FART or Thumbler?

[Joe R]

i wonder ...
does the ss pins harden the brass

The ss pins act as buffer between the cases while at the same time polishing the cases inside and out. I anneal my brass each time to get consistent neck tension. The annealing process raises the grain of the brass making the neck a little grabby resulting in uneven bullet release and deteriorates accuracy. By using the ss pin after annealing, they polish and clean thereby resolving that problem.

In conclusion, I seriously doubt that the pins harden the brass, but if you tumbled without the pins the casses would collide with one another resulting in peening. Peening is a little lip that forms at the case mouth and that will affect concentricity, neck tension and bullet release.

Kindest regards,

Joe

 

[amlevin]

Food dehydrator works good for drying your brass.

I just anneal after cleaning. Any moisture in the case disappears in no time at all.

 

[chkunz]

I am interested in trying the FART but do not need the stainless steel pins. Has anyone seen the FART for sale without the pins? It looks like Frankford Arsenal only sells one package that includes them and does not offer the option of the tumbler without the pins.

 

[Joe R]

T-REX
I am interested in trying the FART but do not need the stainless steel pins. Has anyone seen the FART for sale without the pins? It looks like Frankford Arsenal only sells one package that includes them and does not offer the option of the tumbler without the pins.

Clyde,
buy the FART and I'll gladly buy the pins for $30 delivered to my door. See http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/8-FRANK-909544

Joe

 

[C Valentine]

LOL! You boys will never grow up will you?
For what it's worth, I have a FART and love it though I cannot make a comparison to the Thumbler since I have never used one. Only problem I have with it is that it takes really strong hands to close it tight enough so that it doesn't leak around the seals. If you have arthritic hands, you might have a problem. I think maybe softer, more pliable seals would help. If you are going to dump the contents, I highly recommend a magnet because no matter how careful you are, those pins escape everywhere. I just reach in and pull the cartridges out by hand, but my hands are small. From the videos I have seen, the FART turns a lot faster than the other RTs out there, and it does the job fairly quickly. I have never left my brass in there longer than two hours and it is always spotless. Next time I will cut the time back by 30 minutes and see if that works. It's fairly noisy, so I put it in the garage or out on the sun porch.

 

[Joe R]

Xhuntress said:
I have never left my brass in there longer than two hours and it is always spotless. Next time I will cut the time back by 30 minutes and see if that works.

Xhuntress,
I'll save you some time. I tumble them for 1 hour and I haven't seen any difference in cleanliness/shine. Been doing it that long for a couple of months.

you are going to dump the contents, I highly recommend a magnet because no matter how careful you are, those pins escape everywhere.

+1. I recommend a concrete/tile surface. I wouldn't try carpet, especially if you go barefoot sometime.

Kindest regards,

Joe

 

[chkunz]

T-REX
I am interested in trying the FART but do not need the stainless steel pins. Has anyone seen the FART for sale without the pins? It looks like Frankford Arsenal only sells one package that includes them and does not offer the option of the tumbler without the pins.

Clyde,
buy the FART and I'll gladly buy the pins for $30 delivered to my door. See http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/8-FRANK-909544

Joe

Thanks Joe, the price is right, if I decide to buy one I will give you the pins free. As of now I am just thinking about trying one. I have the old Model B that still works so I am not highly motivated but the FART looks like it is a better tool for the job.

 

[amlevin]

Xhuntress,
I'll save you some time. I tumble them for 1 hour and I haven't seen any difference in cleanliness/shine. Been doing it that long for a couple of months.

If you are cleaning brass frequently, an hour is probably just right. When cleaning come crusty old range pick up brass, especially military brass like LC 5.56mm, three hours might not be enough for the first run.

 

[savageshooter86]

Who's got best price on FART now?

 

[Pres100]

Who's got best price on FART now?

I got mine from an Amazon vendor over Thanksgiving holiday for $156

 

[savageshooter86]

This unit come with the larger pins or the small size? Do they stick in flash holes?

 

[Pres100]

The pins that came with. Mine are 0.039" and I haven't had any stuck in flash holes, but have had them stick in my .308 necks length wise (0.310" long)

 

[savageshooter86]

I broke down and FART. Got a good deal on it from GRAFS

 

[comagutsa]

ive had my thumbler model b now for about 1.5yr and it hasn't missed a beat, love it best money I have spent 8)

 

[Joe R]

avageshooter86 said:

I broke down and FART. Got a good deal on it from GRAFS

Be prepared to be amazed.

 

[savageshooter86]

Now Frankford says to NOT store stainless pins wet? Thumbler says you can?

So what do y'all users do?

 

[Joe R]

Congratulations on your new toy, Andrew.

I leave the pins in the colander that is lined with a cloth. The water eventually drips out and if it doesn't no big deal the pins are stainless so no rust. The colander is plastic no problem there.

Be sure to rinse the brass with clean water (I then pour it over the pins). I do it twice to stop the Lemi-shine acidic action. If you don't you'll get lots of stains and discoloring because the citric acid is still working on the brass.

Joe

 

[savageshooter86]

And rinse with cold water right?

 

[Joe R]

And rinse with cold water right?

I prefer to use hot water (out of the faucet) to do the initial tumbling and then rinse with warm water. But that's purely a personal preference, I assume it works just as well with cold water.

Joe

 

[comagutsa]

I rise mine in cold water and leave wet in tumbler ..haven't gone rusty yet