Corn Cobb bedding

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KY DAN

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I am going to buy a bag of bedding, I looked and it seems large and bulky. Has anyone had experience running this as media and further more if the media is too large to clean can I blend it in a food processor/blender until I have enough to fill tumbler?

I plan to add a copious amount of nu finish car wax as polish

I am using a rotary tumbler to tumble 1000 rounds of 38 special before they go into storage
 
KY DAN said:
I plan to add a copious amount of nu finish car wax as polish
Click to expand...
Please don't.

I have tried using too much Nu Finish polish and when media stays on the "wet" side, it won't polish the brass surface as media sticks to the brass and I ended up with spots on the surface instead of shine.

I use Berry's model 400 vibratory tumbler sold by Cabela's with capacity of 1000 9mm cases (650 45ACP cases) and fill the bowl one inch below the rim with new media and only use TWO CAPFULS of Nu Finish polish to initially treat the media.

I fill the bowl with 600-800 9mm cases as adding more will slow down the vibratory/tumbling action and take much more time to polish (With mixed range brass collected from BLM shooting areas, I only need about 20-30 minutes to clean using fine grit (24) Harbor Freight walnut media which won't stick in the flash hole. If I want more polish, I will run the tumbler around 1 hour.

To help distribute the polish faster, I will use a stick and stir the media while the tumbler is running for a few minutes. I will use the media on the "dry" side and will add additional capful of polish every few batches.

And please dry tumble brass outdoors with good ventilation/breeze as inhaling lead dust is one source of lead intake - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...d-other-metal-particles.910272/#post-12405760
 
KY DAN said:
I can get 30 pounds of bedding for $4.99 ... It's worth blending for this price

Has anyone had experience running this as media and further more if the media is too large to clean can I blend it in a food processor/blender until I have enough to fill tumbler?
Click to expand...
Flash hole size is around .08" and if you want to not plug up the flash hole with media, you can use a 1/16" (.06") size sifter - https://www.amazon.com/Skat-Blast-Sandblasting-Cabinet-Abrasive/dp/B01MTMV5I7/ref=sr_1_2?
 
LiveLife said:
Flash hole size is around .08" and if you want to not plug up the flash hole with media, you can use a 1/16" (.06") size sifter - https://www.amazon.com/Skat-Blast-Sandblasting-Cabinet-Abrasive/dp/B01MTMV5I7/ref=sr_1_2?
Click to expand...

Is there anything you don't have experience with?

I am only going to rotary tumble loaded ammunition so the size of media won't be a critical, I just picked harbor freight walnut media out of the flash holes of 2000 pieces of Winchester 38 special wadcutter brass. (I bought the wrong size years ago and here I am quickly throwing it away)

P.S. I took your opinion a while back and bought a CH502 and a CH501 powder measure and it's the best measure I have used.
 
Tumble with the primer in...anything in the primer hole will be pushed out with decap pin. Quick turn with small screwdriver or pocket cleaner will knock out any crud left in the pocket. Doesn't have to be shiny; shiny won't make the primer perform any better. Only need to allow primer to seat with anvil "crush", below case head. You'll fell hi primer with your finger.

1 Tbsp NuFinish, 1 Tbsp mineral spirits, 1 used dryer sheet cut into 4ths. Dryer sheet catches dust and gets thrown away. Good to wear a COVID mask when separating brass from media inside or out, outside is better.
 
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KY DAN said:
Is there anything you don't have experience with?

I am only going to rotary tumble loaded ammunition so the size of media won't be a critical, I just picked harbor freight walnut media out of the flash holes of 2000 pieces of Winchester 38 special wadcutter brass. (I bought the wrong size years ago and here I am quickly throwing it away)

P.S. I took your opinion a while back and bought a CH502 and a CH501 powder measure and it's the best measure I have used.
Click to expand...
For loaded ammo use less polish and finer medium. You might kill the blender though. The blades will dull very quickly with abrasive media.
 
KY DAN said:
I just picked harbor freight walnut media out of the flash holes of 2000 pieces of Winchester 38 special wadcutter brass. (I bought the wrong size years ago and here I am quickly throwing it away)
Click to expand...
Harbor Freight sells two different sizes of walnut media, coarse and fine grit.

