More on Tumbling Media

Doctari · March 27, 2001, 08:04 PM

Hello All,

I hate to bother again but I read with interest the posts on tumbling media recently. I had some additional questions if I might.....

I have used walnut media and don't like the dust. Can't stand the idea of that going in my carbide dies. I have used treated and untreated corn media but find that after about two tumblings of dirty brass I start to get smeared gunk on the brass coming out of the tumbler. I thought my brass was just too dirty so I would prewash it but discovered this was just a pain in the A$$. Am I being unreasonable hoping for more than 2 tumblings with media? Media aint cheap, so I was glad to learn I could buy in bulk at wal-mart<g>. Also, the congealed powder residue and gunk cakes the inside of the media bowl of the tumbler after a while. Any trick to getting it out of there easily? I have decided to maybe go with a 2 tumbling operation. Keep a bowl for "clean brass" and hopefully that media lasts a while....Then change the bowl for "dirty brass every 2 tumblings? Am I being WAYYYYY too anal about this?

Thanks,
Mike

swifter... · March 27, 2001, 10:40 PM

Mike,

Try cutting up some used dryer sheets into about 1/2" strips and running them in the media for about an hour. They'll pick up a lot of the crap, then just toss 'em.

Paper towel might work, too. Anything the crud will stick to...

Joe Gulish · March 28, 2001, 06:14 AM

I use crushed walnut media and Dillon's Rapid Polish
290. And my brass comes out looking like a new nickle.
The Rapid Polish will get rid of the dust and the gunk
from the brass. I like the tip with the drier sheets.
Does the brass come out Spring Fresh? LOL

dick w. holliday · March 28, 2001, 07:11 AM

i remove the gunk with a paper towel and lacquer thinner--it wipes right out-i use midway walnut and don't treat it-i want my cases clean but don't care about shinny-i use the same stuff for quite a while-i think the gunk must be something to do with the cleaner-i don't use it much and the gunk has dissappeared-i even use mine to take off sizing lube-ans still use it for quite a while...Dick

poperszky · March 28, 2001, 08:53 PM

I was running into the same problem and some one urged me try liquid car polish. I am using Turtle wax (no ammonia) and it keeps the dust down, the cases come out clean and shiny with no dust and they are slightly slippery (wax) so I don't have to use case lube any more.

Changing tumbling media every 2 times? You mean you are supposed to change it? I am still using the same walnut media and I must have run 5,000 rounds of 9mm through it. Wow, I wonder why I didn't think of that. Seriously how often do you guys change your media?

Terry

Bill Adair · March 28, 2001, 09:50 PM

Terry,

These folks must change their engine oil every 500 miles!

I've had my tumbler for over two years now, and have run thousands of rounds through the same media, and it's still working great.

For the first year, I added only well used fabric softner sheets to the media, and it picked up most of the dust and dirt. Then someone recommended brass polish, so I bought a bottle of Midway brass polish, and added the appropriate amount to the same media, and that works even better!

No dust to speak of, but the media is getting pretty dirty. Kind of looks like coffee grounds, but who cares, the cases still come out nice and clean after a couple hours.

My second bag of clean media has been sitting on the shelf for two years, so I might change it one of these days, just for kicks, not because it needs it!

Bill

Doctari · March 28, 2001, 10:50 PM

Thanks for the input guys,

It looks like the way to go is probably walnut media with polish to help with the dust problem. corncob media gets DIRTY fast and redeposits crud on the brass. I literally would get filthy brass coming out of my tumbler after bout 500-600 pieces of dirty 357 brass going through it in corn media.

For u guys who have had the same media in a bowl for 2 years.... You ever empty the media out and look at the bowl? Mine is totally caked with crud after a thousand pieces of brass goes through it. Also, do you add the brass polish once and that's it? Or recharge the media with polish every so often?

Thanks again,
Mike

I don't wanna change my oil every 500 miles!!! That's why I am trying to figure out what i am doing wrong.<g>

poperszky · March 28, 2001, 11:20 PM

Doctari, I empty the bowl after every cleaning, dumping it into my kitty litter pan sifter before putting it back into the tumbler. Not getting any signicant caking or crud build up. I add a couple of "glugs" (not my term, but the unit of measurement that I was told) of Turtlewax to the media before each cleaning, then let it run for about 5 minutes to distribute it through the media. Then I dump the brass in and a couple of hours later it comes out bright and shiny.

