How many cases in Frankford SS pin tumbler?

B

BumbleBug

New member
I'm sure many of you have the Frankford Arsenal SS pin tumbler (see pic). From experience, any idea how many .38 Spcl cases I can do at a time? Any rules of thumb on loading up this thing? Yes, I read the instructions but they seem "screwy". Looking for some TFL "experience" suggestions.

TIA...

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My experience with rotary tumbles tells me that if you fill it much more then half full there is not enough room for the cases to tumble but I have only used soapy water, walnut and corncob for cleaning.
 
Most of the weight will be pins and water. The Thumbler B, which has 15 lb capacity, has 5 lbs of pins and a gallon (8.4 lbs) of solution, so only about 1.6 lbs is left for brass. Probably about 150 .38 Special if that many will fit. I don't know about the FA tumbler, though.
 
I have one. And I load/shoot more 38 Spl than any other.

I've loaded some 300+ on a few occasions. Didn't phase it. Worked just fine. I'm sure it could handle more.
 
I guess I should add on . . .

No matter how much brass I tumble, I always fill the water to about 80% capacity - leaving some "sloshing" air space.

I could write paragraph after paragraph regarding the trials and tribulations - and inconsistent results - I've had, using Dawn and Lemi-shine. Despite my attempts to keep the proportions as consistent as possible. Sometimes the brass would come out shiny and perfect. Sometimes it would come out tawny and dull.

I finally tried RCBS ultra-sonic cleaning solution and have had perfect results ever since - that was about 4 bottles ago. It's excellent stuff. 70 graMs per batch does it every time.
 
I just started using that same tumbler . First time was 300+ 223 cases no pins . This last time second over all was 100 , 30-30 / 100 , 308 and about 100 45acp . the second time I used the pins and had no issues

I just so happen to have all those cases still separated and bagged . Went and weighed them and the total combined weight ( Brass only ) of that second load was 6.4lbs

The 223 cases weighed 4lbs but I did not use the pins on that load .

I'll check the directions again but 150 total 38 cases seems WAY to small of an amount . I mean only putting 150 38 or 50 to 60 , 30-06 cases in at a time just does not sound worth the hassle of wet tumbling .

I was ready to put another couple hundred cases in the 6lb load I just did . The drum can clearly handle a lot of brass so is the real issue the motor and wheels not being able to handle the weight ????

Edit :

Just did a quick glance of the instructions . Mine says not to exceed 30lbs total weight and 0 to 500 cases . The 0 to 500 cases does not really say much because of the different case sizes but the 30lb limit does .

The tub and 5lbs of pins combined weighs 8.5lbs then 8.5lbs of water is a total of 17lbs . So you can add 13-ish more pounds of brass to that . Having all that info I'll likely makes sure I never go over 10lbs of brass because I never really know how much water I'm putting in .
 
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I have that same tumbler. I usually fill it about half full with cases (all the same caliber) dump the whole batch of pins in a squirt of dawn dish soap and a 45 ACP case of lemi-shine. Fill it to the neck with water, set the timer to max and run it. About half the time I forget it's running in the garage until I trip over it the next day. After a healthy flush in the laundry sink cases always come out like new.
 
Metal God said:
I'll check the directions again but 150 total 38 cases seems WAY to small of an amount.
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Note that I was describing the Thumbler B, which is a 15 lb capacity tumbler and not a 30 lb capacity tumbler, like the FA. That's why I said I didn't know about this particular device.
 
Sorry UN , at first I did miss read your post and directed most of my post towards yours . I then reread your post and upon seeing we were talking about two different tumblers I went back and heavily edited mine .

I should have been more clear on that . I was now only pointing out , that few a cases would not be worth the time and effort for me . :)
 
Thanks for all the good responses!

Good information from all here, so I tried 550 .38 Spcl cases (counted by weight). The unit had no problems & the results were beautiful! I'll try 700 as a next step, as it seems the unit still had some room for more & still some "slosh" too. We'll see...
 
Capacity of Thumler's B tumbler

I use a measured one pint less than a gallon of water in an old marked milk jug. A pint is about 1 lb. in weight. You can then add the 5 lbs of pins and a measured 3 lbs. of brass. This is about 310 cases of 38 special. Brass is super clean.
 
I have one of those tumblers that is rated at 45 pounds. It will tumble 1,000 30/06 cases at a time but the gross weight should not exceed 45 pounds. That would be the media plus the weight of the cases.

I have not gone to using a fluid for tumbling but for cleaning the worst of cases I use vinegar, it is cheap and last a long time. Vinegar does not require a power source nor does it require manual operation. Vinegar does work better when stirred, stirring reduces the time necessary to remove patina.

