not take it. I will not buy another product from FA. I still have a Lyman turbo 1200 that I bout 15 years ago - it still runs as good today as the day I bought it.

[John Boy]

Are you using the "balls" or angle cut media? Kramer lists a lot of different stuff.
Also have you compared Kramers price to Rio Grande's?

Mayor, here's some details about the Kramer media and burnishing solution ... http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=6686.0
Like I said... my next buy will be the 4mm media instead of the 2mm. Even in 25-20 cases, the individual 2mm pieces don't jam up inside the cases but the 4mm ones would circulate better in the rotary tumbler

The Kramer media works fine but the Rio Grande Strat-O-Sheen, Burnishing Compound, 339-017/5 is concentrated powder where as Kramer only sells theirs in 5 gallon pails. Having used both, the Strat-O-Sheen IMHO is a much better formulation. I can run 5-6 cleaning using the same solution but the Kramer stuff will turn the cases black in 5-6 cleaning runs using the same solution

And Rio prices are much cheaper, especially the Strat-O-Sheen because it is concentrated powder and the mix is 3oz powder to a gallon of water