Tumbling brass

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9938
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Tumbling brass

Post by GunnyMack »

Recently I found range brass for sale. I bought 100 pcs of 450 Bushmaster. It showed up yesterday and it was kinda dirty.
I dumped it in my tumbler and let it go for an hour. When I looked at it it was still kinda dirty. Another hour and it was good enough.
I'm using corncob and Flitz liquid.
Question is:
What do you use in your tumbler and why?
Corncob,walnut, steel pins? Liquid polish or not?
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
jnyork
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4412
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:33 pm
Location: Wyoming and Arizona

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by jnyork »

Before I throw the case in the polisher, I give it a little 2-second twist with some 4-0 steel wool, works great, cuts my polishing time by about 2/3. I use Lyman media and thrown in a tablespoon of ColorBack auto polish.
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18565
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Sixgun »

Gunny,
I have 5 vibrators and one tumbler that are all well used. Started with a tumbler (no vibrators then) about '74 using walnut media. About a year or so after that I bought corn cob media and that's all I've used since then. Walnut media would get in the flash holes and break decapping pins.

I clean after every shooting. The trick is not to let the brass get too nasty. If I do get brass and it's nasty I chuck in a case spinner (I have 6 and between them will fit any case ever made) in the drill press, turn on the press and while it's spinning I hold 4-0 steel wool over it. I can do a case perfectly shiny about every 10 seconds. After that it only corn cob for the life of the brass.

After the brass is vibrated....what, an hour or two? I pour the contents, brass and media into a 5 gallon bucket that I cut the bottom out and replaced it with 1/4" rat wire. Takes about 15 seconds to shake the bucket, let the media slip through, then pour the brass into containers.

Corn cob is relatively cheap and I do what most people don't know.......After about a year and 6-10,000 cases later my 5 gallon container of corn cob (about 3/4 full) gets dirty and takes longer to clean. Instead of throwing it out like most retarts/rich guys do, I just add a cup or two of Tide and fill up the bucket with hot water, swish it around, let it sit for a couple of hours, then pour it all out onto a big 4'x4' screen and rinse it with a hose. All kinds of black nasty stuff comes out of it. I'll let it sit for a while until most of the moisture drains out then I'll take it and spread it around to let the sun dry it completely.......at least a full day in the sun is needed.

Then I happily go shooting for another year using the same corn cob.......can't remember the last time I bought any. I have maybe 10 pounds of new stuff that's off to the side that I dip into now and then to replenish. Corn cob cleans and polishes cases as long as hey are not dark....then I'll use the case spinners and the drill press. If it gets in the flash hole (I do not deprime first as the whole case primer pocket will get loaded up with media. .... decapping pin drives right through the soft media while sizing.

In times of stupidity or boredom, I'll put a few capfuls of brasso in .......it helps to speed up the cleaning but not really needed.-----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9938
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by GunnyMack »

So far we are on the same page.
I never would have thought about washing the corn cob. I'll have to try that.
I haven't used walnut hills for the same reason.
Always wondered how the stainless pins worked... maybe someone will chime in.
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18565
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Sixgun »

Gunny,
A few years back Mike Venturino wrote an article about the pins and also about the ceramic beads. He said they cleaned well, even primer pockets but did not polish shiny like corn cob does.----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
win40-82
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 125
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:14 pm

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by win40-82 »

On really dirty brass I just put some in a sock and throw into washing machine with a regular load of wash. You can put several sock fulls in. After removing from sock place on cookie sheet and put oven on low setting for 45 min or more. Then corn cob them, make sure they are dry first though.
there is no such thing as a miss if you still have ammo
User avatar
marlinman93
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 6432
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by marlinman93 »

I switched to a wet tumbler years ago. Best thing I ever did to make cleaning quicker and easier. I use ceramic media, and a squirt of dishwashing liquid soap in the water before tumbling. Brass comes out cleaner, faster, and even primer pockets are cleaner.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
User avatar
Griff
Posting leader...
Posts: 20803
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Griff »

An hour in the vibratory cleaner... then into the storage bin to be reloaded... stained/discolored brass shoots JUST as well and clean, bright, new looking stuff.
Image
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93

There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
M. M. Wright
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4296
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:57 pm
Location: Vinita, I.T.

