Rebel 17 Ammo Brass Tumbler: 17 lb Commercial Grade Rotary Case Cleaner, Stainless Steel Drum, 40 RPM High Speed Unit for Ammo Reloading

After deciding it was time to upgrade from my Frankford Arsenal vibratory tumbler, I looked for a more versatile solution for cleaning my brass. Enter the Extreme Tumbler Rebel 17. It excels in that it has the flexibility of two cleaning methods: precision tumbling with Nishiki rice and steel pins for pistol or rifle brass where MOA is not the primary consideration. When wet tumbling, I use Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Wash & Wax and Lemi Shine, along with 1/8" steel pins. The combination leaves my brass gleaming and free from residue. What can’t be ignored is how the steel pins clean the primer pockets or how quite the machine operates. The primary reason I chose the Rebel over Lyman, RCBS, or the F.A.R.T is that the Rebel is built with commodity parts. From upgraded bearings to enhanced feet, you have the freedom to tailor its performance to your exact needs. Prior to purchasing, I reached out to Extreme for clarification on some features, and their prompt response and thorough answers made the choice clear. Overall, my brass has never been cleaner.

I've had mine for almost a year now, and everything works great thus far. A year ago, I decided to go with wet tumbling as oppose to dry vibratory tumbling for 2 reasons, 1) I don't always have the greatest ventilation for dry media/dusts, and 2) I like the finish of wet SS tumbling. At that time, I was evaluating the options of building my own or buy a off the shelf unit, like Rebel 17 or Tumbler's Tumbler model B. Between the two off the shelf units, I like the Rebel 17 for its finishing touches, such as the large nylon lid knobs and the drum powder coating. As I was getting very busy last holiday season, I opted to buy the Rebel 17 so I can start cleaning right away instead of spending too much time on fitting parts, which I didn't have and had to purchase, together. When I received the Rebel 17, it felt very solid and well made right out of box. The motor and the belt fitted together with the base perfectly. The rollers spins freely with little resistance. The thick rubber lining is very heavy duty, and is very easy to pull out of the drum for easier cleaning. I've since cleaned a few thousand cases, and each cleaning resulted in some pretty impressive case appearance, which may not have much practical value but does put some smile on my face. There are a couple of shortcomings of the unit. 1) the motor on the unit is not very strong, which limits the load, and causes some worry on the motor longevity (so far no issue), 2) Rebel 17 is probably the most expensive option in my original research, and is on the pricey side, but I'm confident that this unit will last and keep me enjoyed for many years to come.

This is a well built heavy duty machine. There was only a couple peices to assemble on this machine. It was just the drive belt system. Super simple to aline the rubber belt and pulleys. We’ve tumbled thousands of rounds now with absolutely no issues. We’ve even loaded it up to 20lbs instead of the recommended 17lbs. Did not affect it one bit! Would 100% buy again if I needed a second one.

This is my first wet tumbler and I love it. I chose the Rebel 17 over the Thumlers Model B because this one looked to be of higher quality. The Rebel 17 uses pillow block sealed ball bearings and heavy duty shafts. The Thumlers Model B uses nylon like bushings that ride on stamped sheet metal grooves instead of bearings. I received my Rebel 17 a few days ago and it has been running almost constantly since it was delivered. The motor makes no strange noises and in fact I can't believe it's as quiet as it is. The tumbler drum rides on rubber pads on the shafts and really keeps the noise down. You can set right next to it and have a conversation no problems. The instructions said that I could tumble 4lbs of brass at a time so I filled it with 5lbs of SS pins and 4lbs of 223 that turned out to be 345 rounds. The motor started the drum rotating with no problems and ran for 9hrs before I came back the following day to check it. The motor does get warm to the touch but not hot. It was like Christmas when I opened the drum and saw all that shiny brass! Overall I am very satisfied with this tumbler and I'm glad I picked it before jumping on the Thumlers Model B wagon.

