Tumbler

MakarovFan · April 15, 2007, 07:28 AM

I recently purchased a tumbler on a trip to Cabela's. As I plan to start reloading again. I used to have a friend do this for me a long time ago but he has moved away.
Any tips I should know to help me out? Should I deprime and resize before running throught the media or just deprime?
Thanks for any help.

Seven High · April 15, 2007, 08:15 AM

I do not resize or deprime before I run my casings thru my tumbler. I just count out how many I want to clean and dump them in.

rwilson452 · April 15, 2007, 08:25 AM

The purpose of tumbling the brass is to claen it before putting it in a die. For me the first thing I do with brass is to tumble it. If you wish a polished look to your brass use corn media. If your only after clean, use walnut. Walnut being coarser doesn't leave as fine a finish on the brass. Walnut will clean faster than corn. I use walnut. When and if the primer pockets get too dirty I clean them in a separate step. For my varmint calibers I always clean the pockets by hand. For pistol stuff I usually don't bother. IMNSHO the only time you need to worry about cleaning the primer pockets is for long range extreme accuracy. This is not something I worry about with pistol ammo.

RERICK · April 15, 2007, 09:11 AM

For rifle I will tumble for about an hour just to get the residue off and then resize and then back in the tumbler for about 1 and a half to 2 hours to get the lube off and to get them shiny. Pistol I tumble for around 2 to 3 hours.Then I resize. I've been using the walnut lately. I buy it at the Pets mart in the form of what they call Lizard Litter. To me I can't tell the difference between that and the corncob.

ConRich · April 15, 2007, 09:22 AM

+1 on the advice posted by rwilson452. A trick that I learned on another forum is to add a fabric softener sheet (made to go into your clothes drier) to your tumbler. Cut the sheet into 1" strips put it in with the brass and tumble away. I was amazed at the results. It appears that the drier sheet absorbed most of the nasty dust, they turned dark gray almost black and the media was cleaner than when I started (it was old media). The brass looked great, and smelled good too ! HTH

Rich

**Shane Tuttle** · April 15, 2007, 09:23 AM

I always tumble first thing. If you resize and deprime first, the media gets stuck in the primer pockets resulting in tedious work on cleaning them out.

It's bad enough that I may the minoity here that religiously cleans my primer pockets every time. Trying to battle the media is icing on the cake.

The reason why I clean the primer pockets is that it seems that the residue from the previous firing would break loose while priming. I'm particular. So, if that's the case(no pun intended), I think the extra junk laying in the anvil or mixing with powder will drive me crazy. I'm sure, by reading others' posts in the past, doesn't harm anything. Just my method.

As Rerick said, the Lizard Litter will work fine. But I don't like it because its granules are finer and appears to create more dust than usual.

It's good to see another reloader starting up again.

dgc940 · April 15, 2007, 09:38 AM

do a search on tumbler and stand back at least 10 feet!
you will get 999999999999999999999999990 answers and ten days of reading

MakarovFan · April 15, 2007, 10:51 AM

Thanks for the help guys...........
I thought now that I am retired and only work at a part time job why not load again and save the extra money, the way the price of ammo has gone up.

CrustyFN · April 15, 2007, 11:24 AM

I use walnut with 1/2 cap full of Nu Finish car polish and the used dryer sheet. I tumble for 2 hours and they come out very shiny. I prefer them to be shiny because I shoot mostly at an outdoor range and it makes it easier to see them in the gravel to pick them up. After I resize rifle brass I run them in the tumbler for 15 minutes to remove the lube. I will have a few primer pockets to remove media from but not to many.
Rusty

rfdillon · April 15, 2007, 01:32 PM

I tumble in corn cob before I deprime, then in Walnuts after I deprime - the ground up walnut is fine enough to flow through the primer hole (except for Berdan cases, which have such a small primer hole, that some times even Walnut shells will clog them) and cleans out the now deprimed primer pocket. I try to always remember to put 2 used drier softener sheets and a cap full of nufinish per tumbler

Shoney · April 15, 2007, 01:57 PM

I agree with rwilson452's excellent post, except I must respectfully disagree on the primer pocket cleaning. I did a 5 year study of primer pocket cleaning on 5 of my rifles used for long range shooting about 35 years ago. I no longer clean primer pockets in any cartridge. I have never read an article that said primer pocket cleaning increases accuracy.

RERICK pet store prices for cob or walnut - OK, feed store prices better.

ConRich fabric softener sheets - great, make sure they are used.

Although I do not mix cob and walnut, there are some reloaders that I respect who are using a 50/50 mix and reporting excellent results.

ConRich · April 15, 2007, 02:34 PM

Shoney, Why do the dryer sheets have to be USED ? I have been using new ones.

