Reloading Equipment Question
- Thread starter 2/7 Grunt
- Start date
They seem to produce good reloading support products. My shooting buddy has their larger tumbler and likes it. I personally would not use their presses or other main reloading equipment but that's me. I support reeding, lyman and rcbs mostly but forester and a few others make good gear. If your willing to pay more for made in the usa I feel strongly redding and widden will give you a very positive reloading experience.
Last edited:
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Try to go with a thumlers tumbler. All the frankford stuff is pretty entry level and will just get replaced as skills advance. No need in buying stuff twice. Whatever part of loading you want to do just ask for advice on here then buy used from here. Welcome to the forum
I've recently purchased their platinum rotary tumbler. I've used it only twice so I cant speak to longevity, but it does a really good job at cleaning brass. The media seperator, however, is a joke and I would get something better. I ended up using my old RCBS seperator for the last batch. Plan to get the newer Hornady seperator soon.
If you go with the frankford rotary, the mesh straining caps you can purchase separately for 10 bucks are awesome, although I feel they should be included with the tumbler.
Frankfords caliber specific loading blocks are the bees knees. I have two each for the rifle calibers I load.
I also have their brass dryer and hand priming tool. The hand priming tool seems pretty good, but I've only used it to prime a handful of cases. Its a recent purchase. As for the brass dryer, it seems to work well, but I wish it had a timer. The reviews on it dont seem to great either but I haven't had any issues.
LC
If you go with the frankford rotary, the mesh straining caps you can purchase separately for 10 bucks are awesome, although I feel they should be included with the tumbler.
Frankfords caliber specific loading blocks are the bees knees. I have two each for the rifle calibers I load.
I also have their brass dryer and hand priming tool. The hand priming tool seems pretty good, but I've only used it to prime a handful of cases. Its a recent purchase. As for the brass dryer, it seems to work well, but I wish it had a timer. The reviews on it dont seem to great either but I haven't had any issues.
LC
Frankford Arsenal make decent equipment, I have a couple of their products and they have worked well for 5-6 years.
As for a press and scales, I would stick with RCBS, they have good products and offer excellent repair/replace policy, if you have a issue. However there are other excellent companies that offer good equipment/tools, just depends on how much your want to spend.
As for a press and scales, I would stick with RCBS, they have good products and offer excellent repair/replace policy, if you have a issue. However there are other excellent companies that offer good equipment/tools, just depends on how much your want to spend.
R.Morehouse
Gold $$ Contributor
Welcome Aboard.....The Thumbler unit mentioned would be the way to go. I use their vibrating unit mostly for coating bullets now & then. I suggest looking at the effects on the brass (case mouths) that stainless media has. I personally like leaving carbon in the necks and just giving it a light brush. I like the results on bullet seating............Have Fun & Happy Shooting....
Regards
Rick
Regards
Rick
Any wet tumbler will do a good job even the China Freight model. What I was searching for is quality and longevity so I bought the Thumbles Tubmler and have been 100% satisfied with it.
I have the FA large and mini wet tumblers, prefer the mini just due to the lower volume of brass that can be tumbled (1000 vs 300 cases in 223). I don't shoot that much and prefer smaller batches to deal with. I also have the FA reloading stand with 2 LEE single stage presses which works for my needs.
30 + years on my thumlers model B wet or dry rotary tumbler, needed one belt, that's it .
Last edited:
wkdickinson
Gold $$ Contributor
I've been using a Frankford vibratory cleaner for maybe 10 years and have no complaints, cleans good and no problems with the unit. I also agree with a previous post that their "loading blocks" are great and cheap.
I would however be very hesitant to purchase a press from them or any other "prime" reloading tools. Like Dusty said, buy quality up front, so you only have to buy it once. In my opinion after 40 years or so of reloading, the Forster COAX press is worth every dime of their premium price, along with Redding, Forster and/or Whidden dies.
I would however be very hesitant to purchase a press from them or any other "prime" reloading tools. Like Dusty said, buy quality up front, so you only have to buy it once. In my opinion after 40 years or so of reloading, the Forster COAX press is worth every dime of their premium price, along with Redding, Forster and/or Whidden dies.
I started long ago tumbling with a deluxe rock tumbler with a fan cooled ball bearing motor and traditional rouged nut hulls and such with chads from a TWIX to clean the lube off sized brass. The duty cycle was pretty much continuous duty with multiple barrels. Passed it on when finances kept me from shooting much but it was the best.