I was really skeptical about using car wax, but I really love the way my brass comes out. Clean, shiny and slick.

Terry

MikeFromIowa · March 29, 2001, 08:32 AM

Doctari: I have used the same corncob media for the last year, thousands of rounds, just a touch of case polish in each batch. Rounds come out clean and shiny...How long are you tumbling? I have gone to a minimum of six hours per batch, and recently have gone to using two types of cob, the first has Lyman Green cleaner on it, and the second has just polish. As far as the gunk in the tumbler, that seems to depend upon the number of cases i'm tumbling. If I do 100, i get gunk, if I do 300, the inside of the tumbler is really clean. Just my observations...
--Mike From Iowa

tonyz · March 29, 2001, 09:28 AM

Doctari:
I use treated walnut media and add fabric softner sheets to the media, with a small amout of car polish. This mixture has cleaned 1000s of rounds and still has plenty of life left in it. There is No dust at all and cases that look shinier then new when there done tumbling. Also the time frame for tumbleing is a big factor the longer the shinier.
Like Terry I too have a second bag ready to go and it has been setting about a year. I think the big trick is the car polish and the fabric sheet.

Tony Z

Bill Adair · March 29, 2001, 01:48 PM

Doctari,

I added Midway brass polish to my walnut media only once, and have used no dryer sheets since. The dryer sheets would probably remove some of the polish and reduce cleaning ability.

Remember, if you use dryer sheets, they should be run through the dryer with a load of wash at least once, and preferrable several time! You don't want fabric softner on your cases. When the fabric softner is used up, it leaves a sheet of very fine netting that catches and traps dust and dirt in the media.

Yes, I have a thick layer of crud in the bottom of my large capacity tumbler, but it doesn't hurt a thing, and may even reduce wear on the plastic bowl.

As long as my brass comes out clean and polished in a couple hours, why mess with success?

Bill

tonyz · March 29, 2001, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Remember, if you use dryer sheets, they should be run through the dryer with a load of wash at least once,and preferrable several time! You don't want fabric softner on your cases.

WHY?

Tony Z

Bill Adair · March 30, 2001, 01:23 AM

Tony,

I have no idea what ingredients are used in fabric softner sheets, so I won't add fresh ones to my media.

The ingredients could be completely harmless to powder and primers, but I'm not willing to take a chance.

Bill

tonyz · March 30, 2001, 09:58 AM

Bill I have used dryer sheet for 10,000 of rounds with no Performance differance before using them or after.
But your post made me curious. So I checked into what is in most fabric sofener sheets.
It seems the two Active main ingredients are a Fatty Acid
Derivative. Also found in them is a form of Hydrophilic Copolymer. I have not found out anything that could be harmful.
And is there even any residual Chemicals on the brass? If any I'd bet it is very little and of no concern.
Any Chemists here that can help us out!

Best Tony

Bill Adair · March 30, 2001, 03:44 PM

Tony,

Interesting info, thanks.

I checked the label on a fabric softner box, but didn't recognize any of the ingredients. Fatty anything sounds ominous!

The sheets seem to work best for me when they are well used, and no longer have that waxy feel that new ones have. The fibers in the paper carrier sheet also seem to unravel with use, and the looser structure traps more dirt, like a fine net.

I suspect cotton balls would work as well, but have never tried them.

Bill

Nukem · March 30, 2001, 04:13 PM

I've been using the wifes old dryer sheets for a good while now, they really keep the media cleaned out.
As for wax and a "slippery" feeling to the cases. Anything that lessens the gripping effect of the brass on the chamber during firing will have the effect of greatly increasing thrust on the bolt face. Oil, grease, excess case lube will do this, wax, I'm not sure.
If you want more info on this read Hatchers Notebook, he has a good section on rifle blowups that were caused lubricants.

March 27, 2001, 10:40 PM	#2
swifter... Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 1999 Location: So. CA Mountains Posts: 540	Mike, Try cutting up some used dryer sheets into about 1/2" strips and running them in the media for about an hour. They'll pick up a lot of the crap, then just toss 'em. Paper towel might work, too. Anything the crud will stick to... __________________ There are damn few situations so screwed up that adding government to them will not make 'em worse... The best homeland security is an armed & informed citizenery! Molon Labe!

