Tumbling with SS Media

[Bob J]

Tumbling with stainless steel media rocks!



This is my media in the tumbler



Tumbler doing it's thing...



Results before and after....

Followed the process detailed on this web site..... Much easier than I thought it would be to use and the brass looks like new...

http://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

I understand and can see that the stuff works great but it would cost a fortune to fill a Dillon CV-2001 tumbler with it.

I've thought about using just small wire brads if I find them cheap enough and in a 25 lb box.

 

[milktree]

I understand and can see that the stuff works great but it would cost a fortune to fill a Dillon CV-2001 tumbler with it.

I've thought about using just small wire brads if I find them cheap enough and in a 25 lb box.

If you're going to use a media as heavy as stainless steel, you better have a tumbler that can handle it. Vibratory ones might (are likely to) burn out their motors if they're expecting walnut shells or corn cob. Stainless is heavy!

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

If you're going to use a media as heavy as stainless steel, you better have a tumbler that can handle it. Vibratory ones might (are likely to) burn out their motors if they're expecting walnut shells or corn cob. Stainless is heavy!

Understood. I have the materials to build a strong tumbler if the vibratory bowl won't handle the weight. Even thought of mixing the brads with walnut media just to see how much difference they make in the final product.

 

[Bob J]

I used a rock tumbler.... The tumbler is filled with 5 lbs of the stainless media and then about a gallon of water... Added a couple of tablespoons of Dawn detergent and a teaspoon or so of Lemishine... The rest of the space is filled with brass and the lid secured. After a couple of hours of tumbling the water is like ink from all of the powder residue..... Check out the video on the link that covers the process..... Cleans the brass both inside and out.... Looks like new!

 

[Fixxah]

Hey Bob,

Is the media clipped with sharp ends or polished round?

 

[Bob J]

Hey Bob,

Is the media clipped with sharp ends or polished round?

Hi John,
My media is polished round end ..... Not sure about the media offered on the site I posted as I got mine from another source for significantly more money....[sad2]

A couple of pretty good video on the process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdvq3Kc_Vm0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-6SOiWE8Hc&NR=1

 

[MechanicBenjamin]

Speaking about tumbling media. As anyone heard of or tried the 'plastic' media?? From what I get it its small round 'platsic' balls that you use to tumble things.. Says its good for polishing rock, brass, etc.. Any infor? I'll see if I can find more on it..

 

[Gammon]

I used a rock tumbler.... The tumbler is filled with 5 lbs of the stainless media and then about a gallon of water... Added a couple of tablespoons of Dawn detergent and a teaspoon or so of Lemishine... The rest of the space is filled with brass and the lid secured. After a couple of hours of tumbling the water is like ink from all of the powder residue..... Check out the video on the link that covers the process..... Cleans the brass both inside and out.... Looks like new!

This seems like overkill to me. It looks like you have added an extra step, i.e. drying out the brass. I find it much easier to just dump the brass in a tumbler full of corn cob grit. The end result is dry brass that can be easily separated from the media, which is cheap and can be disposed of before it develops a dangerous concentration of lead.

I see another problem. You could be getting the brass too clean. Conventional dry media tends to leave an oil residue on the brass. This makes the cases easier to resize. Squeaky clean brass will be harder to resize. I have been using cheap corn cob media and a little brass polish in my Dillon tumbler for decades with great results.

 

[bpm990d]

I was interested in doing this at one time (a wet cleaning process) but am concerned about the media rusting. I was looking at ceramic. Your thoughts?

B

 

[DukeInFlorida]

When polishing, do NOT use anything that is harder than the brass. To do so risks abrading or removing brass, making the cases weaker. Ceramic would certainly abrade/weaken the brass. The only thing saving the brass with the stainless steel media that Bob J is using is that it's all polished. If it had sharp edges, the brass would get damaged. So, using nails/brads, etc would not work.

Unless you have a nut allergy (one of Bob J's concerns), stick with the walnut shells (not good with nut allergies) or corn cob pieces (not good if you have corn allergy).

 

[bpm990d]

Low mass media with rounded edges that is buffered in a wet process, is not going to damage brass.

B

 

[Bob J]

I was interested in doing this at one time (a wet cleaning process) but am concerned about the media rusting. I was looking at ceramic. Your thoughts?

