Reshoot Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I have used Lyman tumbling media, both walnut hull and corncob, for as long as I can remember. But, about a month ago I put the last of my media in the tumbler. Then, I recalled reading about buying media at a pet store, for a lot less money. Yes, I spent considerably less, for walnut hull with granules half the size of Lyman's. I'm talkn' finely ground stuff! And the corncob? Granules twice the size of Lyman's corncob. I have used these 2 items for the last 4 weeks and must say . . . I might just as well have dropped my money through the grate on the storm drain, outside the entrance to that pet store! The walnut hull cleaned the brass, some what, on the first 2 batches. After that, it would not clean at all, and a large amount of it had turned to powder. I'm talking about a HUGE stack of walnut-hull-turned-to-powder on the center of the tub! The walnut product is marked; Zilla Desert Blend Ground English Walnut Shells. I have already thrown out the corncob container so, can't tell you exactly what it was. These two products were all this particular pet store had to offer. I'll be stocking up on Lyman product before week's end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmca Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I get sandblasting media. If you have a local store, it's much cheaper. I was lazy and ordered a bag from McMaster. A little NuFinish auto polish and mineral spirits and you're good to go. Only problem I can see, 40 pounds of that stuff last a long time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I like the fine grind Harbor Freight walnut hull. It is small enough to not hang up in primer holes and seems to really hold up well. Runs about a dollar a pound, 25 pounds should last for a long time. I use it with Nu-Finish for final polish after stainless pinning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm300 Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Funny, I have that same brand in my tumbler and have cleaned +- 6k with it and some Fitz thrown in. It seems to be working and holding up very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leas327 Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I run pet store walnut hull with nu-finish car polish and mineral spirits and don't have a problem. Without the extras it will get dusty. With them I have been running the same batch for the whole summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Mineral Spirits helped my pet store walnut clean MUCH better. It was very dusty, and took quite a while even when using car wax. I switched to mineral spirits and it is now much more efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 What ratio of mineral spirits to NuFinish are you sing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmca Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 About 50/50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I'm using the zilla brand ground walnut shells from petsmart with a cap full of nu-finish car polish and it works well for my brass. I've re-used the same batch for over 4 tub loads and it still looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Couple tablespoons of mineral spirits each session, i havent added any car polish since I noticed how well the spirits did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtuns Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I get 50lb. Bag of medium grit walnut from industrial supply for $12 a little rooster bright gtg Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stick Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Pet store zilla sand with nu finish. Brass looks good and the media holds up well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 so you use mineral spirits by itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Yes, I stopped using car wax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 thx. I'll give that a try on my next batch this weekend ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 I am glad to hear you folks are getting such good results. I am going back to Lyman walnut hull media, with rouge. It makes my brass look like new in 2 hours. From my experience, during the past week, to would take gawd knows how many hours to get the same results with the concoction you guys are using. Oh, may I ask why "stainless pinning" is required if the pest store critter stuff is so good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlamphere Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Pet Mountain has the walnut in various sizes, including a 50# bag for all you heavy-hitters out there. Sometimes they will offer free delivery and other specials. Right now 12# bag is $6.99. www.petmountian.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy kemlo Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Harbor freight walnut and some nu finish from walmart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leas327 Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I am glad to hear you folks are getting such good results. I am going back to Lyman walnut hull media, with rouge. It makes my brass look like new in 2 hours. From my experience, during the past week, to would take gawd knows how many hours to get the same results with the concoction you guys are using. Oh, may I ask why "stainless pinning" is required if the pest store critter stuff is so good? The nu-finish mineral spirit mix will make brass look new in a couple of hours. I run my tumbler on a Christmas light timer so as it gets older I just push in another pin to add a half hour. I run it at night and unplug it the next day. The advantage to stainless pins is that the clean better and faster than media. They also don't wear out. A downfall IMHO is that it is wet tumbling so after it is done you have dry brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjohn Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 I am using the walnut from Pet Smart along with NuFinish and Mineral Spirits mix with the used dryer sheets. However, I find a great deal of dust accumulates along the sides of the bowl and also in the bottom of the bowl when I have finished tumbling. Also, when separating, a big dust cloud also arise during the process. Is this normal, or is the industrial or reloading media have less dust content? I also clean the bowl after each use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecil Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 I have used Lyman tumbling media, both walnut hull and corncob, for as long as I can remember. But, about a month ago I put the last of my media in the tumbler. Then, I recalled reading about buying media at a pet store, for a lot less money. Yes, I spent considerably less, for walnut hull with granules half the size of Lyman's. I'm talkn' finely ground stuff! And the corncob? Granules twice the size of Lyman's corncob. I have used these 2 items for the last 4 weeks and must say . . . I might just as well have dropped my money through the grate on the storm drain, outside the entrance to that pet store! The walnut hull cleaned the brass, some what, on the first 2 batches. After that, it would not clean at all, and a large amount of it had turned to powder. I'm talking about a HUGE stack of walnut-hull-turned-to-powder on the center of the tub! The walnut product is marked; Zilla Desert Blend Ground English Walnut Shells. I have already thrown out the corncob container so, can't tell you exactly what it was. These two products were all this particular pet store had to offer. I'll be stocking up on Lyman product before week's end. did you put some brass cleaning stuff in the walnut hull media.. lyman puts some in theirs.. thats why they charge you more.. i bought some of the walnut media from PetsMart... put some Dillon rapid polish in it... in 1-1/2 hrs my brass was bright & shiny.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickboy44 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 i use the petsmart crushed walnut for bird beding and dillon rapid polish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I too found the pet store lizard litter walnut does not cut it as well as the commercial stuff from the sandblasting shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 (edited) I am glad to hear you folks are getting such good results. I am going back to Lyman walnut hull media, with rouge. It makes my brass look like new in 2 hours. From my experience, during the past week, to would take gawd knows how many hours to get the same results with the concoction you guys are using. Oh, may I ask why "stainless pinning" is required if the pest store critter stuff is so good? my experience is similar to yours. though a bit better. I used blasting media. fine grade walnut shell. added dillon rapid polish. it certainly was no where near as good as the lyman green corncob. one funny thing it did do was clean my tumbler nicely! after a year of tumbling with the lyman green media the bottom of my tumbler was black. I checked and lyman said no need to clean it, just leave it. well the first batch of walnut shell cleaned it out nicely! still I've gone back to lyman stuff. yes it's expensive but it lasts ages. I have a friend who has been using the same batch for nearly 20 years!!! he has washed it once and that kind of ruined it (removed all the green stuff). not sure I'd go 20 years, but it certainly can last a year tumbling 200 cases a week. another lyman green fan here. I'm not keen on the red lyman walnut stuff though as it has abrasives in it. do not want any abrasives getting into the chamber or anywhere else in the gun or magazines or even in my press. so I stick to the green which has no abrasives in it. Edited December 5, 2013 by BeerBaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapple Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Most feed stores will have ground corn cob. I think I paid $20 for a 50lb bag years ago. Works great for most brass unless it's super dirty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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