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by M. M. Wright »

OK, I'm really cheap so I use some stuff called well plug and is used in the oil patch. I had a roustabout friend who gave me a 50 lb. bag of it years ago. It's walnut shells but seem to be quite a bit sharper than what is available for tumbling. Right price and works better so why not? Since I burn lots of black it's my method to deprime first, then wash in detergent and a little vinegar. I like the primer pockets getting washed this way. After drying it's into the vibrator for a couple of hours and then I dump the batch into a collander in a dish pan and shake the media out into the dish pan. Just use the collander like you would for anything, flipping the contents up and back toward you. Yeah a grain of walnut hull may stick in a flash hole but the de-priming pin will knock it out when you size. Oh yeah, the stuff I use never clogs up the primer pocket like corn cob will sometimes. This has been my method for the last 20 or so years.
M. M. Wright, Sheriff, Green county Arkansas (1860)
Currently living my eternal life.
NRA Life
SASS
ITSASS
Florida_Cracker
Levergunner
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:11 am

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Florida_Cracker »

I switched to ss pins and tumbling a few years ago. I de-prime the dirty brass first and then tumble with a mixture of 1 tablespoon Tide HE (low sudsing) and 1/4 teaspoon of LemiShine/gal water. An hour is sufficient and the result is superior (IMHO) than twice that time in a vibrator with walnut. Primer pockets come out shiny clean.
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18565
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Sixgun »

Griff wrote: Sat Sep 08, 2018 5:55 pm An hour in the vibratory cleaner... then into the storage bin to be reloaded... stained/discolored brass shoots JUST as well and clean, bright, new looking stuff.
How in the hell did the South lose the war with bright good ole boys like Griff? That really does make sense and I have the reason (I think) why I like mine all shiny. First the German in me says I'm nuts and I think too much. I always notice guys at the gunclub looking at my loaded ammo in the plastic boxes. That gives them a clue as to how much I care about my other gun things andif they see tarnished brass they may think I feel the same way about my guns and that will give them an edge at the next match.

For real, I can't think of any of the competitors who use tarnished brass so maybe it's a "keeping up with the Jones" thing. Dunno..I'm going to bed...missed the silhouette match today...raining...at my age I am now officially a "fair weather shooter".

BTW Griff....if your philosophy works on brass how come the Black Rose looks like it just came off the assembly line?----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
User avatar
Malamute
Member Emeritus
Posts: 3766
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:56 am
Location: Rocky Mts

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Malamute »

I saw people talking about wet cleaning without the pins. Most gave up dry tumbling/vibrating cleaners. I bought one of the harbor freight dual drum rock tumblers and tried cleaning some 223 brass that was in a basement flood, then set in a bag 2 or 3 years. I used a half spoon of lemi shine, a drop of dish soap. In an hour or so the brass looked better than I could ever get it in my dry vibratory cleaner from such a tarnished state. I just spread them out on a towel to dry on the counter, the guys that do larger quantities use a food dehydrator. One guy uses a small cement mixer for 5 gallon buckets of brass at a time, he cleans i think in 15 or 20 minute intervals with a short rinse for rough dirt at first and a rinse at the end to get the lemi shine (powdered citric acid) off. Then uses some armor all car wash and wax liquid in the final rinse, it helps the cases size easier.

I was away from the drum tumbler and just used a small bucket with some lemi shine, dish soap and warm tap water and sloshed it all a round now and then, then rinsed it, it worked pretty well. Lemi shine is in the dishwasher soap department at the grocery store, its a cleaning additive for dishwashers, just powdered citric acid.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt-

Isnt it amazing how many people post without reading the thread?
User avatar
fordwannabe
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 3369
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:52 am
Location: Womelsdorf PA

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by fordwannabe »

I am gonna throw a wrench in the works here. I have a Harbor freight cement mixer for huge load of brass but I usually use a vibratory case cleaner. I have a very small very cheap one full of walnut hulls for the really dirty stuff and a large Frankfort Arsenal with corn cob but Instead of the case polish I used to use....cut up old dryer sheets in my tumbler and it shines as well as case polish. I cut each dryer sheet into 8-10 pieces and place in with my corncob couple hours later shiney.
a Pennsylvanian who has been accused of clinging to my religion and my guns......Good assessment skills.
Rusty
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9528
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:37 pm
Location: Central Fla

