I have been using untreated corn cob, just recently tried walnut casing. How long are these good for before they stop working or effectively polishing the brass?? And how long do you usually tumble your brass??
Thanks all!
Thanks all!
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Brass tumbling question??
- Thread starter mrmags
- Start date
I use corn cob and tumble overnight usually. I add some frankford arsenal polish/cleaner and they come out nice and shiny. I've reused my media quite a few times now. At least 6 or 7 tumbles. If you rip up a used dryer sheet and add it to the media, it help traps the black dust/fouling to keep the media clean.
Night_solstice
NES Member
someone suggested Zilla ground English walnut reptile bedding from Petco, and I haven't turned back since. Run it as is for a clean, add Nu-finish to shine it up.
With what media? I know my brass is not remotely polished after 1.5 hours. Although being shiny isn't crucial but I like my brass shiny lol. As long as most of the debris/fouling is removed so it doesn't jam up the dies over time then you're good.
The good thing about being shiny though is that you can notice cracks and dents easier than on a dull case.
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How clean your brass comes out after a certain time depends on how dirty it is going in. I tend to let my brass run 3 hours or more. I use the walnut media for 6 to 9 months. My two tumblers run a couple times a week typically. I ran one for 6 hours today. I also use a third tumbler with corn media to polish up finished ammo...mostly rifle ammo though. I'll use a variety of additives with the walnut. Mostly it is nu-finish polish and odorless mineral spirits. I toss in a couple bits of flannel rags lightly dampened with hopes #9. ( I don't use a dryer so I don't have used dryer sheets) The flannel really sucks up a lot of the carbon and dirt keeping the media cleaner. I've been using Lyman treated corn media to polish the finished ammo not because it is anything special other than I got a good clearance deal on half a dozen jugs of it. I think it has their own turbo polish in it.
Brasso has ammonia in it, which weakens the brass. It not a good idea to use it on your cases.
I use the hornady media (my local lsg gets me a hell of a deal on this stuff) and the lyman turbo polish. Ill run a batch for abut 13-14hrs (a typical 12hr work day). Brass comes out like new. I usually get abut 12-15 batches out of a jug. Depending on how dirty the brass is
never thought to put a dryer sheet in there
never thought to put a dryer sheet in there
The good news is that you can use simple, cheap corn cob media for a very long time. If the cases aren't as shiny as you would like, you can always add some polish; I am now using Nu Finish car polish with excellent results.
The bad news is that the longer you use this media, the greater the concentration of lead that builds up. I prefer to run the same batch of media about ten times and the dump it. Corn cob is cheap.
The bad news is that the longer you use this media, the greater the concentration of lead that builds up. I prefer to run the same batch of media about ten times and the dump it. Corn cob is cheap.
I use walnut lizard bedding, but will switch back over to the walnut blast media from Harbor Freight when it runs out. the HF media is coarser and I think cleans quicker.
I use a cap of Nu Finish as well and probably get 2 dozen runs before I replace the media. I am using a pretty large vibratory tumbler from Harbor Freight.
I have a timer that runs the tumbler for 3 hours.
Chris
I use a cap of Nu Finish as well and probably get 2 dozen runs before I replace the media. I am using a pretty large vibratory tumbler from Harbor Freight.
I have a timer that runs the tumbler for 3 hours.
Chris
I use the lizard bedding from petco with a half cap of nufinish in the smaller vibratory Harbor Freight tumbler. Typically run it 2-3 hours and brass is pretty shiney. I think it makes a difference too if you only put a little brass or a lot in there. A lot seems to work better, must create more friction against one another, and they come out cleaner in a shorter amount of time.
I use a 50/50 blend of Lyman Green Corncob and Petco Lizard Bedding, along with a dose of Nu-Finish. I run two Lyman 2500 Magnum Tumblers, and they do a great job on the brass I sell as well a reload. Tumble times depend on how bad the brass is. I also bathe the really old or really filthy cases in the Lyman Cleaning Liquid - no more than 5 minutes, then rinse and dry them before tumbling. Again, it depends on what the brass is, and where it's ending up.
Slightly off topic, but the stainless steel pins never wear out, and an hour or so of tumbling (with a squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid and a .45ACP casing full of Lemi-shine plus water) leaves the brass looking like new. Also no dust.
SJan
NES Member
Are you using stainless pins in a vibratory tumbler?
You can, if you have a massive vibratory tumbler:
http://www.harborfreight.com/18-lb-vibratory-bowl-with-liquid-drain-hose-96923.html
I use 5 pounds of pins, gallon of water, dishsoap and lemishine.
Chris
I left mine on over night then went to work the next day and forgot to unplug it. It was a 11hr shift so they were in there for almost 24hrs lol! They were so shiny I was blinding myself.
No, I'm using one of these:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Thumlers-Tumbler-Model-B-Rotary-Tumbler/705690.uts
They go on sale every once in a while. Seems pretty poorly made but it's been working hard for almost a year now and no issues yet. Pretty simple machine. I can fit about 400 .223 cases in there along with 5lbs of media.
That Guy
Banned
I've heard this over and over, but only in reloading circles - a quick Google search doesn't seem to provide anything on this outside reloading information. I'm curious if anyone has more solid info on this.
The only reason I ask is because I know certain things have been getting Brasso on them routinely for decades around the fire station without being worse for wear. The fire poles, for instance, get shined at least once a week (every Thursday in a station I was at for several years), but they aren't falling apart. Generally they get the brasso applied, then wiped off, true, but it's not terribly uncommon to apply it and then get called out and be gone for an extended period of time before being able to wipe it off. And as far as I know, no pole has ever been weakened to the point of failure - yes they are obviously thicker than casings, but then again, this has gone of for decades, as I said.
I stopped using Brasso on the advice of pretty much everyone in reloading ever, but I'd love to know why I shouldn't. I've read that the ammonia content (which is what everyone points to) is actually extremely low.
Shark_Cage
NES Member
Mix it with some bleach and then take a big whiff. If you wake up dead (lol), there's ammonia in it.
You did a quick Google search and missed Wikipedia?
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass#Season_cracking
falcon123
NES Member
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