How long is walnut media good for...

[lefty_red]

When you are using it to clean your brass? How many times can I use it, or what "color" tells me when to pitch it.

BTW, my daughter wants to know if you can use a tumbler to polish her rocks and what media is best?

Jerry

[Marshal Kane]

When you are using it to clean your brass? How many times can I use it, or what "color" tells me when to pitch it.

BTW, my daughter wants to know if you can use a tumbler to polish her rocks and what media is best?

Jerry
Walnut media really doesn't change color much so you can't use color as an indicator on when to change it. A better indicator would be how often you use it and for how long. I use walnut in my tumbler at least once a week for a couple of hours. I note how much walnut dust is accumulating in the tumbler and discard the media when I feel there is too much dust. For me, it works out to be about every six months. It's best to bag the media before throwing it away. The media and dust contains both powder and primer residue so it's best not to breath it.

Don't know that much about polishing rocks however, there are special tumblers for that so there must be suitable media. You might check out your local yellow pages to find people who do this. I would be surprised if a brass tumbler is suitable for rocks. I would think that rock polishing media would beat up a brass tumbler pretty good. Best wishes.

[Pepe Ray]

An acquaintance of mine washes his media. Both walnut and corncob. He contains it in the foot of a whole (not holey) sock, tied up securely. Keeps it in small bags as it gets heavy when wet. Tumble wash in hot soapy water and buys flowers for his wife regularly. I think he dries it out in the drier at low heat but he also may use an evaporator.
Tho we didn't discuss the issue of dust, he must remove it by screening. I assume by using insect screening as we always have some handy. Removed before washing of course. :roll:
Pepe Ray

[StarMetal]

I don't think it's so much the dirt and other crud that builds up on and in it, I think the sharp little corners get rounded or worn and I do believe that is what polishes your brass.

Joe

[HTRN]

I don't think it's so much the dirt and other crud that builds up on and in it, I think the sharp little corners get rounded or worn and I do believe that is what polishes your brass.

Bingo.

That's what causes media of any kind to lose effectiveness. While your polishing brass with crushed walnut, your polishing the walnut with brass(to a much lesser extent).

And oh, the most common form of media to polish stones is Silicon Carbide.


HTRN

[lefty_red]

Ok, that has helped out alot.

BTW I picked up some "dust free" walnut "Bedding" at PETS MART for like $20 for 25 pounds. SHould save your buddy some time and effort and money on flowers!

Jerry

[dragonrider]

I wash my media about once a year. I use a new pair of nylon hose that my wife gernerously donates for the cause, I ask for them because believe me it does a man no good to just take his wifes last pair of hose. I cut off one leg pour in the media and place it in the sink full of hot soapy water, use dish soap for it grease cutting ability, and swish it around for a while and then rinse reapeatedly. I hang it on a nail in the loading room to let it dry for a couple of days then spread it out on cookie sheets to dry thoughouly. After that charged up with some Dillon rapid shine it works like new. Been using the same media for years.

[BruceB]

A bit off-topic, since I don't use walnut any more, but just yesterday I bought another sack of 1/8"-grind corncob at my local feed store. Fifty pounds for $18, and with a bit of Turtle Wax added to each tumblerful, I get a shine on my brass that rivals anything I've ever seen anywhere.

I only use a tumblerful of cob for maybe 6-10 loads, depending on how dark it looks. A sack of cob lasts a LONG time.

[Marshal Kane]

I don't think it's so much the dirt and other crud that builds up on and in it, I think the sharp little corners get rounded or worn and I do believe that is what polishes your brass.

Joe
That's true however those sharp little corners eventually get rounded and end up as dust. While I can't easily see the rounded corners, I can surely see the dust.

BTW, I get my walnut media at PETS MART too.

[StarMetal]

......and, if some of you are so frugal to wash your media I demand that you save all those plastic bags you get your merchandise in from the stores, especially Walmart, and take them back to reuse them like some old folks use to do with the old paper grocery bags. Seems you're hell bent on saving money. You might as well recycle everything too. Fill your empty toothpaste tubes with water and to get the last amount out, ditto with shampoo bottles. Don't throw away those little leftover pieces of bath soap either. Yeah, I know, I'm being sarcastic, but geesh, washing your media? You that hard up, heck I think some of us might donate you some.

