Tumbler or Sonic?

[aur0ra145]

Howdy,

After reading for a good 6 monthes, I just hopped into the reloading thing. I'm load testing my first batch tomorrow and it suddenly dawned on me. "You should clean your brass after firing."

So I'm at an impasse, tumbler or sonic? Is one more advantageous than the other? Cost effective? Are there certain brands/makes that I should avoid?

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[huntfish]

I've had a cheap Cabela's tumbler for years. Noisy, cheap, slow, works.

 

[GUNZ n AMMO]

SS Tumbler
Pros
Cleans even the nastiest brass
Shines the brass like new
Cleans primer pockets
Cleans inside of case also

Cons
Expensive
Messy
Harsh on case mouth
Takes a while to dry brass
Adds an extra 2 steps (tumble brass in dry media to clean, Decap, tumble in ss media, dry brass)

US Cleaner
Pros
Cleans brass inside out
Cleans primer pockets
Does not damage case mouth

Cons
Expensive
Solution is expensive (.50-$1 per batch)
Brass are not as shiny as SS tumbler
Adds an extra step if you wish brass to shine (after drying brass, tumble in dry media)

CC/W Media Tumbler
Pros
Very Cheap
Takes twice capacity vs wet cleaners/tumblers
Polish are cheap and uses very little per batch

Cons
Takes a long time to shine brass (specially CC media)
A lot more messier than other methods
Loud
Does not clean primer pockets
Not as shiny as SS Tumbler

 

[jrm850]

They both have their advantage. Tumblers can make them extra pretty on the outside but they are noisy and slower. Ultrasonic does an great job getting the inside of the cases and the primer pockets clean and is quicker. The downside of the ultrasonic or wet tumbling is that you have to dry your cases. I use the ultrasonic most of the time and the tumbler every third or fourth loading. I have not tried wet tumbling with the stainless pins yet, but it looks pretty impressive.

If you get an ultrasonic make sure the timer can be set for at least 10 minutes. Mine cycles every 3 minutes and it is a pain in the butt. I use the 50% vinegar method outlined in one of the stickys on this site.

I don't know if Dillon still has the lifetime warranty on their tumblers or not but I was blown away when I called them yesterday to see if I could get a new motor for an FL-2000 that is over 20 years old. They gave me an RMA and said they would refurbish the entire unit at no cost to me. You might want to check them out.

 

[fx77]

US
Got this Elmasonic device. Can also be used for hand guns with grips off and field stripped
15 minutes and shiny as new. It has heat and sweep features. I compared it to vibratory with walnut shells, ss tumbler and prefer US method. good luck

 

[ChrisGarrett]

18 years with a Dillon CV-500. If you're spending more than 90 minutes with corn/walnut and a little metal polish, you're spending too much time.

I clean my PPs every third cycle, so I'm not worried about getting them cleaned after every shot.

Pimpy looking brass doesn't shoot any worse than super pimpy brass.

Chris

 

[427Cobra]

I have used all 3 methods, the simplest easiest cheapest method is tumbling with walnut shells from the pet store, I coat my media with Nu-Finish car polish, it makes no difference what so ever if the inside of this cases are clean or not, get a vib tumbler with pet store media, some car polish and get busy.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

All three have their place. 1 hour in a vibrating tumbler of corn cob cleans brass for dies, I find walnut very dusty even with dryer sheets in it. A few cycles in an Ultrasonic after sizing and triming removes lube and cleans the pockets and inside (not as important to me). I've used a friends Stainless Tumbler to clean really nasty brass, stuff that was picked up wet and had water marks and discoloration from grass stains up to brass that was so mud crusted you couldn't read the headstamp. Couldn't tell which ones they were after the came out.

As far as cleaning solution; tap water, Dawn, and Lemishine. Cheap and effective, use it for the stainless also.

 

[Unknown]

The cheapest place I have found walnut shells or corncob is at industrial safety supply houses. I uses to to a place in Portland, OR and get 50 pound sacks for $27.00.

 

[Tevis]

Never tried sonic cleaning but stainless media is the bees knees if you want perfect brass every time. Has never let me down. What everyone has said about messing up the case mouth is true. I always redo my brass mouths.

 

[jfseaman]

I have vibratory and sonic, I will get SS tumbler.

Vibratory gets walnut shell and some car polish.

Pistol brass: just vibratory.
Rifle brass: 3 firings on vibratory, on the 4th (or so) anneal and sonic.

I want a SS tumbler for "restoration".

Sonic also gets used to clean parts.

 

[Known]

SS Tumbler
Pros
Cleans even the nastiest brass
Shines the brass like new
Cleans primer pockets
Cleans inside of case also

Cons
Expensive
Messy
Harsh on case mouth
Takes a while to dry brass
Adds an extra 2 steps (tumble brass in dry media to clean, Decap, tumble in ss media, dry brass)

US Cleaner
Pros
Cleans brass inside out
Cleans primer pockets
Does not damage case mouth

Cons
Expensive
Solution is expensive (.50-$1 per batch)
Brass are not as shiny as SS tumbler
Adds an extra step if you wish brass to shine (after drying brass, tumble in dry media)

CC/W Media Tumbler
Pros
Very Cheap
Takes twice capacity vs wet cleaners/tumblers
Polish are cheap and uses very little per batch

Cons
Takes a long time to shine brass (specially CC media)
A lot more messier than other methods
Loud
Does not clean primer pockets
Not as shiny as SS Tumbler

I agree with the pro/cons above and would like to add the following:

I have both a Dillon vibratory cleaner and SS media tumbler. The dust from walnut media goes away with the addition of a cap full of mineral spirits - I've also noticed that mineral spirits enhance the cleaning. I used to worry that mineral spirits might contaminate the case, but any trace will evaporate. I use crushed walnut pet bedding from Ace Hardware as my cleaning media. In the past I've used the stuff available at the local sandblasting supply. I also blow my shells out with compressed air and have noticed that 100+ PSI air pressure will blow most of the ash out of the primer pocket.

SS media gets brass cleaner than anything. However, I've noticed that pistol brass cleaned with this method requires more effort when using my Dillon 550. They tend to gall in the carbide sizing die and require extra effort in the down stroke to pull them off the expander / powder die. This is not the case with brass cleaned in walnut shells. My experience is with 9mm and 45 ACP. I also don't like how the case mouths get peened on rifle brass.

So these days I use walnut media for both pistol and rifle. I'll use SS media for reclaimed range brass or heavily oxidized brass.

 

[Dogtown]

I tried ultrasonic for a few years and found it to be too much of a pain. They are very picky about how much brass you do in a batch, how long you process them, the solution, etc. and while vibratory tumblers are a low background hum, ultrasonic is a high pitch nails on chalkboard buzz. I'm a SS convert now.

 

[rpk762]

If you have the cash get the stainless steel pins. If not just polish them in a standard vibrate polisher. I have used all three.

The pins can be messy with water but your brass is clean every time and it is easy. My only complaint about the SS pin method is I would have liked to hear about it 20 years ago. Well at least 10years ago.