Got a Frankford Arsenal Tumbler arriving tomorrow

[jbdesigns]

after sizing my rifle brass (using imperial wax lube) i put them in the wet tumbler with hot tap water, filled to top like normal, one squirt of dawn, 1/4 teaspoon of lemishine and about 1/2 cup of denatured alcohol. the alcohol cuts the wax and lube and helps to suspend it into the water. if i didn't use the alcohol, the cases are just a touch greasy when done. hot water also helps to get the lube off. cold water would make it much tougher to clean the lube off.

[Rolls-Royce]

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.

+1 on all the above. I also use a dehydrator to dry cases. When the FA case dryer seemed to be out of stock everywhere, I just picked up a Nesco food dehydrator that looked identical except for the color of the trays, was about the same price, and was in stock at all the online retailers.

[Rolls-Royce]

I want to bump this...

I've had my Frankford tumbler sitting in a box for about a year, and I finally put it to work today.

As threatened, I threw an ugly ducking Glock slide in there... Nevermind how (my fault), but I have nothing to lose with this slide. So far, the steel pins are doing a good job chipping away at the misbegotten DuraCoat on the slide (not DuraCoat's fault: my fault).


I have a question about recipes:

This site says 5lbs pins, 8lbs water (1 gallon), and 2-4lbs brass:

http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/tips/

Given that the Frankford tumbler holds about 15lbs of water (7 liters), it seems like 5lbs of pins aren't enough... The recommended recipe (above) should be about double to reach the Frankford's capacity (not to exceed 30lbs, total).


Finally, the Frankford pins are 0.041 or so, which is the size that stick in primer holes (so I hear). So, I bought another 5lbs of 0.047 pins from GunTap (best price I could find). So, far it's humming along...

Call me lucky, but I'm using the Frankford pins and haven't yet had any stuck in flash holes. I have seen a few .223 and 5.56 cases become absolutely jam packed with pins, though. it's weird to have a case like that leap nearly an inch off a pile of them to my magnetic pickup tool...