Some experimenting with SS tumbeling media
- Thread starter FROGO207
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Fishslayer
Member
I just use walnut & Nu Finish. The insides are "clean enough" and cleaning primer pockets isn't really necessary with pistol brass.
A half hour in cob & Nu Finish when I want the finished ammo to look really nice.
When I start loading rifle ammo I'll probably invest in a SS setup. Can't really beat it for making used brass look new.
Thank you, they are out drying now. I am very pleased with the results. Wish now I had taken before and after photos.
blarby
Member
Allrighty Frog, whats the results ?
Striker Fired
Member
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I have let/forgotten my brass in my pin/soap/water setup for a couple days and they didn't turn dark,but if they aren't submerged in the water they will.Because I'm using a vibratory setup with the pins,the brass stays submerged(unless I really forget about the batch for a week or more)so it isn't critical to take them out right away,I usually start a batch before bed or going to work and set the timer for 40min,somtimes I take them out in the morning and start another batch,or I just wait till after work.
PS:Rustyfn = no it isn't any louder than the normal corncob or walnut shell setup,actually its a little quieter.
PS:Rustyfn = no it isn't any louder than the normal corncob or walnut shell setup,actually its a little quieter.
blarby
Member
We're waiting...........
OP
OP
FROGO207
Member
Some days I get a little side tracked but-------------:banghead: Anyway the soap and water only took 3 1/2 hours to get the same clean as they did with the IOSSO and small amount of Dawn for 30 minutes. They do look like new brass however. I left them sitting in the water/Dawn mixture over night and part of the next day and they stayed as clean as they were when I stopped tumbling. No tarnish at all. I would not leave it soaking with anything other than the plain soap and water for fear of hurting the brass however. Now it is time to clean some brass.
blarby
Member
So soap, water, pins, and time do work.
Good to know.
Sad to learn that it takes about the same time with an ultrasonic and homebrew formula, as a pintumbler and commercial formula. That's a hard sell for me, given the price of a pin setup.
Someone really handy with a calculator should do the energy math vs formula price.
I got a little feedback on IOSSO formulary too.... looks basically like powdered citric acid and detergent from the MSDS. If that really is the case.....that's some pricey soap and vinegar ya got there -.-
I'll keep diggin on that one.... ill get ya the answer.
Good to know.
Sad to learn that it takes about the same time with an ultrasonic and homebrew formula, as a pintumbler and commercial formula. That's a hard sell for me, given the price of a pin setup.
Someone really handy with a calculator should do the energy math vs formula price.
I got a little feedback on IOSSO formulary too.... looks basically like powdered citric acid and detergent from the MSDS. If that really is the case.....that's some pricey soap and vinegar ya got there -.-
I'll keep diggin on that one.... ill get ya the answer.
I just started using the pins and I am no expert, but I just finished cleaning 185 pieces of 30-06 with and it took just about 3 hours. I have tried several of the ultra sonic cleaners and there is no way I could clean 185 pieces of brass in this amount of time. To clean this brass with the pins I used a teaspoon of Lemi Shine, a squirt of Ajax dishwashing liquid and filled the drum up with hot water until it was about 2 inches from being full. There really is no comparison as far as I'm concerned. Especially since most of the Ultra Sonic cleaners require constant resetting of the timer numerous times when cleaning a small quantity of brass.
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blarby
Member
If its any consolation, that amount of brass would fit in my ultrasonic quite nicely.
I believe its possible you may have been loading it incorrectly.
If you are using the same formula in your tumbler that you were in your ultrasonic, I can understand your frustration in the results.
I've actually tested all of the commercial ultrasonic cleaners I could find. None of them were as good as homebrew.
The only commercial cleaner i've used in my ultrasonic worth a hoot is K+N filter cleaner....just a degreaser , really... but works very well on gun parts caked in lubes and soot....it works no better on brass than anything else. I happen to have plenty of it available, and its multi-use. I returned for refund every commercial ultrasonic fluid I have purchased.
I believe its possible you may have been loading it incorrectly.
If you are using the same formula in your tumbler that you were in your ultrasonic, I can understand your frustration in the results.
I've actually tested all of the commercial ultrasonic cleaners I could find. None of them were as good as homebrew.
The only commercial cleaner i've used in my ultrasonic worth a hoot is K+N filter cleaner....just a degreaser , really... but works very well on gun parts caked in lubes and soot....it works no better on brass than anything else. I happen to have plenty of it available, and its multi-use. I returned for refund every commercial ultrasonic fluid I have purchased.
