Tumbler media

[Ranger188]

Corn cob or walnut works.
Tried the rice thing with different sizes. All it does is get stuck in the case.
If it's not moving in and out, not cleaning as well. PITA

 

[PopCharlie]

Where do you purchase this at?

Directly from Iosso. www.iosso.com

PopCharlie

 

[NorCalMikie]

I'll vote for corn cob media.

untreated!! Or rice, or big ground walnut shells. Or anything you like to use. Whatever gets YOUR job done.

 

[Pres100]

Wet tumble with SS pins? That will get the CRUD out BUT, too clean so you have to think about lube when you seat bullets.

That's what graphite is for.

Lots of people don't wet tumble because it removes carbon from the inside of the neck which provides some "lubricant" when seating bullets.
I have definitely found that when I wet tumble the seating tension is far more inconsistent and you can sometimes feel the drag from bare brass on copper.

I'm doing a lot of testing with annealing, bushing vs std die, mandrels as well as dry lubricating the necks before seating to get consistent seating pressures and attempts to bring down SD's. I think my most best results have been with annealing, full length sizing with bushing, deburr, mandrel and then lubricating the inside of the necks with a HBN solution prior to seating. A lot of work and jury is still out!

 

[chkunz]

I'm doing a lot of testing with annealing, bushing vs std die, mandrels as well as dry lubricating the necks before seating to get consistent seating pressures and attempts to bring down SD's. I think my most best results have been with annealing, full length sizing with bushing, deburr, mandrel and then lubricating the inside of the necks with a HBN solution prior to seating. A lot of work and jury is still out!

This would make a great report. It would take a lot of effort to do the testing and write a report documenting the results. I have seen a lot of claims and opinions on these things but I have not seen a proper report on the subject. If you decide to take this on I would recommend that you get input from others you know that can help you design the testing before you start, be sure you have a good plan from the start. Best wishes.

 

[Multiracer]

I wet tumble with no pins. Dawn and lemishine. Comes out sparkling and leaves some carbon in the neck. I just run it longer than you would with pins. Usually 30 min.

Then I use imperial wax to size and give it just 10 min, hot water, lemi shine and dawn and I add like a cup of isopropyl alcohol if I have it. A lot of people dry tumble at this step instead.

I really hate dust, so dry tumbling always sounded horrible.

Toss in a half of a dryer fabric softener sheet.

 

[Pres100]

This would make a great report. It would take a lot of effort to do the testing and write a report documenting the results. I have seen a lot of claims and opinions on these things but I have not seen a proper report on the subject. If you decide to take this on I would recommend that you get input from others you know that can help you design the testing before you start, be sure you have a good plan from the start. Best wishes.

I've got too many reports going in my life right now at work! I've been testing a little at a time and haven't really compiled everything together and not yet ready to draw any conclusions without repeated testing. Besides, at my pace, the internet would be frustrated in 24 hours!
Wish I had the time to put together a detailed test plan, execute it and prepare a result summary. If I ever get around to it, I'd be happy to share results.

 

[chkunz]

I've got too many reports going in my life right now at work! I've been testing a little at a time and haven't really compiled everything together and not yet ready to draw any conclusions without repeated testing. Besides, at my pace, the internet would be frustrated in 24 hours!
Wish I had the time to put together a detailed test plan, execute it and prepare a result summary. If I ever get around to it, I'd be happy to share results.

I understand completely. Since I retired, I have been able to do some testing and have got into the habit of doing a report and find myself referring to them from time to time. It is amazing how quick the data fades with memory, but I am able to refer to the reports from time to time and it is convenient to share the info with others. I do a draft report before I start the testing and that becomes my test plan and that works well. Then after I do the data analysis I add the data and results and conclusions. I always learn something that I was not expecting and sometimes that leads to another test. If God created anything better than retirement, he kept it to himself. Best wishes.

 

[6Creed73]

Lots of people don't wet tumble because it removes carbon from the inside of the neck which provides some "lubricant" when seating bullets.
I have definitely found that when I wet tumble the seating tension is far more inconsistent and you can sometimes feel the drag from bare brass on copper.

I'm doing a lot of testing with annealing, bushing vs std die, mandrels as well as dry lubricating the necks before seating to get consistent seating pressures and attempts to bring down SD's. I think my most best results have been with annealing, full length sizing with bushing, deburr, mandrel and then lubricating the inside of the necks with a HBN solution prior to seating. A lot of work and jury is still out!

