Wet Tumbler

[FishfinderAK]

What’s currently the best wet tumbler on the market? Anyone have one they wanna sell?
Are these and the stainless media superior to vibration and nut shells?

 

[N2TRKYS]

I have a Frankford Arsenal with steel media and love it.

 

[Oldffemt]

I have a Frankford Arsenal with steel media and love it.

Likewise. Way faster and better than walnut media or corn cob

 

[Wrench]

I have a 20 year old thumbler....and pins are not even comparable to anything else.

 

[wilydawg]

Thumbler and SS pins here. FAR better than vibratory IMO. Put a little Lemishine and Dawn in you'll be amazed at the outcome. Even the primer pockets are like new...

 

[tdot]

STM Extreme 17 was what I settled on as one of the best wet tumblers when I researched a few months back. A few smaller details that I liked over other options and by the time I got it to Canada, the price difference was negligible.

I'm using SST chips instead of pins. They dont get stuck in the cases.

Way happier with the results over sonic or dry.

The only time I wish for a different option is after sizing and I want to give the cases a quick clean of the resizing lube Before loading. I don't find wet ideal for that. Too long to set up, dry, etc.

 

[manitou1]

SS and tumbler are the way to go IMO. lemi shine (1/4 tspn) and a couple drops of Dawn.
They come out prestine. I dry them on low heat (160 degrees+/-) on a cookie sheet in the oven.

 

[WestexSBK]

Superior at cleaning brass? Yes. They come out so damn pretty.

But, if your just cleaning your brass prior to sizing and to remove case lube or wax afterwards a vibratory with corn or walnut is more than sufficient.

The carbon inside the neck has been proven to promote accuracy. Plenty of articles supporting this theory.

Just my .02

 

[ndbuck09]

I'm new to reloading here. When you say carbon inside the neck, are you referring to the residue from a shot staying in the neck as being more accurate or something else?

Thanks

 

[WestexSBK]

That’s right. The carbon inside the neck is your friend. It acts as a lubricant giving you consistent seating pressure, neck tension, and bullet release.

I seat my bullets using an arbor press with a dial indicator that measures seating force. On new brass or SS tumbled brass seating bullets requires a lot more pressure and generally “pops” into place. Bullet jacket damage can occur as well as “cold welding” between the bullet and brass.

My practice is pretty simple. At the range on freshly fired brass I run a nylon brush in the necks and wipe off the outside with something like a scotch bright pad or krazy cloth. The carbon is much softer shortly after firing. (Carbon can scratch your dies) I remove lube or wax from sizing using corn media or lately been trying rice. Works well and doesn’t get stuck in flash hole. This only takes about 30 minutes.

I have a guy anneal my brass everything 3rd firing and he uses SS pins to clean. What I do then is use Imperial Dry Neck lube on a q-tip to lubricate the inside of the necks.

Welcome to reloading. It’s a very rewarding Hobby. There’s a lot of great info on AccurateShooter forum.

I'm new to reloading here. When you say carbon inside the neck, are you referring to the residue from a shot staying in the neck as being more accurate or something else?

Thanks

 

[pullit]

I like the idea of using rice to clean the cases, as well as using the neck lube before seatng. I have not lubed before seating but will give it a try

 

[Tacos]

I really like my Big Dog Tumbler. You can order different size drums depending on the volume of brass you want to clean.

 

[mcr-85]

I really like my Big Dog Tumbler. You can order different size drums depending on the volume of brass you want to clean.

I built my own tumbler and built my drum similar to the Big Dog Tumbler. They work awesome!

 

[pullit]

Slick,
Did you buy everything and if so about how much do you have in it, or did you build with stuff you had laying around?

 

[mcr-85]

Slick,
Did you buy everything and if so about how much do you have in it, or did you build with stuff you had laying around?

I bought everything except the lumber. I had that laying around. I can't remember how much it cost me, its been a couple years since I built it. It was pretty easy to put together. Here's the parts I used.

4 of the 5/8" pillow block bearings
5/8" x 4' shaft
AC motor
motor mount bracket
2 v belt pullys
v belt
switch box
switch
3 prong cord
6" pvc cap
6" pvc
6" to 4" reducer
4" rubber end cap with hose clamp
1" angle aluminum for baffles in drum

 

[Dos XX]

Get the big dog. These are awesome.

https://casetumbling.com/products/lonestar-tumbler-model-lt5

 

[TreyPound]

I use a Thumler's Tumbler Model B with a shot of dawn dish liquid and a spoon of lemi shine and stainless Steel Pins. 25 mins tumbling and It works like a champ.

 

[wind gypsy]

I have the frankford arsenal one and it is the top bang for your buck option that i'm aware of. I do wish it spun a little slower, might have less impact on dinging necks that way.

I do buy into WestexSBK's stance though and believe for no compromise accuracy ammo there are better options. That said, stainless tumbling makes ammo sufficient for my purposes.

 

[Downeaster]

I have a thumlers, but lately ive just been lazy and revert back to corn cobb. Pristine new looking brass is nice, but theres enough evidence of inconsistent neck tension due to the micro peening of the pins(potentially). That makes my laziness a little more palatable.

 

[Baron85]

I have a Hornady ultrasonic, Frankford vibratory with walnut, and rebel17 with ss pins. I don’t use the ultrasonic any more. Took too long and more work than it was worth. The walnut always worked well but I got bit by the super shiny brass bug and clean primer pockets and tried the rebel. The ss pins sure do make pretty brass but I found with my precision rifles the accuracy suffers. You can feel the difference when seating bullets. Once I started with the ss pins I started to get noticeable inconsistent seating pressure and started to get some bullet shaving from seating. Now I have reverted back to using the walnut for accuracy ammo and use the ss pins for dirty pistol and AR ammo.