B

I can't really comment on using ceramic media but I've been leaving the SS media wet in the tumbler (like it shows in the video) and there is no trace of rust to date.... Not sure what the grade of SS is used for this but it certainly is not prone to rust...

The neatest thing I find that this media does is really clean the inside of the brass as well as the primer pocket... Wasn't able to get that with my corn cob media....

 

[Bob J]

Low mass media with rounded edges that is buffered in a wet process, is not going to damage brass.

B

Agreed! The SS media is tiny and submerged in the water I would find it hard to imagine it would damage the brass....

 

[bpm990d]

I was just curious if it got rusty. I use to have a moly plating kit from NECO and it came with stainless bearings. After a couple of years of not using it, I noticed rust on both the moly and wax shot. It was sealed in a plastic box, but the rust was actually pretty bad. So much so that I threw it out.

B

 

[saltydude]

Yup. Just another perfect example of his inability to resist commenting on something in this forum he probably has zero personall experience with.
Did'nt take long.
Quite doubtful STM & others would produce and market this product without uber amouts of R&D.
Wondering if there might possibly be a better solution to use instead of water.

 

[Malchira]

Just a few replies on this, as it's an area of interest for me.

I understand and can see that the stuff works great but it would cost a fortune to fill a Dillon CV-2001 tumbler with it.

The stainless steel media is designed to be used wet, in a rotary tumbler. You couldn't (or at least shouldn't ) put it in a standard tumbler.

You could be getting the brass too clean. Conventional dry media tends to leave an oil residue on the brass. This makes the cases easier to resize.

Yes and no. Yes, one thing that's been reported is that the case necks (for rifle cases, at least) can become so clean that neck tension is increased. However, this is also true with ultrasonic cleaning, and can be addressed using dry neck lube (Redding and NECO both offer it).

No, for me anyway, in that I don't size anything without lubing it first, so I'm not relying on post-tumbling residue.

...but am concerned about the media rusting.

This is second-hand, but some of the proponents of this technique on the SnipersHide forums have left the media basically wet in the tumbler for extended periods (years, if I remember correctly) without any rust issues.

Ceramic would certainly abrade/weaken the brass.

I read an interesting warning about using ceramic media. The user discovered that the significantly larger (and harder?) ceramic basically full-length work-hardened the brass, causing it to fail in interesting and exciting ways when shot. This doesn't happen with the SS media.

Unless you have a nut allergy, ...stick with the walnut shells ...or corn cob pieces...

My interest was specifically around the dust. The wet tumbling method basically produces no dust, as any contaminants are suspended in the liquid. I have young kids and do everything I can to avoid possible lead exposure.

 

[bpm990d]

Hi BobJ,

Are there any updated on your cleaning process? I'm still curious if you have had any rust on the pins.

Thanks,

B

 

[Bob J]

No signs of any deterioration at all.... Dry pins are bright silver color and wet pins are a very light grey.... I normally leave them wet in the tumbler to simplify loading the tumbler when I am doing a batch......

When doing a batch I simply add the brass, give it a dash of dawn and a tablespoon of lemishine, fill with hot water and run the tumbler..... When I am done I rinse well until the water is no longer like ink and then use the media seperator to seperate the pins from the brass..... Pins (with a little water) are poured back into the tumbler so they are ready for the next run and the brass goes into a regular tumbler with corn cob media to dry....

You can't believe how nice they come out....

Hi BobJ,

Are there any updated on your cleaning process? I'm still curious if you have had any rust on the pins.

Thanks,

B

 

[bpm990d]

Thanks for the update! I might have to invest.

B

 

[Bob J]

Thanks for the update! I might have to invest.

B

I have seriously never seen anything that cleans brass this well..... I now typically use this method after depriming and the pockets come out so clean it looks like unfired brass..... Very nice technique if you really want clean brass.....

 

[swampy]

I thought about using diatomaceous earth (Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator.) [thanks wikipedia] I don't think it alone would be good but perhaps a couple scoops to enhance walnut shell media might speed up cleaning tough dirty brass.

When polishing, do NOT use anything that is harder than the brass. To do so risks abrading or removing brass, making the cases weaker. Ceramic would certainly abrade/weaken the brass. The only thing saving the brass with the stainless steel media that Bob J is using is that it's all polished. If it had sharp edges, the brass would get damaged. So, using nails/brads, etc would not work.

