Stainless Steel Media

RadioDude · June 30, 2011, 01:19 PM

Would like to know if anyone is using stainless steel media to clean their brass.

What kind of a tumbler do you have?
Metal or plastic housing?
Any damager to the inside?

I have a Midway 1292 tumbler with a plastic houseing.

RadioDude

KnobCreek · June 30, 2011, 06:17 PM

I am using a Thumler's Rotating Tumbler 20lb with stainless media. It has a metal tub with a rubber insert in it. I love the results that I get out of it. Takes the dirtiest brass and makes it look brand new with way less time than it takes with reqular corn/walnut media. Do have to do brass in batches as it does need to dry before reloading.

serf 'rett · June 30, 2011, 06:36 PM

I think you will need a rotary tumbler to use the stainless steel media. It’s my impression that most reloaders are using the larger capacity 9, 12 or 15 pound Thumler tumblers (or equal), but I use the smaller Thumbler Tumbler Model A-R1, with a 3 pound capacity. My small 3# Thumler tumbler will easily clean the primer pockets and inside the cases when the brass is tumbled with stainless steel pins, dish soap, Lemishine and water.

My tumbler’s small capacity limits me to around 150 pieces of 9mm, 100 pieces of 40S&W or 80 pieces of 45 ACP. I have created a work flow process that allows me to easily process 500 to 1000 pieces of brass in a day. The brass is clean and shiny after 1 hour of tumbling; running it for an additional hour - the primer pockets are clean and the brass is polished.

My tumbling drum is black rubber. I have not noticed any damage to the drum; however, this stands to reason since the Thumler is a rock tumbler. Compared to tumbling sharp rocks in silicone carbide grit, the brass and small stainless pins are a walk in the park.

lll Otto lll · June 30, 2011, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RadioDude

I have a Midway 1292 tumbler with a plastic houseing.

That tumbler is a fire hazard and was recalled. www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml98/98088.html

capreppy · July 1, 2011, 11:56 AM

I use a Thumlers Tumbler that I got from Cabela's. I was able to use my Cabela's points and ship to store to keep the costs down.

I use it to clean all of my brass now (rifle & pistol). I decap and can clean 5# of brass at a time. I got rid of my vibratory tumblers and don't miss them at all.

RadioDude · July 1, 2011, 06:32 PM

WOW! I had no idea it had been recalled, I'll tend to this right now.

Thanks OTTO

RD

dunerjeff · July 1, 2011, 07:56 PM

I use the stainless media and no, you DON"T have to have a tumbler. I have a Lyman 1200 Twin vibratory unit and I get my brass "new" in about 20 min . You do have to watch the weight with it. I do 100 45 ACP at a time ,but it only takes 20 min instead of 2-3hours as some have said with thier tumblers.

jmorris · July 1, 2011, 09:17 PM

Quote:

I use the stainless media and no, you DON"T have to have a tumbler. I have a Lyman 1200 Twin vibratory unit and I get my brass "new" in about 20 min . You do have to watch the weight with it. I do 100 45 ACP at a time ,but it only takes 20 min instead of 2-3hours as some have said with thier tumblers.

That is 1.2#'s of brass or about 42 30-06 cases. I know they look pretty but I could hand polish them that fast.

dunerjeff · July 2, 2011, 12:57 AM

no you couldn't and have them perfectly clean inside and out,primer pocket ect.., and if I wasn't fussy they are about 90% done in less than 10 min.But do the math , 2-3 hours =500 pcs(45 ACP in tumbler) to 300 per hour my way x 2hours = 600/ at 3hrs=900pcs whats is wrong with that( thats is figuring leaving them in till EVERY LAST SPECK is gone .Triple that number for most people that don't want to get them "perfect"!!!! You'll have carpal tunnel before getting that many done by "hand"

jmorris · July 2, 2011, 09:12 AM

I guess I didn't think about the cleaning of primer pockets, that would mean twice the time to load. Sizing/deprimingon the first pass and loading after a tumble. Come to think of it that would make me tumble twice too as I don't run dirty brass in my dies. Seems less appealing the more I learn.