Joe

[floodgate]

Marshal Kane:

"Don't know that much about polishing rocks however, there are special tumblers for that so there must be suitable media. You might check out your local yellow pages to find people who do this. I would be surprised if a brass tumbler is suitable for rocks. I would think that rock polishing media would beat up a brass tumbler pretty good. Best wishes."

Actually, the "Thumler's Tumblers" with the rubber buckets that have been on the market as brass tumblers for many years (mine is over 40 years old, and still works fine; it came with the walnut and rouge mix) WERE originally - and still are - sold for rock tumbling. The rockhounds and jewelry types use a wide variety of media for various purposes.

floodgate

[VTDW]

I throw a fresh Bounce static cling ( like used in the clothes dryer) sheet in my media occasionally, like once a month. Talk about removing the dust!!! I occasionally, like every 6 months, add a bit of Flitz to the media.

Dave

[Cliff]

I found throwing in a few pieces of paper toweling when running the tumbler will pick up a lot of the dust and stuff. After an hour or two, pull the old paper toweling out and add a dash of rejunvenator back into the media it just seems to keep on doing the polishing job. As a side note there was a program on the History Channel last night about nuts of all kinds. On Walnut hulls they claim they make routinely 15 different sizes of crushed hulls from fine to very course. They also use it to clean or sand blast the auxillary boosters of the space shuttle after recovery for the next use. The company is in California and makes over 5 million pounds of ground walnut hulls every year, plus other type of nut hulls would be fun to see just what they do have out there. ATB

[StarMetal]

On the vibrating type brass cleaners, by using the lid that come with them greatly cuts down on the effectiveness of it's cleaning and polishing. About all it does is cut down the dust and noise. I use a sheet of heavy paper over the top, cuts the dust, not the vibrating action.

Joe

[waksupi]

I have a large tuperware storage container, I can set my vibrating polisher in. I use the walnut shells, generally. Put the top on the tuper, and you are good to go, with the top off the vibrator, and you have the dust contained. Another plus, if you want to really fill the hopper, do so, and the extra brass and media just fall out, ready for the next batch. I use a colender to dump the cleaned brass in. I give it a good shake and toss over the tuper, allowing all of the media to return to the container, and put the clean stuff in a coffe can, or whatever is handy. Then, it is an easy matter to pour the media from the corner of the tuper, back into the unit, add some more brass, and repeat the cycle.

[Bad luck Bill]

Has anyone used that newer ceramic media. I saw it at Cabela's around a month ago, it's pricey but is supposed to work better than both corn and walnut media. It also cleans the primer pockets completely (So they say) and doesn't get stuck in the primer pockets of your brass. I think it was going for around $60.00 a tub full. It might be expensive but it's a one time buy, should last you many, many years of brass tumbling. I'm going to get some maybe the next time I hit Cabelas.

BLB> :castmine:

[454PB]

...... Don't throw away those little leftover pieces of bath soap either. Yeah, I know, I'm being sarcastic, but geesh, washing your media? You that hard up, heck I think some of us might donate you some.

Joe

My grandmother made her own lye soap, and I remember she kept a mason jar in the bathroom where all the worn out bars where deposited. She then used those to wash all the clothes. We still laugh about some of the things she did to save money, but she raised 5 kids without a husband during the depression.

I've used cat litter as a tumbling media for very dirty brass. If you try it, I recommend unused cat litter, and keep a close eye on it, it is quite abrasive.

[kodiak1]

454PB Nothing like homemade soap! Use to hate the smell when mom made it in the house. The only thing I hated to smell more was the smell of rendered lard, Would love to have a tub of it now to try in some of my bullet lubes. My how times change.
Ken.

[robertbank]

Now fellows I pick up my used brass, toss anything I don't want into a recycle bin and eventually get next to nothing for the brass - we are a long ways north, I save my pop cans (translation for my American friends - Soda Cans), and I even have been known to go to the back of the range to pick up lead bullets to recast but I am never going to wash my media. I'm not broke yet.

To the mother who raised five kids during the depression on her own - she was an angel by any measure and god bless her for saving the soap. Mom raised four of us during the fifties on her own - an angel she is.

