Rotary Tumbler Used For Rock Polishing

[d31tc]

I have a Hornady vibratory tumbler but have also considered getting a rotary tumbler. Specifically the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler since that seems to be a good value based on reviews and pricing.

As a partial justification to the better half, I would like to honestly say it can also be used for polishing rocks. Does anyone have real life experience with using the Frankford tumbler for rocks AND brass?

Thoughts or concerns?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Otto]

Rock polishing takes considerable time....weeks on end running 24-7. The Frankford Platinum series tumbler has a 3 hour timer which would require constant re-sets. The Frankford Lite series doesn't have a timer but it's build is less robust. I wouldn't consider either for lapidary use.

 

[Cheesemaker]

Justifying to the better half - buy a Thumler's rock tumbler for her and ask to use it occasionally for your brass.

Some folks on here use one - they will likely be along in short order. I use the Frankford - but do not tumble rocks

 

[AJC1]

Justifying to the better half - buy a Thumler's rock tumbler for her and ask to use it occasionally for your brass.

Some folks on here use one - they will likely be along in short order. I use the Frankford - but do not tumble rocks

I agree they last forever, as I inherited and use my dad's and he put a million miles on it. I ordered new shaft bushings and two new belts and like they say it's as good one as it ever was. Hint, unload the belt when not in use, lasts a lot longer.

 

[JCSC]

I use a thumlers tumbler that I bought for the kids to polish rocks, which they did once. It’s been in service for about 7-8 years polishing brass.

thumbs up on the belt tip. I have went thru a few because it gets so darn hot in my garage. I will unhook it from now on.

it’s a good tumbler and about the size of a milk jug. Only downfall is making sure it’s running true before you walk away from it. I always und up shimming a corner with a towel or something to keep it from walking.

 

[Cokeman]

I got the Chicago Electric rock polisher from Harbor Freight and it works great for brass.

 

[d31tc]

Anyone with a FA Tumbler out there want to throw some rocks in there, turn it on for a week and report back?

I was hoping a FA Tumbler, currently $118 on Amazon, would work vs a Thumbler Model A-R12 for $250, or a Model B for $300. Doesn’t sound like it will work, or at a minimum not a good idea.

I’d have thought a motor that can handle 15 pounds of stuff for 3 hours could handle less for longer.

There are cheap kids rock tumblers for under $100 that I’m competing with for cost.

 

[AJC1]

Another useful factoid, the motor speed on the tumblers tumbler is half for rock tumbling as it is for brass. I don't know why bit I will guess using two pole pairs vs on doubles the torque allowing heavier weight. Drum rotation speed may be lower on actual rock tumblers than brass tumblers. The only impact I can imagine would be longer run times needed but I haven't gone down that rabbit hole because I have no need.

 

[Pottimus]

I think the rubber liner coating in my FA is not holding up so good with my limited use. I thought the "Thumbler" brand was built for rocks and repurposed by reloaders?

 

[Remington1911]

Justifying to the better half - buy a Thumler's rock tumbler for her and ask to use it occasionally for your brass.

Some folks on here use one - they will likely be along in short order. I use the Frankford - but do not tumble rocks

What I did, they are the same thing really.

When this entire wet tumbling thing started I had an old rock polisher and figured hay it looks the same, and guess what it is.

 

[AJC1]

I think the rubber liner coating in my FA is not holding up so good with my limited use. I thought the "Thumbler" brand was built for rocks and repurposed by reloaders?

That is correct. I believe the b model has the faster motor for brass. I love that every single part is replaceable.

 

[gwpercle]

I have a Hornady vibratory tumbler but have also considered getting a rotary tumbler. Specifically the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler since that seems to be a good value based on reviews and pricing.

As a partial justification to the better half, I would like to honestly say it can also be used for polishing rocks. Does anyone have real life experience with using the Frankford tumbler for rocks AND brass?

Thoughts or concerns?

Thanks in advance.