I chunk a 1000 or so in mine and have a lamp timer that shuts if off as I do other things. It not the total time passed that bothers me but the time I would have to spend washing, drying, seperating and mulitiple passes on the press.

Wag · July 2, 2011, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunerjeff

I use the stainless media and no, you DON"T have to have a tumbler. I have a Lyman 1200 Twin vibratory unit and I get my brass "new" in about 20 min . You do have to watch the weight with it. I do 100 45 ACP at a time ,but it only takes 20 min instead of 2-3hours as some have said with thier tumblers.

What media do you use and where do you get it? Do you also use water/soap/etc. with it?

This might be the way to go for me on this.

--Wag--

dunerjeff · July 2, 2011, 02:25 PM

I got the media from Stainless Steel Reloading Supply,it comes in 5# bags.I ended up buying 2 bags because I have 2 tubs so I can have one running while unloading/reloading the other. You do have to watch your wieght the stainless media is heavy,You'll notice the vibrator humming louder if you have to much, it can burn the motor out I think, plus the cases generally won't churn around like with corn cob media, but they will shine up just the same.
I got a 2 gal jug of the cheapest laundry soap and put roughly 3/4cup(enough soap is the key)with enough water to fully submerge everything in along with just a light sprinkling of lime bright,to much and the brass turns out darker(cleans the same, just depends how "bright" you want).Don't dump the water/soap till its black or the brass is darkening up.If you clean thousands per week a tumbler is probably the way to go,but for us that already have a vibratory cleaner and only clean 300 to 800per week ,it's a lot cheaper than buying a $200(somewhere around there)tumbler.

deepcore · July 2, 2011, 05:19 PM

Is stainless steel pins the only way to go or can you use stainless steel shot/ball bearings(?) too?

Any occurrences of leaks (down the center post) using stainless media in vertical tumblers?

dunerjeff · July 2, 2011, 10:02 PM

I don't know if shot will work,I'd think it would have more trouble getting into corners and such but otherwise it may work.I looked all over online and industrial supply companies for other options and never found anything else cheaper than the $50.00 for the pins.

I got some rubber gromets that fit tight over the 1/4 post from McMaster, they come in different widths to take up the gap between bowl and cover, so when you tighten down the cover it seals it up pretty good. I also experimented with the water level to keep splashing down to help. The level is about 1 inch below the top of bowl.

Geezerbiker · July 3, 2011, 01:23 AM

I once heard someone talk about ceramic beads for cleaning brass. Anybody else know about this?

BTW, I have a Midway 1292 tumbler. I called Midway and it's under recall and they told me to send it in and they're going to replace it with the newer model. I wasn't sure if I was going to so I ran a batch of .223 cases in it today and the motor got seriously hot...

Tony

maggys drawers · July 3, 2011, 01:21 PM

Quote:

I once heard someone talk about ceramic beads for cleaning brass. Anybody else know about this?

Not sure about ceramic, but I used glass beads (the real tiny ones used for parts cleaning in a blast cabinet) in a rotary tumbler. The results was the brass was clean but had a dull satin finish which turned out to be very fine scratches. I abandoned the idea and trashed the brass...went back to walnut shells.

Savage_The_Barbarian · July 3, 2011, 03:18 PM

I use SS media in a Harbor Freight dual drum rock tumbler. They are limited to three pounds each. So there is one pound of SS media, one pound of brass and one pound of H2O per drum. That equates to about 200 9mm per session, 180 40 S&W or 180 .357Sig.

The set up I have works great. The HF dual drum tumbler is on sale for $69.99 with a 20% coupon off brings it down to $55.99. The drums are made of thick rubber and show no signs of wear from the media or brass. Brass comes out sparkling in about 2 to 3 hours depending on the level of dirt. I always deprime before cleaning but leave resizing to my progressive.

http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-dr...ler-67632.html

capreppy · July 4, 2011, 01:54 PM

You need tn get the media from Pellets LLC. You get 5# for $30 shipped. This is the SAME thing that everyone charges $50 plus shipping for. When you call tell them what you are looking for and they will set you up. I've run 20k pieces of brass thru mine in the last couple of months and it is great stuff.

