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Posted: 4/16/2010 10:28:26 PM EDT
Need a new tumbler my RCBS one crapped out after about 3 yrs motor all burned up either overloaded it or it's the cheap motor they put on it, called RCBS and they told me they could fix it for like $60-75 so I thought I would just put that towards a new one
So whats out there that won't break the bank ? |
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My Lyman turbo 1200 thats 3 yrs old has been running for a week non stop. Think it was $50 or so from grafs, but I have a C&R so maybe its a little more. No problems yet.
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I bought the Hornady. The motor and base look identical to the RCBS and it was (iirc) 35 bucks less. I tried the Cabelas brand.....it ran for 30 minutes.
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I'm still using the Lyman tumbler dad bought back in the mid 1980's. Works great as long as you not minding that I had to replace the rubber nuts that hold the lid & bowl down one time.
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http://www.thumlerstumbler.com/
I have had mine for a year and no complaints. |
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I have 4 tumblers, 1-RCBS, 1-Hornady, & 2-Lyman, and can tell you from experience that the Lyman tumblers are the best, I have left one running for 2 days straight in an enclosed cabinet with no air flow and it never misses a lick plus they have an agitating action to them as well as just rolling the brass over and over like the RCBS and Hornady does.
I picked up a two drum rotary tumbler from Harbor Freight but have yet to use it. I use my ultrasonic cleaner with Aqua Clean mixed 50:50 with water and it cleans brass like you wouldn't believe, plus it acid free and non-toxic so if you leave your brass in to long or forget about it the brass wont come out pink like most liquid cleaners that the acid in it messes with the zinc in the brass if left in to long and isnt good for your brass.. |
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Check out the thread in this forum for the Thumler's Tumbler. It's a rotary tumbler that some of us have been using w/stainless steel media and soapy water. The results just couldn't be any better. The brass cases get spotlessly clean inside and out, including the primer pockets. The Thumler's are supposed to last a very long time also with typical maintenance.
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I bought one from midway about 12-15 years ago it has been running strong in fact i seen they stoped that line a few years ago and found on on EE 35shipped .
http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=17 |
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Need a new tumbler my RCBS one crapped out after about 3 yrs motor all burned up either overloaded it or it's the cheap motor they put on it, called RCBS and they told me they could fix it for like $60-75 so I thought I would just put that towards a new one So whats out there that won't break the bank ? dillon - buy once, cry once |
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Quoted: The big ass one from HF This one, or the Lyman 2500. I have 2 of the Lyman 2500 and they have seen a lot of use with 50 bmg shells over the last 2 years. |
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I have the "Frankford Arsenal" one from Midway. Works for me, but I'm only tumbling 50 cases of .308 at a time or ~200 .45 cases.
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Quoted: The big ass one from HF I have the 5lb from Harbor Freight, works great so far. |
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Need a new tumbler my RCBS one crapped out after about 3 yrs motor all burned up either overloaded it or it's the cheap motor they put on it, called RCBS and they told me they could fix it for like $60-75 so I thought I would just put that towards a new one So whats out there that won't break the bank ? dillon - buy once, cry once I am thinking that this will be my next one and since the big one is just a few more dollars that then little one I am going big. I use to have two of big Dillon ones and they worked fantastically. |
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The big ass one from HF I have the 5lb from Harbor Freight, works great so far. I had one of those also. Shook itself loose after a few uses. Also loud as hell. YMMV |
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Quoted: Quoted: The big ass one from HF link? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96923 |
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Lyman, without a doubt. Mines been running strong for 27 years.
