Such thing as too much tumbling?

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rich636

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I did a search on "how long to tumble" but couldn't find any time frames. Is it overkill to leave my brass tumbling overnight?

It's about 60 pieces of .45colt in a basic Frankford Arsenal bowl style tumbler.
 
several issues

first thing is the quantity, your tumbler probably holds more than that.

I put close to the max in each load. the only difference would be match
brass where you would want to keep it separate.

2-4 hours should be adequate.

I just want them cleaned up, some reloaders want them shiny like new
brass, this is where we get into personal preference.

wood
 
Tumble away. As long as you're not adding anything to your tumbling media that will weaken the brass (e.g., car wax with ammonia), you can tumble it all you want without damaging it.
 
Thanks for the tips guys, I forgot to mention that it's just straight crushed walnut shell, no additives.
 
The electric motor on some tumblers gets fairly hot to the touch over time . . . I would be reluctant to tumble a batch overnight, ie, unattended because of the fire potential. I tumble 2-3 hours max.
 
I tumble about 1 hour-2 hours max, when I am in the same room. Unless your tumbler is in a shed far away, that you don't care about, I would second the above fire danger warning.
 
I only tumble brass occasionally, usually just wiping it off with an old rough towel. When I do tumble, if it isn't shiny enough in 45 minutes to an hour at most, it gets loaded anyway.:uhoh:
 
straight crushed walnut shell will clean your cases but it will not polish them.
You need to buy some what is called (tuff nut walnut ) sold by lyman it is treated with a red rouge for polishing and they will look new after tumbling.
I have the same tumbler that you have. Also I tumble loaded rounds to clean off any oils from reloading before putting them in boxes.Once in a while put a dryer sheet in your tumbler to clean all dirt from your media.
 
I have been adding a little Turtle wax to my crushed walnut shells but after reading some of the posts I am wondering if that is a wise thing to do. One problem I have noticed is that the polish can stick inside some of the brass cases, a friend felt I may have been using to much. He also suggested no polish and just the walnut shells.
I also am wondering how dirty should the media become before I should change it?
Thank you in advance for your replies and I am going to try the dryer sheet addition.
 
I much prefer corcob to walnut. It holds dirt and lube better than walnut, it polishes better, and it carries additives better. Walnut is good for really tarnished brass.

The dryer sheet thing works. I picked that tidbit up here on THR and it makes media last longer for sure.

You will know when the media is used up. It will quit picking up all the dirt and the brass will start to have residue on it.

The Frankford Arsenal brass polish helps it not only to shine brass better but last longer because it helps it pick up "dust" from the media wearing against its self and not leave it on your cases.
 
I now soak my brass in a 70-30 mix of cider vinegar and water, with some salt thrown in, for about 3 hrs, then tumble for about 3 hrs in walnut. Brass comes out clean, inside and out, much more so than when I just tumbled for hours on end.
 
I've never felt my Frankford Arsenal tumbler get so much as warm from running it overnight. It's a valid concern, but a minor one IMO. I like bright shiny brass being in the PNW. Any finger oils or darn near anything on the brass makes it quickly discolor and begin tarnishing. If I lived in a dryer locale, I probably wouldn't bother. It's partially a pride in my product too. Think about it, would you buy new ammo if it wasn't bright and shiny....not me.

+1 on dryer sheets, it makes the dusty grime issue a thing of the past and has more than doubled the life of my walnut media. Actually, probably more than doubled it. It really grabs the crud well.

As for that stuff with the red rouge on it, it works well also, particularly on stubbornly stained brass. Lyman Turbo Polish is the product. But you have to either clean them again in walnut media or live with that red rouge on your brass.

Nu Finish works really well and is economical when compared to Flitz and other reloading specific tumbler additives. But the manufacturer knows their customer base and what they can charge, so they do. I have had great luck with Flitz polish also, but the price is disturbing when you compare it to an equal amount of Nu Finish. Something like 3 or 4 times the price.

Another example, you can buy a few pounds of walnut media at your local outfitter and you'll pay premium prices for it. If you goto a pet store for Lizard Litter, (also crushed walnut media) you'll get something like 15 lbs for less than half the price of that couple pounds at your outfitter. Proper marketing can make most people buy anything if they can create a perceived need for it. Don't think so, just check out any teenagers wishlist and you'll quickly draw the proper conlcusions. (a LOT of adults too, think Hummer)
 
I use a Thumbler Tumbler. I have had rouge coated walnut media, which I occasionally use on cases that are a little dirtier than normal. I will normally let the Thumbler run over night on cases. That knocks off the dirt, gets them a little brighter. Well I had .223 cases that were walnut brown. (Still have them). And I wanted them bright. So I loaded up the Thumbler with the Rouge coated media and let if rock and roll for at least a week.

At the end, the cases were coated in jeweler’s rouge. I mean it was like a powder coating, would not shake off. Had to wash the cases repeated times to get the rouge. And the cleaned cases were light walnut.

In my tumbler, plain walnut media will clean the cases overnight, but any longer tumbling times and there is almost no noticeable brightness gained. If you want real aggressive cleaning you have to use ceramic media.
 
I left a batch of .45acp brass going for 3 days once because I forgot about it running. Man was that brass shiney!! My house didn't catch on fire either.
 
I had the same issue with the red rouge walnut. I just loaded it anyway, worked fine.

I looked at my Frankford Arsenal tumbler today and did not notice a UL sticker which a lot of appliance type products have. It did have some stamp on the sticker, but I can't recall it at this time. I'm away from the house, so I can't give it a look at the moment or I'd share. It did look like some certification type sticker/stamp to indicate there was an independent test run on the machine for certification/safety reasons.
 
just my 2cents, but I don't start mine for 45lc unless I got at least 200 rounds to put in it. Its also the Frankford arsenal bowl type. Have put up to 300 in it. Usually run it 2-3 hours with cob media. good luck and have a nice day. Bob
 
My only problem with running it for extended periods of time is that all things have a finite life. You shorten the life of the tumbler when you are "overusing" it. Other than that, it won't hurt a thing.
 
You shorten the life of the tumbler when you are "overusing" it. Other than that, it won't hurt a thing.
Click to expand...
Yep, after 20 plus years my little Lyman sounds like it is slowing down. :D
I think it has probably been above average though. That is something to think about. It is going to wear out your tumbler faster. :)
 
YMMV :p

My point is that all mechanical things fail. Unnecessary use will only speed that inevitable end.
 
I use walnut and one cap full of Nu Finish car polish every other batch with a cut up used dryer sheet or paper towel. After two hours it comes out very clean and shiny. I left a batch in all day once because I forgot about it and they didn't look any better than the two hour batch. It seems like a waste of time and energy to run it longer than needed. I agree with Stinger about the chance it shortening the life of the tumbler.
Rusty
 
What do you guys do with the dryer sheet? Just throw it in with the brass/media when it tumbles? What does it do? Thanx-
 
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