RustyFN
Member
Yes. I used to use walnut with Nu Finish and tumble for 1.5 hours. The cases came out clean and what I thought was shiny. I now use 50/50 walnut/cob with Nu Finish and in 1.5 hours they come out clean and very shiny.
New to reloading - tumbler question - steps
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Yes. I used to use walnut with Nu Finish and tumble for 1.5 hours. The cases came out clean and what I thought was shiny. I now use 50/50 walnut/cob with Nu Finish and in 1.5 hours they come out clean and very shiny.
Ironbar
Member
As I posted on another thread, I use a Thumler's Ultra-Vibe which is super quiet. Corn cob media came with the tumbler, and this is the first time I've used it.
On the left is brass tumbled with walnut and about a teaspoon of Mother's Mag Wheel polish. On the right is the same type of brass only tumbled with corn cob and Mother's. You can see how much better the corn cob did.
On the left is brass tumbled with walnut and about a teaspoon of Mother's Mag Wheel polish. On the right is the same type of brass only tumbled with corn cob and Mother's. You can see how much better the corn cob did.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I have found Walnut media will remove heavy soiling from brass while Corn Cob media will polish the brass better. Walnut seems to clean faster while Corn Cob makes it nice and shinny...
thump_rrr
Member
I can't believe this has gone 28 posts with nobody suggesting wet tumbling instead.
The equipment cost is higher initially but there is no long term media cost since the media is stainless steel pins.
Wet tumbling produces no dust the way corncob or walnut media does.
Wet tumbling also cleans the interior of the cases as well as the primer pockets and flash holes unlike traditional tumbling with corn cob or walnut.
What is required for wet tumbling is a rotary tumbler such as the Thumler Model B and 5 pounds of stainless media. Sinclair's sells the tumbler with the media as a kit.
The equipment cost is higher initially but there is no long term media cost since the media is stainless steel pins.
Wet tumbling produces no dust the way corncob or walnut media does.
Wet tumbling also cleans the interior of the cases as well as the primer pockets and flash holes unlike traditional tumbling with corn cob or walnut.
What is required for wet tumbling is a rotary tumbler such as the Thumler Model B and 5 pounds of stainless media. Sinclair's sells the tumbler with the media as a kit.
Ironbar
Member
Oh I thought seriously about doing wet media tumbling, but decided against it because it seems like it's a major PIA going through all the steps.
thump_rrr
Member
1) Dump brass into drum.
2)Fill drum with water.
3) Squirt in a bit of soap
4) Srinkle in a bit of Lemishine
5)Close lid of drum
6)Set drum on tumbler
7)Turn it on and walk away
8)Unplug tumbler
9)Take drum to the sink.
10)Open the drum
11)Pour out the dirty water.
12)Rinse with clean water (Hot is preferable)
13)Pour the contents of the drum (water and all) into a media separator.
14) Spin for 10 seconds
15) Dump brass into a large towel and dry off the outside of the cases.
I use the RCBS media separator because it has a cover so the pins and water don"t go flying.
I don't use my clean brass right away so there is no need for me to dry the inside of the cases.
I dump them into plastic buckets for storage.
I also don't follow the maximum 15lbs for the tumbler.
1 gal. of water weighs 8lbs. + 5 lbs. of SS Pins = 13lbs.
This leaves only 2lbs. for brass.
I put between 5-6lbs. of brass.
The motor is still drawing less than its rated amperage which means that it will not overheat.
The motor is also thermally protected just in case it does.
It took me longer to describe the process than it would have for me to run a batch.
Another advantage is that the sound is not annoying like a vibratory tumbler.
I can work in my garage with the Thumler Model B running unlike my vibratory tumbler.
MrCountyCop
Member
Just to add a little bit more. I add nu-finish and two old shotgun cleaning patches to mine and after 4 hours, the patches come out black. Another good way to help keep your media clean.
Using the Cabela's tumbler and the corn cob that came with the kit worked great. Switched to red walnut and now everything, bowl, inside brass and hands have red dust. Does anyone know why the walnut has the red coloring? Why would I want to have red residue on everything when I can use corn cob and keep things cleaner?
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