Cleaning brass by tumbling in Frankfort Arsenal rotary tumbler

Wambli Ska

My future SIL had a very lucrative reloading business for a few years and during Covid him an my daughter left New York City and moved in with us for a few months.  In that time I learned a ton of tricks of the trade commercial loaders use.  My favorite one...

For years I've used vibratory case tumblers because I always thought rotary tumblers were too slow.  Then he shows up at my house with a few thousands cases him and my daughter picked up from the local range and these things were disgusting, some of them had obviously spent months on the ground.

He fired up his Frankfort Arsenal Rotary tumbler with nothing but hot water and a few drops of dishwashing soap, and let it run for 2 hours.  We then drained the black water filled with clean water and tumbled for another 15 minutes, then we rinsed the whole thing with warm water and poured the cases on a big spaghetti type colander and then on to a towel to let them air dry.  I'll be dammed if all those cases did not look basically new...  When he's doing big scale lots he uses a small cement mixer he bought from Harbor Freight!!!  

This process does not give you the shinny Gold finish that a media tumbler will but it's not that far off.  Cases look like what you'd expect from off-the-shelf new ammo.  He told me that if you want that extra step to shinny you can buy steel pins and throw them into the mix.  They basically fall through the colander with the water and they you collect them with a cheap magnet before you pour the nasty stuff out AND you never have to replace the pins.  If you give the clean cases a quick run with the magnet after they dry you'll pick up any ins you might have missed on the first try AND the added bonus you get to weed out any steel cases that might you might have missed in the batch if you are using range pickups.

So I've been wasting my time using expensive media and polishing compound for years when a simple rotary tumbler and dish soap does as well.  I figured I'd share this with you guys and also that Midway has the FA Deluxe tumbler on sale for only $139 (a really good deal) if you want to give this a whirl.  It will easily do 1,000 .223 cases in one cycle.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012721373?pid=713881




An added benefit is that if you have other hobbies, this thing will polish any kind of material like rocks etc...

gunner81

I always mix a couple ounces of car wash/wax in the mix

breamfisher

For $140, you could probably gin up a bigger one using a 5 gallon bucket or two, a top, electric motor, and some wheels on a wooden frame with a speed controller.  The only thing you'd have to buy from a reloading shop would be the media pins.

Zee

My gifted Lyman does great. 

Japhy

I have range buds that tumble brass using dishwasher detergent like cascade or similar. no foaming!

I have built rock tumblers in the past using 1 gallon paint cans lined with a section of truck inner tube. the can runs on casters, drive is a bolt through the lid and a rubber washer inside. The bolt disconnects from the drive with a nut/lock washer. One version used 2 cans with the motor pulley in the center.

the final polish was very fine aluminum oxide powder, 1 tablespoon per 1 gallon can with just enough water to cover the rocks and rocks filled the can just over half.

Diver43

Guess I am a cheapskate.   Plastic  container dump in media, add brass, throw it in the trunk of the car until needed, i remember it's there or wife asks what's this?

41magnut

I've been wondering what to do since my Lyman tumbler gave it up after 35+ years of use. 

You may have pushed me over the edge.

Wambli Ska

breamfisher said:

For $140, you could probably gin up a bigger one using a 5 gallon bucket or two, a top, electric motor, and some wheels on a wooden frame with a speed controller.  The only thing you'd have to buy from a reloading shop would be the media pins.

I couldn't... It would take me hours that I don't have and tools that are boxed up and in storage.  But you are correct that anyone that's handy and does have the materials and tools could easily rig something just as effective at home.  There are YouTube videos on how to build your own.  This is just expedient and really what I wanted to share was the dishwashing liquid hack because it was new info for me and I hope useful to some others.

Wambli Ska

Japhy said:

I have range buds that tumble brass using dishwasher detergent like cascade or similar. no foaming!

I have built rock tumblers in the past using 1 gallon paint cans lined with a section of truck inner tube. the can runs on casters, drive is a bolt through the lid and a rubber washer inside. The bolt disconnects from the drive with a nut/lock washer. One version used 2 cans with the motor pulley in the center.

the final polish was very fine aluminum oxide powder, 1 tablespoon per 1 gallon can with just enough water to cover the rocks and rocks filled the can just over half.

gunner81 said:

I always mix a couple ounces of car wash/wax in the mix

Interesting alternatives I might try.  I love the dish soap because a quart size bottle of the cheap stuff will last me a lifetime.  You really use very little.

Wambli Ska

Diver43 said:

Guess I am a cheapskate.   Plastic  container dump in media, add brass, throw it in the trunk of the car until needed, i remember it's there or wife asks what's this?

  

Wambli Ska

41magnut said:

I've been wondering what to do since my Lyman tumbler gave it up after 35+ years of use. 

You may have pushed me over the edge.

Great, I was hoping someone might find the sale info useful.  The MSRP is $299 and every other place I shopped had them for $190s to over $200.

Wambli Ska

And for what it's worth FA Media Separator is also on sale for $37 and it really makes short work of separating your brass from dry media, water and metal pins.  Your brass will dry much faster too and no water spots.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016958652?pid=271904

BamaakIII

Toss in a teaspoon of lemishine

Wambli Ska

BamaakIII said:

Toss in a teaspoon of lemishine

Yep, he told me that one too.  He uses some Orange stuff that's basically the same.  BUT, you have to be careful because if you tumble the brass with those citric acid based cleaners and use too much or leave it in the water too long it actually turns the brass a funny orange color.  Ask me how I know...

BamaakIII

True, but it really colors steel with brass plating orange.  Easy to pick out if you don't run a magnet over them.  I use pins so I find them easily

Zee

Lyman Turbo
1.5 hrs
Corn Cob Media

Before

After

JKP

Zee said:

Lyman Turbo
1.5 hrs
Corn Cob Media

Before

After

That's way too easy. 

Wambli Ska

BamaakIII said:

True, but it really colors steel with brass plating orange.  Easy to pick out if you don't run a magnet over them.  I use pins so I find them easily

Did it to some .45 brass I left in overnight.  Doesn’t affect anything, just looks funny 😆 

Wambli Ska

Zee said:

Lyman Turbo
1.5 hrs
Corn Cob Media

Before

After

I don’t have anything bad to say about vibrating tumblers.  I used an RCBS unit for years and it worked very well.  I just hated the expense of changing media and when the alternative is a squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid I kind’a like it especially when I’m cleaning a few thousand cases to sell on GB.

Zee

5-600 cases of .223 Rem done this afternoon. 

I don’t remember the last time I changed media. 

gunner81

I use the vibrating tumbler for about 1/2 hour to polish the brass after I clean them in the wet tumbler but now that I add a ounce or 2 of zip wax I dont have to polish after wat tumbleing

Wambli Ska

gunner81 said:

I use the vibrating tumbler for about 1/2 hour to polish the brass after I clean them in the wet tumbler but now that I add a ounce or 2 of zip wax I dont have to polish after wat tumbleing

Interesting… thanks