What to add to Tumbler Media?

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Cases, I add cases to the media, it is media and nothing but cases. Cases that are difficult to clean it is vinegar for 15 minutes, then washed and dried, after vinegar cases go into the tumbler, cases that do not clean in an hour and they look like they are enjoying the ride around inside the tumbler, tough, one hour is it. My tumbler could have an hour limit on run time, I do not want to use all the run time on stubborn to clean cases.

F. Guffey

Cases that require a week of tumbling get cleaned in vinegar, vinegar and and nothing but cases.
 
Dirty and Tarnished I use Lyman Tufnut and add a little Lyman Turbo Brite, it will clean them in a couple hours. If they need just a clean up I use the Frankford Arsenal fine treated walnut.
 
The white liquid rouge from Cabela's is cheap, and works well id you want that last little bit of shine.

Personally, the water and Tide give me brass as shiny as I desire.

And it's cheap and fast. I tumble for 15-20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly in warm water, and dry..
 
I have a steel rod for different size cases--rod starts a little larger than opening in case.
Taper one end down so you can stick case on rod. Insert in drill press-turn on press & run steel wool around case--works really good for cases with just a little corrosion--it saves the case & shines like crazy.
This is best for people with too much time on their hands.

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I am going to try this.

• 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c salt
• 1/2 c powdered detergent
• 3/4 c white vinegar
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1/2 c very warm water
Mix all of the dry ingredients together first. When they are well mixed, add all of the liquid ingredients. Then it is pretty much done! Pop it in a jar that won’t be mistaken for food, label it and put it with your other cleaning products.
Be aware that the salt and powdered detergent can make this cleaner an abrasive one – don’t rub too hard if you have a brass plated item, or if you want your lacquered brass to stay lacquered
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Howard J,


Good idea there with the Drill Press...can do, will do for the ones which have meaningful outside ugh-mugh on 'em.


Well...went to AutoZone and PepBoys and neither one had anything 'Flitz', so...I got some other ones.

I can always add a little Bon Ami I suppose too, if I want a little more Tooth.
 
I have a steel rod for different size cases--rod starts a little larger than opening in case.
Taper one end down so you can stick case on rod. Insert in drill press-turn on press & run steel wool around case--works really good for cases with just a little corrosion--it saves the case & shines like crazy.
This is best for people with too much time on their hands.
Click to expand...

I guess if this works for you, but man alive, I don't have that kind of time when polishing 500, 1,000, or 2,000 cases. Had to clean and polish 6,000 cases once, can't see doing that with a drill press. Tumbler, corn cob 20/40 grit, auto polish, and let it run while I sleep, my time is to precious to me and I'm retired.
 
Woo Hoo!


It's Tumblin' along now...


I need to add some interior Baffles so the contents don't slide so much, but, otherwise, took at peek after twenty minutes, and, the average grungy old Cases are looking pretty good so far just with the plain Walnut shell Media.

Riveting in some Baffles to the old Christmas Cookie Tins, adding some Car Polish/Bon Ami, and getting the hang of it, will continue...

Got the little "Thumler's Tumbler' at a Pawn Shop for ten bucks a few months ago...oiled it up, and it runs like a dream.


 
I still have mine--it need a drive belt.
I can't believe the price of a new one of these.
I think I paid around $50 when I got mine.
It does a good job.
Have fun........................................................:)
 
Oyeboten said:
918v,


DO you mean you use 'Comet' in the Media?
Click to expand...

No. Comet needs to be wet to work.

Ultrasonic cleaning followed by comet on a test-tube brush chucked in my cordless drill followed by comet on my latex gloves will restore brass to it's original condition, inside and out.
 
I used NuFinish for a while. Then i got some really fine liquid rubbing compound from our John Deere dealer. Cleans twice as fast with it.
 
Hi Howard J,


Mine was missing the Drive Belt, and I just went to a local Bearing Supply House who I knew had other things too, and I got a chubby "O-Ring" for like 89 Cents.

No idea what the original Drive Belt was, but, a chubby O-Ring works just fine.