Yeah, wet tumbling does remove the carbon. But I use a mandrel as my last step for case prep, which includes dunking the neck in graphite powder before running it through the mandrel. It leaves a graphite powder residue in the neck. My bullet seating is very consistent with this method.

 

[rox]

And if you don't like picking media out of flash holes, maybe you need another hobby?

If you don't like picking media out of flash holes, maybe you are using the wrong size media. 25/52 grit crushed walnut doesn't block flash holes.

 

[big5ifty]

Corn cob media, with damp strips of wet wipes.

No dust. Cleans the media.

I also don't deprime before tumbling, so I don't have flash-hole problems.

I tried rice once, brass did not clean as well as the corncob.

I once tried sandblasting sand. I found that it was too heavy for cases to settle into while tumbling in a normal case tumbler. The sand stayed at the bottom, the cases on top, and the two didn't mix like with corncob media.

 

[Cryhavoc]

I've tried literally every method & machine throughout my 43 years of reloading and have settled on one product that I use exclusively these days:

Brass Juice Case Wash

This product is amazing and I no longer use SS pins either.

And my "go to" tumbler is the Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler with the "Lite" model for smaller loads

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I just use a Cabellas’s( Berry’s) one I’ve had for some time with the CC media that came with it. Ditched the polish that came with it from the past suggestions on here. Use with strips of used dryer sheets, works great for my needs. I think I will try Hornady CC media next.https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012885198?pid=914112
I really like this tool a lot to clean the flash hole.

 

[NorCalMikie]

The sand stayed at the bottom, the cases on top, and the two didn't mix like with corncob media.

Must have been a vibratory unit? A Tumbler doesn't have that problem. They TUMBLE.

 

[NorCalMikie]

Toss in a half of a dryer fabric softener sheet.

A USED dryer sheet. Don't need you brass to smell THAT good.

 

[Dimner]

Where do you purchase this at?

I can't remember where I got it, I'll check when I get home, but I was able to get 30-40 lbs shipped to my home for 50 bucks 5 years ago. Still working on that batch. Probably a year and a half left on it. The only problem I have with corn cob is the dust. Dryer sheets work for an hour or two of vib tumbling. However, sometimes I like to leave it going over night. That's when dust gets everywhere. If I could find a great dust mediation I'd probably stick with corn cob. Not sure if it's possible with 6-8 hrs of tumbling.

Again, my issue is how long I leave it going. Two hours gets it functionally clean. Over night gets it shiney bright. I like the latter. Currently I tumble in my cesspool of a garage. I might try rice in the future. Or maybe new dryer sheets will work better than used.

Edit: I used lizard bedding before this, dust was worse even for a couple hours tumble

 

[nettle]

New media is dusty and requires dryer sheets. After a couple of runs using Nu Finish the media gets coated and the dust goes away. I rarely change media. Used media that's not dusty works better for me than new media that's dusty.

 

[big5ifty]

Must have been a vibratory unit? A Tumbler doesn't have that problem. They TUMBLE.

Yes, vibratory.

Second side effect from using sand was the cases were covered in a fine dust.

Quartz dust is not good for dies.

 

[Cecil S.]

If you don't like picking media out of flash holes, maybe you are using the wrong size media. 25/52 grit crushed walnut doesn't block flash holes.

Wet or dry tumbling is an old debate on this site , it is up to the user. But there are newer shaped abrasives (not pins) for wet tumbling that dont get stuck in the flash holes. I have not up graded to this yet as it is no big deal in my process.

 

[Zero333]

This used to be seriously filthy range brass ( 223rem / 5.56 x 45mm )



I use this stuff...




The dirtier the brass the longer I let it tumble. This batch of range brass I left tumbling for 4 or 5 hours.

The first use I use a tiny bit of brass media polish. Have to make sure it doesn't clump up by breaking it apart while tumbling with a little bit of media without brass. I've had a clump get inside a 308win case, and it almost fully clogged it. Had to use a pick to get it out.

Instead of tumbling media brass polish I've also used " Mothers California Gold" car wash additive.

Here is a batch of my own 243win brass that never hits the ground... I let it tumble for 2 to 3 hours...