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Good decision to start reloading... it is a fun and rewarding hobby. From your questions, it is obvious that you have done some thinking. It is also obvious that some more thinking and reading and question asking are in order. That is not meant in a bad way at all. Even those with years of experience can never do too much thinking, reading and question-asking in regards to reloading. No question is dumb. Keep them coming!
1) while a tumbler may be nice, I have cleaned brass for years by just using a mix of water, vinegar, and concentrated citrus juice. My brass may not be real shiny, but it definately is clean.
2) As the other replies have stated, you definately NEED a scale to set your powder measure. The scale is without a doubt a tool that you MUST have.
3) You also absolutely NEED calipers, even if you don't need to trim pistol brass. (which I have never had to do, by the way) How do you plan to measure your over-all length (OAL) of your loaded round without them? (ie: how far to seat the bullet into the case) Midway has a good set of metal dial calipers on sale for $19. I couldn't imagine trying to reload without a set of these.
4)Any brass, boxer primed cases will work. S & B falls into this category.
Keep reading your manual, asking questions, and double checking everything before you get started.
Reloading is very enjoyable, welcome to the hobby.
PS: start setting aside money now for the new guns you will want to buy just so you can reload a new caliber! :-)
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