Got a Frankford Arsenal Tumbler arriving tomorrow

[BeauxKneauxs]

I'm looking forward to this useful tool. Looks like it should make cleaning a snap. It also comes with 5 lbs of stainless steel media which I hear is superior to other media types.

I paired it up with a universal decapping die for dirty brass to eliminate extra cleaning steps and prevent damage to my resizing dies. My goal is to have one cleaning cycle then load.

Just thought I'd share. Comments welcome.

[wilson1911]

Be sure you deprime only before you wash. Pins will get stuck in the necks if you don't for some calibers. fyi I use a dehydrator to dry my brass after I get done washing them.

Careful on the lemishine also, it only takes a little.

[markm]

I get pins stuck in my flash holes no matter what. But, yes. Decapping before tumbling is a good idea.

[Koshinn]

PSA, stainless steel media is about 6.5mm long.

I know this because every 100 rds or so of 6.5 i tumble, about 5 have pins stuck sideways in the case neck that require using a punch or something to get out.

[BeauxKneauxs]

Thanks guys. I also bought a Lee universal depriming die. 250 rounds through and no issues so far. Once I have cut all the brass (5.56 to 300 BLK) then I will tumble. Better yet I should swage first. Need a cheap solution for that. Any favorite recipes for cleaning solution? Frankford included a brass cleaner concentrate.

[wilson1911]

dawn ultra only
lemishine

Normal portions are 1 cup dawn and 1/4 teaspoon lemishine. I would start with 3/4 cup dawn ultra and a pinch of lemi. Too much lemishine will make your brass not as shiny, kind of orange and dullish. This is the hardest part to get right.


Markm I have been trying to find some "long ovals" that look like footballs to use instead. Just can't find them cheap enough yet.

2 hr wash time, longer for dirtier brass.

[RedRallyeZ]

i ONLY wet tumble now. i use the thumlers tumbler, but same concept. You will be very impressed with how much better your brass looks.

I decap, then tumble with dawn and lemishine, and for ar loads will tumble again to remove case lube after sizing and trimming. No matter the case, i have found that about 5% of whatever i tumble will have pins lodged in the flash hole.

I just got the FA brass dryer in the mail today. I'm interested to see if that helps to cut down drying time.

[wilson1911]

I use a dehydrator

[BeauxKneauxs]

dawn ultra only
lemishine

Normal portions are 1 cup dawn and 1/4 teaspoon lemishine. I would start with 3/4 cup dawn ultra and a pinch of lemi. Too much lemishine will make your brass not as shiny, kind of orange and dullish. This is the hardest part to get right.


Markm I have been trying to find some "long ovals" that look like footballs to use instead. Just can't find them cheap enough yet.

2 hr wash time, longer for dirtier brass.

How many cups water?

[LoboTBL]

I like using Simple Green and a little bit of Lemi-Shine. It doesn't take much of the green stuff since it is so concentrated.