Unless you have a nut allergy (one of Bob J's concerns), stick with the walnut shells (not good with nut allergies) or corn cob pieces (not good if you have corn allergy).

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Go ahead and try it, and report back. The worst that could happen is that it will make a mess everywhere, stick to the brass like crazy, and cause you to have to toss away a batch of media. Let us know how that goes.

I thought about using diatomaceous earth (Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator.) [thanks wikipedia] I don't think it alone would be good but perhaps a couple scoops to enhance walnut shell media might speed up cleaning tough dirty brass.

 

[Jasper]

Might as well prove the ignorance of some.

FWIW, my media DOES have sharp edges. it is NOT deburred at all. it looks like stainless wire that was clipped in some sort of mechanical shear.

stainless steel media takes more time/patience than corncob/walnut. not arguing that point. seeing as part of the routine is drying the cases, it takes really no extra time to inspect each case (i use a small cheapo flashlight, works perfect). I use old 9mm (for 223) and 45 (for 308) loading trays (the ones that are open at the bottom)...so before I stand a case up in the tray to dry (i let em air dry for a few days in my basement, which is fairly warm/dry), I simply look into the flash hole / inside the case quickly. takes a fraction of a second).

results speak for themselves. This was a 3hour run on some sorta-dirty federal 308 brass (I had a few hundred pieces, so I'll load it a couple of times for my bolt gun before I lose the primer pockets). (note, i tumbled for 30min in a dillon tumbler for a quick clean (keep the grit out of a $75 sizing die), lubed, resized and deprimed)

primer pockets/flash holes.

inside the cases (cell phone pic, so forgive the lack of *brightness*)

 

[EddieCoyle]

Might as well prove the ignorance of some....

Damn, can't argue with that.

What design are you going to use for your home-built tumbler? This thread has got me thinking about trying this out.

I was thinking about using a sealed 5-gal bucket lying on its side on a couple of rollers, one of which will be powered. What should be the RPM of the tumbler vessel itself?

 

[bpm990d]

I've got similar results. I bought one of the STM kits and the only thing I don't like about it is that the tumbler is too small. Someone posted about it feeling like a laundry service and I have to agree. I just can't get enough .308 cases into the thing. I had 1000 or so cases and I had to do it in about 5 five batches or more. I found best result come from letting the cases sit in the water for a day or two. It softens everything up so a little less tumbling.

B

 

[eisenhow]

I've got similar results. I bought one of the STM kits and the only thing I don't like about it is that the tumbler is too small.

I was just about ready to order the STM kit until I weighed out what 2 lbs of 9mm brass looked like. It's way too small for my needs. I'm interested to see what contraptions people come up with to process larger quantities.

 

[bpm990d]

There is a great one on the ARFCOM reloading sub forum. The thing looks big and very well made.

B

 

[Jasper]

home build: any frame that'll work, a ~ 1/3-1/2HP 110v AC motor (would prefer a geared motor so I can skip the pullies and run it direct drive, but I'm going for free here, so beggars can't be choosers).

rollers, unsure. steel round stock can be had inexpensively as scrap cuts. If I can find a mounted bearing with the proper ID, I'll use some 1" rigid conduit.

barrel: gonna be 8" PVC, approx 4gallon capacity (will run 20lbs of stainless media, ought to be able to tumbled ~ 1200 or so 308 in a batch, and 1500-1600 .223.

the trick now is sourcing the 8" PVC. the fittings cost whatever they cost...but I only need ~2-3' of 8" pipe (and thats planning for cutting some off and waste)...I don't wanna spend $$$$$$$$ on a 12-20' length of pipe just to throw 90% of it away.

 

[Jasper]

Jim: hope ya didn't think that jab was aimed @ you lol.

I thought about a 5gal bucket. I'm a little leary...because 5gal is a LOT of water/weight...and on its side...is that cover really designed to hold back all that water/weight ....spinning for hours on end?

either way, the bucket still needs agitators of some sort (round bucket = media just sits on the bottom)

I think the magic number for RPMs is 45-65RPM. I've never actually counted RPMs on the thumblers setup...but I do know the "High Speed" (3000RPM motor) cleans cases faster than the "low speed" (1500rpm)...how much so? I don't know. I'm gonna shoot for 60RPM on the barrel. If I guess and get sorta close, i'll be happy.