Frankford Arsenal "Lite" Rotary TumblerI've been thinking about "wet tumbling" for a long time. My son had taken the plunge about 2 years earlier with a kit from
Stainless Steel Media (
https://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/ ). It was a complete kit and he liked the way it cleaned his 223 brass. I had to admit, the results were very impressive, maybe even making me a little bit jealous. The brass
really looked good. But the near $300 price tag put me off. Besides, I already had the large and super large dry vibratory tumblers from Dillon and they were doing just fine.
Then last week he was giving me a run down on how his first 2 years had gone. He was genuinely in favor of the wet tumbling, but said the container that came with the SSM kit was not easy or quick to operate. Apparently, their cover attaches with 6 threaded fasteners. You need to keep track of those 6 nuts and not loose any of them in the backyard when you open the container. Getting equal tightness to prevent leaks was also a short coming. Finally, the ease of entry and sealing was simply not there. It was time consuming. The 6 fasteners meant a wrench had to be located, and each fastener tightened/loosened independently, even if simply to check the cleaning progress.
That's when he mentioned the
Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (
FART for short), and talked about the small version called the "Lite", which could hold 300 .223 cases, so it might hold even more pistol cases. And the best news was, the Lite sells for only $99 ! The FART lineup differed from SSM version in that the container's end cap had giant threads and simply screwed-on, like a big jar. Opening and closing was much faster and much easier.
My wife quickly agreed. If I had to FART, then a Lite FART was highly preferential. So with little delay I went to the
Graf & Sons web site to see what else I'd be needing. Turns out the Lite FART is comprised of only the canister and the motor unit. I would also need stainless media ($18), a "media separator" ($28), and the
Lemishine. So the whole thing totaled for under $150. How could I loose ?
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This little unit is very well thought out. The motor unit powers one set of soft rubber wheels, while the other axle spins on ball bearings. The thick, one-piece plastic cover design is sleek, and made to shed water easily. There is a single ON/OFF switch on the front and a 2-prong, 6ft power cord from the rear. Being an all plastic housing, there is no fear of electrical shock.
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The ~1 gallon canister is comprised of 4 parts: the canister, a clear plastic window, a thick neoprene gasket for the window, and the threaded cap. The cap incorporates a carry handle which puzzled me until the device was loaded with brass, steel pins, and water. Now I really appreciate the carry handle !
Operation is smooth and without motor noise, but it is a rotary tumbler ! I never saw the motor hesitate or stall, it seems to turn 400-500
38 Super cases with ease from start to finish at about 30 RPM. The canister has no trouble staying water tight, and easily stays in place atop the motor unit. I ran it outside for 4 hours in direct 90?F sunshine under load, and the motor housing was barely warm.
I'll need to report later on the results because the process is still being perfected. And, of course, being a
newbie, I purchased the wrong
Lemishine product. So it's back to the store on that score. Still early results look promising. Primer pockets are most definitely coming out of the tumbler in a spotless condition. So while I cannot give a conclusive report on the cleaning process, I can give 2 thumbs up on the FART unit itself.
To be continued. Product links:
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/77903 https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/77904 https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/5379
