Tumbling brass

[NaStY5000]

I have had this tumbler for a while now and have just found everything for it. i have many questions regarding the process. Anyone know a great site on info?
What media?
How long?
Before or after resizing and trimming?
Additives?

[Cariboo]

What tumbler do you have?

Do you want the brass just clean or do you want them gleaming?



If the brass is very dirty I clean it both before sizing and again after to remove the lube. I usually use corncob for the initial clean and treated walnut later to shine the cases and remove the sizing lube. If the cases are fairly clean I re-size them first and then toss them into the tumbler for an hour or two. (I use the RCBS vibratory tumbler.)

As to how long I guess it all depends on how dirty the brass is and what type of media you are using. Anywhere from an hour to four or more is normal. Corncob is not as aggressive as walnut but it is not as dusty. Walnut will clean the dirtiest cases and if you use the type with rouge added it will leave the cases very shiny although you may have to give them a quick wipe with a rag to remove the dust.

If you are loading a 22 or 243 calibre cartridge walnut has a tendency to pack int the case and can be a pain to clean out at times. Corncob is finer and usually drains out easily.

[NaStY5000]

Well i couldn't wait to try it out. The media (rcbs corn cob) i bought a while ago came with powder polish and works awesome. I used my compressor to blow out and media stuck in the flash hole. Turned all my brass into new.

I have a "berry's" tumbler blue in color.

Gleaming is not what im after. Just clean brass inside and out. With all the build up inside the cartridge, i cant help but wonder if that will affect powder burn rate?

I have heard of people using liquid polish, but putting that in seems like a bad idea. How do you make sure it doesn't gum up into a ball ?

[Cariboo]

Originally Posted by NaStY5000

With all the build up inside the cartridge, i cant help but wonder if that will affect powder burn rate?

The inside of the case does not matter. The layer of carbon inside a fired case is so thin that is does not affect anything at all.

[35 Whelen]

I have used silver polish to put some life back into old media...it works great, and doesn't ball or gum up.

One thing you don't want to do is to make your brass shine like a mirror, it will end up not being able to grip the chamber wall of the firearms as well as moderately polished brass. No being able to grip the chamber wall will make your brass lengthen prematurely and you will end up trimming far more than needed. Just a good scrub is all they need, nothing more, you are not trying to make them look like gold.

I usually tumble mine before resizing , so that I don't scratch the inside of my sizing dies with any carbon or grit that may be present on a dirty case.

[the rifleman]

(This is for the really dull cases or with powder scorch marks from a few firings.)

I use the RCBS liquid case cleaner first, after removing the primers with the primer remover tool, and clean the primer pocket. After a good soak, I rinse and dry the cases, resize, trim, and debur them, then throw them in the walnut media for a few hours. I haven't bothered with any type of rouge, or polishes. They come out like new.

I find the flash hole deburer a good tool to get the walnut media out of the flash hole, as it seems there is "always" a piece stuck in there. I wish I had a compressor to be able to blow them out.

There are some home brew liquid cleaners a person can make himself, for the real dirty cases. I believe diluted lemon juice, or vinegar can be used. The liquid cleaner is just a mild acid. I would research this first, before just whipping up some recipe. Some handloading sites may have info on it's dilution ratio, etc.. There is a time limit as well, you have, as to how long to soak the cases, so you don't actually cause damage to them.

[BarryL]

I have a home made tumbler from a 12" piece of sewer pipe motor and a roller from a photo copier. Works like a hot damn and will hold 100 rifle brass no problem. For my bench brass, 6.5-284 I soak them in carberator cleaner overnight then blow them out and into the tumbler. The 300WM brass I just chuck in. Every second or third time tumbling I add a tablespoon of Brasso. The bench brass comes out shiny inside and out. The small amount of carbon inside probably has no effect on case volume but in bench shooting if having a voo doo doll on your bench and a rubber glove on your head seemed to help Id probably do it.

[The 'Hummer']

When I went for a tumbler I opted for an RCBS Sidewinder as with some of the more difficult case cleaning needs I have the ability to use a liquid cleaner. Most of the time I use the walnut shell media and polish additive and usually tumble after resizing & decapping. A 5/64" drill bit or cutting tourch tip cleaner works fine for cleaning walnut shell media bits and other bits of crud out of the flash hole.

[1/2way2/90]

My only advice after using the media for years is to visually inspect each hole after cleaning and in good light....EVERY ONE, EVERY TIME, NO EXCEPTIONS.

[35 Whelen]

A BIG SECOND on the inspection of the primer flash hole. Corn cob media and walnut is notorious for sticking in the hole.....would hate to be looking at the trophy of a lifetime, or worse and hear a fizzle instead of a bang.......

[elkchaser]

I don't use a tumbler but have an old drill I put my shell holders into then use a manual sizing pilot to resize and chamfer at the same time. While the brass is in the shell holder and "chucked" I use a small amout of metal polish "solva sol" I think it's called. A dab on a small rag and a few turns on the brass while the drill is going and shiny, clean brass..