Lizard litter...

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HAWKEYE10

HAWKEYE10

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:) After hearing and reading about lizard litter for your tumbler I stopped at the pet store and bought a bag. I did mix it in with the Lyman corn cob media that I had in the tumbler. I's about half and half. The upside is it does get the brass cleaner quicker than straight corn cob media. The down side is the dust. I haven't been putting my top on the tumbler while running it so I can look in there and check the progress. Well I will tell you I put the top on now. :rolleyes: All in all I think I will keep using it. Don
 
How big are the pieces of lizard litter and what is it made of?

I got some bird/hamster corncob litter to mix with crushed walnut and it does shine cases better. Unfortunately, the chunks are big enough to clog .223 case mouths REALLY badly. Just make sure you get all of the junk out of your cases.
 
HAWKEYE10 said:
:) I haven't been putting my top on the tumbler while running it so I can look in there and check the progress. Well I will tell you I put the top on now. :rolleyes: All in all I think I will keep using it. Don
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter which dry media you use, a lot of dust is generated during tumbling. Run it by a window with the sun shining through to see what I mean. It gets worse the more times the media is used. A lot of dust flies when dumping the brass out of the tumbler too. I empty the tumbler into the separator and work the separator outside the house. That dust has nothing in it you want to breathe.
 
My tumbler lives in the garden shed. A couple times a year I blow the place out with my leaf blower. No way would I want this mess in my shop.
+ whatever on the lizard litter. Never stuck in a flash hole.
 
TheTinMan said:
How big are the pieces of lizard litter and what is it made of?

I got some bird/hamster corncob litter to mix with crushed walnut and it does shine cases better. Unfortunately, the chunks are big enough to clog .223 case mouths REALLY badly. Just make sure you get all of the junk out of your cases.
Click to expand...

The lizard litter is a little more coarse than sand and made of walnut shells. Don
 
been useing lizard litter for about 2 years now. i like it cause it dosnt clog the flash hole. as for the dust try a used dryer sheet !!!! it helps alot !!!!
 
Never run it without the top! You are spreading lead and other toxic nasty stuff all over. Primary means of lead poisoning is inhalation.

Use a USED dryer sheet in the tumbler of if you don't have them use a paper towel with some Nu Finish or mineral spirits on it.

Even the pet store bedding is expensive compared to Drill Spot online or Harbor Freight.
 
Rule3 said:
Never run it without the top! You are spreading lead and other toxic nasty stuff all over. Primary means of lead poisoning is inhalation.

Use a USED dryer sheet in the tumbler of if you don't have them use a paper towel with some Nu Finish or mineral spirits on it.

Even the pet store bedding is expensive compared to Drill Spot online or Harbor Freight.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Next time I buy some I will check those two places out. We are going to keep finding ways to reduce the cost of tumbling media till they pay us to use it. :D:D Don
 
Tumbling

I have been using a Sonic cleaner for a couple of months now, no more tumbling for me.
I agree that the inhalation of lead dust is not good, my lead levels keep going up and I am trying everything I can to stop that.
I hope I do not have to quit shooting indoors .
But that is probably my next step.
 
HAWKEYE10 said:
Thanks! Next time I buy some I will check those two places out. We are going to keep finding ways to reduce the cost of tumbling media till they pay us to use it. :D:D Don
Click to expand...

Actually if you just wash it, that's as cheap as you can get. It's not as purty but completely functional.:)
 
HAWKEYE10 said:
:) After hearing and reading about lizard litter for your tumbler I stopped at the pet store and bought a bag. I did mix it in with the Lyman corn cob media that I had in the tumbler. I's about half and half. The upside is it does get the brass cleaner quicker than straight corn cob media. The down side is the dust. I haven't been putting my top on the tumbler while running it so I can look in there and check the progress. Well I will tell you I put the top on now. :rolleyes: All in all I think I will keep using it. Don
Click to expand...

I tried it once.
 
Ditto on the used dryer sheets. After several batches, you stop trapping the walnut dust and only trap the soot and primer dust which is Lead Styphnate (a big contributor to lead poisoning to careless reloaders) so trapping and disposing the dust is a good thing.

If you can't get used dryer sheets, raid the local laundromat or use cut up paper towels. The paper towels work, just not as well as the open weave of used dryer sheets.

