tumbling brass question

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growr

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Got a new tumbler after my Dillon CV500 motor died.....What I am asking about is why would the tumbling media form a crust on the inside shell of the bowl? The media is Lyman crushed walnut.

I only put a capful of NuShine in the media about every 5-6th bowlful. (used to use Dillon case polish).

Been using a dryer sheet with each batch as I have been doing for many years....
Just wondering........

Thanks to all for helping!

Randy
 
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If it's any comfort, I've got a crust on the inside of my vibratory tumbler bowl too and my brass polish is Dillon Rapid Polish 290 or Flitz. I don't know why the crust forms, maybe it's a coating of my brass polish on the inside of the bowl attracting media dust and an accumulation of case lube, powder residue and bullet lube coming off the interior of my cases. In any event, I don't see it doing any harm other than look unattractive. I change media annually because I tumble weekly, so after emptying the bowl, I take the opportunity to clean the bowl prior to adding new media. Likely others will be providing different reasons why their tumblers share the same condition.
 
The Lyman walnut media is treated with a polishing compound and it will stick to the side of the bowl.

I use crushed walnut Lizard litter from pet stores that is not treated and add a little Nu finish car polish.

Bottom line anytime you add a liquid to the Lyman treated media it will leave a residue inside the bowl. The damp media polishing compound will just stick to the bowl.

This is why I use the untreated lizard litter and Nu Finish. ;)

If it sticks to the bowl then it will stick to the inside of the case also.
 
lyman media

If you lay out your media on a flat surface for a few days and let it dry it wont cake up.
 
I put new walnut uncoated media in the tumbler this evening for some .45acp casings I needed to tumble...No NuShine, no dryer sheet either.

The inside of the bowl was almost totally clean and the brass was much cleaner as well.

Seems like my error was to add case polish to the already coated Lyman media that I have been using for too long.

Randy
 
I pre-mix two parts mineral spirits to one part Nu Finish and add it to walnut lizard bedding. I only started doing this recently, but have since cleaned and polished perhaps a dozen loads of brass. I was attempting to limit dust with used dryer sheets prior, but it was a losing battle. I didn't use any sheets with this particular batch of media with the homebrew polishing mix.

I always sort of wrote off the Disciples of the Church of Nu Finish, but...damn. In addition to super-shiny brass, there's not a single speck of dust accumulating anywhere on the tumbler. It all stays in the media. I wiped the bowl out with some mineral spirits before adding the fresh walnut, and it's still perfectly clean. Previously, I had to wipe down the tumbler periodically to get rid of the dust, both inside and out!

On the downside, the media is rather prone to clumping and sticking to cases. I've added more polish/spirit-mix a couple times, so the media is visibly very dark and rich. But I use an RCBS media separator anyway, which does a fine job of separating even clumped-on media from my brass. No additional labor required.

I would happily continue to use the Nu Finish and spirits just for how well they controlled the dust problem.

wt-figure4.jpg


Side note: A media tumbler like the RCBS costs ~$35-$40, which is a lot of money for four pieces of plastic. But it's worth way more than the sum of its parts. It's one of the handiest reloading tools I own. Like the tumbler, it used to accumulate a fair amount of dust, but has also remained absolutely pristine.
 
growr said:
I put new walnut uncoated media in the tumbler this evening for some .45acp casings I needed to tumble...No NuShine, no dryer sheet either.

The inside of the bowl was almost totally clean and the brass was much cleaner as well.

Seems like my error was to add case polish to the already coated Lyman media that I have been using for too long.
Randy
Click to expand...


I also just yesterday, added some untreated walnut to my corn cob media (for a 50/50 blend). My brass/nickel-plate came out very clean and shiny, though EVERY boxer hole had media packed in it. The walnut I used is called Litter Maid that I picked up for cheap at WallyMart. Some of this Walnut is very fine/dusty, but my Thumler Tumbler UV10 has a tight lid that prohibits letting dust into the shop. Works like a champ. BTW, at end of tumbling I pour all of the media into a large dedicated metal salad bowl, and remove the brass with a spaghetti strainer.

NOTE: Quick cure for packed boxer holes... By returning brass to empty tumbler and running for 15-30sec. this knocked ALL remaining media from the boxer holes. :D:D:cool:

Not sure about using Nu-Finish to "control" dust. I prefer in slowly returning media from dedicated salad bowl to tumbler, AND THEN stopping the very last dregs from returning to tumbler. At the bottom of said bowl is where most of the finest dust collects, so tossing this small amount after each tumbling run makes sense to me. And just maybe, my media may eventually be free of the fine dust after repeating the process above. ;)
 
The "gunk" left in your tumbler is not from the media, it's from what you (or the mfg.) puts into the media. After much experimentation (everything from beach sand, wood chunks, various pet litters, cat litter [Good Mews worked OK], charcoal, rice, and mebbe a dozen more) I determined the best all around tumbling media for reloading is corn cob blast media 14-20. Blast media is better quality controlled for size and hardness, and does a better job than pet poop catcher. Occasionally I'll use a bit of auto cleaner/polish, mostly for the wax it leaves on the cases, and mineral spirits when the media gets a bit "dirty"...