Rich

rwilson452 · April 15, 2007, 03:10 PM

My problem with using dryer sheets is I'm alergic to the prefume. I haven't found a suitable substitute yet.

sherpa · April 15, 2007, 03:26 PM

i use cheap rice and newfinish car polish===very shiney slick cases they slide right through a carbide die, when it gets dirty i toss it in the yard.

Shoney · April 15, 2007, 04:03 PM

ConRich As I understand, the fabric softener sheets are impregnated with a substantial quantity of chemicals (fabric softeners). I doubt that they will be harmful to the reloading process, but there is an outside chance they may. So I recycle the used ones, because they are greatly more absorbent than the new impregnated sheet.

ConRich · April 15, 2007, 05:18 PM

rwilson452, Bounce makes a fabric softener sheet that claims to be free of dyes and perfumes.

Shoney, Thanks for the heads up.

Rich

rwilson452 · April 15, 2007, 07:39 PM

thanks I'll look for the bounce sheets

DBotkin · April 16, 2007, 12:23 AM

If I'm reloading brass that's truly filthy, I'll tumble it first. If it's pretty clean I'll resize, then tumble to get the case lube off. The exception is .38 SPL & .357; those I always tumble first because I have a carbide sizing die. That means I'm not going to get case lube on the cases and have to tumble them AGAIN once they're sized. In any case I don't decap & expand until after the last tumble, so I don't have to worry about the walnut media getting stuck in primer flash holes.

My Dad reloaded for 30 years and as far as I know never cleaned cases, other than an occasional wipe with a rag. Some of them were pretty grubby looking. No damage to guns, dies or anything else, but I like them clean for numerous reasons. Bought a tumbler and a jug of walnut media that should last a long, long, long time... especially since I learned (here) that I can clean it up and keep using it. I just pick a windy day, go outside and pour it back and forth between two tubs. The wind carries away all the crud and grime, leaving just walnut shell. Works like a charm.

April 15, 2007, 07:28 AM	#1
MakarovFan Member Join Date: June 21, 2006 Location: Eastern Ohio Posts: 94	Tumbler I recently purchased a tumbler on a trip to Cabela's. As I plan to start reloading again. I used to have a friend do this for me a long time ago but he has moved away. Any tips I should know to help me out? Should I deprime and resize before running throught the media or just deprime? Thanks for any help.

April 15, 2007, 09:23 AM	#6
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	I always tumble first thing. If you resize and deprime first, the media gets stuck in the primer pockets resulting in tedious work on cleaning them out. It's bad enough that I may the minoity here that religiously cleans my primer pockets every time. Trying to battle the media is icing on the cake. The reason why I clean the primer pockets is that it seems that the residue from the previous firing would break loose while priming. I'm particular. So, if that's the case(no pun intended), I think the extra junk laying in the anvil or mixing with powder will drive me crazy. I'm sure, by reading others' posts in the past, doesn't harm anything. Just my method. As Rerick said, the Lizard Litter will work fine. But I don't like it because its granules are finer and appears to create more dust than usual. It's good to see another reloader starting up again. __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

April 15, 2007, 09:38 AM	#7
dgc940 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: Graham Texas Posts: 258	do a search on tumbler and stand back at least 10 feet! you will get 999999999999999999999999990 answers and ten days of reading __________________ Some people say what they think! Some say what they know! Then there's those that think they know what they are saying!

April 15, 2007, 11:24 AM	#9
CrustyFN Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: West Virginia Posts: 2,258	I use walnut with 1/2 cap full of Nu Finish car polish and the used dryer sheet. I tumble for 2 hours and they come out very shiny. I prefer them to be shiny because I shoot mostly at an outdoor range and it makes it easier to see them in the gravel to pick them up. After I resize rifle brass I run them in the tumbler for 15 minutes to remove the lube. I will have a few primer pockets to remove media from but not to many. Rusty __________________ I don't ever remember being absent minded.

April 15, 2007, 01:57 PM	#11
Shoney Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2002 Location: Transplanted from Montana Posts: 2,311	I agree with rwilson452's excellent post, except I must respectfully disagree on the primer pocket cleaning. I did a 5 year study of primer pocket cleaning on 5 of my rifles used for long range shooting about 35 years ago. I no longer clean primer pockets in any cartridge. I have never read an article that said primer pocket cleaning increases accuracy. RERICK pet store prices for cob or walnut - OK, feed store prices better. ConRich fabric softener sheets - great, make sure they are used. Although I do not mix cob and walnut, there are some reloaders that I respect who are using a 50/50 mix and reporting excellent results. __________________ I pledge allegiance to the Flag - - -, and to the Republic for which it stands….Our Forefathers were brilliant for giving us a Republic, not a democracy! Do you know the difference??? and WHY?http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissue...les.asp?id=111

April 15, 2007, 08:15 AM	#2
Seven High Senior Member Join Date: December 11, 2004 Posts: 650	I do not resize or deprime before I run my casings thru my tumbler. I just count out how many I want to clean and dump them in.