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Rusty »

I've never heard of using the dryer sheets. Thanks, I'll have to try that.
If you're gonna be stupid ya gotta be tough-
Isiah 55:8&9

It's easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled.
fatboy
Levergunner 1.0
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:46 pm

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by fatboy »

I load in small lots so a rock polisher loaded with reptile bedding (walnut shell) from the local big box pet store suffices, I do 'enhance' the reptile bedding with a small bit of Mothers.
bob
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9938
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by GunnyMack »

I'm no chemist but brass and acids don't mix in my book. It's been my experience that the copper and tin that make up brass begins to break down with acid be it vinegar or citrus stuff. Yes it's on a microscopic level but just take a piece of junk brass and place it in some lemon juice.
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
Bronco
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 895
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 12:03 am
Location: Idaho

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Bronco »

Howdy,

It seems that case cleaning has a touch of personality to it ! One person just likes doing it different than another sometimes. I have gone through the entire spectrum of methods and have settled on wet with steel pins method. Something I learned, and other might already know this! Going to a pet store you can buy the cob or walnut WAY cheaper than from a reloading supply. It is used for the bottom of lizard cages and for other creatures.
Again it comes down to what gives you the most satisfaction for the work put out! I am satisfied with them coming out just like they were from a bag of new brass. I buy brass that comes in bulk bags , when I do buy it; so it already has a small amount of dings in them. Some I know want that little extra mirror polish but I want to just go out and get them dirty again :mrgreen:

Of the reloading process brass cleaning is my least favorite thing. But that is just me . I have certain minimum standards, that vary from one person to another, and once there it is what can I do to get shooting again as safely and as fast as possible.
Last edited by Bronco on Sun Sep 09, 2018 1:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Gettin old ain't for sissies!
There just has to be dogs in heaven !
User avatar
COSteve
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 3851
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:03 pm

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by COSteve »

Done
Last edited by COSteve on Sun May 30, 2021 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Steve
Retired and Living the Good Life
No Matter Where You Go, There You Are
Pete44ru
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11242
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 7:26 am

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Pete44ru »

GunnyMack wrote: Sat Sep 08, 2018 5:43 am
Recently I found range brass for sale.

It showed up yesterday and it was kinda dirty.

I dumped it in my tumbler and let it go for an hour.

When I looked at it it was still kinda dirty. Another hour and it was good enough.

I'm using corncob and Flitz liquid.

Question is: What do you use in your tumbler and why ? Corncob,walnut, steel pin ? Liquid polish or not ?


I've never cared whether my brass was bright & shiny - so long as it was clean.

Soooo, I've never even owned a tumbler, deeming one un-necessary. - which lead me to use the EASY button.

I cleaned my brass via first punching out the spent primers, then tossing up to 200 empties into an OLD pillowcase.

The (knotted) pillowcase then got tossed into my household clothes washer, along with a load of towels & detergent.

When the washer finished the load, I un-knotted the pillowcase and spilled the (now hot) brass out on some clean towels to air dry.

Worked to my satisfaction, although YMMV.


.
Last edited by Pete44ru on Mon Sep 10, 2018 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18565
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Sixgun »

Learn something new everyday.

Dryer sheets---thank you

Corn cob at the pet store...won't have to wash it anymore.----thank you

Liquid car wax----thank you

I'm with Gunny on the acid thing....while I'm not chemist also, I did have a case head blow off on a single action 45 Colt one time...scary experience, almost as bad as a whole gun blow up

Colorado Steve has more luck with decapping pins than me. I go through a half dozen a year and the fault is usually a piece of something stuck in the flash hole and if it's on an angle it will make the pin drift off to the side and hit the brass...broke....then there's military brass with crimped in primers or a forgetful on-my-part berdan case...broke....or an offset flash hole...broke....or a loose dacapping rod that off a little as it's aiming for the flash hole...broke...usually with a bent rod also.

