Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler tip

H

hounddawg

New member
This morning my FART was giving me a fit trying to get the end caps to seal. I cleaned the seating surfaces and gaskets several times but kept getting a slight drip when rotating no matter how much I tightened the end caps

I put a light coating of vaseline on both sides of each gasket and no more leaky leaky from the end caps
 
I've experienced this problem.

I learned to just submerge the gasket in the water (with the cleaning solution) and give the tumbler edge a wipe with my wet finger. Seems to do the trick. The opposite side, I haven't opened in at least a year - if it's sealed, leave it be.

Also, when I seal it, I torque down in small increments with my fingers on opposite sides of the cap. I also don't cinch it down too tight.
 
I learned to just submerge the gasket in the water (with the cleaning solution) and give the tumbler edge a wipe with my wet finger. Seems to do the trick. The opposite side, I haven't opened in at least a year - if it's sealed, leave it be.
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I am doing a batch of .223 for the morning, I will try your method if I have any problems
 
I’ve had the leaky-leaks since purchase, despite trying the varied tricks aside from Vaseline. What I did to stop the leaks was use a rubber strap grip wrench to put some meat behind the closing. Since I don’t have the grip I once had, AND I have small hands, I can’t get much torque going, but the added leverage with the strap wrench appears to work. Since I thoroughly dry my FART, to borrow an acronym, between uses, leaving one size sealed hasn’t entered ny thoughts. So two more tips to consider.
 
I've got a NEW FART, so my question is:
Are you machines relatively new or older with some use. I've got 2 loads of brass done with mine, had a leak on one end but it was because I didn't have it anywhere near tight enough.

Would a new or thicker gasket work a bit better ??
 
I had that same occurrence, I wet FA tumble out in my shed (too loud in my basement) and went out after about an hour and I had water leaking out. o-rings or rubber gaskets that will come in contact with liquid I will use a very light coating of silicone die electric grease. Another fussy sealing issue is my well water canister cartridge filter.
 
My machine is also new. I’ve run 5 loads through. It took me multiple tries to get it sealed, whereupon I gave up and used my strap wrench. Nothing else has worked for me...but that does it every time. I also tumble in my garage, so the leaks wouldn’t hurt anything, but I prefer a dry floor. Not sure what damage the cleaning liquids could do long term to concrete, so I just tighten to avoid any possibility of erosion.
 
I now have a dollar store jar of Vaseline next to mine. I clean the gasket and seating surfaces with a paper towel and give the gasket a light coat. Only needed a medium hard twist to seal twice now, so far so good
 
I like the rubber strap wrench idea. Clever.

I let mine thoroughly dry (usually) between uses. The side I leave sealed seems to remain sealed. I don't get the ends mixed up via use of the cannon logo. The breech end is used for loading and unloading. The muzzle end stays sealed. So guess my FART is a breech loader :D. Okay, that may not have came out right. :p

I've had mine for about five years. I've used it more than most; and less than some. Very pleased with it. Very pleased.
 
Question - are you putting any soap into your tumbler? When I run my Lyman, I add a tiny drop of dish soap to the mix. - I seal the container - then I shake it - then I re-open the container to release the built up pressure caused when the tiny drop of dish soap bubbles up.

If I don't do this step, pressure builds up within the tumbler and invariably blows the seal. If I take my step of agitating the soap and releasing the pressure, no leak.

Tumbler design would benefit by having a pressure release valve installed in the center of the lid.
 
Some additional points - rubber seal basics - dry seals leak, wet seals don't - moisten your seal.

Ensure the seal is free of debris - make sure no polishing media is under the seal when you moisten and close it.

For those of you cranking down your lids with strap-wrenches - you're crushing your seals and putting pressures on the plastic lids and threads they weren't designed to take and there-by shortening the life of your equipment. I recommend you only ever use a strap wrench to remove your lids.

Tumblers are never designed to be "full" - but typically only half full so the items being tumbled and the polishing media plus the liquid component fill less than half the volume. Don't over-fill your tumbler.

As the polishing agent cleans. the volume expands - release this pressure after an initial shake of the tumbler contents by opening and resealing the lid.

And lastly - all liquid systems - indeed - all plumbing eventually fails. My Lyman is designed in a way so that when the tumbler leaks, it runs off the machine without getting into the mechanism. It takes into account the universal truth that all plumbing fails. Let it leak - so what - as long as it's not pouring out and isn't leaking enough to empty the tumbler before the run is done, put a towel under it or run it in the garage where a tiny leak doesn't matter.
 
indeed a better tumbler design would be NO lid at all, but a tumbler that has high walls and a design that required no seals.

I've heard of a person using a small home cement mixer that tilts back when filled with brass and media and polishing compound and dumps into a media separator made out of screens and an old sink.

If I was running a gun range and interested in processing my own range brass in volume - this is likely what I would set up after CAREFULLY pulling out all the unfired rounds. I'm occasionally frightened by how many unfired rounds I come across when I buy buckets of range brass.
 
I also use hot water so as it cools a slight vacuum is created
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Me too.

For those of you cranking down your lids with strap-wrenches - you're crushing your seals and putting pressures on the plastic lids and threads they weren't designed to take and there-by shortening the life of your equipment.
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When I found the strap wrench idea "clever," I was thinking in terms of applying even pressure around the radius of the lid for minimal distortion. In my head, only light torque would be applied - not "cranking down."
 
Yeah - I hear you Nick - but I write method & procedure documents at work and continually have to go down to the crayon level and not assume anyone knows anything ;-) . No offense meant for those who do know better.

I'm sure you've all heard of "Murphy's law - if it can go wrong, it will". - Few people have heard of Murphy's definitions -

Murphy's Definition - Experience - Recognizing the mistake when you make it again....

Find the humor :-)
 
No cranking here. I have small hands...can’t fit them around the lid at all...and can barely hold onto the cannister while applying the strap wrench. I doubt I’m using as much force as some fellows with larger hands. Leverage, that’s the key.

Nonetheless, I’ve been warned.

I have noticed that it takes no more pressure to remove the lid (also with the strap wrench) than it took to put it on.
 
I know the feeling. I too used to write tech M&P's in a previous life. It's a world were every word has a specific meaning and even punctuation can completely change the meaning. Thinking back, I rather enjoyed it. Words mean things.
 
No cranking here.
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Getting things to seal is often a counter-intuitive endeavour. Less is usually more. I work part time in the plumbing department of a major home improvement chain. I often find myself telling people not to over-torque compression fittings, hose bibbs, gas valves, etc. Let the seal do the work.
 
Since I started using silicone grease I only need about half the cap tightening torque that was needed as compared to dry rubber seals. Think about it, rubber is tacky and you will get friction and deformation to an extent. Slick them up with some type of silicone lube and now things can slide , minimal deformation and a happy seal. I worked for over 20 years for an industrial hydraulics pumping company and 80% of our Buna-N orings and gaskets got a coating of either grease or oil. Thick grease is also a great way to ensure orings stay in place when used in a female grooved application for assembling mated components.
 
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