Cosmoline
Member
I've used a vibratory tumbler for years with the standard dry media, but I've always found cleanup messy. Plus bits of media are always getting in primer pockets, and the cases never really seem to get clean. After reloading even "clean" cases my fingers would have lead and powder smears on them.
So I made the leap and got a Thumbler Tumbler plus some sidewinder concentrate cleaner. I'm in the middle of cleaning a backlog of about 1,000 rounds of .38 and .357 plus a few hundred assorted rifle rounds. Here are my observations so far:
--Even without a stainless media in the mix, the wet solution is getting them much cleaner than dry media ever did.
--Primer pockets are coming out cleaner and in much less need of scraping.
--The wetness adds to cleanup time. Instead of being able to go from the tumbler to the press I have to rinse the cases extensively then oven-dry and leave at least overnight for the rest of the water to evaporate. In humid areas this could end up taking even longer. In my case this does not matter since I do this cleaning in big batches then sort and prime. Actual final loading waits for some future time. I get them all ready so all I need to do is pull out the bag and put the primed rounds in the block for powder and bullet.
--The tumbler is quieter than a vibratory, but has more moving parts. I hear good things about the thumbler but I'm not sure how many years this will last. The axles turn on hard plastic channels riding on the edge of a steel support. I suspect over time that steel will wear the plastic down, but we shall see. I put a drop of all purpose oil there to help avoid friction.
--The whole setup is much easier to store. The thumbler is small and fits inside a plastic bucket which also acts as the drainer. Instead of a special media sifter I got a $1 colander at a garage sale.
So far, so good!
Any pointers appreciated.
So I made the leap and got a Thumbler Tumbler plus some sidewinder concentrate cleaner. I'm in the middle of cleaning a backlog of about 1,000 rounds of .38 and .357 plus a few hundred assorted rifle rounds. Here are my observations so far:
--Even without a stainless media in the mix, the wet solution is getting them much cleaner than dry media ever did.
--Primer pockets are coming out cleaner and in much less need of scraping.
--The wetness adds to cleanup time. Instead of being able to go from the tumbler to the press I have to rinse the cases extensively then oven-dry and leave at least overnight for the rest of the water to evaporate. In humid areas this could end up taking even longer. In my case this does not matter since I do this cleaning in big batches then sort and prime. Actual final loading waits for some future time. I get them all ready so all I need to do is pull out the bag and put the primed rounds in the block for powder and bullet.
--The tumbler is quieter than a vibratory, but has more moving parts. I hear good things about the thumbler but I'm not sure how many years this will last. The axles turn on hard plastic channels riding on the edge of a steel support. I suspect over time that steel will wear the plastic down, but we shall see. I put a drop of all purpose oil there to help avoid friction.
--The whole setup is much easier to store. The thumbler is small and fits inside a plastic bucket which also acts as the drainer. Instead of a special media sifter I got a $1 colander at a garage sale.
So far, so good!
Any pointers appreciated.