STAINLESS STEEL MEDIA TUMBLING INFO GUIDE

[Vortec MAX]

Oh, you eat off the brass, do you? And the cleaning solution you drain from the tumbler, is that clean enough to drink?

People sure have some odd ideas.

You will love this then... I use a few tablespoons of the SS pins in my thermos with dish soap and swirl it around to clean the inside. Then... OMG... I drink coffee out of it. [GASP!]

It is strange I am still alive.

Mike

 

[Skeet 028]

You will love this then... I use a few tablespoons of the SS pins in my thermos with dish soap and swirl it around to clean the inside. Then... OMG... I drink coffee out of it. [GASP!]

It is strange I am still alive.

Mike

That is a very good idea. I use my Thermos for soups and stews as much as for hot drinks like coffee. BTW isn't what you clean cases with just water soap and a little bit of Lemi shine. About the same stuff you use in your dishwasher?? OMG then you eat off'n those plates!! You will probably come in contact with more lead while cleaning your guns. Look I know lead is a pernicious substance. But the lead left on cases is in very small amounts and is put in suspension in the cleaning solution..about like food in a dishwasher. Then it is all rinsed off. If you listen to the local wisdom all sorts of things are bad for you. I used mercury to clean my screenings for gold when I panned. I use Mercury regularly to remove lead from bores, I cast bullets..size them and load them. I make shot..oh horrors! Done this all my life. When I worked in the fire dept we had yearly blood tests and they screened us for everything.. My lead and mercury levels were normal. Of course I didn't play in stuff like lead and mercury and not wash my hands and take very simple precautions. Heck the worst part of messing with shot was the graphite it had in it....But dawn dish soap took it off. If you are stupid yep..Those things can be dangerous. So the question is..Anybody here consider themselves to be stupid?? I surely hope not

 

[Vortec MAX]

You will probably come in contact with more lead while cleaning your guns.

That's a fact.

I once deprimed several hundred cases without a respirator or gloves, cleaned the brass, pulled the cases out with my bare fingers after rinsing them, primed some cases without the use of any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), cleaned some of my guns without gloves or a respirator, and then... after washing my hands... ate dinner with those very same hands.

At least I have never fired a gun without wearing full PPE. Oh wait... yes I have.

That's some crazy stuff right there Talk about living dangerously. I think I am feeling sick. [Cough, cough]

I think this thread may be getting slightly off topic.

Mike

 

[gwalchmai]

You will love this then... I use a few tablespoons of the SS pins in my thermos with dish soap and swirl it around to clean the inside. Then... OMG... I drink coffee out of it. [GASP!]

Yep. I love thinning the herd...

 

[gwalchmai]

That is a very good idea. I use my Thermos for soups and stews as much as for hot drinks like coffee. BTW isn't what you clean cases with just water soap and a little bit of Lemi shine. About the same stuff you use in your dishwasher?? OMG then you eat off'n those plates!! You will probably come in contact with more lead while cleaning your guns. Look I know lead is a pernicious substance. But the lead left on cases is in very small amounts and is put in suspension in the cleaning solution..about like food in a dishwasher. Then it is all rinsed off. If you listen to the local wisdom all sorts of things are bad for you. I used mercury to clean my screenings for gold when I panned. I use Mercury regularly to remove lead from bores, I cast bullets..size them and load them. I make shot..oh horrors! Done this all my life. When I worked in the fire dept we had yearly blood tests and they screened us for everything.. My lead and mercury levels were normal. Of course I didn't play in stuff like lead and mercury and not wash my hands and take very simple precautions. Heck the worst part of messing with shot was the graphite it had in it....But dawn dish soap took it off. If you are stupid yep..Those things can be dangerous. So the question is..Anybody here consider themselves to be stupid?? I surely hope not

You realize that cleaning your cases in your dishwasher or clotheswasher puts more in the water than just soap and Lemi-Shine, don't you? Lead from primer dust accumulates in your clothes and utensils, and thus, you (especially kids).

But hey, feel free. It might be fair to post notices of your practices in case you have guests for dinner, though.

 

[Vortec MAX]

You realize that cleaning your cases in your dishwasher or clotheswasher puts more in the water than just soap and Lemi-Shine, don't you? Lead from primer dust accumulates in your clothes and utensils, and thus, you (especially kids).

But hey, feel free. It might be fair to post notices of your practices in case you have guests for dinner, though.

Ummm, who said anything about cleaning cases in the dishwasher or clothes washer? Now that would be dumb.

Mike

 

[Ohio AV8TOR]

Yep. I love thinning the herd...

Sure, more powder in stock then With that said I just may pick up a cheap tumbler at Harbor Freight and give it a try.