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Quoted:
Need a new tumbler my RCBS one crapped out after about 3 yrs motor all burned up either overloaded it or it's the cheap motor they put on it, called RCBS and they told me they could fix it for like $60-75 so I thought I would just put that towards a new one So whats out there that won't break the bank ? My Blue Kool-Aid, Do you really need to ask this question? Get the Dillon Tumbler of course!! No seriously though, The Dillon tumbler has a HUGE industrial motor, not a cheap Chinese motor like 90+% of the rest of the tumblers. The Dillon really is Heavy Duty. Most of the tumblers use a brushless motor that use brass bushings on the ends to hole the magnet tumbler, well the bushing become oval and the magnet tumbler starts to wobble and shortly thereafter, you are looking for a new tumbler. The Dillon not only has the industrial motor, but it uses ball bearings which won’t become oval and allow the armature to spin true. There's This one too, but it's more than the Dillon tumbler! It's a Heavy duty ball bearing motor. I wasn't sold on the Dillon tumbler untill I saw one in person and looked at the motor, then I was convinced. So I bought one, and couldn't be happier. -Masta |
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I bought the Hornady. The motor and base look identical to the RCBS and it was (iirc) 35 bucks less. I tried the Cabelas brand.....it ran for 30 minutes. The RCBS, Cabelas, Graf's tumblers are all the EXACT same, made by the same company, branded and color coded for each company. I've never looked at the Hornady, but if you say it's the exact same as the RCBS, than it's also made by the same company. Most all of the inexpensive tumbers are all made by the same company (Today anyway, 10-12+ years ago I'm sure it was different), it's the expensive tumblers where they are built completely different. -Masta |
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The big ass one from HF link? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96923 Good Lord, that costs as much as the Dillon one and I am POSITIVE that the Dillon is much better. |
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I went through two of the newer Midway Frankford Arsenal tumblers in a very short time before I gave up and recycled the parts. The contact where the power cord connected to the motor kept breaking off. I have an older Midway tumbler that is still working great.
I don't know which one to recommend but do know which one to avoid. |
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I have an older Midway (before they were Frankford Arsenal) and a Lyman, and a Dillon CV2001. All of them work well, but nothing compares to my Dillon.
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I bought the Hornady. The motor and base look identical to the RCBS and it was (iirc) 35 bucks less. I tried the Cabelas brand.....it ran for 30 minutes. The RCBS, Cabelas, Graf's tumblers are all the EXACT same, made by the same company, branded and color coded for each company. I've never looked at the Hornady, but if you say it's the exact same as the RCBS, than it's also made by the same company. Most all of the inexpensive tumbers are all made by the same company (Today anyway, 10-12+ years ago I'm sure it was different), it's the expensive tumblers where they are built completely different. -Masta Incorrect. The Cabelas had a different motor, different molding on the base and a different bowl.........at least the day I had to go back twice. I took everything they had out of the boxes.....Lyman, RCBS, Hornady and the house brand to compare. |
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I've read some good stuff in the past about this Berry's Tumbler. I believe it is the same as the Cabela's with the exception of the color.
Here is the Cabela's Tumbler and check out the great reviews it has gotten. jonblack |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The big ass one from HF I have the 5lb from Harbor Freight, works great so far. I had one of those also. Shook itself loose after a few uses. Also loud as hell. YMMV Eh, if it happens it happens. So far so good. |
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I had a HF unit as well, the small one. It was loud, the lid wouldn't stay shut and the bowl cracked. I bought a new bowl, and couldn't keep the lid tight. Then the other day the plastic base cracked. That is what held the all-thread on to the unit. So now, the bowl will not mount to the base at all.
In the long run, I think you will be happier with something else. I also have Frankford Arsenal from Midway, as well as the small concrete mixer from HF. I do a lot of 223 so I prefer the concrete mixer. I do 500-750 cases at a timer in the concrete mixer. jonblack |
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Thumler Tumbler Model B seems to be lasting people decades on average. I just got one... using 5lbs of stainless steel media and dish soap. Cleans inside and out as well as primer pockets to new looking condition. Higher up front investment but will never have to buy media again. Think you can see the detail on a snipershide thread.
