tumbler questions

[brnhp35]

I have a customer at the shooting range where i work who is thinking about getting into reloading. The only thing holding him back is the noise and dust of cleaning brass. He lives in a appartment and therefore the noise of a tumbler would cause troubles with neighbors. He also is very sensitive to dust and alergens so worried about the residue etc. I was thinking maybe a thumblers tumbler woudl cut noise but not sure and have no idea about the dust issue. Any options I could pass on to him would be appreciated.

[Sean Gaines]

I have a customer at the shooting range where i work who is thinking about getting into reloading. The only thing holding him back is the noise and dust of cleaning brass. He lives in a appartment and therefore the noise of a tumbler would cause troubles with neighbors. He also is very sensitive to dust and alergens so worried about the residue etc. I was thinking maybe a thumblers tumbler woudl cut noise but not sure and have no idea about the dust issue. Any options I could pass on to him would be appreciated.

If he has a porch, he could put it outside. If not, he could buy brass that is cleaned and polished already, or have a friend clean his brass for him...

[lcs]

Plenty of sources for cleaned and polished unless he is using something other that 9/40.

A small tumbler with a lid is pretty quiet and you can do 50 or so at a time. Take the tumbler outside when done to remove cleaned brass to cut down on dust.. The small ones are fairly quiet.

[xsniper]

I have a customer at the shooting range where i work who is thinking about getting into reloading. The only thing holding him back is the noise and dust of cleaning brass. He lives in a appartment and therefore the noise of a tumbler would cause troubles with neighbors. He also is very sensitive to dust and alergens so worried about the residue etc. I was thinking maybe a thumblers tumbler woudl cut noise but not sure and have no idea about the dust issue. Any options I could pass on to him would be appreciated.

If he has a porch, he could put it outside. If not, he could buy brass that is cleaned and polished already, or have a friend clean his brass for him...

+1 on this idea. When I was in an apartment I set the tumbler in the closet while it was running. That also muffled the sound.

[Tom S.]

Aren't tumbler's noisier than vibrating case cleaners? I've never had a tumbler, but I was told they were very noisy. Having said that, my vibrating cleaners aren't very quite either. Maybe he should consider an ultra sonic cleaner. They won't hold as many cases, but should be quieter than either tumbling or vibrating.

[Dangasaur]

Aren't tumbler's noisier than vibrating case cleaners? I've never had a tumbler, but I was told they were very noisy. Having said that, my vibrating cleaners aren't very quite either. Maybe he should consider an ultra sonic cleaner. They won't hold as many cases, but should be quieter than either tumbling or vibrating.

10 gallon bucket with some foam adhesive weather stripping around the rim. Start tumbler and put bucket on top of it. Wife didn't like the noise and now she can't even tell when it's on. Only thing that you should think about is the extra heat that the bucket traps. My Lyman gets warm when using this method so I run in the basement where it's about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house.

I would encourage all of you that have an open top tumbler to use the bucket to see how much dust they give off. The first time I used the bucket there was a thick layer of dust and soot on the tumbler that otherwise isn't there without the bucket... food for thought.

[Mark K]

My trusty 3 year old Franklin Arsenal tumbler gave up the ghost last weekend, so I ordered a Lyman 2500 tumbler (only to find after it had been ordered and shipped, that the old tumbler just had a loose wire). I got the new tumbler, and ran it and I can hardly tell it is running when I an one room away, and can watch TV or listen to the radio quite easily in the same room.

As to Dust, Adding an 3-4 TBSP of Mineral Spirits to the media once, will eliminate most, if not all of the Dust issues. If you use the odorless Mineral Spirits, there should be little smell.

Mark K.

[Sparky]

I have a customer at the shooting range where i work who is thinking about getting into reloading. The only thing holding him back is the noise and dust of cleaning brass. He lives in a appartment and therefore the noise of a tumbler would cause troubles with neighbors. He also is very sensitive to dust and alergens so worried about the residue etc. I was thinking maybe a thumblers tumbler woudl cut noise but not sure and have no idea about the dust issue. Any options I could pass on to him would be appreciated.

I used a Thumblers Tumbler for years before I got a Dillon vibrating case cleaner in a deal with some

other Dillon reloading equipment. I subsequently sold the Thumblers. However, I do not have a problem

with noise. The Thumblers Tumbler was fairly quiet and put on a table, maybe on top of a towel I doubt

a neighbor could hear it. It seals up real good and I don't think dust would be a problem. If I

remember correctly the Thumblers Tumbler was more expensive than the Dillon or other vibrating cleaners.

[chirpy]

I also had a TT before I won my Dillon as a door prize at a club banquet. The TT isn't too noisy. As for the dust, there was a thread (I believe) where it is suggested that lanolin added to the media helps to keep the dust down. A dust mask also helps.

FWIW

Richard

[Graham Smith]

I also had a TT before I won my Dillon as a door prize at a club banquet

And, you can wash brass in a TT! No dust at all.

[MemphisMechanic]

I run a Cabelas, the best cheap tumbler made. My wife isn't super fond of the noise, even though it's quieter than a Lyman or Dillon.

I plug it into a timer, and run it from noon-1 pm while we're at work. Never forget and accidentally run it for days on end... and we never hear it run.

If his apt. neighbors all work during the day, that's an easy fix.

