rootacres Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 I am getting started in reloading for USPSA production and eventually single stack. My question is will a frankford arsenal quick-n-ez be good enough for cleaning 9mm and .45? Or is there an added benefit to bumping to a lyman, hornady, or even a dillon? thank you for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 all the vibrators are pretty much the same. they work ok, if you dont mind the dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I got my Dillon on long term loan for free. It is nice to be able to clean 2k at once. Other than that, the separator takes care of the hard part Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyjones Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Personally, I use a wet tumbler. Aside from getting the primer pockets clean, it also keeps the dust down. That's a big plus if you tumble indoors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 (edited) The Cablea's brand tumbler and separator are cheap, durable, quiet, and well liked around here. Mine has done 40k+ pieces of 9mm brass without complaint. They're rebadged Berrys (the plated bullet guys) units. Frankford's tumbler is LOUD. Edited April 11, 2016 by MemphisMechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 The Cablea's brand tumbler and separator are cheap, durable, quiet, and well liked around here. Mine has done 40k+ pieces of 9mm brass without complaint. Frankford's tumbler is LOUD. Mine has been going since 2009. Well over 100k pcs. Only recently has it started to audibly complain, most likely from overloading it. It still works though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absocold Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Frankford's vibratory is hit and miss. The one I got wouldn't do squat until I welded more weight on the end of the part that causes the vibration. It works now, but not what you would call vigorously. Hoping it will die so I can buy a better (and bigger) unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianKr Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I've been using a Dillon for years and it's still going strong so absolutely no complaints. I use their case polish to wet the media, so no dust. I've also been known to wash the brass to remove dust and such before tumbling. It doesn't take much, just 2 buckets, water, some detergent and a colander to shake the rinse water off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggerJJ Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 all the vibrators are pretty much the same. they work ok, if you dont mind the dust. If you are getting dust with a dry tumbler you are doing something wrong... I would go with the Dillon, the new 750 is, quite bullet proof and has a very strong motor. jj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Some tumblers work better than others. I've had several that hardly moved the brass around. The Dillon stuff is solid and just flat works. The other one that fits that category as well is the Thumler Ultravibe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddKS Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Thumlers are awesome. I own both the 18 and 45. I would highly recommend either. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 all the vibrators are pretty much the same. they work ok, if you dont mind the dust. If you are getting dust with a dry tumbler you are doing something wrong... I would go with the Dillon, the new 750 is, quite bullet proof and has a very strong motor. jj you dont get any dust, lead or otherwise, your the only one. you dont have to get a cloud to have dust from it floating around! if oyur dry tumbling, youve got dust wether or not you can see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdinga Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Look at the 18# Harbor Freight Model. It will clean 2000 9mm cases quickly and can double as a wet tumbler if you have really dirty brass that needs grit removed first. Got this after 2 Dillon Tumblers. Very happy. Look for coupons and sales very cost effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I agree with lefty. I don't think you can completely eliminate the dust. Especially if you aren't replacing the media frequently. I always get dust when I'm separating the brass from the media. It isn't as bad with the fabric sheets or with the nufinish and spirits, but if I'm in a hurry, I skip those. Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggerJJ Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 (edited) Polish, mineral spirits, and dryer sheets. NO DUST. And what does it matter? Tumble in a garage, or shed, or basement, or outside, no worries about dust...good grief... jeese, you wet tumble guys are going off the deep end... Edited April 11, 2016 by RiggerJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimase Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Polish, mineral spirits, and dryer sheets. NO DUST. And what does it matter? Tumble in a garage, or shed, or basement, or outside, no worries about dust...good grief... jeese, you wet tumble guys are going off the deep end... No matter what I did, drier sheets, polish, or mineral spirits my hands would be black from loading dry tumbled brass. Wet tumbled brass, my hand are still reasonably clean. That and I didn't have the smell of the tumbling medium in my nose for the next few days. And there are some that do not have the option to tumble in a separate room. Different techniques for different people. You like your dry tumbling, we like out wet tumbling. Personally at this point my dry tumbler is just sitting idle, until I convert it to help me sort brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggerJJ Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I don't handle my brass one case at a time, I dump it into a case feeder. Nitrile gloves keep the bullets from getting my hands black. And when I do gauge my finished ammo I wear nitrile gloves then too. Try em, they work. The dust generated when dry tumbling correctly (if there is any) is minimal and should (imho) be a non-player in this thread. Tried wet tumbling. It ain't worth the time, effort, and cost just for pretty brass that you have to put lube on that gets it dirty again to correctly size it. If I had 55 gallon barrels of brass to clean I might consider a cement mixer, but for 1 or 2 or 5k at a time, royal pia... Yep, jmho...Chevy or Ford? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 (edited) I have an old Frankfort Arsenal tumbler that wore thru the bowl after 20 years, well over 300,000 rounds. Turns out the Harbor Freight bowl is an exact replacement. There is no dust with the right method, I run the tumblers open, walnut media loaded with 2 teaspoons of mineral oil, followed by corn loaded with a 2 teaspoons of NuFinsh car polish. Run it overnight, after all, it's an offline operation. Turn crap into shiny and slippery, doesn't even need case lube. Edited April 11, 2016 by 9x45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickl Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I'm using a Lyman 2200 outside. Works great. Nice and quiet. And the auto flow is awesome! Sent from my RCT6773W22B using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I've used a few Lyman turbo 1200s. Small, cheap and come with their excellent media. With the Lyman green corncob there's truly no dust and no black hands. The media is expensive compared to plain corncob or walnut but only needs replacing after about 10,000 rounds. It works so much better than any other media I've tried. The best part is to separate the media you simply stick a bucket on top (It has a slotted top). Pick up bucket and tumbler as one assembly. Invert. Shake for about 20 seconds. Now all media is in bucket and brass in tumbler. Simply remove lid, tip brass into a container then tip media back into tumbler. It's really so easy. Gives excellent results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecil Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I started using a RCBS dry tumbler.. then I tried a wet stainless pin Thumblers tumbler... I WON'T EVER GO BACK TO DRY TUMBLING.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 1/4 cup of nufinish (the cheapest autzone) car polish and a brand new dryer sheet tossed into the tumbler with every 1,000 pieces of 9mm brass stopped the dusty cases from winding up in the "ready to load" brass bin. Dramatically cut the dust down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absocold Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 We need a "clean yer cases gud" stickied post with all the best info so we don't have to have this multi-page thread yet again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatlips Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I have a Dillon. It has been chugging along without complaint since 1991. I have used it once or twice a week since I bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 We need a "clean yer cases gud" stickied post with all the best info so we don't have to have this multi-page thread yet again.Tired after only 7 months, huh?If it wasn't for repeat discussions, there would be no discussions at all! Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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