I know. Tumbler media is cheap. But I'm cheaper.
I'm still pretty much using the same 2 jugs of tumbler media I have been since I started reloading, countless thousands of rounds later. I've lost some, here and there, to entropy, so I'm down to a jug+. But I still have more than 2 full tumbler's worth, and that's enough for my process.
I've also tried adding some washable cloth/leather strips to the media to catch the dust, but this has become a bit too much of a chore to keep up. My latest method is easier.
I put on some rubber gloves. Then I take my used media and put it in a plastic bag. Add a couple cups of water, just enough to get it all thoroughly wet, and mash the bag a bit. Then I squeeze out the excess water, add another cup or so, and repeat. I could use a lot more water, but then I'd have more "contaminated" water to process.
Then I put the media out in a baking dish in the sun. A day or so later, it's dry, and it appears to be cleaner than media that has been used only two or three times. And it seems to work just as good. No, it's not good as new, but if you needed it to be that good you'd have to throw out your media after each batch of brass, now wouldn't you? I put this relatively clean and dry media in my "on deck" jug, and I have my replacement tumbler-full ready to go.
I add a little Nufinish. And I tumble my brass wet, freshly drained from a prewash (I put the brass in my media separator, then lower the whole thing into a bucket, swish around, then lift and shake). My last tumbler full of brass, I ran for only one hour, and it was sparkly.
Just to be on the anal side, I take the dirty (and it's really dirty!) water and strain it through a coffee filter. After they're dry, I put the coffee filters in an empty powder jug along with my spent primers and lead dross. By the looks of it, the layer of dust that covers the filter looks like it's mostly spent polish and actual corn cob dust. I'm not really sure how much lead is in this filter or in the filtrate. Anyways, I let the rest of the water slowly collect/evaporate and keep using the same container to catch the next batch of dirty water.
I'm still pretty much using the same 2 jugs of tumbler media I have been since I started reloading, countless thousands of rounds later. I've lost some, here and there, to entropy, so I'm down to a jug+. But I still have more than 2 full tumbler's worth, and that's enough for my process.
I've also tried adding some washable cloth/leather strips to the media to catch the dust, but this has become a bit too much of a chore to keep up. My latest method is easier.
I put on some rubber gloves. Then I take my used media and put it in a plastic bag. Add a couple cups of water, just enough to get it all thoroughly wet, and mash the bag a bit. Then I squeeze out the excess water, add another cup or so, and repeat. I could use a lot more water, but then I'd have more "contaminated" water to process.
Then I put the media out in a baking dish in the sun. A day or so later, it's dry, and it appears to be cleaner than media that has been used only two or three times. And it seems to work just as good. No, it's not good as new, but if you needed it to be that good you'd have to throw out your media after each batch of brass, now wouldn't you? I put this relatively clean and dry media in my "on deck" jug, and I have my replacement tumbler-full ready to go.
I add a little Nufinish. And I tumble my brass wet, freshly drained from a prewash (I put the brass in my media separator, then lower the whole thing into a bucket, swish around, then lift and shake). My last tumbler full of brass, I ran for only one hour, and it was sparkly.
Just to be on the anal side, I take the dirty (and it's really dirty!) water and strain it through a coffee filter. After they're dry, I put the coffee filters in an empty powder jug along with my spent primers and lead dross. By the looks of it, the layer of dust that covers the filter looks like it's mostly spent polish and actual corn cob dust. I'm not really sure how much lead is in this filter or in the filtrate. Anyways, I let the rest of the water slowly collect/evaporate and keep using the same container to catch the next batch of dirty water.
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