[4Baldy]

Any tumbler is going to have a certain amount of dust. It's just the nature of the beast. You can take a bucket and fill about 1/3 of the way up and stir in some Simple Green. Add about 300 or more cases and soak them. Stir up about every 15 minutes for about 1hr. Remove the cases and let them air dry in the sun for awhile.

They will not be bright and shiney but they will be clean. It does clean the inside of the case better than any tumbler. I just never cared for this method of cleaning my brass.

[John Z Sr]

Could always rty the liquid stuff with hot water, I did that in the past and it seemed to work well for smaller volumes of brass

[John Heiter]

Tell him to partner up with a shooting buddy. He can offer to buy the big Dillon if it can stay at the buddy's house.

[Rui]

Aren't tumbler's noisier than vibrating case cleaners? I've never had a tumbler, but I was told they were very noisy. Having said that, my vibrating cleaners aren't very quite either. Maybe he should consider an ultra sonic cleaner. They won't hold as many cases, but should be quieter than either tumbling or vibrating.

I have an ultra sonic cleaner. It's much quieter than vibrating case cleaners, for sure.

[foilhat]

I have a tumbler, but I also soak the brass from time to time. I bought Lemi-shine from the dish soap area in the supermarket. I put the brass in a one gallon bucket with hot water and a few table spoons of Lemi-shine. stir or scrub a few times during a thirty minute soak and rinse. I air dry or oven dry and tumble. Any residue does wipe off the brass while it is still wet.

[Corey]

more pricey option but there is always a sonic cleaner to look at. no dust at ALL with those. havent had a chance to play with one much but it is another alternative....

[Bshooter]

I have had a Midway 1288 tumbler for almost 20 years. I wore out the bottom of the bowl and it wouldn't hold the media anymore. What should I get now. I have a dillon and think it is too expensive. Thanks Bshooter.

[MemphisMechanic]

Best unit for people who aren't in Dillons price range is the Cabelas brand one. It's made by Berrys, and mine will juuust hold 1k of 9mm brass if you fill it with the right amount of media. Pretty quiet and has done at least 20k for me so far this year and still running like new.

Edited May 13, 2010 by MemphisMechanic

[xinnix]

Cable's makes a quiet inexpensive good quality cleaner, I can clean 1000 round of 9mm at a time. I live in an apartment and it is not noisy. As far as the dust. The only time you are going to get exposed is when you take out the brass and separate it. I would buy a good mask and wear it when I am separating the brass from the media.

Good luck.

Edited June 26, 2010 by xinnix

[CocoBolo]

I find that the Lymann 2500 Turbo kicks butt. Just pour a 3 pound coffe can full of filthy brass in it and 2 hours late it looks like new. I is so quiet I don't even use the lid. I got it at MidWay USA for $78.00. I wore out a Frandford Aresnal and sold a Dillon, the Lymann 2500 rocks.

[Whoops!]

I accept no liability for this.

I don't like Tumblers either. I have two large plastic bowls with lids. I put the brass in the bowl so that the mouth of each case is either down or pointed to the side.

Then, I squirt some Brasso on top of the brass. I shake the container and get it all around for about a minute. Then, I put some water in the bowl and let the Brasso/water solution sit for a few minutes. Lastly, I wash it all out and let it dry. It's quick, it's easy, it leaves the outside of the brass clean and polished, and since I resize the brass before cleaning it also cleans enough of the primer pocket in my 9mm that I never have to use the pocket primer cleaner anymore to get a clean primer seat.

It's also cheap. A bottle of Brasso is 3 dollars. I use about a 1/4 of it to clean and polish 200 pieces of brass.

For further explanation of brass positioning, if any brass is facing up when squirting the Brasso it will get inside the case and the solution won't just be washed out because it's too thick. Thus, only use the thick stuff on the outside of the brass then shake the bowl.

[dcalvert]

The Hornady Lock and Load Ultra sonic cleaner made specifically for cleaning brass may be a

good alternate. No Dust, Quiet only down side is it does not clean large batch's of brass.

About 60 .223 cases. $100 bucks from midway.

dcalvert

[zero-down]

My trusty 3 year old Franklin Arsenal tumbler gave up the ghost last weekend, so I ordered a Lyman 2500 tumbler (only to find after it had been ordered and shipped, that the old tumbler just had a loose wire). I got the new tumbler, and ran it and I can hardly tell it is running when I an one room away, and can watch TV or listen to the radio quite easily in the same room.

As to Dust, Adding an 3-4 TBSP of Mineral Spirits to the media once, will eliminate most, if not all of the Dust issues. If you use the odorless Mineral Spirits, there should be little smell.

Mark K.

+1 here. The mineral spirits makes a huge difference in dust. quite amazing actually.

[MARKAVELI]

Sounds like the LNL Sonic might be the best choice for your friend, I got a Cabela's Tumbler kit(tumbler,corn cob media,and polisher and a plastic screen) for $64 bux and some change, works good I got no problems and my brass looks almost new... I live in a small appartment also so what I do I put my tumbler in my bedroom closet,carpeted floor and I put up cardbord against the walls (incase I gotta move) I also put up cloths racks so I can hang up Jackett and my wifes clothes to break the sound waves!lol.. Im not sayin to try it I just think its funny! +her cloths keep the dust down... lol.