Franklin Rotary Brass Tumbler

quote]Finally used my Franklin rotary tumbler. The brass came out like new and it is a PIA to use. I can see how having the magnet they market for use with this machine would help a lot. Also you almost have to have a laundry tub and big work space to get the media all separated from the brass. Knowing what I know now I'm not sure it was a good choice for me. Although I may just start saving up all my brass and do a boat load all at once. The smaller cases do get jammed into larger ones with the steel pins in there too. Adds to the PIA part. Ah well, nonetheless life is good.[/quote]

There is a learning curve to make it much easier. I don't mix my casings. I also don't have ha big work area but not needed. I use 2 five gallon buckets and a strained to separate the pins from the casings. You can get a cheap magnet from harbor freight http://www.harborfreight.com/long-reach-magnetic-pickup-tool-with-quick-release-93950.html I use a cheap dehydrator with a top fan to dry my brass in less than 30 minutes.
 
The smaller cases do get jammed into larger ones with the steel pins in there too. Adds to the PIA part. Ah well, nonetheless life is good.
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Separate your brass before tumbling and you won't have cases inside cases.
 
I just timed how long it took me from the time I shut down the tumbler to the time when all the brass was in the dryer and the "mess" was totally cleaned up. meaning all the pins separated and in their container, everything rinsed, dried and put away, and it was about 18 minutes total. That is working at a normal pace, not trying to race the clock.

Certainly a bit longer than dry tumbling, but not by much, and the results are much better in my opinion.
 
Thanks for all the info and . . .

Thanks for all the info and advice and encouragement. It really does make the brass shine.

I will probably continue to leave my brass mixed for tumbling as I would wind up doing many smaller loads if I didn't. I don't have enough of one type to make it worth the while to do each size alone. Well, maybe with the exception of 9mm. I do have a lot of them.

Live well, be safe
Prof Young
 
I really like mine but it is a pain unless you have a lot of rounds to do. I've learned the hard way to not mix pistol or straight wall brass like 45-70 in it with bottleneck cases. Picking out pins forever. I use the car wash and wax and lemi shine mix also. Wal mart brand not Armourall All but it works better than dawn. I bought the magnet and a Frankford Arsenal dryer at same time. It does do some serious cleaning. I hate cleaning primer pockets. Deprime and let it spin. Take one hour cleaning up mess while drying brass.
 
Anybody have any guesses as to why my F.A.R.T. turns my brass to a bronze color? I've tried with/without steal media, mixed up soap and lemi shine amounts, and I've let them air dry to see if I was over heating them in the oven. When I pull them out of the tumbler they're beautiful but turn bronze within 30 minutes.
 
Sounds like you have some sort of residue still on them.

I've gone to using only ss pins and 1 teaspoon of citric acid powder per 16 oz. of cold water. They don't gleam like they're waxed, but they do have a nice semi-matte shine and are entirely clean.

Once done tumbling (1 hour), I rinse them three times. Then I lay them in an aluminum tray lined with a paper towel and let them dry overnight. So far, no more bronze color, water spots, or visible residue.

If you want to keep using the soap to get that polished look, you might need to let the cases soak in rubbing alcohol for a bit (30 minutes?) to clean off the soap residue and then dry them.
 
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