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Dumb Idea for polishing brass? or Genius??

Ziptar

Ziptar

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So, this weekend I've been reading about reloading and this morning I also gave a little attention to my car, a 20 year old VW diesel.

As I stared down at the old diesel watching it wobble and shake while warming up, the reloading books and car work came together to form an idea.

I though perhaps I could mount a removable canister to the engine. I could fill the canister with brass and media and polish it as I drove.

Good Ideas? Bad Idea? Would the heat of the engine compartment be bad for the brass?
 
All bad ideas.

Well, let me put it this way............

About as good an idea as COOKING family dinner on top of the exhaust manifold.

Can it be done? Perhaps. Is it practical? Not really.
 
DukeInMaine said:
All bad ideas.

Well, let me put it this way............

About as good an idea as COOKING family dinner on top of the exhaust manifold.

Can it be done? Perhaps. Is it practical? Not really.
Click to expand...

Ya, ya. They said the same to Edison about the light bulb.
 
Genius.

The heat won't damage the brass or change its temper. My only worry would be that it cooks the media.

Try it and let us know!!!!!
 
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cockpitbob said:
Genius.

The heat won't damage the brass or change its temper. My only worry would be that it cooks the media.

Try it and let us know!!!!!
Click to expand...

I'm going to go with "stupid" on this one. At the very least you're likely to cook the media (it might even catch fire).

If you do try it, keep the canister away from the exhaust manifold. Diesel exhaust temperature can reach 1200 degrees F and 70/30 brass anneals at 800 degrees F.

Why not just buy a tumbler? You can get one for about $50 that will do a much better job cleaning brass much quicker than your VW.
 
Mike-Mike said:
Why put it under the hood. Put it in the back or the trunk.
Click to expand...

Somebody here tried this (I think it was here) and it didn't work very well.

I mean, have you ever watched the cases ripping around in a vibratory bowl? If your car vibrated even 1/10th as much, you couldn't drive it.

ETA: The shape of a vibratory bowl is designed to keep the cases moving around and rubbing against each other and the media. You're not going to get any of this action by putting the cases and media into a random container and putting it anywhere on your car.
 
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If you had a tire mounting machine at home you could remove the two fronts, two rears, or all four, dump your brass and media in, remount tires, and go for a drive.
 
EddieCoyle said:
I'm going to go with "stupid" on this one. At the very least you're likely to cook the media (it might even catch fire).

If you do try it, keep the canister away from the exhaust manifold. Diesel exhaust temperature can reach 1200 degrees F and 70/30 brass anneals at 800 degrees F.

Why not just buy a tumbler? You can get one for about $50 that will do a much better job cleaning brass much quicker than your VW.
Click to expand...

Could this come under one of those "reality" show wannabees? I just can't believe this guy is a serious shooter...or marksman. Leg-pulling time?? Think the guy is serious?
 
Thanks for the input. I'll cobble together something to test it and see what the results are. I like the dryer idea, as long as the can stays sealed and lead doesn't contaminate the dryer it's interesting. I think busting the bead on tires just to polish brass is a bit over the top. [wink]

My main concern was the heat and it's effect on the brass. Getting it too hot by being close to the turbo or exhaust manifold. In my case the engine it mounted transverse with the exhast and turbo between the block and firewall. The brass canister would be mounted on the front of the block.
 
If you have a "significant other", then I wouldn't even TRY the dryer thing. The risk vs the reward (which will be disappointing at best) isn't worth it. You'd pay much more for a new dryer (to replace it once you chip off all of the ceramic from the drum paddles which are in most dryers, which will cause all the clothes that go in it from then on to get rusty specks all over them.) Plus, if you have ever tried to dry a pair of sneakers in a dryer, you know how much they knock the door open, which causes the dryer to constantly stop.

The engine thing is the MOST dumb of the ideas.

I would abandon this whole thought process, and just spring the $50 for a proper vibratory tumbler. Heck, I see them in the Cabelas "Bargain cave" all the time for about $35.

But, if you are stubborn, please let us know how you like your NEW dryer........
[shocked]
 
I would venture to guess that you could buy a proper tumbler and it would still be easier, cheaper and more efficient than the electricity needed to clean brass in a clothes dryer.

There was a time that I could have just mounted media buckets on my bed's headboard, but I guess I'm just too old for that now.
 