All of my pistol and rifle brass sparkle and I don't have to worry about corn cob media all over my press when loading.

billtheshrink · July 8, 2011, 10:44 AM

This is a fascinating idea. I saw a video clip on YOUTube where he had what looked like steel wool in the Dillon Casefeeder. Has anyone heard of that? If so what is the benefit?
thanks

June 30, 2011, 01:19 PM	#1
RadioDude Junior Member Join Date: August 20, 2009 Location: Chico, California Posts: 10	Stainless Steel Media Would like to know if anyone is using stainless steel media to clean their brass. What kind of a tumbler do you have? Metal or plastic housing? Any damager to the inside? I have a Midway 1292 tumbler with a plastic houseing. RadioDude

June 30, 2011, 06:36 PM	#3
serf 'rett Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2009 Location: Stuttgart, AR Posts: 1,569	I think you will need a rotary tumbler to use the stainless steel media. It’s my impression that most reloaders are using the larger capacity 9, 12 or 15 pound Thumler tumblers (or equal), but I use the smaller Thumbler Tumbler Model A-R1, with a 3 pound capacity. My small 3# Thumler tumbler will easily clean the primer pockets and inside the cases when the brass is tumbled with stainless steel pins, dish soap, Lemishine and water. My tumbler’s small capacity limits me to around 150 pieces of 9mm, 100 pieces of 40S&W or 80 pieces of 45 ACP. I have created a work flow process that allows me to easily process 500 to 1000 pieces of brass in a day. The brass is clean and shiny after 1 hour of tumbling; running it for an additional hour - the primer pockets are clean and the brass is polished. My tumbling drum is black rubber. I have not noticed any damage to the drum; however, this stands to reason since the Thumler is a rock tumbler. Compared to tumbling sharp rocks in silicone carbide grit, the brass and small stainless pins are a walk in the park. Last edited by serf 'rett; June 30, 2011 at 06:43 PM.

July 1, 2011, 06:32 PM	#6
RadioDude Junior Member Join Date: August 20, 2009 Location: Chico, California Posts: 10	Midway 1292 Tumbler WOW! I had no idea it had been recalled, I'll tend to this right now. Thanks OTTO RD

July 8, 2011, 10:44 AM	#19
billtheshrink Member Join Date: May 9, 2005 Posts: 67	stainless steel media This is a fascinating idea. I saw a video clip on YOUTube where he had what looked like steel wool in the Dillon Casefeeder. Has anyone heard of that? If so what is the benefit? thanks

June 30, 2011, 06:17 PM	#2
KnobCreek Junior Member Join Date: May 1, 2011 Location: The Midwest Posts: 11	I am using a Thumler's Rotating Tumbler 20lb with stainless media. It has a metal tub with a rubber insert in it. I love the results that I get out of it. Takes the dirtiest brass and makes it look brand new with way less time than it takes with reqular corn/walnut media. Do have to do brass in batches as it does need to dry before reloading.

July 1, 2011, 11:56 AM	#5
capreppy Member Join Date: February 5, 2011 Location: North Fort Worth, TX (Saginaw) Posts: 44	I use a Thumlers Tumbler that I got from Cabela's. I was able to use my Cabela's points and ship to store to keep the costs down. I use it to clean all of my brass now (rifle & pistol). I decap and can clean 5# of brass at a time. I got rid of my vibratory tumblers and don't miss them at all.

July 1, 2011, 07:56 PM	#7
dunerjeff Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2011 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 440	I use the stainless media and no, you DON"T have to have a tumbler. I have a Lyman 1200 Twin vibratory unit and I get my brass "new" in about 20 min . You do have to watch the weight with it. I do 100 45 ACP at a time ,but it only takes 20 min instead of 2-3hours as some have said with thier tumblers.