If you truely are considering Rock Polishing make sure the tumbler has a rubber lined barrel and top .
Rocks are loaded into the rotary tumbler , some very harsh abrasives are added, starting with course and going to extra fine . Add water and the unit runs for a weeks at a time with the different grits to go from rough to finaly polished stones . . My Thumbler's Tumbler model B Rock Polisher barrel is constucted of steel , hexagonal interior shape and has a thich rubber liner ... the top is held on with wing nuts and bolts .
The frankford arsenal appears to have a plastic barral with screw on plastic cap .
If the wife wants you to polish any stones the abrasives will eat up the plastic barrel .
Now ... go over and buy a Thumblers Tumbler Case Polisher with the steel and rubber barrel ...
the only difference is case polisher runs ar a faster speed than the model B rock tumbler but you can use it to polish rocks with ...plus it's a much better unit than the F.A. will ever be.
I use my Model B to polish rocks long before I started polishing brass cases with it and it does a good job on both with the right media !
Gary

 

[westernrover]

Isn't the FA tumbler just polyethylene plastic? Rocks might damage it. The Thumlers or STM Rebel 17 have thick rubber liners. The Thumlers was originally designed for rock tumbling and adapted through a higher-speed drive ratio for brass tumbling. The STM is basically a copy of the Thumlers brass tumbler with pillow blocks instead of nylon bearings made with lower-cost labor.

Two issues:

First, brass tumbling is better done in large volumes. The FA (as well as the others mentioned thus far) is really a minimum size tumbler. You will waste a lot of time washing brass in small batches with it. Unfortunately, next-size larger brass tumblers are far costlier because too few people demand them. The few really high-volume shooters step up to cement mixers which are not costly at all because of the economy of scale -- there's tons of demand for cement mixers. Don't waste your time washing brass everytime you shoot. Ideally, you want to wash brass a few to four times a year at most. Divide the quantity you shoot in a year by that and pick a tumbler that will fit it. Of course you'll also want to have enough brass that you'll have half-a-year's worth on-hand.

Rock tumbling is considerably different than brass washing -- and that's really what it is. We wash brass with soap and water and agitate it sometimes with stainless steel pins. Rock tumbling in a rotary tumbler changes the shape of the rocks. As the rocks tumble, the sharp edges and corners are knocked and worn off. They take a more rounded shape like river rocks tumbled in the current. If you don't want to change the shape of the rocks so much, but just want to polish them, a vibratory tumbler is better. Lapidary artists add an abrasive grit to the tumbler to polish the rock. It could be silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, or ceramic pellets embedded with the same. The rocks are not processed in a water bath like brass, but in a slurry -- much less water is used.

Personally, I would not use one tumbler for both purposes. I use an STM Rebel 17 for brass washing, along with a Lyman Magnum for vibratory polishing. If I were to buy again, I might prefer a small electric cement mixer for washing and a Thumlers UV 45 for polishing -- the thing I'll say about the Lyman Magnum is that it was a fraction of the cost and works great. For rocks, I have a Lot-O tumbler. I actually bought it initially to polish bronze snap-bolts. It's great for rocks and large metal pieces, but too small for brass. I think it will hold like 100 pieces.

 

[d31tc]

That is correct. I believe the b model has the faster motor for brass. I love that every single part is replaceable.

Doing a little online sleuthing, it looks like they sell a "Thumler's High-Speed Model B Brass Tumbler" with a 3,000 RPM, 1/30th HP, 1.12 Amp motor. The rock tumbling motor is a " Thumler's Model B Rotary Rock Tumbler" with a 1,550 RPM, 1/30th HP, 1.12 Amp motor.

Any idea what size and speed motor is in the FA Rotary Tumbler?

 

[d31tc]

Personally, I would not use one tumbler for both purposes.

Is this due to the potential of grit from rock polishing negatively affecting the brass?

I don't want to stray from this as a gun discussion, because my primary purpose would be for cleaning brass. BUT, it seems that rock polishing is really a more demanding task than brass cleaning; are the cheap rock polishers up to the task of rock polishing. The kids are gung ho for it, so I don't want to buy something that is guaranteed to fail.