DukeInMaine said:
Heck, I see them in the Cabelas "Bargain cave" all the time for about $35.
[shocked]
Click to expand...

It's not about the cost, it's more just because I am a tinkerer. However, $35 is fully in the "why bother" ball park. I'll keep an eye on the bargain cave [wink]
 
Ziptar said:
It's not about the cost, it's more just because I am a tinkerer. However, $35 is fully in the "why bother" ball park. I'll keep an eye on the bargain cave [wink]
Click to expand...

Tinker away, but understand that just vibrating the cases is not enough.

The vibratory bowl cleaners are shaped so that the cases ride up the sides and drop down the middle in a circular 'tumbling' motion. The true case tumblers do the same thing by rotating the entire chamber.

Just shaking the cases in a box of media won't clean them nearly as efficiently, or maybe hardly at all.
 
Even my friend, Bob_J, who is THE MOST FRUGAL GUY I have ever met (Frugal, not cheap.... LOL) does his brass cleaning in the vibratory tumbler. He's as much a tinkerer as you might be. But, he also might agree that you'd otherwise be wasting your time, and damaging your dryer. Save the $$$ on buying tumbling media cheaper, rather than on the processing of the brass itself.

Ziptar said:
It's not about the cost, it's more just because I am a tinkerer. However, $35 is fully in the "why bother" ball park. I'll keep an eye on the bargain cave [wink]
Click to expand...
 
DukeInMaine said:
Even my friend, Bob_J, who is THE MOST FRUGAL GUY I have ever met (Frugal, not cheap.... LOL) does his brass cleaning in the vibratory tumbler. He's as much a tinkerer as you might be. But, he also might agree that you'd otherwise be wasting your time, and damaging your dryer. Save the $$$ on buying tumbling media cheaper, rather than on the processing of the brass itself.
Click to expand...

He says he is, but I'm always the guy yelling at him for buying too much expensive stuff. [wink] As long as something is efficient, there's no point in wasting more on something that works just the same.(or wastes more of your time in this case)

You're definitely right about him being a tinkerer though. You should see our basement, Tesla coil, vortex cannon, the list goes on...[wink] Not to mention making thermite on the 4th of July...but I digress... [smile]
 
I have a better idea. Dump the brass and media in a beer keg and drag it behind your car. All that bouncing and bumping should clean the brass, assuming that the VW can drag a beer keg.
 
EddieCoyle said:
Why not just buy a tumbler? You can get one for about $50 that will do a much better job cleaning brass much quicker than your VW.
Click to expand...
+1

Of all the ways to save time and/or money while reloading that I have ever heard, this has got to be the worst one of all.
 
DukeInMaine said:
If you have a "significant other", then I wouldn't even TRY the dryer thing. The risk vs the reward (which will be disappointing at best) isn't worth it. You'd pay much more for a new dryer (to replace it once you chip off all of the ceramic from the drum paddles which are in most dryers, which will cause all the clothes that go in it from then on to get rusty specks all over them.) Plus, if you have ever tried to dry a pair of sneakers in a dryer, you know how much they knock the door open, which causes the dryer to constantly stop.

The engine thing is the MOST dumb of the ideas.

I would abandon this whole thought process, and just spring the $50 for a proper vibratory tumbler. Heck, I see them in the Cabelas "Bargain cave" all the time for about $35.

But, if you are stubborn, please let us know how you like your NEW dryer........
[shocked]
Click to expand...

[laugh2]
 
Jose said:
+1

Of all the ways to save time and/or money while reloading that I have ever heard, this has got to be the worst one of all.
Click to expand...

No.

The dumbest thing is the "How to Clean My Media" threads.

Why would anybody handle the crap that has the highest concentration of lead of anything related to shooting when the new stuff cost $25/50 lbs, which will tumble 10's of thousands of rounds?
 
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EddieCoyle said:
The dumbest thing is the "How to Clean My Media" threads.
Click to expand...

Excellent point. Yet I've seen old farts brag about how long they've had their media and just add a little Brasso every load or two.

My nomination for runner-up: The twits who asked about using kitty litter instead of media. Yeah, they gave that idea a lot of thought...... [rolleyes]
 
The grit 'o cob takes longer to clean my brass than the media that came with the Frankfort Arsenal kit. YMMV.

I may try the lizard litter was mentioned a while ago.
 

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