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Post by Junior on Dec 4, 2015 14:07:21 GMT -7
Kinda new to this tumbling brass thing.should I add cleaner/polish to each batch of brass or once per the life of the media?
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tom
Bullet Hole
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Post by tom on Dec 4, 2015 14:35:11 GMT -7
Add a little at the beginning, then every once in a while, when it doesn't clean as well as it did at first. I like to let it run with no brass while the polishing stuff gets distributed. Otherwise, you'll end up with a couple cases full of media and the polish.
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tom
Bullet Hole
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Post by tom on Dec 4, 2015 14:42:32 GMT -7
Tear a sheet of paper towel into 1" strips and throw them in with every load of brass. They'll pick up a lot of the dirt, and help make your media last longer. Discard old paper When you sift your brass out.
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Post by Junior on Dec 4, 2015 14:57:12 GMT -7
That's a pretty good idea. I've done three batches of brass with this batch of media, and this last batch didn't come out as clean and took way longer to clean. I've been putting in a little squirt of turtle wax and a little brasso with each batch of cases.
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tom
Bullet Hole
Posts: 56
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Post by tom on Dec 4, 2015 15:10:20 GMT -7
I think brasso is ammonia based. If it has an ammonia smell, it'll eat your brass. Flitz is safe.
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tom
Bullet Hole
Posts: 56
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Post by tom on Dec 4, 2015 15:18:14 GMT -7
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrassoIf you used brasso, I'd advise throwing out your media and starting over. It'll pull copper out of your brass and weaken it. Flitz, or most any semi liquid polishing stuff from the parts store. Grafs, midway, etc. sell polishing additives, too. It's cheap, a tablespoon is all you need.
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urny
Bullet Head
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Post by urny on Dec 4, 2015 18:12:46 GMT -7
Tom's idea to use the paper strips is excellent for keeping the media clean. Dryer sheets similarly cut up work also. Lots of additives for the media, auto polishes work pretty well, and I've even added cleansing powder to mine a time or two. Brasso is a bad idea.
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Post by Junior on Dec 8, 2015 8:37:30 GMT -7
I'm gonna try the paper towel strip idea next time I run a batch through. It does seem like a good idea to me.
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dick
Bullet Head
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Post by dick on Jan 26, 2016 20:31:34 GMT -7
I bought a 50lb sack of corn cob from drill spot for like $30. One batch of media lasts me almost 6 months, or there abouts.
What I do when I make a new batch is fill the tumbler about 3/4 full of media and turn it on. I add 1 1/2 capfuls of NU-Finish car polish in the orange bottle, and a splash of mineral spirits. Let it agitate a bit, then I add a big handful of ball bearings left over from my slingshot days and let it run for about 30 minutes to evenly distribute the polish and mineral spirits.
After that I remove the bearings with a media separator and am ready to tumble some brass. Giving the brass a good soak in citric acid for 5 minutes and letting dry before tumbling gets them super clean!
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Post by goodsteel on Jan 26, 2016 20:45:08 GMT -7
If you've never tried SS pin tumbling, I highly recommend. Not only does it clean inside and out, as well as your primer pockets, but it helps give you a consistent "neck pull" on your bullets which, if you're into the nitty gritty details of making excellent ammunition, is a real boon. I have always brushed the necks of my rifle brass to try to uniform the surface of it, but nothing makes them all the same like neck turning followed by a good 3 hours in SS pins.
I resisted the "new fangled" tumbling bandwagon for a few years, but finally I had to give it a try. I was not too impressed, till my buddy made me a gift of some paint straining sacks and I noticed the neck tension consistency.
I gave my trusty old vibratory tumbler away a month or so ago if that tells you anything.
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dick
Bullet Head
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Post by dick on Jan 27, 2016 10:17:00 GMT -7
I used SS tumbling when I was selling military brass. All said and done, I SS tumbled 8,000 lbs of military brass!! I used a Bigg Dawg single drum tumbler. It was expensive, but paid for itself when it brought the 1st 5,000 pieces of discolored brass to like new shine. I used a Dillon media separator, filled the tub full of water to where the squirrel cage rotated through it, dumb in brass and pins, spin it around a few times, and voila!! Separated barass and pins.
I used the same 27 lbs of pins for the entire 8,000 lbs.
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Post by Junior on Jan 27, 2016 10:23:59 GMT -7
I wanted to try the SS media but dont reload enough ammo to make it worth it.
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dick
Bullet Head
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Post by dick on Jan 27, 2016 10:26:30 GMT -7
I only used it to clean up military brass for sale because people like shiny stuff. For all my personal reloading, I use corn cob.
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Post by Junior on Jan 27, 2016 12:24:13 GMT -7
My ammo does not have much shelf life, aka i shoot it faster then I load it, so as long as the cases are not grimy i am pretty happy.
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Post by Bullshop on Jan 27, 2016 19:27:39 GMT -7
I believe the SS pins require a rotary tumbler, correct?
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Post by goodsteel on Jan 27, 2016 19:50:57 GMT -7
Yes. A rotary tumbler is required. I actually started with a Thumblers way back when I started reloading, and it was shelved for the past 15 years in lieu of a Frankford Arsenal vibratory job. When I pulled it down off the shelf, the drive belt was cracked and loose, and the axles were rusty and bent. Also the lid was damaged. I made a new lid from 3/16" aluminum plate, and a quick call to Thumblers got new axles and drive belt on the way. Once rebuilt, it ran like a top. I've tumbled all the brass in the shop at this point, and I've got the process down pat, so when I get back from the range, I just punch out the primers and throw the dirty brass in the hopper, fill it with water, add the correct amount of soap, and set it to rolling for three hours. Once they are rinsed three times I separate the media the normal way and put the wet brass in a pan on top of the kerosene heater. It's all dry in about an hour.
I didn't ever baby sit the tumbler when it was running walnut hulls, and I don't baby sit this either. Just stop and tend to it every once in a while as needed. I always thought it was going to be the biggest PITA, but its really not much more fussing than it was to do it the normal way.
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Post by FromTheWoods on Feb 26, 2016 20:18:44 GMT -7
Nu Finish and walnut media work well for me. Pet shops normally sell the media as litter for critters' cages. Cheaper than buying it from sporting goods stores. I add the polish intermittently--whenever running an extra large batch of cases, loading for friends' firearms, when Werewolves howl (nickel cases then for the silver bullets--extra cool looking, and that way I don't mix them up with Daniel's regular bullets.)
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