Mikej Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I am just getting going in the re-loading process and have a couple thousand pieces of brass I would like to clean up. How long do I let the tumber run with a load? Is there anything I have to do about the spent primers? Should they be removed before I tumble the brass or is that removal part of the process later on? Sorry about the simple questions. I have a buddy who is going to help me get set up and going but he is gone for a few days and I wanted to get the brass ready to go. Thanks for the help. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapribek Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I usually tumble my brass for about 4 hours. The primers are removed in the first stage of the reloading process by my Dillon Square Deal B. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpops Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I am just getting going in the re-loading process and have a couple thousand pieces of brass I would like to clean up. How long do I let the tumber run with a load? Is there anything I have to do about the spent primers? Should they be removed before I tumble the brass or is that removal part of the process later on? Sorry about the simple questions. I have a buddy who is going to help me get set up and going but he is gone for a few days and I wanted to get the brass ready to go. Thanks for the help. Mike Mike I am fairly new also. So take this with a grain of salt. If my brass is real dirty I run it with walnut shell media for about 1 -2 hours. I then refine the shine with corn cob media for an hour. If it is pretty clean to begin with then i just go straight to the corn cob media. You will find several schools of thought as to what to add to your media by performing a search. I just use the Dillon additive. Hope this helps. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Most of the info can be found by perfoming a search....you will hear that a million times on this forum.....i did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I usually tumble my brass for about 4 hours. The primers are removed in the first stage of the reloading process by my Dillon Square Deal B. Hope this helps. If you want them clean it takes an hour ~ less if the tumbler is not overfull. If you want them shiny.... tumble as long as it takes to get to the desired finsih.... You Need the brass clean. You have the option of shiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwoods Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I tumble for 45 minutes to 1.5 hour. I use a mixture of corn cob media and walnut media. I have also used straight corn cob media. Don't overload with brass. If you don't have official polish, try using Nu-Finish car wax polish. It works for me just fine. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikej Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 Thanks everyone for your help. I did a search and it seems the consensus is that it is not necessary to de-prime before cleaning the brass. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy_fuentes Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Iosso brass cleaner with corn cob media (buy from pet store) and tumble for one to two hours and your brass will shine like new. Buddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franklin D Wolverton Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I don't pop the old primers out before tumbling... mainly to keep the media from sticking up in the flash hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSteel Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I tumble with corn cod / walnut media mixed just because it's what I had. Usually around 1 1/2- 2hrs. I also do a quick 10min run after loading to get the One Shot lube off. My feeling is as long as the brass is clean and straight it doesn't need to be pretty!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Recommend using dryer sheets in the tumbler with the media, too. Seems to help keep the media cleaner and reduce dust. Read about this in some of the other threads, tried it, and it does seem to help. YMMV, of course. And my brass smells spring time fresh after tumbling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle O Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I have a trick that I have never shared or read about. I take my newly reloaded ammo, dump onto a large bath/beach towel. Squirt about an ounce of acetone on the ammo/towel. grab the ends of the towel and form a "boat" (keep the ends tight so that no cartridges fall out) pull up one side then the other (like playing with a slinky) several times effectively tumbling the shells against the towel. finished ammo comes out sparkling clean with no residue in the least. I also do this sometimes on unloaded brass if out of the tumbler it is real dusty. At first I was concerned that the acetone would somehow get inside and "do things" to my powder or primers, but it as worked for maybe 5,000 rounds without any duds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pittbug Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 If you're reloading with a progressive press, it will remove the old primer in the first station, so you can tumble with the old primers still intact. I use the dillon cv2001 tumbler with lyman walnut which is impregnated with rouge for 90 mins, then swap to 1/16th corn cob (from pet store) for 30 mins - they turn out very shiny and like new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikej Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 Thanks everyone. I tumbled my first batch and it went well. