How long do you tumble brass?

Frank46 · Mar 5, 2012

I used to get quite a bit of range brass. Some of it was really dirty. Soaked in mineral spirits then acetone to get rid of the mineral spirits. Then tumble. I always tumble my brass cause its easier to check for split necks, that sort of thing. I find that once the brass has a good shine then the next trip through the tumbler is usually less time. Basically just cleaning off the powder fouling. I clean my primer pockets with a cordless drill in batches. This way don't get the crud from the primer pockets in the tumbling media. I also prime all my cases before using the dillon. Just insert case, charge, insert bullet,and seat. then it plops into one of the bins. I think anything you do to the case prior to actual reloading leaves you able to load more rounds at a faster rate. I weigh every tenth charge as a check. Frank

Mule88 · Mar 5, 2012

Most the time I turn it on in the morning and turn it off at bed time, nice and shiny.

jnyav8r · Mar 5, 2012

What about the corcob bedding you get at wally world?? I got some tonight,5lbs for $3.95. I haven't run it yet,but was going to put some cleaner in there also. Suggestions??

nossew · Mar 5, 2012

I let mine run over-night with some NuFinish

johngalt · Mar 5, 2012

I started out running it for 3-4 hours, then 2 and noticed no difference. I'm now down to 1. I add a dash of mineral spirits, let it run for a few minutes, throw in the brass and run for an hour. Gets it clean enough.

blujax01 · Mar 6, 2012

Two hours unless I fall asleep on the couch.

Then it's longer ...

Jc85 · Mar 6, 2012

I used to let it run all day using corn cob and frank-ford polish. My casings were clean but looked to be a tad tarnished. Not shiny new looking brass but sort of dull.. Now I use walnut and do it for about 90 minutes.. SHINY! I found my self exclaiming SHINY BRASS! every time I pulled a handful out of the tumbler. my wife thought it was funny, I heard her upstairs through the vent saying "SHINY BRASS!

HAWKEYE10 · Mar 6, 2012

jnyav8r said:
What about the corcob bedding you get at wally world?? I got some tonight,5lbs for $3.95. I haven't run it yet,but was going to put some cleaner in there also. Suggestions??

I haven't tried that. Be sure and let us know how it does. I have read on the net that a lot of folks are using lizard litter that you get at the big pet stores. It's finely ground up walnut shells and is cheaper than what you buy for guns. Don

Rule3 · Mar 6, 2012

The corn cob bedding used for pets is usually the big coarse stuff. It does not work.

The Lizard Walnut fine stuff is OK but expensive, Got to Harbor Freight or order it online.

This place is great. Buy it once, set for life

Pneumatic Blasting Media - Finishing Supplies - Machining

folkenheath · Mar 6, 2012

jnyav8r said:
What about the corcob bedding you get at wally world?? I got some tonight,5lbs for $3.95. I haven't run it yet,but was going to put some cleaner in there also. Suggestions??

I use that on all my pistol brass, works great, with a dab of Flitz polish they are shiny as new. I've used on it everthing from .357 to .460 mag and many in between (.40 S&W, .45 Colt, .44 Mag, etc), and it works great.

I would not use it on rifle cartidges though, I used it once on .223 and the necked cases would get all the media inside of them as the tumbler ran, but it would not just dump out because it was too large, it took me well over an hour just to pick the media out of 200 cases.

Nick B · Mar 6, 2012

Rule3 said:
The corn cob bedding used for pets is usually the big coarse stuff. It does not work.

The Lizard Walnut fine stuff is OK but expensive, Got to Harbor Freight or order it online.

This place is great. Buy it once, set for life

Pneumatic Blasting Media - Finishing Supplies - Machining

Which grit do you recommend for tumbling ?

Eagl1 · Mar 6, 2012

Rule3 said:
The corn cob bedding used for pets is usually the big coarse stuff. It does not work.

The Lizard Walnut fine stuff is OK but expensive, Got to Harbor Freight or order it online.

This place is great. Buy it once, set for life

Pneumatic Blasting Media - Finishing Supplies - Machining

I agree, all the corn cob bedding I've seen in the pet stores is too coarse. I just bought some Econoline Corn Cob Blast Media from Grainger and the size is perfect. It's the best deal I found, $34 for 40 pounds. You will want the 14/20 grit. Grainger Item # 2MVR4.
Here's a link:
Blast Media, 40 Lbs, Corn Cob, 14/20 Grit - Pneumatic Blasting Media - Finishing Supplies - 2MVR4 : Grainger Industrial Supply

blujax01 · Mar 6, 2012

I use Lyman Tufnut. Rouge impregnated walnut. I have not noticed any red colored residue in the cases but they seem to be slightly lubed, which I look at as a good thing.
It cost $10 for a 3 lb box and after 18 months and somewhere close to 10K rounds, I still have half a box left.

buckshotshorty · Mar 6, 2012

Rule3 said:
2 hours. Lyman Turbo 1200. Set on a timer. 50:50 corn and walnut with a squirt of any kind of cleaner.
I do change my media often. 40 lb bags of corn and walnut.

This is my set up and method exactly.

Rule3 · Mar 6, 2012

Nick B said:
Which grit do you recommend for tumbling ?

I bought the 20/40 grit. I do not think it makes a lot of difference. Look at the size and microns, there is not that much difference. The product is the same brand as Grainger. When I ordered it, I had it at my door in a few days. I think is drop ships from Grainger.

It's so cheap, a 40lb bag is a LOT

nody · Mar 6, 2012

One thing no one but one guy mentioned was primer pockets.

Are your pockets getting cleaned enough with tumbling to not need the pockets manually cleaned? From what I have read, this is where the Stainless steel media really "shines."

tlen · Mar 6, 2012

60-90 minutes. Just enough to get the dirt off.

Fishslayer · Mar 7, 2012

Rule3 said:
What are they??

They are both listed as cleaning media. Perhaps Corn shines better and Walnut cleans better. Best of both worlds? But I use polish also.

Yes. Walnut cleans better/faster & cob for a bright polish.

The walnut will kind of defeat the purpose of the corn. I actually tried it when I accidently dumped the walnut out of the tumbler into the corn bucket.

I tried it and it came out no different than straight walnut.

Now I only use walnut & Nu Finish to clean (faster) and cob with Nu Finish for an hour or so on the finished ammo for that blazing shine.

blujax01 · Mar 7, 2012

nody said:
One thing no one but one guy mentioned was primer pockets.

Are your pockets getting cleaned enough with tumbling to not need the pockets manually cleaned? From what I have read, this is where the Stainless steel media really "shines."

I clean before I de-prime, but then again I'm only loading handguns

Rule3 · Mar 7, 2012

nody said:
One thing no one but one guy mentioned was primer pockets.

Are your pockets getting cleaned enough with tumbling to not need the pockets manually cleaned? From what I have read, this is where the Stainless steel media really "shines."

Primer pockets? People actually clean those??

I sat in front of the TV once and cleaned 100, .223 Rem primer pockets over a clear plastic bowl. The amount of "stuff" was insignificant, miniscule to me. Did not seem worth the effort. I suppose benchrest shooters might do it. I have never cleaned a handgun pocket.

How long do you tumble brass?

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