Frankford Arsenal Quick-n-EZ Case Tumbler Kit

[ninosdemente]

I have been looking for case tumbler and came upon this one in amazon sold as a kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ars...5%3A2470955011

I have seen the case tumbler alone between $40-$50. Which will definitely save me on getting the other items that come with it. Is this a durable tumbler? It does say it has a capacity for 600 9mm or 350 .223 cases. I have neither, but do have .380 and at the moment am not near 600. I do have .30-06 at around 40 pieces until next trip to range, not worried there either. Not looking to reload more than 100 for 30-06 and about 200 for .380. But wouldn't hurt to have them cleaned and ready to reload.

As I have seen this in Cabela's, it does interest me to get this tumbler. How long is a case tumbler last if taken well care of? Thank you in advanced for your help.

[hounddawg]

nice kit and a excellent price

I don't have their vibratory tumbler but I have been using their rotary for about 4 - 5 months for some wet and dry tumbling and it seems durable enough. The walnut shells + the sifter included makes it a great deal in my opinion. I use a dollar store colander and a old 5 gallon bucket myself. It works well enough.

[robhic]

I guess it depends on your definition of "durable." I have one and have used it for around 8 months. I use it for a bunch of cases and also for just a few. I'm not sure how you could abuse it (I'm sure someone could...) but with ordinary use, a bit of care and proper operation it should last a long time, IMO.

I tumble 9mm, 38spl, 357, 380 and 45acp without incident. I'm trying to figure how you could abuse it. Other than overloading or dropping it while dumping tumbled cases into the strainer unit, it's pretty simple to operate.

[ninosdemente]

By durable, I mean that the tumbler will last longer than just a couple of months. I agree as long as it is not abused it will work as it should. Just curious if this is a descent tumbler to get for my needs. Thanks

[robhic]

By durable, I mean that the tumbler will last longer than just a couple of months. I agree as long as it is not abused it will work as it should. Just curious if this is a descent tumbler to get for my needs. Thanks

Again, I've only used mine for 8 months or so and it has worked well (IMO) for the use I've put it through. I normally do maybe 200 9mm cases or 150 plus 50 or so 38/357. It has done what I wanted no problem. If those are close to your needs I'd say go for it. For $50 you can't expect a $400 unit. For 50, I'm satisfied.

One thing I'd mention is that I saw here a while back a small electronic timer someone had gotten off eBay for (I think...) $20. I got one and it has 1,2, 4 & 8 hour settings. You plug whatever (in this case the tumbler) in and set the time. After time elapses you can dump the cases into the strainer. The tumbler is either 'OFF' or 'ON' so this timer is a good addition, IMO.

[jpx2rk]

I've got the tumbler, had it for about 6-9 months as well, most I've run thru it is about 100 cases, but I'm still learning the reloading game so.... Based on my use, I think it will last a good bit of time if you don't load to the max capacity every time which I don't plan on doing. I'm retired so I can run a load thru about any time and of any size I desire. Some wait for a full load, I don't see the need for that myself.

If you get it, check all the nuts/bolts & screws before you use, and then periodically as well. It does vibrate, and if something gets loose, it will get a bit louder than normal, just start looking for something loose and tighten it up.

[Metal god]

I bought that exact kit and have been using it for years , thousands of cases from 9mm to 270 . What can I say about it , It works . It has slowed down though . When I first started using it the brass moved around pretty quick . Now they just kind of float along but it still shines them up . I've stopped using it for straight cleaning . I went to wet tumbling a year or two ago , I just use it for the final shine now .

I think I paid in the $60's maybe even $70 for the kit . Under $50 is a great deal IMO . Is it the best , NO . Does it do the job , YES .

[Nathan]

I would buy that kit, but I have their last generation still going strong after ~15 years!

[Danoobie]

My Frankford Arsenal tumbler is still rockin', after ten years.

[Rimfire5]

Mine gave me good use for about 33,000 case cleaning cycles over 5.5 years. Then the plastic vibrating base wore out and the vibrator wouldn't vibrate enough to clean brass. I switched to the Frankford Arsenal stainless steel pin tumbler for the last 4,000 case cleaning cycles and am much more satisfied with the pin tumbler.
Both the vibrator with polisher in the media and the pin tumbler with citric acid in the soapy water make the brass shine on the outside.

But I think the pin tumbler is better because:
1) it generates no dust to breathe in (vibrator dust includes lead from the primer pockets)
2) it cleans the primer pockets enough to eliminate having to use a pocket brush
3) it cleans the inside of the brass enough to be able to see the bottom when loading powder.
4) you immediately wash the dirty water away instead of leaving all the primer and powder dust remaining in the media cleaning after cleaning.

I used to vibrate the dirty brass for 90 minutes with polishing fluid in the media to get the cases clean and then had to clean out the primer pockets with a brush. Occasionally, media would get stuck in the primer pockets and I would have to poke them out with an awl. After lubing and sizing, the brass got another 60 minutes in the vibrator to get the case lube off the brass after resizing.

Now I clean the brass in dish washing soap and citric acid base dish washer cleaner for 60 minutes, dry off the brass, lube and resize and put the brass back in for 30 minutes and dry off the brass. If you want to speed the drying without creating havoc with the Misses, you can buy an special small oven to dry brass, but I just let mine dry in a rack after getting most of the water off with a big towel.

[Chainsaw.]

Had mine a few years ad have run the bojeesus out of it. Tens of thousands of cases cleaned.

[ninosdemente]

Thank you all for the help.

Also was wondering as jpx2rk commented, to check periodically for loose bolts, nuts. Is this something of concern with all tumblers or just for economical tumblers as this one? As it does vibrate, I see the point he commented on.

At the moment since I am new to reloading, I am looking to not spend much honestly as after this item, I am looking into getting a trimmer. I haven't started loading yet. Have been saving the brass at the moment.

[jpx2rk]

Can't speak for the other brands, but all of the vibratory tumblers vibrate, so I would assume it would be a common problem/issue unless the other brands use the nylok type fasteners, etc. Guess anyone could replace some of the nuts, etc. with the nylok type. The only reason I checked mine closer was because it was just "louder" than normal, nothing major, just louder and after I tightened up the nuts and screws, back to the normal sound level.

[hdwhit]

ninodemente wrote:
How long is a case tumbler last if taken well care of?

While I don't own a vibratory tumbler myself, the people I know who have them and have not abused them have all gotten more than 10 years service. I know one guy who is still using his nearly 40 years later, but that's all light duty. It seems that if you don't abuse them by overloading them, they will pretty much be a once- or maybe a twice-in-a-lifetime purchase.