So I bought a Frankland tumbler 30 years ago. Motor went out the first year they sent me a new one and it had lasted until now. So time to replace.

Since I haven't shopped for a tumbler for 30 years what is the best way to go now days and why?

Get a stainless media tumbler or an ultra sonic.

Depends on what you are cleaning:

pistol brass - hard to beat steel pins but you need a rotary tumbler
rifle brass - walnut tumblers work well. I like the Dillons
Precision rifle brass - if you don;t want the necks to get banged around at all, then ultrasonic

I use all three depending on what I am cleaning

I clean both pistol and rifle.

I just put my big old red Hornady bowl on the new 39.99 harbor freight tumbler a few years back.
it's still rolling along just fine.

I used a Thumblers Tumbler for years before I got my large Dillon vibratory. It works great + as with all Dillon products I have had good luck.

quote:

39.99 harbor freight tumbler a few years back.

That unit is now around $65

Whatever one you get, I highly recommend steel pins for cleaning.

Much better than any media we have tried before, and cleaner.

I still using my old viberater and walnut shells. Shiny isn't any better than clean..clean is clean.

My viberator cleaners are all older than me, well almost..

Im satisfied with them..The oldest one, no mame, but is by far the best built cleaner Ive seen..Kinda like my older than dirt monster Hollywood single press that must weigh 50 or more pounds..Been offer big bucks for that baby but no dice its not for sale yet !!!

I used the Thumbler's tumbler for decades and just got a Franklin Steel pins tumbler.
Wow that stainless pin tumbler is the bomb!!!
The brass is wet when I'm done with the pin type but I'm never in THAT big of a hurry to load them again. I can wait until they dry.

Zeke

I inherited my dad's old rock polishing tumbler around 30 years ago and it still works well especially with walnut shells.

Like Dillon BIG bowl,

Ultrasonic - was OK but a few times made the primer pocket dirt like rocks.

Buddy has the pins. maybe he's doing it wrong but has trouble getting all the pins out.

My Lyman Turbo lasted over 25 years, their walnut puts a good shine on the brass too.



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Well I bought the large Frankford rotary and after I checked out I saw Amazon had the Large Frankford vibration tumbler kit normally $102 for $62 so I bought it as well.

I used a corncob media tumbler for years and last year decided to try something different. So I added a thumblers tumbler with steel pins and a harbor freight sonic cleaner. The tumbler/pins setup is great for a like new sheen on your brass, but I found dealing with the water and steel pins to be tedious.
I like the sonic cleaner a lot. It is fast, simple and quiet but it wont bring cruddy brass back to a like new look like the pins will. One plus is there is no pins or media to deal with. You just clean and dry.
In a way the dry media is still my favorite for certain jobs as it probably cleans a little better than the sonic cleaner and there is no water mess to deal with. They all work, but they have different perks and drawbacks. It's kind of a matter of preference really.
I am now making my own bullets from spent .22 hulls. For cleaning them up the sonic cleaner is the bees knees. For basic cleaning of rifle cases I think the dry media still gets the nod for me, and for bringing nasty, dated looking brass back to like new the steel pins wins hands down.

In the hubcaps of a older Dodge with a Cummins diesel...

I replaced my old Lyman vibratory tumbler with the Frankford Platinum model. The cleaning is amazing. I run all my rifle brass through a decapping die and when I’ve accumulated enough it gets tumbled. Primer pockets are cleaner than any of my manual cleaners can do.

There’s a bit of a learning curve for handling the dirty water and pins, but after a few sessions I’ve got that worked out. I spread the cases out on a towel to dry and then as I sort them they get a quick tap, case-mouth down to make sure no pins are left behind. I just wipe the lube off after resizing, rather than tumbling a second time.

I've got one of everything. If its just soot from recently fired brass much prefer just an ultrasonic. Cleans it up in 4-5 minutes. No SS pins to fish out of anything.

For heavily tarnished, military brass etc. SS pins is the way to go. I have a big one that holds about 4 gallons which gets minimal use, mostly 50BMG . And then have 2 or 3 of the 7liter Franford Arsenal that are my workhorses.

I use a heated food dehydrator to dry most all my brass, unless I am just trying to clean up sizing lube or something. For that I have a dishwasher I put in the reloading room which makes quick work for the minor cleanup jobs.

McKay, Man, you are nicely set up. Brian

Since I discovered ultrasonic cleaning, my tumbler gathers dust in the garage. So much faster. I use hot tap water. I add Slip 2000 ultrasonic cleaner to it.I run a full cycle. I then dump that, hot tap water with a drop of dish soap and a two teaspoons of LimiShine. I run 3 more cycles. Brass is clean, primer pockets and all inside and out. Now, blot dry with a paper towel. place brass in a convection oven at 170 degrees. In 15 minutes you will be ready to reload!Step away from the dark side. Step into the light!

I bought a new RCBS tumbler about 6 years ago and used it some. Then I bought a Thumblers Tumbler with the stainless steel pins and the RCBS hasn't been turned on since.