hiker88 Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 I've been tumbling brass using crushed walnut with drier sheets + brass polish for years now and I'm ready to try a different media. I'm not too keen on doing wet tumbling and prefer to using my current set up. What have you guys tried and tested...and what do you recommend? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4n2t0 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Wet tumbling, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleJ Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 7 minutes ago, 4n2t0 said: Wet tumbling, lol. Bingo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Corn cob is not quite as bad as walnut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 corn cob, get it from a feed store, maybe a petsupply store as lizzard bedding. Works perfectly fine, just use a little polish in it. Run it longer than you would walnut, but no dust to speak of.. Never used liquid, or steel pins, but really cant fathom the point of it or why bothering with the extra steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 1 hour ago, KyleJ said: Bingo Someday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 35 minutes ago, Joe4d said: corn cob, get it from a feed store, maybe a petsupply store as lizzard bedding. Works perfectly fine, just use a little polish in it. Run it longer than you would walnut, but no dust to speak of.. Never used liquid, or steel pins, but really cant fathom the point of it or why bothering with the extra steps. I don't thinks there's a feed store anywhere near me in Central Jersey. Let me check Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balakay Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I have dry tumbled with both walnut and corncob. There is dust with both. I resisted switching to wet for too long. FART, no pins, cheap food dehydrator. 2.5 hours. Done. Minimal effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Balakay said: I have dry tumbled with both walnut and corncob. There is dust with both. I resisted switching to wet for too long. FART, no pins, cheap food dehydrator. 2.5 hours. Done. Minimal effort. Must resist.... ...okay let me start my shopping list Edited January 20, 2020 by hiker88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shep Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 12 minutes ago, Balakay said: I have dry tumbled with both walnut and corncob. There is dust with both. I resisted switching to wet for too long. FART, no pins, cheap food dehydrator. 2.5 hours. Done. Minimal effort. Same here... so much easier and the FART almost doubles the capacity of my corn cob tumbler. And no dry media can come close to cleaning as well as when I use the pins. I still use the corn cob occasionally to knock the lube off finished rifle rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 Excuse me for asking but what is this FART that you guys are recommending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balakay Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Edited January 20, 2020 by Balakay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 1 minute ago, Balakay said: Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Thank you, Balakay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 If you want to limit dust from walnut squirt a shot of mineral spirits in and let run five minutes before adding brass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 Thanks, Sarge. I'm already using mineral spirits but might need to increase the "dosage". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 1 minute ago, hiker88 said: Thanks, Sarge. I'm already using mineral spirits but might need to increase the "dosage". I have mine in an old dawn bottle and usually run a stream rapidly around the whole bowl. Probably 1.5-2 tablespoons. The lid and bowl will collect the brown sludge that would have been dust. I don’t do it every time. When I notice much dust then I hit it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustygun Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Sarge said: If you want to limit dust from walnut squirt a shot of mineral spirits in and let run five minutes before adding brass I also add mineral spirits to the tumbling media. Seems like it cuts the dust dramatically but I don’t have a way to measure dust in my shop. Note that I also run a 20” box fan with a 20x20x1 furnace filter attached to the front of the fan right next to where I separate media and brass. I also use he box fan/filter while running the table saw and the router in the shop. Moves enough air to capture a very high % of anything airborne. Edited January 20, 2020 by Rustygun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflyskyhigh Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I buy a giant bag of corn cob from Grainger locally. Almost no dust. Works good last long time. Reasonable prices too. Especially if you work some place that gets a Grainger discount. Just ask em, you’d be surprised who all has discounted rates with them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZp-01 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I used a Lyman media tumbler for about a year, but the dust was too much for me. Went to wet tumbling and never looked back. Really makes cleaning brass a breeze. Used the pins at first. Turned out to be to much clean up for the reward. No longer use them. I still use a walnut media for bolt action rifle cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKnoch Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I still use my vibratory tumbler and wet tumble, because of same issues as OP mentioned. Dust but also my cases had a film on them, which I didn’t really care for. If you don’t want a “FART” you can try your vibratory tumbler with warm water, dawn dish soap, and I put in about three sprays of brass juice (the case lube). I don’t use a dehydrator either, just put it on a towel and lay it over a register for my heating and air system. Cases are dry overnight, spray a bit more case lube on and start loading. My way may not be optimal, but it is easy, cheap, and works fineSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Agsco (https://www.agsco.com) in Pine Brook NJ has walnut, corn cob and other media in a variety of sizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_B Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 12 hours ago, Sarge said: If you want to limit dust from walnut squirt a shot of mineral spirits in and let run five minutes before adding brass This takes care of the dust for me. Doesn't need it every time but maybe every 5-6 times I clean brass. A bonus is that is will clean the brass better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m700 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) 14 hours ago, hiker88 said: I don't thinks there's a feed store anywhere near me in Central Jersey. Let me check Amazon. You can pick some up at my house in millstone. I have 2 bags of lizard bedding. I wet tumble I have 2 of these you can have https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OQRGF2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Edited January 20, 2020 by m700 more info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m700 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Oh wait that's walnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_B Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Another thing you can do is put dryer sheets or strips of paper towel in while you are tumbling. They will capture a lot of the dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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