Gettin' all the junk out after tumbling

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nojoke

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I use the harbor freight vibratory tumbler with harbor freight "coarse" walnut.
After tumbling, how are the remnants cleared out?
Specifically, when loading rounds into my s&w 627 moon clip, there is quite a bit of grunge and the rounds don't mount very nicely - like with factory fresh.

Should I look into the SS media instead w/ a different tumbler? Is there a step after tumbling to clear this walnut shell junk out?
 
After sifting out most of the media, return just the brass to the tumbler and run it to remove the remaining media.
Works for me,
Tilos
 
Homemade media separators.

Wood frame & hail screen. You dump the tumbler in it and rotate it.
Sifter2.jpg

Bottom photo of gallon coffee can with hail screen: You dump the media & cases in the can and shake it.
SIfter1.jpg

627 moon clip, there is quite a bit of grunge
Click to expand...
Grunge sticking to case rim grooves is a sure sign of too much liquid polish in the media.

Time to start over with clean dry media and don't add so much polish this time.

rc
 
If the grudge is collecting around the rim, +1 to rcmodel. I have had that happen in primer pockets, and I solved it by just not adding polish to the next batch.
 
rcmodel - you're good. :)

Yeah, a bit more polish burped out of the bottle than was wanted.

I'll start afresh with less polish.
 
A teaspoon or two of polish is plenty for a tumbler your size. Also let polish breakup while running tumbler without the brass in it so as you do not have wet polish mixed in with the media and brass.
 
And throw in a dryer sheet cut up into about 2 inch squares to pick up most of the dirt and crud as well as excess polish. Discard after cleaning.

However to really get the brass shiny use corn cob instead of walnut. I've found that walnut is best for cleaning dirty brass since it's harder and scrubs better, but corn cob does a better job of polishing the brass shiny since it's softer and holds the polish better.
 
I splurged on the small Dillon rotary separator after I got tired of a sifter and collander.

I use walnut hull dry except for a little mineral spirits to lay the dust. I don't care that my brass is not polished bright as gold, I just want it clean to run through the dies easily.
 
I believe the polish does not wear out. You only have to add polish to a new batch of media. It should not cause sticking after the moisture is out of the polish. With that problem solved, you only have to check for stuff in the flash holes if you tumble de-primed brass.
 
I have used the same media (dark reddish-brown walnut shell, I believe) since 2007 and have tumbled literally thousands of cases with it. I tend to overload my vibratory tumbler a bit so the brass doesn't shine so much like jewelry, but is more shined just from many very small scratches and nicks.

For the longest time, I would run a vacuum hose over the open top to draw all the dust off the tumbler, as, when I didn't, the work bench would be covered with this fine dark red dust which was a hassle cleaning up!

I generally run the tumbler for four to six hours per run. I just use metal and plastic sifters as the other posts show, shaking the brass the whole time. Then I go through every one of the primer pockets with a primer brush on a drill in the vice to clean the primer pockets and it also removes that one tiny piece of medium that happens to get caught in two out of three cases!
 
I would save the polish heavy media and add some of it to fresh. But I hate to waste anything. New media will blend right in and absorb the polish. I know because I had a squirt top pop off once... Bloop!!!
 
nojoke said:
I use the harbor freight vibratory tumbler with harbor freight "coarse" walnut.
After tumbling, how are the remnants cleared out?
Specifically, when loading rounds into my s&w 627 moon clip, there is quite a bit of grunge and the rounds don't mount very nicely - like with factory fresh.

Should I look into the SS media instead w/ a different tumbler? Is there a step after tumbling to clear this walnut shell junk out?
Click to expand...
SS Pin process won't work in your vibratory "tumbler".

I love using the SS Pin process, but ......................

Now all the other guys will jump down my throat, stating all the Pro's of their process and all the Con's of mine.
 
I believe there's Pro's and Con's to both.

Only reason I'm gonna stick to the vib trumbler is I'v got this whold big bag of media to use up and a tumbler set up thats far from old, and I'm to old to see the pay-back.

If it was 20/30 years ago I seriously look at the investment of the S/S Pin method.
 
I would save the polish heavy media and add some of it to fresh. But I hate to waste anything. New media will blend right in and absorb the polish.
Click to expand...
That's what I did when I had too much polish in, and glued some corncob media to the insides of my cases.

As for Stainless... the results are indeed spectactular but for the time invested the amount of brass you can tumble with each batch is really small. I regularly tumble 1000+ cases in my Lyman 2500 Pro Magnum Turbo and it does just fine.
 
I toss in a few good sized cottom gun cleaning patches to minimize dust. Another tip, if you don't tumble long enough, any lube or other elements will have not been removed from the brass and causes dust to stick to the brass. But I also wash my brass with acetone after tumbling, works great. I don't much like it when media dust gets packed into the corners of the web area. You would be surprised how much is stuck to the inside of the brass until after using a Q tip to check.
 
I don't see what the big deal is with tumbling. I've been using the same batch of walnut media for about 5000 rounds and it's still working fine. About every other load I put in some NuFinish.
 
Lizard litter and NuFinish work best nothing hangs up in cases, when adding NuFinish I let it run 5-10 mins then add brass,also each new load gets a cut up dryer sheet to collect dirt. I will tumbled a load from 2-6 hours depending on how bad they appear. Lizard litter has been the best I've tried.
 
http://www.drillspot.com/products/521055/econoline_526040g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

The above link to drillspot is THE best price for fine grit corn cob tumbler media. It ships free. The 20/40 grit is fine enough to NOT get stuck in primer flash holes if you tumble after decapping and FL sizing to get the lube off. 40 pounds should last a very long time.

I use tumbler media additive to the corn cob, I just got some flitz tumbler additive. I've used the plain ol' flitz for a long time, but this new stuff is knock yer eyes out bright.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/816895/flitz-brass-case-polish-76-oz-liquid

I've also used the FA tumbler additive, it works too. I tried nu finish, it doesn't clean as well, or shine that well, BUT since it's wax based it leaves a protective finish on the brass, preventing corrosion .
 
"I've also used the FA tumbler additive, it works too. I tried nu finish, it doesn't clean as well, or shine that well, BUT since it's wax based it leaves a protective finish on the brass, preventing corrosion"

I use cheap-o Nu Finish because of the protective film it leaves behind.
 
Nu Finish is not a wax it is a polish.
Click to expand...

Wow! Now you're splitting hairs, not much difference is there? If you're saying it has abrasive in it, but no wax, then we'll argue. It leaves a waxy surface on MY brass.

I just looked at my bottle. It does say no WAX. But right above that it says will bead water for a long time, so just what IS in it? Must be that they're splitting hairs saying there's no PETROLEUM wax or carnuba wax in it. Has to be a polymer, then.
 
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