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtBob Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I did not know you could get corn cob media from a pet store! What size is it? I see some advertised at different 'grit' as it were. I use corn cob, but I think it is pretty expensive for what it is. I let mine go for hours, it just depends on how dirty and/or oxidized the brass is, and how shiny you want it. Tumbling loaded rounds is NOT recommended. I know people do it, but I don't. Also, if you are reloading on a progressive press, and you have deprimed the cases before tumbling, the deprime station will take care of any media stuck in the flash hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I have a trick that I have never shared or read about.I take my newly reloaded ammo, dump onto a large bath/beach towel. Squirt about an ounce of acetone on the ammo/towel. grab the ends of the towel and form a "boat" (keep the ends tight so that no cartridges fall out) pull up one side then the other (like playing with a slinky) several times effectively tumbling the shells against the towel. finished ammo comes out sparkling clean with no residue in the least. I also do this sometimes on unloaded brass if out of the tumbler it is real dusty. At first I was concerned that the acetone would somehow get inside and "do things" to my powder or primers, but it as worked for maybe 5,000 rounds without any duds. Our gracious host used to do much the same. I do it too, using rubbing alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I have a friend who loaded at his parents place, threw the brass in the tumbler on Sunday and forgot about it for about 4-5 days. That was some of the shiniest damn brass I ever saw! You had to wear sunglasses to load it in mags! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnote Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 splash of Nu Finish in media works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Another vote for nu-finish car polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Mikes Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I have been doing a lot of tumbling the last couple months. My media was only lasting for about 4 cycles of brass and I was having to throw it out. I read on the almighty internet some suggeston on extending the ife of your media.... The one that has worked the best for me is the use of laquer thinner and cotton patches... I've heard the #1 cause of high lead in shooters is because of brass cleaning. Especially whe you are seperating the media after cleaning. Watch that lead and powder dust! I take around six 2"x2" cotton shotgun cleaning patches (any thick cotton fabric would work I suppose. Maybe a good use for my old cotton socks) and saturate them in laquer thinner. Make sure it does not contain ammonia as this weakens and makes brass brittle. Toss these patches right in to the tumbler along with the media and cases. I then tumble as normal. The residue sticks to the cotton more than the walnut media. I throw the patches out every 2 cycles (it doesn't take long to fill the cotton with residue). I have tumbled close to 15000 cases on only a couple changes of media. The other advantage is that there is no more dust when you seperate the media. You just have to make sure you are in a well ventilated area (make sure you are not near and open flames!). As a suggestion, wear latex or food service gloves when handling quantities of dirty brass. I have been experimenting with how "wet" to let the media get. So far I have not seen any problems with the media getting damp from the thinner. I always let the tumber run outside though. The last thing I want is my tumbler to suddenly burst into flames and burn my garage down. Use this technique at your own risk. It works for me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtg Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 I don't pop the old primers out before tumbling... mainly to keep the media from sticking up in the flash hole. +1 You dont need corn in your Flashole!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) The fear of excessive lead exposure is why I wash my brass instead of tumbling it. Soak a bucket full of brass in HOT water and Birchwood Casey Brass Cleaner for a couple of hours. Shake the s**t out of it. Rinse it very well - I use a second bucket drilled with a bunch of holes for this, and a hose. Then lay it out on a towel, dry it overnight, and load. All the lead stays in the nasty black water - no dust in my lungs. This works well for brass from an indoor range, or somewhat dirty brass scavenged immediately after a match. Don't try it with the black stuff that's been pounded flush with the soil for 6 months. Gotta tumble that stuff. But since 90% of my brass comes from our indoor weekly IDPA matches, it works great for me. Edited February 16, 2009 by MemphisMechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy_fuentes Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 I did not know you could get corn cob media from a pet store! What size is it? I see some advertised at different 'grit' as it were. I use corn cob, but I think it is pretty expensive for what it is. I let mine go for hours, it just depends on how dirty and/or oxidized the brass is, and how shiny you want it.Tumbling loaded rounds is NOT recommended. I know people do it, but I don't. Also, if you are reloading on a progressive press, and you have deprimed the cases before tumbling, the deprime station will take care of any media stuck in the flash hole. The bags I buy are either 25 or 50 pounds and the corn cob media is very fine. Your brass doesn't have to be anything other than clean, but I like mine to shine. Buddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now