How Do I Use This Thing (FA Brass Tumbler)

[.38 Special]

I no longer bother with dryer sheets, polishing liquids, or anything else. The 20 pound bag of corncob came from a gun show so long ago that I haven't the slightest recollection of the price tag. The stuff lasts well enough that I doubt I'll ever need to buy more - I honestly don't understand trying to save a few bucks on pet bedding or whatever, unless you're throwing it away on a regular basis. And more power to the wet tumbling guys and their shiny brass, but that's just way too much effort for a fellow like me!

So while I admire "pretty" as much as the next guy, the entire point of cleaning my brass is to prevent it from scratching my dies. When I get home, I dump my empties into the tumbler, which is a little more than half filled with corncob, and then I run it for about three hours. Then I dump it into a rotating sifter, give it a few spins, dump the brass into a box, and the corncob back into the tumbler. The three hours is unsupervised, of course, so I'm free to go do whatever else I need to do. Actual working time is something less than five minutes, and that's the sum total of time and effort that I put into it.

 

[DMW1116]

I used the dry tumbler last weekend for some 30-30 brass. Going with the wet tumbling is probably what I’ll do from now on. It wasn’t labor intensive but the dust was bothersome. It was really any faster either. I just need to find a day to go outside and decap all the brass I have stored up.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

A dry tumbler is good enough for me. I admire the photos of those who wet tumble. Wet tumbling does a better job IMO. I don't want the hassle of mixing chemicals, Disposing of the waste, and drying the brass. Tumbling is my least desirable reloading chores. I make tumbling easy for me.

Agree 100% with everything in this statement.
I admire it, mainly because of how clean the primer pockets get, but refuse to have to dry brass. That's another step I don't want.

I will say I prefer corn cob over walnut.
I used lizard litter for a couple years and it does a good job of cleaning the brass. But corn cob gets it shinier, and I like shiny.