If you have a feed store nearby, you can get crushed walnut cheap there. I got 50# for $17 which should last quite a while.
 
I pour a cup of water into my tumbler barrel right before I button it up to run a batch. It keeps the dust down by quite a bit, and seems to get the brass a little shinier, especially when the media is getting tired.
 
Rule3 said:
Never run it without the top! You are spreading lead and other toxic nasty stuff all over. Primary means of lead poisoning is inhalation.

Use a USED dryer sheet in the tumbler of if you don't have them use a paper towel with some Nu Finish or mineral spirits on it.

Even the pet store bedding is expensive compared to Drill Spot online or Harbor Freight.
Click to expand...

Rule3, which type of media would you recommend from Drill Spot. They have so many different types. Looks like the 14/20 Corn Cob and the 20/20 Corn Cob are the way to go--40lbs for $32 shipped. According to the reviews it has gone up in price recently, one person posted $26 back in January.
 
novalty said:
Rule3, which type of media would you recommend from Drill Spot. They have so many different types. Looks like the 14/20 Corn Cob and the 20/20 Corn Cob are the way to go--40lbs for $32 shipped. According to the reviews it has gone up in price recently, one person posted $26 back in January.
Click to expand...

I bought the 20/40 Corn for around $28. It has gone up a bit but still a deal for 40 lbs delivered. The Walnut I got at Harbor Freight locally it is called, Fine 24 grit.

In the other thread, I mentioned that I really do not think it matters all that much between the two grades of Corn, there is not that much difference in size. Post #35

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/236995-how-long-do-you-tumble-brass.html#post136391718
 
I just got a 50Lb bag of Zilla crushed walnut shells from Amazon for about $35 with free shipping. I figured I'd give it a try since I was almost out of corncob. So far so good.
 
You guys in the soouth should check with you local pecan sheller...mine lets me have all the shells I want and will usually give me a bag or two to sack 'em in.....a couple of minutes with a hammer when I get home and I'm ready to go
 
all I use is Zilla.....huge bag is cheap at Amazon
2 hours and im clean enough fo reloading...No drier sheets,not a fan of corn cobb
 
My blood lead level was 18Dl in February. I've started giving my brass a half hour in a Lemi Shine soak prior to tumbling. Gets a load of the bad stuff out of the cases.

An hour in the oven to dry.

The brass shines up a lot quicker and the media is staying much cleaner. Still using the drier sheets tho.

I've also started tumbling outdoors & wearing nitrile gloves EVERY time I handle the brass.

Gonna get tested again in May or June.
 
I use the Zilla with a used dryer sheet every batch and a cap full of Nu-Finish every 3000 rounds of 9mm or so. Nu-Finish isn't necessary but the cases are slick as wet frogs and pretty darn shiny after a two hour tumble. I highly recommend it and don't have any complaint about the dust. The deal from Amazon is killer and should last you a long long time as the media really doesnt deteriorate or require changing that often if you use Nu-Finish
 
tke861, Welcome to the Forum!

I may have to look into the Zilla, but I think I have enough media to last a looong while. I bought the Lizard Litter and noticed the dust issue as I was transferring it to a 5-gal. bucket. So, I got my high velocity air mover (fan), another bucket, and proceeded to pour it from one bucket to the other while in the air stream, and it did a pretty good job of getting the dust out. The yard looked a little brown until ran the sprinkler, though. ;)
 
Avery11 said:
Try this:

Start in walnut to clean - add cut up used dryer sheets to soak up the dirt. It really does make a difference.

Follow with the superfine nut media from grainger (sp). It's like sand and geta every little nook and cranny but never gets stuck in the cases.

A guy at my club turned me onto it and it's fantastic. I add a little Nu Finish to make them shine.

Here's a link Nut-Based Media, Random, 5 Lbs. - Tumbler Media - Tumblers and Media - 5UKA8 : Grainger Industrial Supply
Click to expand...

:confused: $58.85 seems like a lot for 5lbs. of walnut shells. Is there something different about this? At the pet store I paid $13 and change for lizard litter. Don
 
I've been using corn cob mixed 50/50 with Harbor Freight coarse walnut media and a dryer sheet, and after a couple of hours the cases come out clean and shinny as factory brass.
 
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