Case Tumblers

[mrmiskin]

I am looking into getting one and need some suggestions from all the seasoned reloaders out there.

[Gil Martin]

There are a lot of great case tumblers on the market. I selected an RCBS and it has been great. When it died after about ten years of hard use, I sent it back to RCBS and they fixed it for free. All the best...
Gil

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I have the Lyman 600 turbo.....can't really do a large amount of cases at a time, but it does the job for me.

[skeet]

I also have the Lyman..doesn't do a large amount of cases but is adequate..I have one of the BIG Dillons too..running right now in fact. Had it for 10 yrs or more and it will do hundreds of cases..all to once..I even had one of them Midway 1292 tumblers..Gave it to a friend..it died after a couple of years..They gave him a new one for it..and it was at least 6 yrs old.. Heck even Harbor Freight has 'em now.. I got a whole bunch of corn cob and walnut shell media for free last week. Probably 20 lbs. I really didn't need it..but free is good...ain't it??

[Jack]

I have a Lyman, and it's done fine for many years- even when I left it on for 3 days once. I'm sure the other brands are fine, too, so, I don't think you need worry, as long as you stay with a brand name.

[GoodOlBoy]

I have a big pack of 000 steel wool. Twist on the back, flip the case over twist on the front. . . . . *sigh* yeah I am gonna be buying a case tumbler someday too. The steel wool method works and works well, but talk about time intensive. . . . sheesh.

GoodOlBoy

[dovehunter]

I too have been thinking about getting a case tumbler. Like GOB says - the steel wool bit gets old after a while. Has anyone had any experience with the Frankfort Arsenal stuff advertised in the Midway USA catalog? It seems to be a little cheaper than Lyman, etc. Also, what do you think of the liquid cleaners - do they work okay or should they be avoided at all costs?

:confused:

[skeet]

Yep it do work...but ...I cleaned a few 44 Spec cases yesterday..right now I have a couple sets of dies in one tumbler... old ones badly stained by rust on the outside...one is a set of Pacific 222 dies..other a set of RCBS 270..When ya get done cleaning dies... ya gotta clean 'em in good soapy water and dry 'em well. Only bad thing about a case tumbler is the droning noise trys ta put ya to sleep

[Catfish]

I have had both the rolling tumblers and the vibrators. The rollers you can use to polish rock ect. where you cannot the vibrators. But if your just going to polish brass the vibrators will do the job in 1/2 the of the rollers. I have had a couple of different brands and they are all basic the same thing.

[Seawolf1090]

My Frankford Arsenal tumbler works fine.
Walnut cleans brass quicker, so is good for the dirtier cases. But Corncob puts on a nicer shine.

The liquid cases cleaners work, but if left in too long, you get funky pink brass! A simple wash in hot water, dish liquid and a dash of vinegar works well.

[mrmiskin]

Thanks for all the suggestions I got the hornady and dont do a lot of cases but i was tired with the steel wool also. it is running right now and is pretty quiet and putting a nice shine on some old 45 brass. one other question do you leave the old primers in and tumble or decap and let the media roll around in the primer pocket?? I have noticed that there is some media in the primer pockets which should not be to hard to get out.