12 grit coarse walnut media will get stuck in the flash hole - https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-coarse-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92150.html

24 grit fine walnut media won't get stuck in the flash hole and what I use - https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-fine-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92155.html

KY DAN said:
P.S. I took your opinion a while back and bought a CH502 and ... it's the best measure I have used.
Click to expand...
Nice. It's a great powder measure with standard die thread so I use it on Dillon and Lee presses and actually metering better than the Redding powder measure I have - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/c-h-502-micrometer-powder-measure-10-drops.834894/

KY DAN said:
Is there anything you don't have experience with?
Click to expand...
After 28 years of marriage, apparently not how to keep my wife happy ... :p

I can stick/MIG weld OK (After college, I got welding certified at adult school taught by NASA contract welder who did micro welding in vacuum ... At graduation, he demonstrated welding of stainless steel razor blades and aluminum soda can cut in half :eek:) but never got to TIG weld. But I have two aluminum salt water fishing boats so I may get multi-process welder to TIG weld for retirement (Need to weld kicker motor mount for the jet boat and need to weld transom for the outboard boat).

Growing up, family built custom homes for generations and grandparents ran a cabinet shop (After college, to pay homage to family tradition, my sister and I took 2 year Building Trades program where an entire house was built on site by students during the 2 year period). So I have been rehabing/remodeling houses after work during adult/marriage years (Recently built wife 24'x8' chicken house and currently building 12'x6' chicken tractor) but never got to do any cabinet making and planning to give it a try making all the cabinets when we remodel our master bathroom of retirement property (Will double the size with separate shower/tub with clear glass walls and his/her sinks/cabinets) but I am going to cheat by using the Kreg tool.

I shot USPSA matches and when I climbed to 20 percentile of open division shooters shooting limited 40S&W, I was invited by regional match shooters to try 3-gun match shooting (This was early 2000s). While I was interested, another job assignment moved the family to a part of state where there was no shooting range/USPSA matches nearby and we retired in the same location after doing 3 separate job assignments here. I thought about shooting matches again after I retired in 2019 (Especially after cataract surgery, getting Vivity IOL implants with 100% light transmission and now have 20/20 vision) but nearest USPSA match is 2 hours away over the mountains (And mountain pass closes over winter snow).

Never got to do Ransom Rest testing (I don't know why I never bought one since I have done so many load testing for THR H&R/myth busting threads) but finally getting to weld a machine rest for pistol/rifle/22LR to hard mount to 1000 lb welded landscape trailer with tripod as the base (two rear RV stabilizing feet and front jack mount to lift the trailer) ... just got done fabricating the rear used expanded metal ramp gate welded to the trailer which is going to be my retirement mobile reloading/shooting/accuracy test platform, especially for the rainy winter season with full rain cover, 4 sided enclosure and propane Mr. heater for comfort.

index.php
 
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FYI, fine/coarse media options - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-and-discussions.778197/page-10#post-10942786

I found larger than 12 grit media will get stuck in the flash hole (Around .08") and smaller than 1/16" (.06") media won't.

Walnut media:
Corn cob media:
 
KY DAN said:
I am going to buy a bag of bedding, I looked and it seems large and bulky. Has anyone had experience running this as media and further more if the media is too large to clean can I blend it in a food processor/blender until I have enough to fill tumbler?

I plan to add a copious amount of nu finish car wax as polish

I am using a rotary tumbler to tumble 1000 rounds of 38 special before they go into storage
Click to expand...


Corn cob is very hard, it will destroy your food processor, Don't try that!
 
Nu Finish is silicone garbage stay away from that junk !. Use a reputable manufacturers wax or polish or even buy Rouge .

You want long term storage ,vacuum pack em .
 
Lol, I've been using Petco walnut reptile bedding for a couple of years now, Zilla Brand IIRC. I get a 25qt bag shipped to my house every other month for 30 bucks on repeat delivery. Works pretty good, not as fine as corn media. This is what I do finished ammo in with a capful of nu-finish. For range pickup, I do a capful of mineral spirits. I use 5 Gallon steel Uline buckets to store it in once it's been treated and reuse it as long as possible before I dump it.
 
