Stainless steel tumblers

Looking to get mail into using this method for cleaning brass. Any recommendations of which tumbler to buy and opinions why? Was looking at the frankford arsenal platinum brand. Any comments on such?
Thanks Jake

Get the big Frankfort Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART). Do big batches.

I have an Extreme Tumbler Rebel 17 I like a lot: http://extremetumblers.com

On the other hand a friend has a hillbilly set up of a PVC pipe with plugs that uses a discarded treadmill for the rolling action. I think it has about a 2 gallon capacity.

I have a BiggDawg Tumbler that does 20lbs of 45acp brass at a time and with 20lbs of pins plus water it gets heavy.  Unfortunately he no longer makes them but they can easily be made just from a picture.  I guess my second choice would be the FART.
- Dave
You can kind of see the paddle in the opening of the small drum.  There are 4 in a 8" drum only 2 in the smaller drums.

Frankfort

Not to hijack the thread, but rather to solicit opinions!  I'm trying to address my 33 blood level score by changing my cleaning habits.  That is for cleaning both brass and gun.  For the latter Ultrasonic Cleaners have been used for number of year by LE.  I had opportunity and bought 5 GA Sonic Systems cleaner, which is nowadays Infante S9 - https://www.infanteultrasonics.com/product-page/s9 I decided to try using it for cleaning brass.  So I filled main tank with solution containing tap water with liquid dish washer soap and a little bit of lemon juice (instead of citric acid) for additional acidity, and let it loose.  I tried four different batches of brass from 10mm to 50AE, and brass came out shiny and clean (yes, even 50AE that was quite dirty, especially at reams area) after 20 minutes of action with temperature setting at 60 degrees of Celsius.   So, I'm planning to keep brass cleaning solution in the main tank, and have two pans for gun cleaning and lubing.  Does anyone do something like that?  AP

You are likely to find that your brass will be "squeaky clean" and more likely to hang up in sizing and mouth expansion.  You probably will need case lube.

I use the large Hornady US cleaner - also to address lead levels.  

I deprime, resize and expand first with a N-100 mask. then I clean with RCBS solution.  I use Hornady one-shot after cleaning, although I am also experimenting with liquid car wash/wax and have been having no stickiness at the crimp stage.

This is what I use, but I'm certain that they all work fine:

https://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/?SID=450a75079c8d5fd0e0aa442529d94dfe

Joel

I use the F/A full sized pin tumbler, don't bother with the smaller one, it takes too much time, go with the big one. Personally, I use 10lb of pins. Load the pins, fill the tumbler almost to the top with brass. Then 1/4tsp of Citric Acid (I get mine at Wall Mart in the canning section, a jar of BALL Citric Acid will last you 2-3yr) and "3 DROPS" of Dawn Dish Soap. Then fill almost to the top rim of the tumbler. I use HOT WATER, just seems to do a better job. Then tighten down the caps and pin tumble for 2hr. I'll then drain as much water as I can without the pins/brass falling out of the tumbler and put in "1/4" cup of BAKING SODA, refill and tumble for an additional 15min or so. The CITRIC ACID will lower the ph of the water and make it more acidic and if you don't neutralize it, the brass will tarnish really fast. Putting the BAKING SODA in and running for an additional 15min or so, will bring the ph of the water back up close to neutral and it will be less acidic and the brass will look better. Rinse the brass well, then put it back in the pin tumbler without the pins. I went to Wall Mart and bought a pack of hand towels and put 4-5 in the pin tumbler barrel. This will knock off most of the water and absorb it and make the complete drying process much easier. After all of this, I dry the brass in the oven at 180deg, then put in the Dillon Dry Tumbler with walnut media and NuFinish Car Wax. I tried using other types of car wax, but none are as good as the NuFinish as far as I've tested. Run for a little bit and the brass comes out looking better than new. Good Luck and enjoy

Look up Lortone, and never look back

Ultra sonic cleaners does not address the lead issue any better than the SS media method.  Both puts the lead in to the water and prevents aerosolization which is the problem with regular tumbling media.

Multiracer wrote:Look up Lortone, and never look back

I use ground walnut and liquid Flitz, mostly because I don't have a sink in the basement (reloading room). I bought my Lortone from Gil Hebard guns, in the '80's. I think the only thing I've changed on it is the rubber belt (once). You are right, the Lortone tumblers are built to last, like a lot of things from times past.

Yep, Ultrasonic cleaning is the way to go. I use 2 cap fulls of Hornaday ultrasonic cleaning solution, 30 minutes @ 40 C in the bath rinse well a few times, let dry for a couple days then polish. Cases look great, perform well.

Cut my lead level in half from 19-20 to 9 - 11.