tumbling

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how long should i allow to tumble?

i normally check every 45 mins

what about live ammo?

i found some old .30 carbines in a box so i tumbled them witht he brass to make them look nice but should i be cautious witht he time i allow them to tumble?
 
there is a debate as to whether or not over tumbling live rounds will break up the powder and change its burn rate. i personally have never seen this and have left some .38 rounds accidently tumbling for 2 days. when i shot them they didnt seem any hotter than normal and hit at POA just like the others. (i didnt chrony any though). MAYBE if the powder is much older then this would affect it but i doubt it so long as the round remains sealed and intact.

in empty cases i simply tumble until shiny.
 
I usually tumble from 8 to 24 hours depending on how bad the brass is, never tumbled live ammo.
 
I just tumble the empty cases until I get done with whatever else I am doing, or when I happen to remember that they are going round and round. It could be in 2 hours or the next day, depending on how busy I am.
I prefer to just wipe off live ammo with a clean towel.
 
i usually tumble for 4 hours. i tend to go for efficiency. your tumbler, and media will not last forever, so use it sparingly, but enough to get the job done. so far, i have seen some shells not get all the way polished for 3 hours, so i added an extra hour, and now they all come out clean and shiney. i am using walnut shels, lots of polish, and nufinish car wax. and every other load, i use cut up dryer sheets. they really pull the nasty stuff out of the media.
 
Plenty of threads about it. Many folks tumble loaded ammo to clean it up. Do a search. Lots of good posts.
 
I usually tumble over night (8-12hrs) comes out nice and shiny. As far as tumbling live rounds...I do it all the time. Works great for removing case lube, I usually tumble for maybe 1/2 to 1 hour then put them on a big towel and do a mass wipe...

DS
 
I tumble brass for a couple of hours, and they are normally clean. If you tumble too long, like overnight, you're burning up your motor in the tumbler.
 
you're burning up your motor in the tumbler.
True. My poor little Lyman 1200 just died after 20 plus years, poor thing. I bought a Berrys 3 or 4 months ago, and just bought a bigger Lyman. I am very happy with both of them.
 
I've tumbled lots of loaded ammo, no problems. When it's manufactured at the factory, how do you think they make it shiny and remove the die marks?
 
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