BushMaster-15 said:
You want long term storage ,vacuum pack em .
Click to expand...
Yes, I used to "battle pack" 100 rounds vacuumed packed with "v" notches cut for easy opening and stored them inside 5 gallon buckets. Now I use plastic ammo cans with rubber seals ... easier on my aching/aging back. :p

BushMaster-15 said:
Nu Finish is silicone garbage stay away from that junk !. Use a reputable manufacturers wax or polish or even buy Rouge .
Click to expand...
I disagree and I would not want to transfer any wax/rouge (ferric oxide) to my dies and build up.

Nu Finish is not a wax rather polymer liquid polish that won't scratch or build up and residual polymer on brass surface helps with resizing and prevents tarnishing of brass for months/years.

Nu Finish treated media polished brass kept in plastic coffee can containers (Costco Folgers) stay shiny for years. Now that wife makes espresso with Lavazza coffee beans, I have switched to clear plastic bins/tubs with lids to store clean/polished brass.

index.php
 

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The best part about using nu-finish is when you eject the rounds from your revolver. World of difference, especially with low pressure rounds like 45 Colt... don't even need the rod... tilt and spin...they drop right out of the cylinder.
 
LiveLife said:
Harbor Freight sells two different sizes of walnut media, coarse and fine grit.

12 grit coarse walnut media will get stuck in the flash hole - https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-coarse-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92150.html

24 grit fine walnut media won't get stuck in the flash hole and what I use - https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-fine-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92155.html


Nice. It's a great powder measure with standard die thread so I use it on Dillon and Lee presses and actually metering better than the Redding powder measure I have - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/c-h-502-micrometer-powder-measure-10-drops.834894/


After 28 years of marriage, apparently not how to keep my wife happy ... :p

I can stick/MIG weld OK (After college, I got welding certified at adult school taught by NASA contract welder who did micro welding in vacuum ... At graduation, he demonstrated welding of stainless steel razor blades and aluminum soda can cut in half :eek:) but never got to TIG weld. But I have two aluminum salt water fishing boats so I may get multi-process welder to TIG weld for retirement (Need to weld kicker motor mount for the jet boat and need to weld transom for the outboard boat).

Growing up, family built custom homes for generations and grandparents ran a cabinet shop (After college, to pay homage to family tradition, my sister and I took 2 year Building Trades program where an entire house was built on site by students during the 2 year period). So I have been rehabing/remodeling houses after work during adult/marriage years (Recently built wife 24'x8' chicken house and currently building 12'x6' chicken tractor) but never got to do any cabinet making and planning to give it a try making all the cabinets when we remodel our master bathroom of retirement property (Will double the size with separate shower/tub with clear glass walls and his/her sinks/cabinets) but I am going to cheat by using the Kreg tool.

I shot USPSA matches and when I climbed to 20 percentile of open division shooters shooting limited 40S&W, I was invited by regional match shooters to try 3-gun match shooting (This was early 2000s). While I was interested, another job assignment moved the family to a part of state where there was no shooting range/USPSA matches nearby and we retired in the same location after doing 3 separate job assignments here. I thought about shooting matches again after I retired in 2019 (Especially after cataract surgery, getting Vivity IOL implants with 100% light transmission and now have 20/20 vision) but nearest USPSA match is 2 hours away over the mountains (And mountain pass closes over winter snow).

Never got to do Ransom Rest testing (I don't know why I never bought one since I have done so many load testing for THR H&R/myth busting threads) but finally getting to weld a machine rest for pistol/rifle/22LR to hard mount to 1000 lb welded landscape trailer with tripod as the base (two rear RV stabilizing feet and front jack mount to lift the trailer) ... just got done fabricating the rear used expanded metal ramp gate welded to the trailer which is going to be my retirement mobile reloading/shooting/accuracy test platform, especially for the rainy winter season with full rain cover, 4 sided enclosure and propane Mr. heater for comfort.

index.php
Click to expand...
Very impressive! Good luck with that project.
 
I also use the walnut lizard bedding from a local pet store, capful of nufinish, splash of odorless mineral spirits and a used dryer sheet, brass looks great and I can tell a difference when loading straight walled pistol or 45-70. I also put my loaded rounds in for a 15 or 20min vibrate to remove the resizing lube.
I clean after using a universal decapping die and then using the sizing die to clear out the flash hole IF there is anything in there
 
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