Brass Tumbler

Hey Guys, I have a vibrating brass tumbler, Is there a better alternative besides corn or walnut media , thanks

 

I’ve seen rice in my googling but never tried it.

 

Had a friend ran brown rice, but that could have been that his wife was sort of hippyish & didn't serve the white stuff.

 

I've heard: Corn cob, walnut hulls (aka walnut shells), rice, buckwheat groats (whatever they are), a few other one-offs that I can't think of offhand.

To me (in a major urban area on the left coast), the easiest to get is walnut shell - most hardware places will stock it as a grit blasting medium. Good thing is you can get it in various sizes. Get it screened small enough, and it doesn't stick in flash holes (unless you have problems with polishes or other additives, then it sticks everywhere. Unfortunately, I don't remember what size I got last time.) Folks that use "lizard bedding" are using crushed walnut shell from a pet store.

Corn cob gives a somewhat brighter shine, but also cleans and polishes slower. It wears out faster than walnut as well.

I've never used rice or buckwheat or anything else.

As a disclaimer, I now wet tumble my pistol brass every time. For rifle, I use steel wool on the necks of brass for the most part, but wet tumble about every 10 firings.

Nowadays, I only vibe tumble stuff to get lube and such off cases, though I do dry tumble most brass that I collect to give to friends.

 

I use rice on range pick up brass to give it a good inital cleaning. The rice doesnt last very long at all. But its cheap. I aint got a number, but a gallon bag of 45 cases or 40 cases rinsed good, dried, then tumbled, and the rice gets thrown out and new rice goes in.

Like I said this is just my way of initally cleaning range brass. Ive never tried it with good brass for rifles.

 

I was just thinking about this myself..I decided to stick with corn. For years I used Lymans corn. It's not the primer pockets it's the flash holes that are the problem and dusty. I just recently switched to Hornadys corn and way better. Its ground finer doesn't stick in flash holes and no dust.

 

I use the Walnut Shells. I bought a gallon jug of it 3 years ago and still have 4/5ths left and I shoot about 1500 rounds of rifle and about 2000 rounds of 45ACP per year. Stuff does a great job. I put it in, turn it on and come back 3 hours later. Could probably run for less time, but just the time I have settled on. I place my Lyman vibrating tumbler into a ice chest on a foam mat, turn it on, close the lid and too often if I don't set the timer, I forget about it.

 

I quit vibratory tumbling when i kept cases in my dillon tumbler running for a week and it still didnt clean the primer pockets.

 

For me ..SS after firing and corn after sizing. That way I dont have chamfer again and the corn soaks the wax or oil nicely.

 

That sounds like a good plan right here.

 

My loading process is a product of this forum. Thank-You.

 

What size corn cob grinding are you guys using? And where's the cheapest to get it?

I wet tumble with SS Pins before annealing and resizing. Normally, after drying and resizing, I tumble my brass in walnut shell (Lizard Bedding) and a little Nu-Finish. I would like to try the corn cob for removing the lube, after resizing, but the cob I've found around here, is large enough to get stuck in the primer pockets.

I'm wanting cob small enough to not get stuck in the primer pockets, nor the flash holes.

 

Try the feed store and get a set of classifying screens around that size

 

Grit O' Cobbs 1420 is the size you are looking for. Sold in 50lb bags. If you have an industrial supply store in the area that sells blasting media then the likely have or can get this product.

Walnut is better for cleaning as it is harder and more aggressive but corn is better for polishing and removing case lube (especially if you are using lanolin oil).

 

25/50 grit crushed walnut shells are my preference. Bought in bulk from a finishing supplier and treated with an ammonia-free metal polish cut with mineral spirits. Cleans well, doesn't clog flash-holes. Since building a larger rotary tumbler my dry tumbler is pretty much retired to delube duties.

 

Lizard litter and, by the way, how long does it take to put a pin through 100 cases to get rid of any stuck pieces?

 

I dont know the exact size but hornadys is finely ground at $15 for 76oz. It'll collects in primer pockets but comes out easy...easier than lymans. It's going to happen no matter where you get it.

Corn lasts a long time and 76oz is perfect for a lyman 1200 size tumbler. That way you wont have a 50lb bag from the feed store waitin' around for mice to move in.

 

Don't forget you can get Walnut media at harbor freight , 25 lbs for $25 , cheaper with a coupon.... Since it's for a blast cabinet I take a half gallon bucket outside when the wind is blowing and dump it from one bucket to another a few times to remove the dust... Works like a champ...

They have fine and course grinds , I get the course grinds... Comes in a plastic bag in a box , the bag can be re-sealed...last a long time... It won't get in the pockets but can get in the flash holes , would be hard to find a dry media that won't....

 

For that reason and the fact that it doesn't really clean the pockets the way I want, I tumble with Walnut Shells with the primers in place. Punch out the primers afterwards. No chance of media left inside. I anneal, size and then clean pockets, chamfer, deburr and run the nylon brush on the inside. Do final inspection with a light before seating primers. I use a case prep center so cleaning the pockets, chamfer and deburr lip and the final brush takes very little time.

I don't want to remove the carbon in the mouth so wet tumbling is not in my process.

 

That's exactly how I do it... Fast and easy... I deprime on my single stage if I am using my Dillon , alot easier to clean up the mess on the single stage.... The prep stations are worth every penny....