Brass Tumbling Media

[NDwalleyes]

Just finished working 750 .223 cases. (Yeah, I get up at 0500 and work brass while I drink my coffee) I'm tired of the dust, mess and little pieces of f'n walnut shells in my primer flash holes.

I've heard that the sonic cleaners are not that great when compared to a solid media like corn cobs, walnuts or stainless steel.

What is everyone else using? Seems like using water based cleaners and then waiting for them to dry or putting them in the oven to dry would be a pain in the rectum.

Can stainless steel media be used with out water? Has anyone found a better process?

 

[Davy Crockett]

Air compressor and a blow nozzle ?

 

[Tymurrey]

I switched to stainless last year and don't know if I will ever go back. I kept the vibratory tumbler as a back up but haven't used it since. Usually I have plenty of time to let the brass dry I just plan my reloading sessions better. I use the rcbs media separator thing and spin the brass a bunch to get rid of the majority of the water and then roll them back and forth on a towel for a bit and then in the winter I lay them out by a heat duct for a few days or longer. If I really need them dry fast I put them in the dehydrator. Couple thousand rounds done this way so far and no problems yet. I have had one 45acp that had pins get stuck in primer pocket or flash hole that I didn't catch but the decapping die took care of that and didn't bend luckily. It's a little loud to run I have the Frankford Arsenal one so I do it in the basement but other than that no complaints.

 

[NDwalleyes]

Air compressor and a blow nozzle ?

Yeah I've done that and it works well. Less of a process to use a dental pick/tool and just punch them out. However a guy does it, I just hate that it's one more time that you need to "re-touch" every piece of brass.

- - - Updated - - -

I switched to stainless last year and don't know if I will ever go back. I kept the vibratory tumbler as a back up but haven't used it since. Usually I have plenty of time to let the brass dry I just plan my reloading sessions better. I use the rcbs media separator thing and spin the brass a bunch to get rid of the majority of the water and then roll them back and forth on a towel for a bit and then in the winter I lay them out by a heat duct for a few days or longer. If I really need them dry fast I put them in the dehydrator. Couple thousand rounds done this way so far and no problems yet. I have had one 45acp that had pins get stuck in primer pocket or flash hole that I didn't catch but the decapping die took care of that and didn't bend luckily. It's a little loud to run I have the Frankford Arsenal one so I do it in the basement but other than that no complaints.

It's looking like I'm going to be headed down this road since it probably the way to go. Let me ask you this....If a guy bought a few bottles of rubbing alcohol at $2 each and put that in the tumbler with the SS media would it work or would it get too dirty to reuse? I don't even know what rubbing alcohol would do to brass but It would certainly speed up the drying time.

 

[sierra1995]

I use the corn media with frankford arsenal's media polish. I did start tumbling mine with the old primer still in place. Anyone else do this?

 

[PrairieGhost]

I switched to stainless a year ago. No need to purchase the cleaner, just use a teaspoon of Dawn and a teaspoon of Lemi Dry. When I used walnut she'll I found a basketball needle fit in the primer hole. I blew 100 brass out with the compressor and faced it at a piece of white paper. I was uncomfortable thinking about all that abrasive going down the rifle bore. That paper was covered with abrasive.

 

[Kurtr]

I am ocd i tumble before i resize then i tumble again to clean off any sizing lube. I like shiny brass. I use a pick and pop the stuff out of the flash hole. I thought about going stainless but i have enough media to last a while and i clean flash holes while watching tv

 

[Lycanthrope]

I have excess ceramic pins if you want to buy some of those, they get brass nice and clean. I ordered a big bucket and because they last forever, Ill never use most of them. The ceramic ones will get stuck sideways in the primer pockets occasionally, but they pop out easy with a small screwdriver. They clean brass very well. Do you already have a thumlers polisher?

 

[NDwalleyes]

I have excess ceramic pins if you want to buy some of those, they get brass nice and clean. I ordered a big bucket and because they last forever, Ill never use most of them. The ceramic ones will get stuck sideways in the primer pockets occasionally, but they pop out easy with a small screwdriver. They clean brass very well. Do you already have a thumlers polisher?

I don't have a thumber yet. I think it is probably the way to go, just need to do it.

 

[SDMF]

Extra-fine corn cob media. Small enough to slide through the flash hole. 'Bout 1/2 the noise of normal media as well. Costs ~$1.50 to fill and tumbler and a load of media will polish 3-5k cases depending on size and dirtiness of the cases and size of the tumbler. I get it in 40# bags from a taxidermist.

 

[Tymurrey]

I'm not sure what rubbing alcohol would be like for the liquid, might be worth looking into. With the stainless I deprime everything first with one of the little frankford arsenal hand depriming tools. Not the most fun in the world but do it while watching tv and drinking a beer. I then put the brass in the polisher with some Armor All wash and wax and some lemi shine for anywhere from 30 min to 3 hours depending on how dirty the brass is and how clean I want the brass. I honestly think there isn't much difference between an hour in there or three hours I just crank the dial and walk away. I then drain off any liquid off the top and dump into media separator. I wash the media and put back in tumbler then wash the brass a couple times with hot clean water and spin dry and place on towel. Brass looks like new almost. I use hornady one shot lube and haven't had any trouble yet with the brass tarnishing or anything other negative problems.

 

[ISELLGUNS]

I use the corn media with frankford arsenal's media polish. I did start tumbling mine with the old primer still in place. Anyone else do this?

Exactly what I do. I use walnut media mostly. I wipe case lube off after I reload them sometimes. Sometimes I just throw the reloads in the tumbler.

 

[2400]

I just toss the brass in the tumbler then it goes in the press to get sized and decapped. I've been thinking about ceramic or steel but haven't looked into it much.

 

[PrairieGhost]

I forgot to mention, I use my dehydrator to dry the brass. It's either wait 24 hours, or dry in the dehydrator for 20 minutes.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

I am ocd i tumble before i resize then i tumble again to clean off any sizing lube. I like shiny brass. I use a pick and pop the stuff out of the flash hole. I thought about going stainless but i have enough media to last a while and i clean flash holes while watching tv

This is what I do. I'll skip the first cleaning if the brass is still relatively clean. Always tumble after sizing. I don't watch TV while cleaning flash holes though.

 

[deleted_account]

i loathe brass prep

 

[PrairieGhost]

i loathe brass prep

Ya, I feel the same. I am more into emptying loaded ammo than reloading empty stuff. Still I do get a feeling of accomplishment out of quality ammo, and for handguns cheap ammo (my own cast bullets) that shoots good. I just don't enjoy doing it that much. It's to much like work instead of fun. I like fun a lot.

 

[Enslow]

i loathe brass prep

Since i started using bushing neck dies i dont mind brass prep as much as i can roll through 50 pieces of brass quick.