New dry tumbler advise?

[zeke]

My Midway 1292 fuinally bit the dust and haven't kept up on decent dry tumblers. Any suggestions for a quality dry tumbler?

Thanks

[kilotanker22]

I used a Lyman 1200 for a decade. Recently got a bigger Lyman 2200 turbo.

I have always had good results with the Lyman.

[Reloadron]

I really doubt it matters much and I don't believe Lyman, RCBS, Frankford Arsenal or any of the leading distributors ever actually make a tumbler anymore then Sears Roebuck ever made a gun. Most are made in China and simply colored and branded to what a distributor wants. Some higher end may actually be made to a distributor's specifications but they all pretty much come from the same mold. Vibratory type tumblers all work on the same principal using the same type motors.

I still use an old (circa 1990) Midway 1292 and have several. Had a motor finally fail in one and just replaced the motor with a cheap shaded pole type motor from Amazon. The capacity is good enough for me. I suggest you just find something similar, consider the bowl size (capacity) and buy based on a good price. Amazon list the Frankfort and other flavors in the $50 to $70 range. Find one that looks to fill your needs and buy it.

Ron

[dahermit]

My Midway 1292 fuinally bit the dust and haven't kept up on decent dry tumblers. Any suggestions for a quality dry tumbler?

I used a Midway 1292 for years. However, I was always taking it apart to reattach the wires which would break off from the vibration...seemed to be of flimsy construction, no bottom cover, wires frequently breaking, etc.

I bought a used Frankford Arsenal off ebay and have had that one for at least three years of very frequent usage. It began to hang-up this Winter in very cold weather, but I dropped the aluminum bottom plate, sprayed it with brake cleaner, lubed it with spray lube, and it is back in action.

[7.62 man]

I got the Lyman 1200 it works great. I use walnut to clean before I size (it saves the wear on your reloading dies), then I use corn cob to clean the lube off the cases & polish the cases to a nice shine.
If you buy another brand make sure the tumbling bowl has a cone in the middle like this one. Because without the cone you won't get the turbulence or roll in your tumbling to do a good job of cleaning. It just makes it work better.

{Edit: Please read board policy on posting copyrighted materials.}

[Charlie98]

I'm in the same boat... I fixed my 1292 last year, or so I thought. The last batch of brass I ran through it I could hear the motor hanging up. *sigh* Jeepers, I've only got 28 years of service out of it... what a ripoff.

[Metal god]

I'm personally not a fan of open or vented lid types . I tumble indoors and separate outdoors so having a sealed system works best for me .

[kilotanker22]

Originally Posted by Metal god

I'm personally not a fan of open or vented lid types . I tumble indoors and separate outdoors so having a sealed system works best for me .

I have a clear plexiglass lid on my Lyman. Works pretty well.

[zeke]

Thanks all, it be appreciated. While looking at tumblers couldn't believe they were actually selling some with vented lids and no on/off switch.

[Dufus]

I have used an UltraVibe 45 since 1996. No problems and it works quite well.

I might mention I have the industrial version.

http://www.thumlerstumbler.com/vibratory.html

[hooligan1]

Been using a Thumlers Tumbler for over 30 years and it works Everytime no sweat.

[jetinteriorguy]

My Lyman lasted about four years. I replaced it with the kit from Franfort Arsenal and so far after three years it's working fine.

[BumbleBug]

My ancient Ultravibe is still going strong so I haven't looked at vibratory cleaners in a while. But I did notice that the Smartreloader model has a bottom spout that you can open & turn the unit on & it would sift the media out into a container leaving the brass in the bowl. Perhaps they all do that now, but it seems to be a good feature & idea.

[Marco Califo]

Amazon is selling Frank. Arsenal 855020 for $39.95. I have had 2 of these over years except this looks like a new product #. Keep your old bowl. It is very handy to have several. I recall buying a spare at Harbor Freight Toys and it fit (and came with media). I also plan to buy a 2nd tumbler so I can have one for walnut cleaning, and another for corn cob polishing (car polish and bees wax). I just bought granulated bees wax, and plan to add some to my next run: squirt of polish and 2 tbls wax.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001M...e_1?smid=ATVPD

[mikld]

Yep, I have one of the Lyman wobblers with no off/on switch and a slotted lid (I'm just normally cautious about dust, not totally afraid). I installed an inline switch (10 minutes) and when I'm using the 1200, I usually have a fan going and I don't do deep breathing exercises with my face over the wobbler. I got my Lyman 1200 in about '90 and it shares my brass cleaning with a dual drum HT rotary with custom drums...

