Cleaning brass

Mike 53

Mike 53

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Years ago used Thumlers Tumbler Model B with walnut shell media. Worked okay for pistol but rifle not so much. Messy and dusty after the media used a few times. Read about using stainless media with Thumlers and wondering if maybe that's the way to go? Or just trading one kind of mess for another?[rolleyes]
Thanks, Mike
 
I love how the brass comes out of the stainless tumble. They each have their "mess"
I bought a lyman tumbler and find walnut with a 1/2 1/2 mix of nu finish and Odorless mineral Spirits
(cap full from nu finish bottle and a used dryer sheet every 3rd run) keeps the dust at bay and gets the brass clean but not as clean as the stainless. If I ever come across a great deal on a tumbler capable of tumbling stainless I will snag it.... great deal for me is close to free
 
I use corn cob grit which is inexpensive at $25 for fifty lbs and dump it before a dangerous concentration of lead develops.
 
Gammon said:
I use corn cob grit which is inexpensive at $25 for fifty lbs and dump it before a dangerous concentration of lead develops.
Click to expand...
You can buy corn cob and walnut shells at any pet store. Its less than 1/2 what you paid for it.
 
Alright I read that long thread and bookmarked the BigDawgTumblers website! Might have to get something else starting out though first. Lots of good ideas in that thread for how to separate media and dry cases etc...Thanks Saltydude!
Mike
 
wegman said:
Alright I read that long thread and bookmarked the BigDawgTumblers website! Might have to get something else starting out though first. Lots of good ideas in that thread for how to separate media and dry cases etc...Thanks Saltydude!
Mike
Click to expand...

If you just want to give it a go on the cheap look into the Harbor Freight dual tumblers. They can be had for a good price with a coupon (I had a 25% off one, but 20% is more common). I added the 2 year protection plan (Not needed so far). Then all you need are some pins (Bullseye reloading is still cheapest i think), lemishine, and some liquid detergent. Use liquid laundry detergent, Dawn and other dishwashing detergents do something to the rubber in the HF tumblers to cause the brass to be dull even with lemishine. Oil the HF tumbler every time before use where it tells you to in the manual and it will run fine and last. I've done over 3 x 5lb buckets full of brass on mine with not one broken belt or burnt up motor. I use an outlet timer if i am not going to stick around, or if i want to toss in a batch overnight. I think I got started for under $100, and that included a media separator.

I can do about 300 9mm cases at a time. I generally run back to back batches starting Friday after work and through Sunday and can clean piles of brass fairly fast. It doesn't take long to separate the media out, toss in a new batch, then rinse off the newly clean brass and set it out to dry.
 
What's better? Vibratory or tumbler?

full disclosure, I just bought an RCBS vibratory off Amazon.
 
I use both. Rotary wet tumbling when I'm doing rifle since I decap first (mixed brass, so it needs swaging usually) and it's usually filthy range pickup stuff, but generally vibratory dry tumbling for pistol rounds since there is no need to decap before sizing/loading or for the second cleaning of rifle brass (removing the case lube).

ETA -- I use the Frankford Arsenel models, for both.
 
thormx538 said:
I use both. Rotary wet tumbling when I'm doing rifle since I decap first (mixed brass, so it needs swaging usually) and it's usually filthy range pickup stuff, but generally vibratory dry tumbling for pistol rounds since there is no need to decap before sizing/loading or for the second cleaning of rifle brass (removing the case lube).

ETA -- I use the Frankford Arsenel models, for both.
Click to expand...

I don't see any reason to decap before tumbling. I just tumble (dry/corn cob grit), lube and resize, then tumble to remove the lube. I deal with the primer pocket last. I have given up on swagers and now use a carbide countersink. Much better results.
 
slap shot said:
What's better? Vibratory or tumbler?

full disclosure, I just bought an RCBS vibratory off Amazon.
Click to expand...

Depends on how clean/shiny/sexy you want your brass. Wet tumbling, if you like super clean/shiny brass with clean primer pockets. For 9mm I get them brand new looking in about 2-2.5 hours.
 
A couple weeks ago I was looking into pricing on Thumlers Model B and sat on my hands when Cabela's had them on sale for $159.99. I kept thinking I would find it somewhere for less, but now the sale has ended and I don't see it anywhere for less than $189.95 plus shipping.
I think I'm going to keep my eyes open for a B and pounce on a good price when I see one...
 
I have done the SS media cleaning as well as the vibratory tumblers. Both work well, each has their pros and cons. If I had to do it all over again, i would pick up a small cement mixer like the ones at HF (link below). You could either use corn cob or SS media (wet or dry) and probably clean over 1,000 cases at a time. When my vibratory and thumblers wear out, this is what I am going to start using... (got the idea from Jerry Miculek)

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-1-4-quarter-cubic-ft-compact-cement-mixer-91907.html
 

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