I was originally going to scratch build a Tumbler for using old Christmas Cookie Tins with Riveted Baffles inside, then found the little 'Thumler's Tumbler' and thought "Oh, what the heck...lets try it...

I think the Baffles ( maybe 3/4 inch wide ) will be a very good addition, so, next few days, I will be onto that...prolly just Pop-Rivet them in.


P.S.

Just checked on the Cases, seeing as how it has been an Hour now, and, Cases look pretty good...not especially shiney, but 'clean' anyway.


Poor little Motor is HOT though, glad I checked it when I did...looks like maybe 1/2 hour or so to a haul is plenty for this lightweight little outfit.

I probably will end up making one...1/4 Horse Motor, some easy to make Rollers, a simple frame, and a little Gear Reduction Box...it'd never strain then if running 24/7...

But, this'll get me by till then...I really do not have all that many Cases to be doing once I get the old piled up ones done.
 
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Good idea.
I have the original tumbler--it is steel -- rubber lined--it is heavy & a pain to open---has a bunch of wing nuts to make it waterproof.
I will have to look for that O ring. Smart idea--cookie tins !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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My motor always got pretty hot--but it always ran ok??
 
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Well...my own Rule of Thumb, is if an Electric Motor is too hot to keep your Palm on firmly for ohhh, sustained palm pressing...then it is too Hot.

It's a fine margain from there to where the poor thing will cook it's insulation off the Wires or start slinging Solder out of the Commutator ( if it has one) so...as for me, I like to see Motors able to run sustained and under Load indefinitely and where you can put your Palm on them firmly and not feel any urge to withdraw it.

If this means I get a bigger or other design Motor for some Stationary Machine or other, then that's what I do.


Yeah, my original idea for building a Tumbler, was for it to use those old Christmas Cookie Tins, and, to Rivet Baffles in them for the contents to be lifted and dumped and in fact 'Tumbled' better than it would be without them.


Long as the Lids fit snug, they should work well, and, are easy to get at most any Thrift Store, Yard Sale or from older generation relatives who 'save' stuff.


Your 'Thumler's Tumbler' has a wider Carriage than my narrow one.


They made many Models apparently....probably all quite 'tinny' and all having undersized Motors! and now, all, soberingly high priced!

Lol...
 
I use walnut media and nu finish or flitz. I have some lyman turbo polish for tough cases. I have so much Walnut I don't care if I use it or have to tumble my cases more than an hour, just fine with me.

I do need to look into corncob though, those were some shiny 357 cases.
 
I added some Nu-Finish...letting it romp in half-hour segments so the little Motor does not get too hot...Lol...but, it's working fine, has cleaned a couple hundred Cases so far, of the ones which were old and tarnished if not remarkably dirty anyway, but, it is cleaning them pretty well.

I will send off for some Corn Cob also.

Is the Corb Cob 'Blasting Cabinet Media' the same as Case Cleaning Media? anyone know?
 
If you have a Graingers in your town you can pick up a Forty pound bag for $25.90.
 
If I recall correctly, you have to be careful what additive you use and make sure it doesn't contain ammonia. Best of my recollection, that can cause the brass to weaken. Again, my mind is a bit foggy here, so someone smarter than me can chime in.

I use Corn cob and use Nu Finish as an additive for a nice polish. I've also used Turtle Wax Liquid and it works just as well, in my opinion. I'll add another cap of wax every third or fourth tumble.
 
The use of WET Brasso is not good as it contains ammonia which will degrade brass in time. However putting some in the media and alowing it to dry thereby all the ammonia has evaporated creats no problem, but what you have left is just the polishing rouge. So again go back to the auto polish and get the benifite of a little wax/polish to prevent tarnish. Maybe that doesn't mean much if you only tumble a few hundred cases and reload them but when the brass comes in 4/5 five gal buckets its another story.

I also see DrillSpot has increased their price to $32.00 and coin, even then thats only 2 gals. of gas in todays world.
 
I like Nu-Finish and a used dryer sheet. The car polish gets 'em shiny and the dryer sheet keeps the dust down (both in and out of the tumbler and it keeps from building up a film of dust on my cases)....the dryer sheet seems to make the media last a lot longer too
 
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