Wet stuff...I've tried that and it's more humid in the east, plus I'm a basement guy, and I've seen water still in the case two days later so I started blowing out each case with air taking it upstairs to sit on a sunny window ledge....then I said, screw this pelosi, I'm going back to dry corn cob."-----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
User avatar
Malamute
Member Emeritus
Posts: 3766
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:56 am
Location: Rocky Mts

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Malamute »

GunnyMack wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 4:51 am I'm no chemist but brass and acids don't mix in my book. It's been my experience that the copper and tin that make up brass begins to break down with acid be it vinegar or citrus stuff. Yes it's on a microscopic level but just take a piece of junk brass and place it in some lemon juice.
I havent heard of any problems related to using citric acid to clean brass. Its a very small amount used for a short period and rinsed, not left sitting in highly concentrated amounts of it. You can use similar acids for cleaning coins, and they come out nicely in a short time and are rinsed, but leave them sitting in high concentrations of it may have similar results to leaving a cartridge case in high concentrations of it.

Its not good to leave Hoppes No 9 on nickel guns parts, but using it to clean the gun then wiping it off doesnt seem to cause problems.

Not saying it cant happen, if it does cause problems I'm thinking we would likely hear something about it. Its fairly commonly used.


When Ive used wet cleaning I tumbled the brass around loosely in a towel, then laid them out so the mouths were low and let them sit a day or so. They were OK in the midwest when I was there. It wasnt a basement though. Some set them on window screens outside to dry, I havent tried that yet.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt-

Isnt it amazing how many people post without reading the thread?
User avatar
marlinman93
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 6432
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by marlinman93 »

I still use my rotary sifter after washing my brass in the wet rock rotary cleaner. It not only separates the brass and my ceramic media nicely, but also removes most of the excess liquid solution. And I can rinse the brass while it's inside the rotary basket after the ceramic media is separated.
I also don't clean my brass until it looks like polished jewelry. I simply clean it until it's clean. I use an old Pope style decapping tool to remove primers prior to cleaning, as I wont run dirty brass into my dies to deprime them. I can sit and watch TV as I deprime the cases with the Pope tool.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
alnitak
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1775
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:13 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by alnitak »

Dryer sheets also absorb much of the dust from the media.
"From birth 'til death...we travel between the eternities." -- Print Ritter in Broken Trail
User avatar
mikld
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 2336
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:46 pm
Location: So. Orygun!

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by mikld »

Being an old machinist/mechanic, tumbling metal parts is not new to me. After a few years of experimenting with tumbling media have settled on corn cob blast media 14-20 with a touch of auto polish/wax. Blast media works much better than pet bedding (much better quality control) and is not overly expensive. I also have tried wet tumbling (too much mess additional work) sonic cleaning (I had a 50 gal sonic cleaner at work) and various media (resin, ceramic, glass beads, etc.). For real rusty parts and stained brass I use hard resin pyramids and often toss a few in with my corn cob media.
https://www.harborfreight.com/520-lbs-r ... 63672.html
Mike
Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit...
I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...
User avatar
COSteve
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 3851
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:03 pm

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by COSteve »

Done
Last edited by COSteve on Sun May 30, 2021 4:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Steve
Retired and Living the Good Life
No Matter Where You Go, There You Are
Chuck 100 yd
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 6972
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:52 pm
Location: Ridgefield WA. USA

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Chuck 100 yd »

Wet tumbling with SS pins leaves your brass even nicer than new,inside and out. I dry tumble first to protect my dies,resize and then wet tumble. I will take time and prep all my empty brass and store it away ready to load. It makes reloading more fun.
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18565
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Tumbling brass

Post by Sixgun »

Yea Steve, I hear ya. I use RCBS progressives....Pro-2000, Piggyback and several single stage presses. The shellplates do have aligning holes and I do try to pay attention to unnatural mechanical "feelings". Then there are the flat springs that hold the case tight in the shellplate.....sometimes they loosen and disorient the case. I figure the dang machines are smarter than me and after I figure out one malady, they think ahead of me and cause another. :D

Then.......(what few people admit to) .......is sometimes we are in a bad mood, something else on our mind, or in a hurry and we don't pay the attention when are supposed to.----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
Post Reply