And like Ron says, we really don't know who manufacturers them, just who puts their name on them and sells them..

[m&p45acp10+1]

I have one of the Harbor Freight models. I am on the second one. The first one lasted about 6 years. The motor was still going strong on it. The threads on the post stripped so bad I could not tap them again. The second one I have I put a washer on the inside under the lid. On top of the sleeve. It has not had the problem the first one did.

I do not use it much these days, as I have the FART (Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler) with the stainless steel pins. My sinuses are much happier now. Brass gets very clean as well. I do still use the vibratory to clean the lube off of loaded straight wall rounds when I get done loading them. A few minutes in the green Lyman media, and they are clean, and shine like brand new.

[RC20]

Ultra Vibe beat my old Lyman all to heck.

[Marco Califo]

I have an old Midway tumbler with the removable bowl. I believe that model became the Frankford Arsenal tumbler around 2000. Mine still runs fine. Along the way I picked up an extra bowl and walnut media from Harbor Freight, and the bowl was inter-changeable as hoped!
I very recently bought the new Frankford Arsenal Dry Tumbler (Amazon was cheapest). This one DOES NOT HAVE THE REMOVABLE BOWL. It is a fixed bowl you attach with screws. It also does not have the center cone, which helps move the brass and media in a down the cone up the side fashion. Capacity is greater. The cone shape issue is easily remedied with a small cheap funnel, trimmed, mounted on the center post and held down by a nut. Leave enough room for the lid and wing nut. It works very well, and cleans quickly with clean media. Gunk up the media and it stops cleaning. I just ran 2000 handgun range brass through one new set of Lyman Tuf-Nut, and I think it is ready for the trash. I tried adding some brass polish and auto liquid wax, with brass in it and had a bad clumping issue. Add polish to empty media and run.

I do very much like the removable bowl feature. Berry's and Harbor Freight are apparently the only suppliers of removable bowl tumblers. The swap-able bowls allow an extra sorting bin, different media, and different set of brass in progress capability.

Using new Lyman Tuf-Nut actually cleaned LPP and SPP pockets pretty well in just a few hours. As the media got dirtier, that happened less. Tuf-Nut costs more, and has a LOT of Jeweler's Rouge added. I got a box of Frankford Walnut to mix with the Lyman. Straight walnut seems very good for cleaning.

I do have a FART. I also have a Labrador retriever puppy, and cannot find both end caps right now. I did use hot water and dish detergent to pre-clean the dirty 45 ACP first. The steel pins would have worked better and quicker.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/58...z-case-tumbler
https://www.berrysmfg.com/item/qd-50...r-w-extra-bowl
https://www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-m...ler-67617.html
HFT does not currently offer the extra bowl and media.

[T. O'Heir]

My Lyman is so old I forget what model it is. Turbo something. It's 35 plus years old anyway and still works just fine. It does need a cardboard box over it to quiet it though.
"...Midway tumbler..." Midway is like all other retailers. They have stuff made for them, but make nothing.

[Marco Califo]

Mine says MidwayUSA Model 1292 on the label. I did not say Midway made it. "Brand", "manufacturer", and "seller" are defined in the dictionary. Hope that helps.

[dahermit]

I'm in the same boat... I fixed my 1292 last year, or so I thought. The last batch of brass I ran through it I could hear the motor hanging up. *sigh* Jeepers, I've only got 28 years of service out of it... what a ripoff.

The age of your tumbler is immaterial. It is how much it is being used that is relative to its perceived utility. May through October, I use mine everyday. the Midway 1292 did not hold up to daily use. I got tired of tearing it apart and re-soldering the broken-off wires. The Frankfort tumbler is built much heavier, has a bottom plate to keep dust from the motor, the wires do not break off.

[Targa]

I am very happy with my Frankfort tumbler especially for the price.

[zeke]

Thanks all, got the Graph and sons house brand (cheap). Supposedly holds 1000 9mm cases, and it is much quieter. The older Midway tumbler worked better with making sure it was full of brass, will see how this one performs full.

[RC20]

sigh, another one goes cheap. And after all that good advice!

I dump so many cases into the UV it dogs down like a John Deer old 2 cylinder diesel and grunts like a pig and you swear it will stall out but it keeps on vibrating.

[totaldla]

I've been using a Dillon 500 case model since 2000 - just a data point.