I bought a Frankford Arsenal vibrator when finances improved but I've never plugged it in. I'm prejudiced against the dust and mess from rouged nut hulls and want faster results than pet bedding and corn cobs.
I bought a Thmbler's B with steel pins package on sale and like it very much. That said I quite agree that painting the inside of the unpainted inside steel drum is a good idea - the Thumbler's machine has some lacks compared to the long ago top of the line tumbler with pillow blocks and zerks on the rollers.
I like the steel pin cleaning and I'm lucky enough to have buckets of police range brass so I bought the bigger Frankford Arsenal on sale to do more brass at a time.
The results are pretty much the same. I feel guilty about pouring the dirty water down the drain but I don't know how else to dispose of what I suppose is really hazmat.
I also have the biggest Hornady brand ultrasonic - bought to do complete uppers or a variety of parts simultaneously - it's handy to clean, but not polish, a fistfull of brass for no setup and quick turn around.
Then again folks who use a CoAx and T7 with Redding bushing dies might feel better putting a Thumbler's on the same bench while folks with an old RockChucker might be just as happy with a Frankford Arsenal.
Bottom line I find capitalism works and anything that lasts in the market is likely to be good enough.
I bought a Frankford Arsenal vibrator when finances improved but I've never plugged it in. I'm prejudiced against the dust and mess from rouged nut hulls and want faster results than pet bedding and corn cobs.
I bought a Thmbler's B with steel pins package on sale and like it very much. That said I quite agree that painting the inside of the unpainted inside steel drum is a good idea - the Thumbler's machine has some lacks compared to the long ago top of the line tumbler with pillow blocks and zerks on the rollers.
I like the steel pin cleaning and I'm lucky enough to have buckets of police range brass so I bought the bigger Frankford Arsenal on sale to do more brass at a time.
The results are pretty much the same. I feel guilty about pouring the dirty water down the drain but I don't know how else to dispose of what I suppose is really hazmat.
I also have the biggest Hornady brand ultrasonic - bought to do complete uppers or a variety of parts simultaneously - it's handy to clean, but not polish, a fistfull of brass for no setup and quick turn around.
Then again folks who use a CoAx and T7 with Redding bushing dies might feel better putting a Thumbler's on the same bench while folks with an old RockChucker might be just as happy with a Frankford Arsenal.
Bottom line I find capitalism works and anything that lasts in the market is likely to be good enough.
I have their wet tumbler and it gets used a total of about 6 times per year. It's fantastic for that.
First and foremost, welcome.
Just got a Frankford Arsenal platinum wet tumbler just before all of the covid crazy hit, did my first test batch of 400 9mm cases with nothing but a little Dawn soap and two hours. The cases came out very good, I will add some lemishine and more time on the next test and I bet they will be perfect. I was slightly overwhelmed with the management of the pins, and I did not like the extra mess of all the rinse and dry of pins and cases vs a vibratory tumbler, it may be more trouble overall but I think it's going to do the best job. I am working on a plan for a dryer that will use the discharge from a shop vac, If I can get it to work like it does in my mind things will be better.
There seems to be a wide opinion gap here about how clean cases need to be, it really doesn't matter how clean they need to be, what matters is how clean do you want them.
Did not look at my tumbler, but a web site stated manufacture was in China.
Just got a Frankford Arsenal platinum wet tumbler just before all of the covid crazy hit, did my first test batch of 400 9mm cases with nothing but a little Dawn soap and two hours. The cases came out very good, I will add some lemishine and more time on the next test and I bet they will be perfect. I was slightly overwhelmed with the management of the pins, and I did not like the extra mess of all the rinse and dry of pins and cases vs a vibratory tumbler, it may be more trouble overall but I think it's going to do the best job. I am working on a plan for a dryer that will use the discharge from a shop vac, If I can get it to work like it does in my mind things will be better.
There seems to be a wide opinion gap here about how clean cases need to be, it really doesn't matter how clean they need to be, what matters is how clean do you want them.
Did not look at my tumbler, but a web site stated manufacture was in China.
Thanks a bunch! I have seen those (Midway or somewhere). I shoot competitive pistol (IDPA) and I will shoot my first PRS rifle match on the 23rd so I understand "
Hey, thanks I really appreciate it. Yeah the whole cleaning or not is not an option for me I believe. I need to reload 6mm Creedmoor for PRS shooting, so the accuracy needed for that kinda requires clean brass. As for the China thing, I'm a Vietnam/Cold War grunt and after that, this COVID 19 stuff is a "last straw" kinda thing. Thanks Again
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.