Take Care

Bob

[mag_01]

Lefty Red have never changed my walnut media and I do use a polishing compound------cut strips of white paper( not to much ) as well as strips of cotton cloth (cloth works better) and mix with media it will clean it as you tumble brass and cloth will help polishing-----try it you will like it---------just my 2 cents ---Mag

[ron brooks]

I use the Bounce type sheets after they have been ran through the dryer with a load of clothes. I really don't care if my brass smells fresh. :-)

Ron

[VTDW]

I use the Bounce type sheets after they have been ran through the dryer with a load of clothes. I really don't care if my brass smells fresh. :-)

Ron


Ron,

You may have to steal one from the wifey but try a new Bounce sheet. It really gathers the dust.

Mag_01,

I am gonna cut up some cotton strips and try them out just for you. I cannot imagine they really polish but I am will give them a try anyway.

Dave

[steveb]

I save my pop cans (translation for my American friends - Soda Cans),
Take Care

Bob

Bob, it's pop and pop cans here in Southern Indiana! Thats suprising folks in B.C. calling pop....pop:-D



You might as well recycle everything too. Fill your empty toothpaste tubes with water and to get the last amount out, ditto with shampoo bottles. Don't throw away those little leftover pieces of bath soap either. Yeah, I know, I'm being sarcastic, but geesh, washing your media? You that hard up, heck I think some of us might donate you some.

Joe

Joe, I just got done adding a little water to the bottle of A1 just to get that last little bit out.[smilie=1: :-D But hey we're talkin A1 here!:twisted: :mrgreen:

[ron brooks]

VTDW,

Okay, I'll give the new ones a try.

Ron

[carpetman]

yea the sharp edges of the media wear off and it loses effectiveness. Just get a file or whetstone and sharpen them up and your good to go.

[ron brooks]

carpetman,

That's what I do. sit and watch T.V. with 2 jars and a swiss file. You would be surprised how much you can get done in an evening. :-)

Ron

[Bad luck Bill]

Goofballs!!! Filin' media! Sheesh!

[StarMetal]

Hey Ray, that's something to keep you busy for sure, stay indoors outta that heat. By the way, what kind of summer you had in your area this year?

Joe

[Lee]

Already cut up some 1" x 4" old cotton undershirts material and added 'em to the pot. Now I got an excuse to go out and generate some dirty brass.[smilie=1:
I love testing new theories!.............................Lee:)

[largecaliberman]

Better yet.....................go to a pet store and get the walnut media. A 50 pounder runs about $27.00. I tried washing the media at one time and found it wasn't worth the effort.

[Rick N Bama]

I save my pop cans (translation for my American friends - Soda Cans)

So why do you call soft drinks "Pop" & "Soda"? I call them what they are, Cokes! Coke is a Coke, Pepsi is a Coke, heck even Mt. Dew is a Coke,,,,,,,,I thought everyone knew that:) And FWIW, I have never washed my media either!

Rick

[twotoescharlie]

throw a handful of B-B's in your vibrator-tumbler, makes a world of difference.

TTC

[tom barthel]

I'm only guessing about the rock polishing but, don't the rock hounds use something that looks like a small barrel about 8-10" diameter x one foot in length? I think these barrel tumblers can also be used for polishing brass. Don't know what media works for rocks.
As for the walnut media, I toss it when my hands get dusty when I reach into it to get a case. It doesn't cost much. I change it when dusty or, whenever I find a good price on new media. I'm retired and don't do anything on a schedule.

[Ross]

For years I rarely changed my media. I tossed a cubic inch of red jeweler's rouge into the mix and finally tossed it when the lump was gone. By then the granules of walnut looked like tiny black spheres with no edges or corners.
I pitch it often now, as the lead and primer dust is pretty dirty, and not pleasant.
I see that Harbor Fright has 24 grit walnut media on sale now for $9.99 for 25 pounds. Twelve grit is $24.99.
Has anyone used their rust-cutting resin abrasive? I have a bunch of rusty die parts that need cleaning.
Has anyone here used their 5# vibrator-tumbler? It too is on sale. It specifies a 7¾" opening and I wonder about the size compared with my RCBS vibratory. I haven't seen one in the nearest store.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross

[rbstern]

I use a Harbor Freight rock tumbler, water, Dawn dish detergent, and bottled lemon juice to clean my brass. A $1 bottle of Dawn and a $2 bottle of lemon juice are good for at least 10,000 cases. My brass comes out a lot cleaner than when I tumbled in walnut, corn cobb. No dust, no residue. The only inconvenience is waiting a day or two for the brass to dry out, laying on a towel on a table in my basement.