March 30, 2001, 09:58 AM	#14
tonyz Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2000 Location: Wa Posts: 922	Dryer Sheets Bill I have used dryer sheet for 10,000 of rounds with no Performance differance before using them or after. But your post made me curious. So I checked into what is in most fabric sofener sheets. It seems the two Active main ingredients are a Fatty Acid Derivative. Also found in them is a form of Hydrophilic Copolymer. I have not found out anything that could be harmful. And is there even any residual Chemicals on the brass? If any I'd bet it is very little and of no concern. Any Chemists here that can help us out! Best Tony

March 30, 2001, 04:13 PM	#16
Nukem Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2000 Posts: 709	Dryer sheets and wax I've been using the wifes old dryer sheets for a good while now, they really keep the media cleaned out. As for wax and a "slippery" feeling to the cases. Anything that lessens the gripping effect of the brass on the chamber during firing will have the effect of greatly increasing thrust on the bolt face. Oil, grease, excess case lube will do this, wax, I'm not sure. If you want more info on this read Hatchers Notebook, he has a good section on rifle blowups that were caused lubricants.

March 27, 2001, 08:04 PM	#1
Doctari Member Join Date: March 27, 1999 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 86	Hello All, I hate to bother again but I read with interest the posts on tumbling media recently. I had some additional questions if I might..... I have used walnut media and don't like the dust. Can't stand the idea of that going in my carbide dies. I have used treated and untreated corn media but find that after about two tumblings of dirty brass I start to get smeared gunk on the brass coming out of the tumbler. I thought my brass was just too dirty so I would prewash it but discovered this was just a pain in the A$$. Am I being unreasonable hoping for more than 2 tumblings with media? Media aint cheap, so I was glad to learn I could buy in bulk at wal-mart<g>. Also, the congealed powder residue and gunk cakes the inside of the media bowl of the tumbler after a while. Any trick to getting it out of there easily? I have decided to maybe go with a 2 tumbling operation. Keep a bowl for "clean brass" and hopefully that media lasts a while....Then change the bowl for "dirty brass every 2 tumblings? Am I being WAYYYYY too anal about this? Thanks, Mike

March 28, 2001, 06:14 AM	#3
Joe Gulish Member Join Date: March 15, 2001 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 49	I use crushed walnut media and Dillon's Rapid Polish 290. And my brass comes out looking like a new nickle. The Rapid Polish will get rid of the dust and the gunk from the brass. I like the tip with the drier sheets. Does the brass come out Spring Fresh? LOL

March 28, 2001, 07:11 AM	#4
dick w. holliday Senior Member Join Date: January 13, 2001 Location: NC Posts: 589	i remove the gunk with a paper towel and lacquer thinner--it wipes right out-i use midway walnut and don't treat it-i want my cases clean but don't care about shinny-i use the same stuff for quite a while-i think the gunk must be something to do with the cleaner-i don't use it much and the gunk has dissappeared-i even use mine to take off sizing lube-ans still use it for quite a while...Dick

March 28, 2001, 08:53 PM	#5
poperszky Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2000 Posts: 120	I was running into the same problem and some one urged me try liquid car polish. I am using Turtle wax (no ammonia) and it keeps the dust down, the cases come out clean and shiny with no dust and they are slightly slippery (wax) so I don't have to use case lube any more. Changing tumbling media every 2 times? You mean you are supposed to change it? I am still using the same walnut media and I must have run 5,000 rounds of 9mm through it. Wow, I wonder why I didn't think of that. Seriously how often do you guys change your media? Terry

March 28, 2001, 09:50 PM	#6
Bill Adair Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2000 Location: Seattle/Tacoma, WA USA Posts: 345	Terry, These folks must change their engine oil every 500 miles! I've had my tumbler for over two years now, and have run thousands of rounds through the same media, and it's still working great. For the first year, I added only well used fabric softner sheets to the media, and it picked up most of the dust and dirt. Then someone recommended brass polish, so I bought a bottle of Midway brass polish, and added the appropriate amount to the same media, and that works even better! No dust to speak of, but the media is getting pretty dirty. Kind of looks like coffee grounds, but who cares, the cases still come out nice and clean after a couple hours. My second bag of clean media has been sitting on the shelf for two years, so I might change it one of these days, just for kicks, not because it needs it! Bill