F. Guffey
 
Using vinegar as suggested by F. Guffey in an ultrasonic cleaner, my brass cases turned a sort of pink color, which I learned later, is the vinegar removing one of the metals from the brass alloy, zinc I think it was.

I wouldn't do that again.

Different type of cleaner, different method. YMMV.
 
Using vinegar as suggested by F. Guffey in an ultrasonic cleaner,
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What he meant to say is what he said. He has not gone to using a fluid for cleaning except for the worst of cases. That would be cases have had 20 years + to build up a brown patina. I use a 4 gallon jug that is half full of vinegar. He did not say the jug was plugged in nor did he say it had a handle like an ice cream machine.

He did not suggest vinegar be used. And yes! He placed a time limit of 15 minutes maximum, long before that he suggested a time limit of 2 minutes 30 seconds as a time limit because he was using some nasty stuff. The nasty stuff is the reason he went to using vinegar, the difference? Between the nasty stuff and vinegar? Before he used the vinegar on the cases he could use the vinegar on his salad. The nasty stuff would kill someone.

To speed up the process he suggested stirring.

I have not gone to using a fluid for tumbling but for cleaning the worst of cases I use vinegar, it is cheap and last a long time. Vinegar does not require a power source nor does it require manual operation. Vinegar does work better when stirred, stirring reduces the time necessary to remove patina.
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I should not have to explain this to the choir, but stirring cases in vinegar does serve the same purpose as stainless pins. The cases bump, rub and scrape years of petunia from each other, something like scratch my case and I will scratch your case. In the big inning I used a few cases in an experiment, I left a few cases in vinegar as thought I forgot about them; TURN PINK!? Those cases disappeared.

And still I ask ‘What cleans the case? The acid or the pins?


F. Guffey

Then there was the suggestion of using vinegar for cleaning rust off of metal. , He has used some nasty stuff that that would in appearance boil over while cleaning a cast iron pot, spider or skillet and old tools. Vinegar has a more friendly time factor.

Then there is that thing about cleaning with vinegar, if vinegar scares a reloader it is possible to reduce the acid content by adding water. Adding water adds to the time factor.
 
OK. But why all the trouble with water/soap/vinegar thing instead of just a vibratory tumbler?
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1) It cleans the cases better inside and out

2) you reduce the amount of air born particulates to just about 0 .

3) The cases are actually clean . No gray/black residue left on them that cakes on to your fingers that then gets transferred to other areas of the room or house

2 & 3 are particularly important to me because I have my 18 month old grandson living in the house . Primers still have lead in them resulting in the powder residue on fired cases having lead in/on them . Wet tumbling keeps all of that from every really becoming airborne resulting in transference to other areas of the home .
 
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OK. But why all the trouble with water/soap/vinegar thing instead of just a vibratory tumbler?
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I started on 1,400 cases that cost me $14.00; the cases would require 6 days of tumbling. I used vinegar for 15 minutes then washed and tumbled. It only took 2 hours of tumbling to clean the cases.

Then I purchased 4 metal linked belts of 30/06 cases, I understand the patina does not effect the cases. Again, vinegar saved me time and vinegar cost less than tumbling media and I know my tumblers will not last forever so I have an option that reduces run time on the tumbler.

F. Guffey
 
Good points!

My cases come out clean, and I do tumble in an outbuilding.

Four hours cleans the worst of brass.

Understand the pin tumblers. Thanks.
 
I haven't found it important to know the case count when tumbling, so long as you don't overfill the vessel. I use a Lortone rock tumbler and it is outstanding, as most rock tumblers will be if they have faceted insides to get things churning. I split my 5 lb. bag of pins between two 6 lb. drums.

I haven't found it possible to under fill the tumbler either.

My best results are achieved when I fill the vessel no more than 2/3 full of brass, regardless of count. Just eyeball it. At that volume, I fill with water until the brass is barely submerged...no more. This will allow good churn. Add a tablespoon of dish soap (dawn does seem to work best, but I believe you would get good results with any brand) and a pinch (yes, forefinger and thumb pinch... my pinch equals about a half a 9mm case full for you guys that want more accuracy) of lemmeshine or citric acid. Close and tumble for 90 minutes at the most. If the stains don't come off in that time, it likely wont come off after 20 hours, but longer run times end up leaving the brass discolored once dry. That's it. and smaller volumes, get the same water depth... just submerged, and then I scale back the soap and acid accordingly. same 2.5 lbs. of pins though... that doesn't change.

Tumbling the brass isn't science, though a few folks seem to have difficulty getting good results. Has anyone considered the quality of the water in their area... maybe try distilled water and report back with results. Some well water can be pretty funky.
 
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