steveknapp Posted May 8, 2008 Author Share Posted May 8, 2008 For now I'm going to go with the Midway one, seems it works well enough for most and if/when I break it I'll be happy to upgrade. Until then, I'll spend the $$$ on the press and ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 For many years, I tumbled a zillion pieces of brass with the same big Dillon tumbler. I ended up giving it away at Rio (or maybe I got 10 bucks for it, I can't remember). And as far as leaving a tumbler on for hours, with the big Dillon and clean to fairly clean corncob media (no polish), in 20 minutes the brass was ready to load. Although this is slightly off topic, since I get A LOT of questions on this - I love Dillon's Media Separators. They separate the media from the brass faster than any other method. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveknapp Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 So just a followup, I got the midway kit, and I went through some brass I had from past shooting outings. The tumbler itself I'm happy with. It's not really well made, it's light and when I first took it out of the box my thought was "aw, this was a mistake, this thing is going to shake off the bench onto the floor". But it does the job, and it's much quieter than I expected, and nothing seems ready to fall off yet. We'll see how long it lasts. I used Lyman "green" media to polish, then I tried both some coarse pet bedding (corn) and the included fine corn cob media. The lyman media was nice to work with. No dust, did a good job, but left the cases with a light film of polish/grease. I was curious if this would be good as case lube and should be left on, but all the other cases I've seen didn't have it. So I ran the brass through the plan corn and it came out great. The coarse bedding was harder to separate and created much more dust. In the future I'll probably stick with the fine stuff. Now the kit part I'm mixed on. I like the idea of a media separator that attaches to the top of the bucket. One bucket per type of media, move the separator around from bucket to bucket. But the clips that hold it onto the bucket are hard to get on, they move around a lot too. So it's hard to spin the basket with the crank. Also the basket is just about the size of the bucket, so if it slides at all the basket won't turn. And with the large corn media, the stuff gets all over the floor. It works, but it sucks. If I had to do over I'd just buy: - The F/A tumbler at my "local" shop for $30 (Cheaper than midway! I didn't even think to look there..) - A Dillon or RCBS media seperator $40 - Lyman Green and brown media ($35need it anyways) - Some fine corncob material to take the polish goo off. ($10?) In the end I would have spent another $10-20 vs the kit. Having said that, even at $45, I'm happy with the F/A tumbler, and the kit is an OK value, just not the media separator. Lesson learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinger Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Check out harbor freight. They usually have some that will work fine. And, they are usually cheap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x21 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 (edited) I've been cleaning brass all this week. I'm just about finished cleaning two very full large rubbermaid totes of mixed brass. My tumbler has been running about 10 hours a day since Monday. (each load about 1 1/2 -2 hours) Oh yeah, My tumbler is a big Dillon tumbler, purchased in circa 1989 or when ever they first came out....... It runs & cleans like a champ :popcorn1: Edited May 15, 2008 by 9x21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SV_shooter Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I started with a Lyman Turbo 1200 in '85 and it's still running strong. Last year I got a Lyman 2500 Pro Magnum for the volume. Now I use both. +1 I bought a 2500 originally for skeet in in the late 80's and it hasn't had a single problem. (knocking on wood as I type) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I've been cleaning brass all this week. I'm just about finished cleaning two very full large rubbermaid totes of mixed brass. My tumbler has been running about 10 hours a day since Monday. (each load about 1 1/2 -2 hours) Oh yeah, My tumbler is a big Dillon tumbler, purchased in circa 1989 or when ever they first came out....... It runs & cleans like a champ :popcorn1: Two totes of MIXED brass...eh..? You probably had to add media several time to replace the stuff that is caught between the 9mm stuck in the .40 cases and the .40 stuff stuck in the .45 cases...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x21 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I've been cleaning brass all this week. I'm just about finished cleaning two very full large rubbermaid totes of mixed brass. My tumbler has been running about 10 hours a day since Monday. (each load about 1 1/2 -2 hours) Oh yeah, My tumbler is a big Dillon tumbler, purchased in circa 1989 or when ever they first came out....... It runs & cleans like a champ :popcorn1: Two totes of MIXED brass...eh..? You probably had to add media several time to replace the stuff that is caught between the 9mm stuck in the .40 cases and the .40 stuff stuck in the .45 cases...? How'd you know? yeah, sometimes I even get the three'fer, a 9x21 in a .40 in a .45........... One more day of sorting, and I'm done, I swear I'm going to keep them all seperate from now on! Pass the popcorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinger Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 midway sells a brass sifting kit, which is a HUGE help for sorting. Well worth the 40 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveknapp Posted May 17, 2008 Author Share Posted May 17, 2008 midway sells a brass sifting kit, which is a HUGE help for sorting. Well worth the 40 bucks. Which one are you thinking of? I got the sifter that came with the tumbler. I'd suggest spending $40 on the RCBS or Dillon one before buying this one tumbler. http://www.midwayusa.com/mediasvr.dll/high...leitemid=414369 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinger Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/...&t=11082005 for sorting case sizes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 Thumblers Tumbler ha! That is the type I found with my reloading equipment last year, when I opened the box sealed years ago. I'd asked around here and noone seemed to know where they came from. It must be 20 years old at least and works like a charm. I still want the big Dillon AND the seperator! That is the only part of reloading I find tedious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franksremote Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 Had a Lyman and CV-500 before I added the Dillon "big boy". The Lyman was loud and small (volume). The CV 500 cleaned more, faster and quieter. The "big boy" cleans in half the time and can be stuffed so full that you need a backbelt to pick it up. I tried the "cheaper" route, the Lyman cost me $15, and didn't know better until getting the Dillon ones. I'm only buying Dillon ones from now on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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