July 2, 2011, 12:57 AM	#9
dunerjeff Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2011 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 440	no you couldn't and have them perfectly clean inside and out,primer pocket ect.., and if I wasn't fussy they are about 90% done in less than 10 min.But do the math , 2-3 hours =500 pcs(45 ACP in tumbler) to 300 per hour my way x 2hours = 600/ at 3hrs=900pcs whats is wrong with that( thats is figuring leaving them in till EVERY LAST SPECK is gone .Triple that number for most people that don't want to get them "perfect"!!!! You'll have carpal tunnel before getting that many done by "hand"

July 2, 2011, 09:12 AM	#10
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,078	I guess I didn't think about the cleaning of primer pockets, that would mean twice the time to load. Sizing/deprimingon the first pass and loading after a tumble. Come to think of it that would make me tumble twice too as I don't run dirty brass in my dies. Seems less appealing the more I learn. I chunk a 1000 or so in mine and have a lamp timer that shuts if off as I do other things. It not the total time passed that bothers me but the time I would have to spend washing, drying, seperating and mulitiple passes on the press.

July 2, 2011, 02:25 PM	#12
dunerjeff Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2011 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 440	I got the media from Stainless Steel Reloading Supply,it comes in 5# bags.I ended up buying 2 bags because I have 2 tubs so I can have one running while unloading/reloading the other. You do have to watch your wieght the stainless media is heavy,You'll notice the vibrator humming louder if you have to much, it can burn the motor out I think, plus the cases generally won't churn around like with corn cob media, but they will shine up just the same. I got a 2 gal jug of the cheapest laundry soap and put roughly 3/4cup(enough soap is the key)with enough water to fully submerge everything in along with just a light sprinkling of lime bright,to much and the brass turns out darker(cleans the same, just depends how "bright" you want).Don't dump the water/soap till its black or the brass is darkening up.If you clean thousands per week a tumbler is probably the way to go,but for us that already have a vibratory cleaner and only clean 300 to 800per week ,it's a lot cheaper than buying a $200(somewhere around there)tumbler.

July 2, 2011, 05:19 PM	#13
deepcore Senior Member Join Date: July 25, 2010 Posts: 364	Is stainless steel pins the only way to go or can you use stainless steel shot/ball bearings(?) too? Any occurrences of leaks (down the center post) using stainless media in vertical tumblers?

July 2, 2011, 10:02 PM	#14
dunerjeff Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2011 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 440	I don't know if shot will work,I'd think it would have more trouble getting into corners and such but otherwise it may work.I looked all over online and industrial supply companies for other options and never found anything else cheaper than the $50.00 for the pins. I got some rubber gromets that fit tight over the 1/4 post from McMaster, they come in different widths to take up the gap between bowl and cover, so when you tighten down the cover it seals it up pretty good. I also experimented with the water level to keep splashing down to help. The level is about 1 inch below the top of bowl.

July 3, 2011, 01:23 AM	#15
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,909	I once heard someone talk about ceramic beads for cleaning brass. Anybody else know about this? BTW, I have a Midway 1292 tumbler. I called Midway and it's under recall and they told me to send it in and they're going to replace it with the newer model. I wasn't sure if I was going to so I ran a batch of .223 cases in it today and the motor got seriously hot... Tony

July 3, 2011, 03:18 PM	#17
Savage_The_Barbarian Member Join Date: October 21, 2007 Posts: 46	I use SS media in a Harbor Freight dual drum rock tumbler. They are limited to three pounds each. So there is one pound of SS media, one pound of brass and one pound of H2O per drum. That equates to about 200 9mm per session, 180 40 S&W or 180 .357Sig. The set up I have works great. The HF dual drum tumbler is on sale for $69.99 with a 20% coupon off brings it down to $55.99. The drums are made of thick rubber and show no signs of wear from the media or brass. Brass comes out sparkling in about 2 to 3 hours depending on the level of dirt. I always deprime before cleaning but leave resizing to my progressive. http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-dr...ler-67632.html

July 4, 2011, 01:54 PM	#18
capreppy Member Join Date: February 5, 2011 Location: North Fort Worth, TX (Saginaw) Posts: 44	You need tn get the media from Pellets LLC. You get 5# for $30 shipped. This is the SAME thing that everyone charges $50 plus shipping for. When you call tell them what you are looking for and they will set you up. I've run 20k pieces of brass thru mine in the last couple of months and it is great stuff. All of my pistol and rifle brass sparkle and I don't have to worry about corn cob media all over my press when loading.