First of all, so far I love this tumbler. I mainly bought this as my 4 year old loves pretty looking stones she finds outside in the yard or at the beach. So I bought a small tumbler to make her some polished stones but it takes about 4 weeks to do a batch. This is fun but you don't get many after it is all said and done for the time you wait. This is why I bought what I believe is the best, affordable and more or less maintainace free large capacity tumble I could find. It is about as stout as it looks thus far. I know most get this for cleaning brass shells but it as works Great for tumbling and polishing rocks and stones. I HIGHLY recommend this if you want to do large batches of stones. UPDATE: I have had a few issues with some of the parts after continues use for several months but StainlessTumblingMedia has had the Best customer service and helped me out immensely. I would still Highly Recommend this Tumbler and StainlessTumblingMedia as a Great business who takes care of their customers..!!! THANK YOU

Motor won't start on its own, has to be "helped" and then hums loudly while running. Driven pulley wobbles some. Unit seems to be well made, and the drum is really heavy duty. I am returning this one and ordering again, I'll update the review when I get to try another one. 11/17/2104 I received my second tumbler. The factory box was badly damaged, as was the first one, but it was then inside an Amazon box which was fine. When I was assembling the unit I noticed one of the studs that the cover fits over was bent and I straightened it, more or less. Once assembled I turned it on, and like the first one it just hummed and needed assistance to get started. I went ahead and prepared a load of brass, 500 .223, according to the directions. I turned the unit on and again needed to assist it to start turning. I let let brass tumble for about four hours and I must say I am impressed. It came out shiny and clean and looking like brand new. I have updated my review from two stars to four. I think for the hefty price tag it should have a motor that doesn't need help to get turning, and they definitely have some issues with packaging, or handling, where this item comes from. But the end result is very good.

Bought this one to replace the old red one that didn't make it through a house fire - what a beast! Pillow blocks instead of nylon bushings? Brilliant! This thing screams "heavy duty" and I've used it quite a bit. Went through many batches with stainless tumbling media - running the tumbler 8-10 hours at a pop and it doesn't even hesitate. I have it tucked away neatly in one of my Ikea cube shelving units and it fits perfect. The plastic nuts for the lid are a bonus too - used to tear up my fingers taking the old wingnuts off the old red one. Fill it with water, some ArmorAll wash & wax, a pinch of Lemishine (for the hard water since I'm on a well) and whatever you're cleaning - this along with the stainless tumbling media will get it clean. Best part is, if you're using reusable media (the stainless media) you generally don't have to replace it like you do with a vibratory tumbler. Just rinse and repeat!

By far the best way of cleaning brass. I do 1/2 hr of cleaning and the BRASS looks great. Added a pic of a 30 minute cleaning. I just wanted to clean enough to deprime and then clean the pockets. But found out that 80% of reloaders don't clean pockets. Yes on my precision shooting I clean the pockets and my Barrett 416 brass I clean the pockets. Says 4lbs of BRASS. I have doubled that and it cleaned them and still was able to run the tumblr. I avg 25lbs total weight I turn not the 17lbs it says and I have no issues. But I did have 15k cases to do and it worked like a champ. I ran that thing for 4 days from morning to night and at night I ran it all night 6-7 hrs no issues Last topic. DO NOT MIX DIFFERENT SIZE BRASS to clean. They get stuck in the bigger cases and they don't get cleaned. As long as brass cases can't get inside the other cases your good. 223 with 308 fine. But 40 with 45 NO!!! You get what I mean. On dumping the brass out of the tumbler I found that you get a huge powerful MAGNET for the pins. I use a BRASS SORTER to dump into so the pins fall through that. The. I dump into a 5 gal bucket with 1/2 water and I put my MAGNET in my hand and swirling it around to pick up loose pins. Do this several times I found that I don't loose as many pins this way and MUCH EASIER to collect them back where they belong. When you dump onto a TOWEL you can use the magnet here also then all you need to do is set outside in the SUN Or. I ha e thrown them in the OVEN at 180 degrees for 1 hr. The brass feels just the same if you had them baking in the SUN for hours they are about at same temperature. I can still pick them up with my hand not for a long period but I can handle them The red machine is $170 at midway now I paid $230 so mad. But I LOVE AMAZON they are the best. When I hear negative comments about damage or something wrong call them they will send another next day and you return yours. No question asked. Wow a honor system but they will charge your card if you don't return it. Even theft I had issues and they are great. UPS and FedEx don't knock out here in California they drop and run. But know I have them trained it goes on the side of The house. Behind the gate how easy Buy this unit and you will be so happy when you see the FIRST BATCH of brass come out.