If my bathroom scales are correct, this load was just under 15 lbs. There was approximately 6 lbs of brass, 5 lbs of pins and 4 lbs of water. I don't fill the drum full of water, just enough to cover the brass.
I had just tried Lemi Shine without any other detergent. It would clean the brass, but I could only fit about 70 pieces of brass in the basket and I had to keep moving them around to get them to clean.
blarby
Member
No basket........
It dont hurt, but it dont help.
It dont hurt, but it dont help.
thump_rrr
Member
I don't bother with the 15lb limit of the Thumler Model B.
The motor has a thermal overload in it. if it overheats it will stop.
I've loaded it to 19lbs without it ever stopping.
I use 5lbs of pins, 1 gallon of water and fill it between 1/2 and 3/4 full of brass.
I use 1/4 teaspoon of lemishine and a 2 second squirt of Ajax liquid dish washing detergent found at wallyworld.
The Ajax detergent costs less than 1/2 the cost of Dawn and does just as good a job.
If your brass turns too yellow for your liking due to tumbling it too long all you need to do once you remove it from the pins is dump it in a gallon of hot water with another 1/4 teaspoon of lemishine and stir it up and your yellow brass will go back to a nice pale color right before your eyes.
The motor has a thermal overload in it. if it overheats it will stop.
I've loaded it to 19lbs without it ever stopping.
I use 5lbs of pins, 1 gallon of water and fill it between 1/2 and 3/4 full of brass.
I use 1/4 teaspoon of lemishine and a 2 second squirt of Ajax liquid dish washing detergent found at wallyworld.
The Ajax detergent costs less than 1/2 the cost of Dawn and does just as good a job.
If your brass turns too yellow for your liking due to tumbling it too long all you need to do once you remove it from the pins is dump it in a gallon of hot water with another 1/4 teaspoon of lemishine and stir it up and your yellow brass will go back to a nice pale color right before your eyes.
capreppy
Member
Thanks for this. I'll give this a try next time I have this issue.
I am a relatively new reloader. I read everything on the net about cleaning brass before buying anything. I went the ultrasonic route first buying a Hornady unit. Tried every concoction on the net. The brass gets clean but never shiney. I then bought a Lyman 1200 tumbler and tried every concoction on the net. Varying levels of shineyness depending on the concoction, length of time and number of casings. I was out of media and considering a big bag of corn cob when I was in a Gander Mountain and saw a container of Lyman Tuffnut treated walnut. I bought it thinking I could get some brass done while my big order came in.
Well I have to tell you this stuff flat out works! It does not care how much brass you have in the tumbler. I tumbled 250 .223 cases filled to the top with the Tuffnut and they came out shiney like new. The coating they put on has no dust. NONE! I wear gloves taking out the brass to keep the red additive off my hands.
I now have two tumblers. One has older Tuffnut that the really dirty range brass goes into. Once out it gets resized, deprimed, trimmed and camfered. Then back into the other tumbler with newer media. When the new media starts to wear out it gets rotated to the dirty tumbler. Volume is not as important as time. The more brass in the tumbler the longer it needs to go which is not a problem for me. I prefer to do larger batches over night than doing smaller batches in shorter intervals. I know many will say why pay the price for Lyman stuff when you can do it cheaper with Nufinish. Been there and tried that. IMO the Lyman Tuff nut just works better. Dump it in and start tumbling. It also lasts much longer. I can do several thousand cases before rotating.
Well I have to tell you this stuff flat out works! It does not care how much brass you have in the tumbler. I tumbled 250 .223 cases filled to the top with the Tuffnut and they came out shiney like new. The coating they put on has no dust. NONE! I wear gloves taking out the brass to keep the red additive off my hands.
I now have two tumblers. One has older Tuffnut that the really dirty range brass goes into. Once out it gets resized, deprimed, trimmed and camfered. Then back into the other tumbler with newer media. When the new media starts to wear out it gets rotated to the dirty tumbler. Volume is not as important as time. The more brass in the tumbler the longer it needs to go which is not a problem for me. I prefer to do larger batches over night than doing smaller batches in shorter intervals. I know many will say why pay the price for Lyman stuff when you can do it cheaper with Nufinish. Been there and tried that. IMO the Lyman Tuff nut just works better. Dump it in and start tumbling. It also lasts much longer. I can do several thousand cases before rotating.
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