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Quoted: Thumler Tumbler Model B seems to be lasting people decades on average. I just got one... using 5lbs of stainless steel media and dish soap. Cleans inside and out as well as primer pockets to new looking condition. Higher up front investment but will never have to buy media again. Think you can see the detail on a snipershide thread. I've seem a bunch of threads related to that, and IMHO that looks like it is the biggest PITA. |
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Thumler Tumbler Model B seems to be lasting people decades on average. I just got one... using 5lbs of stainless steel media and dish soap. Cleans inside and out as well as primer pockets to new looking condition. Higher up front investment but will never have to buy media again. Think you can see the detail on a snipershide thread. I've seem a bunch of threads related to that, and IMHO that looks like it is the biggest PITA. Never tried anything else so nothing to compare it to but not too bad... noting to buy over time and equipment lasts so lower long term costs... and fantastic results. Water does drain black... glad that is not dust floating around my work space... |
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Thumler Tumbler Model B seems to be lasting people decades on average. I just got one... using 5lbs of stainless steel media and dish soap. Cleans inside and out as well as primer pockets to new looking condition. Higher up front investment but will never have to buy media again. Think you can see the detail on a snipershide thread. I've seem a bunch of threads related to that, and IMHO that looks like it is the biggest PITA. No PITA at all and cleans just as good if not better than an ultrasonic. I used a final rinse with boiling water and the ambient heat dries the cases fast. Would never, ever consider a dry tumbler again. |
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Incorrect. The Cabelas had a different motor, different molding on the base and a different bowl.........at least the day I had to go back twice. I took everything they had out of the boxes.....Lyman, RCBS, Hornady and the house brand to compare. Interesting. When I compared the Cabelas & RCBS tumblers at the cabelas in St. Charles, Mo last year, they were the exact same. Same as the Graf's tumbler I own, which is the same as the Berry's tumbler. Quoted:
I've read some good stuff in the past about this Berry's Tumbler. I believe it is the same as the Cabela's with the exception of the color. Here is the Cabela's Tumbler and check out the great reviews it has gotten. jonblack Yep, berry's tumbler is the same as the Graf's tumbler, and the RCBS tumbler, and the cabelas tumbler... As I said almost all the inexpensive tumblers are all the exact same. -Masta |
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I've seen pictures of the cases that were cleaned with the rock tumbler and stainless steel media. They look awesome! However, I don't think I would have the patience to clean my brass that way. I did 1000+ pcs of 223, 200+ pcs of 243, and about 1500 9mm cases in my cement mixer a couple of days ago. Of course they were in separate batches and took the better part of a couple days.
jonblack |
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Incorrect. The Cabelas had a different motor, different molding on the base and a different bowl.........at least the day I had to go back twice. I took everything they had out of the boxes.....Lyman, RCBS, Hornady and the house brand to compare. Interesting. When I compared the Cabelas & RCBS tumblers at the cabelas in St. Charles, Mo last year, they were the exact same. Same as the Graf's tumbler I own, which is the same as the Berry's tumbler. Quoted:
I've read some good stuff in the past about this Berry's Tumbler. I believe it is the same as the Cabela's with the exception of the color. Here is the Cabela's Tumbler and check out the great reviews it has gotten. jonblack Yep, berry's tumbler is the same as the Graf's tumbler, and the RCBS tumbler, and the cabelas tumbler... As I said almost all the inexpensive tumblers are all the exact same. -Masta I have had a Cabelas tumbler for almost 10 years now and I can tell you that is on the back porch right now running as good as day one. I couldn't tell you how many thousands of pieces of brass it has polished. I would give mine out of |
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[ I have had a Cabelas tumbler for almost 10 years now and I can tell you that is on the back porch right now running as good as day one. I couldn't tell you how many thousands of pieces of brass it has polished. I would give mine out of Yeah, I don't know about the Cabelas tumblers made 10 years ago, those might have been different. As with most things made 10 years ago, it was probably made better back then! Plus these companies that purchase products from other manufacturers branded for them will change vendors from time to time as one will offer them a better deal than another. That said, I have a Graf's tumber, which runs GREAT.. The biggest problem with these tumblers using china made motors with bushings is that you can't over load them.. As soon as you over load them you start wearing the bushings into oval shape. If you don't over load them, they will last many many times longer.. The Dillon tumbler you can pack that bad boy plumb full and it doesn't affect it any, other than that it takes longer to polish when too full. -Masta |
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Well I just took out my first batch of brass from the 1200 and after two hours it looked better then my RCBS did after 6 hrs and it was the same media
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