Based on all I'm seeing, do you see any issue with the Model B currently listed at Brownells for $219, which seems like a good price. Would I fry the motor if I try tumbling rocks with the 3,000 RPM motor?

 

[AJC1]

Is this due to the potential of grit from rock polishing negatively affecting the brass?

I don't want to stray from this as a gun discussion, because my primary purpose would be for cleaning brass. BUT, it seems that rock polishing is really a more demanding task than brass cleaning; are the cheap rock polishers up to the task of rock polishing. The kids are gung ho for it, so I don't want to buy something that is guaranteed to fail.

Based on all I'm seeing, do you see any issue with the Model B currently listed at Brownells for $219, which seems like a good price. Would I fry the motor if I try tumbling rocks with the 3,000 RPM motor?

Consider getting the slow rpm motor for durability and just run it for 45 minutes with brass instead of 30. You can get a second tub if you find the two are mutually exclusive and not be left wanting.

 

[d31tc]

OK, I see another option on Facebook Marketplace. It is a Thumler's Model A-R2 which has a 4 (6?)lb capacity. They have 2 round drums

I got the Chicago Electric rock polisher from Harbor Freight and it works great for brass.

It looks like this has the same capacity as the Thumler's Model A-R2 with two 3 pound drums, correct? How much brass do you run per cycle with this capacity? Thanks

 

[westernrover]

Is this due to the potential of grit from rock polishing negatively affecting the brass?

I don't want to stray from this as a gun discussion, because my primary purpose would be for cleaning brass. BUT, it seems that rock polishing is really a more demanding task than brass cleaning; are the cheap rock polishers up to the task of rock polishing. The kids are gung ho for it, so I don't want to buy something that is guaranteed to fail.

Based on all I'm seeing, do you see any issue with the Model B currently listed at Brownells for $219, which seems like a good price. Would I fry the motor if I try tumbling rocks with the 3,000 RPM motor?

I wouldn't use the same tumbler for both purposes simply because they're dissimilar processes and the machines best suited for each are very different.
Like I wrote earlier, what we're really doing with the brass is washing it in soap and water. It's more like a washing machine than a rock tumbler.
For rock tumbling, I would prefer a vibratory tumbler.

With that said, I see no issue using a Model B for both, and that price looks good indeed. I could not tell you whether one motor will work better than another for rocks as I've no experience. I can certainly tell you that a faster motor is not necessary for brass. I run my Rebel 17 (Chinese copy of Thumlers) at 3000 rpm and it takes less than 15 minutes to clean the brass. I usually run it for 7 minutes before I anneal, lube and size, and then another 7 minutes to wash the lube off. I would not be bothered at all if it ran at a lower speed.

 

[AJC1]

OK, I see another option on Facebook Marketplace. It is a Thumler's Model A-R2 which has a 4 (6?)lb capacity. They have 2 round drums

It looks like this has the same capacity as the Thumler's Model A-R2 with two 3 pound drums, correct? How much brass do you run per cycle with this capacity? Thanks

I don't know the model you referenced but the standard size is good. Smaller would not be good if you shoot rifle. 223 and 9 could go smaller but 308 cases fill the standard up fast.

 

[25-5]

I've used the Thumbler for 45 years. Never had a stone turned in it. Back then folks found it great for brass as well as it's lapidary origin. Yes unhook the belt. Get the faster motor too.

 

[d31tc]

Well, this probably puts the final nail in the coffin for the idea of using a high speed tumbler for rock ttumbling, be it a Thumler or Frankford. Rock Tumbler.com responded and said rocks tumbled too fast would get tossed “causing them to be chipped and/or bruised.”

So it seems safer to get a low speed Thumler or similar rock tumbler and use it for brass, not the other way around. Also probably smart to get separate drums for rocks and brass due to the slurry for rocks causing problems with brass.