April 15, 2007, 08:25 AM	#3
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	The purpose of tumbling the brass is to claen it before putting it in a die. For me the first thing I do with brass is to tumble it. If you wish a polished look to your brass use corn media. If your only after clean, use walnut. Walnut being coarser doesn't leave as fine a finish on the brass. Walnut will clean faster than corn. I use walnut. When and if the primer pockets get too dirty I clean them in a separate step. For my varmint calibers I always clean the pockets by hand. For pistol stuff I usually don't bother. IMNSHO the only time you need to worry about cleaning the primer pockets is for long range extreme accuracy. This is not something I worry about with pistol ammo.

April 15, 2007, 09:11 AM	#4
RERICK Junior member Join Date: July 9, 2005 Posts: 369	For rifle I will tumble for about an hour just to get the residue off and then resize and then back in the tumbler for about 1 and a half to 2 hours to get the lube off and to get them shiny. Pistol I tumble for around 2 to 3 hours.Then I resize. I've been using the walnut lately. I buy it at the Pets mart in the form of what they call Lizard Litter. To me I can't tell the difference between that and the corncob.

April 15, 2007, 09:22 AM	#5
ConRich Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 299	+1 on the advice posted by rwilson452. A trick that I learned on another forum is to add a fabric softener sheet (made to go into your clothes drier) to your tumbler. Cut the sheet into 1" strips put it in with the brass and tumble away. I was amazed at the results. It appears that the drier sheet absorbed most of the nasty dust, they turned dark gray almost black and the media was cleaner than when I started (it was old media). The brass looked great, and smelled good too ! HTH Rich

April 15, 2007, 10:51 AM	#8
MakarovFan Member Join Date: June 21, 2006 Location: Eastern Ohio Posts: 94	Thanks for the help guys........... I thought now that I am retired and only work at a part time job why not load again and save the extra money, the way the price of ammo has gone up.

April 15, 2007, 01:32 PM	#10
rfdillon Member Join Date: April 8, 2007 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 60	I tumble in corn cob before I deprime, then in Walnuts after I deprime - the ground up walnut is fine enough to flow through the primer hole (except for Berdan cases, which have such a small primer hole, that some times even Walnut shells will clog them) and cleans out the now deprimed primer pocket. I try to always remember to put 2 used drier softener sheets and a cap full of nufinish per tumbler

April 15, 2007, 02:34 PM	#12
ConRich Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 299	Shoney, Why do the dryer sheets have to be USED ? I have been using new ones. Rich

April 15, 2007, 03:10 PM	#13
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	My problem with using dryer sheets is I'm alergic to the prefume. I haven't found a suitable substitute yet.

April 15, 2007, 03:26 PM	#14
sherpa Member Join Date: January 15, 2007 Posts: 17	tumbling i use cheap rice and newfinish car polish===very shiney slick cases they slide right through a carbide die, when it gets dirty i toss it in the yard.

April 15, 2007, 04:03 PM	#15
Shoney Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2002 Location: Transplanted from Montana Posts: 2,311	ConRich As I understand, the fabric softener sheets are impregnated with a substantial quantity of chemicals (fabric softeners). I doubt that they will be harmful to the reloading process, but there is an outside chance they may. So I recycle the used ones, because they are greatly more absorbent than the new impregnated sheet. __________________ I pledge allegiance to the Flag - - -, and to the Republic for which it stands….Our Forefathers were brilliant for giving us a Republic, not a democracy! Do you know the difference??? and WHY?http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissue...les.asp?id=111

April 15, 2007, 05:18 PM	#16
ConRich Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 299	rwilson452, Bounce makes a fabric softener sheet that claims to be free of dyes and perfumes. Shoney, Thanks for the heads up. Rich Last edited by ConRich; April 15, 2007 at 05:22 PM. Reason: I wanted to reply in BOLD print

April 15, 2007, 07:39 PM	#17
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	thanks I'll look for the bounce sheets

April 16, 2007, 12:23 AM	#18
DBotkin Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2006 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 302	If I'm reloading brass that's truly filthy, I'll tumble it first. If it's pretty clean I'll resize, then tumble to get the case lube off. The exception is .38 SPL & .357; those I always tumble first because I have a carbide sizing die. That means I'm not going to get case lube on the cases and have to tumble them AGAIN once they're sized. In any case I don't decap & expand until after the last tumble, so I don't have to worry about the walnut media getting stuck in primer flash holes. My Dad reloaded for 30 years and as far as I know never cleaned cases, other than an occasional wipe with a rag. Some of them were pretty grubby looking. No damage to guns, dies or anything else, but I like them clean for numerous reasons. Bought a tumbler and a jug of walnut media that should last a long, long, long time... especially since I learned (here) that I can clean it up and keep using it. I just pick a windy day, go outside and pour it back and forth between two tubs. The wind carries away all the crud and grime, leaving just walnut shell. Works like a charm.