 

[gwalchmai]

Ummm, who said anything about cleaning cases in the dishwasher or clothes washer? Now that would be dumb.

Mike

Yeah, you just dry your cases in the clothes dryer. That's a WORLD of difference...

Here's free advice - you don't dig your way out of a hole.

 

[Skeet 028]

Well by the time you tumble them in the drier all lead is gone after the rinse. In my case being Wyoming...and the sun shines more'n 300 days per I sit em out on my tailgate after tumbling them in a Cabela's tumbler/sifter. They be dry pretty quick. even in the winter. Clothes drier is too spensive to run...And don't call me cheep! On another note. I'm still not certain I like this SS tumbling. The darn things come out so clean you either have to tumble a few mins in CC or lube the cases for certain... esp the mouths of pistol brass going through the Dillon 1050s or even 650s. Expander/powder funnels want to stick a bit. Fouls up the works. I may sell one of the Thumlers Tumblers....or both.

 

[series guy]

I think somebody missed the words "shoe rack" in the post about using a clothes dryer to dry brass. If you ever wet tumbled brass you would know that there's no worries about any type of contamination as they are spotless inside and out. I'm sure we've all stuck our foot in our mouth by posting a comment on a post that we have misread or skimmed over. It might help to consider that before copping an attitude. It's more fun when things are kept friendly. Now take a minute and look up big dawg tumblers. I love mine.

 

[Skeet 028]

Yes it is more work, but the corn cob lasts forever if you are only tumbling clean brass.

Mike

Ain't it amazing the lengths we go to for pretty? We Tumble brass that looks better'n new! Duh! Also..before I did all this cleaning..I just wiped the grunge...er...dirt off and loaded 'em. Worked fine

 

[Geo. T.]

It Works!

Thanks for sharing but I guess that I'm just lazy. To enhance die life I tumble twice before and after sizing. I have Dillon products that make it a snap to remove media! I think I'll pass!

 

[dswancutt]

Well by the time you tumble them in the drier all lead is gone after the rinse. In my case being Wyoming...and the sun shines more'n 300 days per I sit em out on my tailgate after tumbling them in a Cabela's tumbler/sifter. They be dry pretty quick. even in the winter. Clothes drier is too spensive to run...And don't call me cheep! On another note. I'm still not certain I like this SS tumbling. The darn things come out so clean you either have to tumble a few mins in CC or lube the cases for certain... esp the mouths of pistol brass going through the Dillon 1050s or even 650s. Expander/powder funnels want to stick a bit. Fouls up the works. I may sell one of the Thumlers Tumblers....or both.

What brand of soap are you using? I use concentrated Dawn, about 5 to 7.5 ml. I found to much soap will cause sticky cases when resizing. Dawn also strips all the oils. Cheep soap will give you nasty black cases as the dirt sticks to the pins after awhile. A cough medicine dispenser works great and best of is free. I built an air dryer out of some scrap 2x4 and some fine grid galvanized fence that was left over from some project. Otherwise it is an old moving box, old t-shirt and a floor fan.

 

[Vortec MAX]

I use the NON-concentrated Dawn. They call it "Simply Clean" and it has the words "NON-CONCENTRATED" underneath the Dawn brand and logo. I use 3 Tablespoons of the soap and 1/4 teaspoon of Lemi-Shine.

I have not tried the concentrated Dawn, so I can't help you with the amount. I will say that you want there to be suds on top when you open the barrel. If there aren't any suds, you are not using enough.

Mike

 

[dswancutt]

I use the NON-concentrated Dawn. They call it "Simply Clean" and it has the words "NON-CONCENTRATED" underneath the Dawn brand and logo. I use 3 Tablespoons of the soap and 1/4 teaspoon of Lemi-Shine.

I have not tried the concentrated Dawn, so I can't help you with the amount. I will say that you want there to be suds on top when you open the barrel. If there aren't any suds, you are not using enough.

Mike

7.5ml of concentrated Dawn foams like a rabid dog when you loosen the lid nuts. The only time I don't get excessive foaming is when cleaning sizing lube off of rifle brass. It tends to break down the soap somewhat.

 

[Vortec MAX]

7.5ml of concentrated Dawn foams like a rabid dog when you loosen the lid nuts. The only time I don't get excessive foaming is when cleaning sizing lube off of rifle brass. It tends to break down the soap somewhat.

The concentrated must be REALLY concentrated then. 7.5 ml is about 1.5 teaspoons or 1/6th of the amount I am using.

If you are getting that many suds, I would try backing off. There should be a nice layer on top of the water when you open the barrel, but nothing too crazy. You are leaving some space in there I hope. I fill to about 1.25 inches from the top.

Mike