Frankford Rotary, or Harbor Freight vibratory with pins?

[jtnf]

I've been flirting with rotary tumblers and was recently greatly disappointed (thumblers drum dissolved and coated 150 223 shells in black rubber!)
I'm just about ready to quit on DIY and repurposed rock tumblers and going with a dedicated machine.
My question: Should I bite the bullet and go with a Frankford Arsenal rotary, or try pins in the large China Freight vibratory wet tumbler? I kind of like the idea of the speed of a vibratory...

 

[turbo89]

I've been flirting with rotary tumblers and was recently greatly disappointed (thumblers drum dissolved and coated 150 223 shells in black rubber!)
I'm just about ready to quit on DIY and repurposed rock tumblers and going with a dedicated machine.
My question: Should I bite the bullet and go with a Frankford Arsenal rotary, or try pins in the large China Freight vibratory wet tumbler? I kind of like the idea of the speed of a vibratory...

Maybe a little off topic, but I'd contact Thumblers and ask them to make it right. My Thumbler was bought second hand and has to be 30 or 40 yrs old... it still works great.

 

[Gammon]

Maybe a little off topic, but I'd contact Thumblers and ask them to make it right. My Thumbler was bought second hand and has to be 30 or 40 yrs old... it still works great.

The problem, cases coated with rubber, is a symptom of improper use of the tumbler. The rubber coating is actually material from the tumbler bowl scraped off by either the brass itself or an over aggressive media. I'm not sure the MFR will be too thrilled about this.

 

[Almostelmo]

I've been flirting with rotary tumblers and was recently greatly disappointed (thumblers drum dissolved and coated 150 223 shells in black rubber!) I'm just about ready to quit on DIY and repurposed rock tumblers and going with a dedicated machine. My question: Should I bite the bullet and go with a Frankford Arsenal rotary, or try pins in the large China Freight vibratory wet tumbler? I kind of like the idea of the speed of a vibratory...

Dissolved? Something is very wrong here. The thumblers is highly regarded as the best rotary tumbler around...I'm curious about what you put in there to make this happen.

That said, the frankfurt looks like a nice design. I was actually looking at them on amazon yesterday. Looks like the price went up around $30 in the last few weeks.

 

[jtnf]

Dissolved? Something is very wrong here. The thumblers is highly regarded as the best rotary tumbler around...I'm curious about what you put in there to make this happen.

That said, the frankfurt looks like a nice design. I was actually looking at them on amazon yesterday. Looks like the price went up around $30 in the last few weeks.

Dish soap and lemishine. Pins are ground end, not as-cut. I need to run a batch of walnut in it and try to clean it out then try again I suppose.

 

[mac1911]

Any of you guys pick up a used food dehydrator to dry your brass. If I can get off my lazy ass I will build a tumbler. Although I like the looks of the Frankford. It's pretty big compared to some with out the cost.

Rubber does not take kindly to any petroleum products. If they even use real rubber?

 

[*chris*]

I kind of like the idea of the speed of a vibratory...

I use the 18 pound tumbler and it works great in my opinion. I am not sure that it is any faster though, I usually run it 3-4 hours.

Chris

 

[jtnf]

I use the 18 pound tumbler and it works great in my opinion. I am not sure that it is any faster though, I usually run it 3-4 hours.

Chris

What media do you use?

 

[Almostelmo]

Dish soap and lemishine. Pins are ground end, not as-cut. I need to run a batch of walnut in it and try to clean it out then try again I suppose.

Maybe try running it a few times with just media and water and see if it keeps happening.

 

[Almostelmo]

Any of you guys pick up a used food dehydrator to dry your brass. If I can get off my lazy ass I will build a tumbler. Although I like the looks of the Frankford. It's pretty big compared to some with out the cost. Rubber does not take kindly to any petroleum products. If they even use real rubber?

I picked up a dehydrator from harbor freight for like $20. Works great, dries large quantities of brass in an hour or so.

 

[Smokewagon]

Some dish soaps do not play well with rubber. Try liquid laundry detergent. I had an issue using Dawn with my rock tumbler and as soon as I switched to liquid laundry detergent the problem disappeared. I've used Tide, Arm & Hammer as well as Members Mark (Sam's Club generic), all HE liquid laundry detergents that have worked great and seem to play nice with rubber.

 

[Fixxah]

I will give you $20 for the thumblers.

Sent from my SM-N900P using Forum Runner

 

[Almostelmo]

I will give you $20 for the thumblers. Sent from my SM-N900P using Forum Runner

$21!

 

[leewongfei]

I have the frankford rotary tumbler. It kicks @$$. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a rotary tumbler.

 

[*chris*]

What media do you use?

The cut stainless steel pins that everyone else uses.

Chris

 

[dcmdon]

Any of you guys pick up a used food dehydrator to dry your brass. If I can get off my lazy ass I will build a tumbler. Although I like the looks of the Frankford. It's pretty big compared to some with out the cost.

Rubber does not take kindly to any petroleum products. If they even use real rubber?

A friend of mine gave me a great drying solution.

All modern dryers come with a rack that can be hung in the middle of space. It remains stationary while the drum spins around it. It is meant to be use with very delicate items. You put the sweater on the rack and start the dryer It stays stationary so no wear and tear.

My friend puts wet brass on cookie sheets and puts them in the dryer. He says it works great.

I've used my convection oven. It goes down to 110 deg.