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Got my Lyman auto-flo tumbler. Newbie Review
- Thread starter Underwhere
- Start date
TZCHRIS
NES Member
My only 2 complaints on the Auto-Flo is if you leave the room while emptying media (like to check on the Bruins) you come back and the media is all over the floor.![[shocked]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/007.gif "Shocked [shocked]")
You need to rotate the bucket/pan while the media flows. Also .223 brass tends to 'stand' up full of media while the bowl is emptying. Maybe I am overfilling it with brass?
You need to rotate the bucket/pan while the media flows. Also .223 brass tends to 'stand' up full of media while the bowl is emptying. Maybe I am overfilling it with brass?
I just use crushed walnut from petco and a little car wax, I've probably done a couple thousand cases in my hornady M2 and haven't changed the media. I find that if I de-prime first the crushed walnut seems to do a pretty decent job cleaning the primer socket. I feel like you can keep adding more and more steps to the reloading process, but I think I'm gonna stop at the point I am at until I have issues with primers seating or rounds firing.
Mike
Mike
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This is my first tumbler and my first attempt at case cleaning. Take that with a grain of salt.
I purchased this tumbler from Midway for just over 100 bucks
Link to info here:
*2 Gallon bowl can hold up to 1000 38 cases
*Has a plug underneath the bowl that allows you to drain the media out
http://www.cabelas.com/link-12/product/0012545215278a.shtml
When it arrived I expected something larger.
This was a more expensive unit capable of handling more brass.
After receiving it I can't imagine how someone could have one that is smaller.
1000 rds of 9mm fits in there pretty easily so I guess I had strange expectations.
Not quite sure how I feel about the auto-flo feature. If media seperation is very time consuming after tumbling then maybe it's a good thing. (I don't have a seperator) It's definitely very loud as the brass is just bouncing off each other when there is little media left in the bowl. You need to use your hand to mix and turn the brass so most of the media is out of the casings.
The media exit spout could be a bit longer. It drops some media too close to the base of the unit. Even 1 inch would have been nicer.
The bowl they give you to catch the media is too small. It'll hold maybe 4 lbs of media. I run mine with about 7lbs
The unit has been on straight: 24 hours a day since Friday night.
I'm hoping to run it straight for the next couple days to clean all the brass that I have.
I've cleaned about 6000 9mm so far. I put in about 11 pounds of cases, 7 pounds of media per tumble. I leave it on for 4-6 hours each time.
The motor in my Dillon 500 burned out a while ago and they wanted about as much as I paid for the tumbler for a new motor. I bought the same model you have for less than $100, which is less than Dillon wanted for the replacement motor and about half what they want for their big tumbler. The Lyman holds almost as much as the big Dillon for half the price; a good deal.
The auto flow system has its problems, however. I gave up on the supplied collection pan immediately. I mounted a bracket on the side of the bench used for the tumbler to hold a funnel and attached a tube to the funnel to direct the flow of the media and placed a bucket on the floor to catch the media. Works like a charm, but you have to be careful as the tumbler can "walk" as it gets lighter with the loss of media. I use a 25lb bag of lead shot to hold it close to the funnel.
I have beeen using corn cob grit forever and am quite pleased with it. For the first couple of runs, it works ok, but then you need to add some polishing agent. I have used chrome polish, brass polish, an Nu Finish with great results. I dump the media after about ten runs to avoid any problems with lead contamination.
PS I thought Beede in Lowell was going out of business. Please give me some good news.
They're closed. This is an old thread that someone bumped.
Yes - they're definitely closed. I had bought a couple of bags of that media from them back a couple of years ago. They had going out of business signs up back sometime last year.
There has to be some other place that carries the media though - just have to do some searching.
i know some people have told me that Harbor Freight has some media.
I only see walnut though. they supposedly have it in coarse and fine, but i've never been in a store to look for it
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-coarse-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92150.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-fine-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92155.html
I only see walnut though. they supposedly have it in coarse and fine, but i've never been in a store to look for it
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-coarse-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92150.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-fine-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92155.html
i use that stuff (coarse i think) and it works well.
There are plenty of places that have media, but I have yet to find any as good as the Grit-O-Cobs brand that Beede carried. I bought a bag of corn cob blast media from drillspot.com, but it's dusty, takes longer to clean, and doesn't last as long as the good stuff.
I think Grit-O-Cob has a distributor in Beverly. I might make a run up there when this bag-o-crap is used up.
I think Grit-O-Cob has a distributor in Beverly. I might make a run up there when this bag-o-crap is used up.
The Grit-O-Cob site has a distributor listing:
http://www.gritocob.com/distributor-locator.aspx
There are only two in the MA/NH area - Beede (which is closed) - and this place in Beverly:
http://www.clintsales.com/