BTW; case tumbling, media, etc. is prolly the most talked about but least important part of reloading...
 
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I think Lyman uses a bit too much liquid polishing rouge to treat their media , then when you add more liquid it just makes it worse.
The Frankford Arsenal treated media Midway sells has the right amount and you don't need to add more until the media gets old and takes a long time to polish cases then you can add some Iosso brass polish to extend it's life a bit.
Treated media doesn't need any liquid added to it....liquid auto polish just wets and clogs it up .
Gary
 
I think it is mostly the additives some add to the media, rouge & polish form sort of a goo when you add carbon & media dust. I just wash the bowl out every year. Use less polish too. I find 1/2tsp every 5-6 trips is fine.
 
The untreated lizard walnut media cleans very well, and the small amount of Nu Finish gives the cases a coat of wax and keeps them from tarnishing.

Adding mineral spirits to teated Lyman walnut media just adds more damp polishing compound to the sides of the bowl and sticking to the cases.

Many competitive shooters do not like the Lyman or other treated media. They believe the polishing compound ends up in the barrel and increases bore wear.
 
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HorizontalMike said:
I also just yesterday, added some untreated walnut to my corn cob media (for a 50/50 blend). My brass/nickel-plate came out very clean and shiny, though EVERY boxer hole had media packed in it. The walnut I used is called Litter Maid that I picked up for cheap at WallyMart. Some of this Walnut is very fine/dusty, but my Thumler Tumbler UV10 has a tight lid that prohibits letting dust into the shop. Works like a champ. BTW, at end of tumbling I pour all of the media into a large dedicated metal salad bowl, and remove the brass with a spaghetti strainer.

NOTE: Quick cure for packed boxer holes... By returning brass to empty tumbler and running for 15-30sec. this knocked ALL remaining media from the boxer holes. :D:D:cool:

Not sure about using Nu-Finish to "control" dust. I prefer in slowly returning media from dedicated salad bowl to tumbler, AND THEN stopping the very last dregs from returning to tumbler. At the bottom of said bowl is where most of the finest dust collects, so tossing this small amount after each tumbling run makes sense to me. And just maybe, my media may eventually be free of the fine dust after repeating the process above. ;)
Click to expand...

No the cure for clogged flash holes is stop depriming before tumbling. If I were doing that, then I would wet clean.
 
fredj338 said:
No the cure for clogged flash holes is stop depriming before tumbling. If I were doing that, then I would wet clean.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but WRONG!... :eek::eek::eek: I did this once in the past week or two, and all I got was/were added powder residue when I got to reloading. I HAD TO invert and tap each and every brass to remove said residue from the brass boxer hole, before priming. IMO, failing to de-prime before tumbling is a losing proposition, even though I know that some less than motivated individuals may still go that route.

BTW, as stated earlier, 15-30sec of brass only in the running tumbler, removes +99% of media (WITHOUT THE "TOOL"). Just restating... ;)
 
There is a reason why so many reloaders recommend walnut Lizard litter. ;)

"What Tumbling Media is the Best?"
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hvp0sZgOS4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hvp0sZgOS4[/ame]
 
Engineer1911 said:
^^^ Don't forget the HAZMAT suit and respirator to prevent dust contamination. ^^^
Click to expand...

Instead of being sarcastic, try reading or asking a question.

It's pretty clear that I'm pointing out how my tumbler no longer looks as dusty or ancient as most of our forum members.
 
HorizontalMike said:
Sorry, but WRONG!... :eek::eek::eek: I did this once in the past week or two, and all I got was/were added powder residue when I got to reloading. I HAD TO invert and tap each and every brass to remove said residue from the brass boxer hole, before priming. IMO, failing to de-prime before tumbling is a losing proposition, even though I know that some less than motivated individuals may still go that route.

BTW, as stated earlier, 15-30sec of brass only in the running tumbler, removes +99% of media (WITHOUT THE "TOOL"). Just restating... ;)
Click to expand...

Evidently I have thousands of losing propositions under my belt without any issues. No since in changing routines now. I gave up on corn cob due to plugging the flash holes, whereas the pet cage media does not.
 
I use the Lyman Green in my Thumbler's Tumbler. Never added anything but some cut up used fabric softener sheets. I change the media very rarely and my brass comes out nice and clean with a nice shine.
 
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