March 28, 2001, 10:50 PM	#7
Doctari Member Join Date: March 27, 1999 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 86	Thanks for the input guys, It looks like the way to go is probably walnut media with polish to help with the dust problem. corncob media gets DIRTY fast and redeposits crud on the brass. I literally would get filthy brass coming out of my tumbler after bout 500-600 pieces of dirty 357 brass going through it in corn media. For u guys who have had the same media in a bowl for 2 years.... You ever empty the media out and look at the bowl? Mine is totally caked with crud after a thousand pieces of brass goes through it. Also, do you add the brass polish once and that's it? Or recharge the media with polish every so often? Thanks again, Mike I don't wanna change my oil every 500 miles!!! That's why I am trying to figure out what i am doing wrong.<g>

March 28, 2001, 11:20 PM	#8
poperszky Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2000 Posts: 120	Doctari, I empty the bowl after every cleaning, dumping it into my kitty litter pan sifter before putting it back into the tumbler. Not getting any signicant caking or crud build up. I add a couple of "glugs" (not my term, but the unit of measurement that I was told) of Turtlewax to the media before each cleaning, then let it run for about 5 minutes to distribute it through the media. Then I dump the brass in and a couple of hours later it comes out bright and shiny. I was really skeptical about using car wax, but I really love the way my brass comes out. Clean, shiny and slick. Terry

March 29, 2001, 08:32 AM	#9
MikeFromIowa Member Join Date: May 13, 2000 Location: Darn Near Canada Posts: 46	Doctari: I have used the same corncob media for the last year, thousands of rounds, just a touch of case polish in each batch. Rounds come out clean and shiny...How long are you tumbling? I have gone to a minimum of six hours per batch, and recently have gone to using two types of cob, the first has Lyman Green cleaner on it, and the second has just polish. As far as the gunk in the tumbler, that seems to depend upon the number of cases i'm tumbling. If I do 100, i get gunk, if I do 300, the inside of the tumbler is really clean. Just my observations... --Mike From Iowa

March 29, 2001, 09:28 AM	#10
tonyz Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2000 Location: Wa Posts: 922	Doctari: I use treated walnut media and add fabric softner sheets to the media, with a small amout of car polish. This mixture has cleaned 1000s of rounds and still has plenty of life left in it. There is No dust at all and cases that look shinier then new when there done tumbling. Also the time frame for tumbleing is a big factor the longer the shinier. Like Terry I too have a second bag ready to go and it has been setting about a year. I think the big trick is the car polish and the fabric sheet. Tony Z

March 29, 2001, 01:48 PM	#11
Bill Adair Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2000 Location: Seattle/Tacoma, WA USA Posts: 345	Doctari, I added Midway brass polish to my walnut media only once, and have used no dryer sheets since. The dryer sheets would probably remove some of the polish and reduce cleaning ability. Remember, if you use dryer sheets, they should be run through the dryer with a load of wash at least once, and preferrable several time! You don't want fabric softner on your cases. When the fabric softner is used up, it leaves a sheet of very fine netting that catches and traps dust and dirt in the media. Yes, I have a thick layer of crud in the bottom of my large capacity tumbler, but it doesn't hurt a thing, and may even reduce wear on the plastic bowl. As long as my brass comes out clean and polished in a couple hours, why mess with success? Bill

March 30, 2001, 01:23 AM	#13
Bill Adair Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2000 Location: Seattle/Tacoma, WA USA Posts: 345	Tony, I have no idea what ingredients are used in fabric softner sheets, so I won't add fresh ones to my media. The ingredients could be completely harmless to powder and primers, but I'm not willing to take a chance. Bill

March 30, 2001, 03:44 PM	#15
Bill Adair Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2000 Location: Seattle/Tacoma, WA USA Posts: 345	Tony, Interesting info, thanks. I checked the label on a fabric softner box, but didn't recognize any of the ingredients. Fatty anything sounds ominous! The sheets seem to work best for me when they are well used, and no longer have that waxy feel that new ones have. The fibers in the paper carrier sheet also seem to unravel with use, and the looser structure traps more dirt, like a fine net. I suspect cotton balls would work as well, but have never tried them. Bill