Ive had the same old RCBS viberater cleaner for umpteen years, never used a tumbler..

Would like to hear what most think between the two..

I like the simplicity of a vibrator cleaner. Gets the brass clean enough and I don’t have to mess with wet brass and media.

I used the walnut, corn garbage for 20 years. Been using SS pins and soapy water for the last several years. No comparison - the water and pins in the tumbler are the only way to go. Quicker, cheaper, better job - no comparison.

Meh.......
Have had a Midway vibratory for a zillion years, like the energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going. Leave it on overnight, life is simple.
Lyman media (the kind of greenish stuff) does the trick. Buy a new box of the media now and then, good to go.

I bought a midway vibrating set up in 84 and in 2016 it quit working. Called midway, they sent a new one under the lifetime warranty they offered. I think I paid about $30. In 84 for it on sale. Can your tumbler match it on price, warranty and performance?

The SS pin method makes the brass essentially look like new. Its clean, inside and out.

The downside is that it is a more involved process and takes more operator time.

If I am doing something that I want to look like factory ammo, I go to the SS pins. In particular if I have really dirty brass and its something that the dies are hideously expensive, I will break out the rotational tumbler system.

But I almost never use it. Maybe 2 times in the last 5 years. The vibratory cleaner works well enough, and it takes a ton less of my time and effort.

I'm with Redstone and Buckeye, as my old Midway vibrator just keeps on going and going...

I use a vibratory tumbler on brass. I don't really care if it looks new, I just want it cleaned up.

I use rotary tumblers at work because I need things polished and hardened. That is one thing to keep in mind, and one thing I don't see mentioned by people who use steel shot, it will work harden whatever is being tumbled.

Sticking with my Dillon vibratory model. Not interested in the extra work to do wet with pins.

Sometimes let stuff vibrate for a couple days. Gets pretty clean.

Every so often deprime .45 ACP first step to get primer pockets cleaned up before dumping them into the RL1050 hopper.

I've been using a rotary tumbler for over 25 years, first with porcelain beads, then porcelain pins, now SS pins for the last several years. The beads were good but didn't always get primer pockets very clean and the porcelain pins could sometime get stuck sideways in the pocket. SS pins are far quicker, even with drying, and make the brass look perfect.

Great for black powder cartridges too. I used to have an involved clean process for BP cases, now I just throw them in with a shot of dish soap and spoon of lemmishine and they look like new in about an hour. Rinse with hot water in a colander, dump on a towel, shake or blow any water out of the flash hole as I stand them up, load the next batch, and they are about dry.


It's also easy to clean the media. I've thrown piles of cruddy 577 snider cases in and wouldn't want all of that junk that comes off mixing with my next batch or to have to replace the media often. I'm sold on it.

Bob

I made a rotary tumbler and use it with walnut/corn cob media. It works. Ive thought about getting a new vibratory unit, but I cant see myself going to SS pins and water. KISS works good enough for my brass cleaning needs.

I use both systems.
the wet system is not compatible with lanolin type case and bullet swaging lubes.

it however will remove tarnishes and stuff the walnut wouldn't remove in 5 years worth of tumbling.

anyway.
my normal process is to wet tumble for 1.5hrs.
then toss them directly into the walnut media for another 1.5grs. to dry the cases and to add a coat of wax.
if I need to get the case lube off they go only into some corn cob media.

the wet tumbler can be used with dry media BTW.

quote:

vibratory unit

I use an ultrasonic unit with a citric acid solution to clean cases. The cases come out clean, inside and out in about 15 to 20 minutes then I rinse them in water and place them in a vibratory unit (Lyman 2000) for 15 or so minutes in untreated walnuts shells to dry them off with the added bounce of a nice shine.

I only use a tumbler for polishing rocks.

I've got both, and have used both exactly once, wet tumbling with stainless pins will make old brass look new, but why???

$10 worth of tools (primer pocket cleaner and a cartridge brush) does all that is needed other than a soft rag.

Phil

I suppose I use the vibrator because it’s easy and does a good enough job. Just 30 minutes of dirty brass before sizing then about an hour after sizing to remove lube and give a bit of polish. Walnut media with three caps full of mineral spirits and a tablespoon of BonAmi gives a very nice polish and the brass is clean.

Inherited my tumbler (Sears) from my dad who used it to polish rocks for years after he bought it from another rock polisher. It works; especially with walnut.

Well guess I'll just stick with my old viberator, it cleans just fine in a couple of hours, but takes 3 days to look like factory and that does not interest me at all, clean is good enough and protects my dies.

It would probably work even faster if I tossed out those 3 or 4 year old walnut shells. and used fresh ones...

I have a Thumlers Model B I bought around 1975.. I've used mostly walnut hulls, the small size that doesn't get stuck in flash holes, but have also tried corn cob (sucks) and steel BB's with a cup of water and a drop of Dawn dish soap. They all work just fine. The biggest pain wit the Thumlers is the 8 wingnuts and washers you have to deal with to get it open..

I've tumbled many thousands of rounds of all calibers from 38 special to 375 H&H over thee years.. i mean THOUSANDS.

I also have a POS vibratory one I got from Harbor Freight. I use that for convenience or to pre-clean really grungy cases.

If my Thumlers dies, I'll replace it, but if the Harbor Freight dies, it will bee goodbye.

I started out with a Tumblers Tumbler in the early 70s. When the medium would get old I would put it in a pan w/ gasoline, stirring occasionally. After a bit, I built strain it through a piece of hail screen (hardware cloth.) cut + formed into a funnel that was covered by a newspaper over a 5 gal bucket. then drained. Let the medium dry then use again. I used the same medium for years. I still have it but now I use the large size Dillon vibratory model. I also go to the pet dept. of the grocery store + buy 40 lbs. bags of hampster (read rodent) bedding material that is guess what? Crushed walnut hulls at a fraction of the price.

quote:

Originally posted by Greyghost:
I've got both, and have used both exactly once, wet tumbling with stainless pins will make old brass look new, but why???

$10 worth of tools (primer pocket cleaner and a cartridge brush) does all that is needed other than a soft rag.

Phil

Agree in terms of functionality that cleaning brass to look like new doesn't do much, but I bet anything you would be first to return a packet of factory ammo to the shop if the cases were discolored, stained and perhaps showed some carbon staining around the neck

I just like clean cases, if not just to help find ejected cases to reload again.

Not hardly, discoloration and staining are normal. If you are talking about corrosion that is a completely different matter. Or if I was to purchase new ammo and when it arrived it was obviously reloads and a deliberate attempt at deception by the seller... you'd be right.

Phil

I've used the vibrator for 40+ years, not going to change now.

Dave

I use all of the methods regularly. Pistol brass all goes in the wet tumbler. Easy to do and I used the normal dillion media separator to rinse and separate pins out. Brass does come out better than new. Problem is you can't use it for rifle brass or you get fine peening and a lip at the necks. Rifle brass gets put in the walnut media tumbler or for really special loads where I want the necks to stay perfect I use an ultrasonic. Doesn't polish but gets ALL the dirt off. (usually have to moly the inside necks to seat bullets)

only downside of a tumbler, with the usual media, is crumbs get caught in the primer holes, sometimes. with a properly filled media, there aren't any others