Corn cob or nut for brass ??

[218bee]

Hey guys just wondering what you use and why for tumbling brass. I have an old Thumblers Tumbler rotary brass/rock polisher and I need to get me some media for tumbling brass and am wondering what are the benefits of Corn cob media or the various "nut" types. I think the description on the Lyman ones says one is for a "factory" finish and the other for a "High polish" or something like that. I just want clean cases and want to get some opinions of what you use and why. What say ye ???

[WBH]

218......I use a Thumblers Tumbler as well. The walnut media is for getting the tough crud off. I add a small squirt of brasso or turtle wax etc to the media before tumbling with nut shells. The corn cob is for polishingg the already "clean" brass.
Both can be bought at Petsmart etc cheaper than anywhere else I have found.

Many people are going to ceramic media now. I have not tried it yet, but have heard great things about it.

[dmftoy1]

The one thing I've found is that I like the really fine walnut ALOT better than the coarser stuff. With the coarse stuff I was playing with it was a royal PITA to get it out of bottlenecked cartridges. . .


Have a good one,
Dave

[BruceB]

I'm 100% happy with the 1/8" ground corncob which I buy from a local feed store. Note the 1/8" size....that is IMPORTANT, because the the 1/4" stuff is an endless source of grief.

I pay about $16 for a forty-pound sack. The addition of an ounce or so of Turtle Wax "Scratch and Swirl Remover" to each load in a Midway tumbler gives me an unbelievable shine. This even works on cases tarnished to a dark brown condition, and shines them better than factory-new.

Don't be reluctant to let the machine run for a few hours or even overnight.

[runfiverun]

i just mix a couple of sizes of walnut media and run them i dont freak
if my cases dont sparkle, they are clean.

[carpetman]

I think the question of corn cobb or walnut media is as much a preference thing as briefs or boxers. Part of the decision is at what point in the process do you tumble? My reason for tumbling is to remove sizing lube so I tumble after I have deprimed. I seldom have a case hit the ground,even when hunting. I keep most ammo in plastic boxes, so there really isn't a need to clean the brass before sizing. I don't like corn cobb as it sticks in the primer pocket EVERYTIME. Walnut runs out like sand. BruceB for example, sizes before he deprimes and doesn't have to worry about corncobb sticking in the primer pocket or flash hole as it would be removed when he deprimes. So I use walnut. If you go to a pet store you can buy walnut--I think it's used as a litter for hampsters or something or the other---maybe parrots? Anyways it's the same stuff and is much cheaper as litter than it is as media---same is true for corn cobb. For the cat lovers---go to an auto parts store and buy the grease/oil absorber that is used on garage floors and it's much cheaper than kitty litter---same stuff.

[selmerfan]

I have used both a prefer corn cob for some reason. Both get the job done, but the dust output seems lower with the corn cob. As for cleaning every time I load, I must be OCD, because every piece of brass gets polished they go through my sizing dies, then if I have used lube, it's back into the polisher to remove the lube. On small batches I might wipe the lube off with a rag, but that's usually only during load development.
Selmerfan

[218bee]

Thanks guys, next time I'm in town I'll have to take a look at Petsmart, never would have thought of that. Good idea. I have not tumbled my brass in a long time, I usually just size deprime clean primer pockets and then either wipe em clean or throw them in a bucket with that IOSSO?? stuff but that gives them a weird look. I have a lot of brass that is quite old but still good and need to clean it up not only for looks but to be easier on my dies.Thanks again

[HeavyMetal]

I've been working with rice as a cleaning media. It's had it's good and bad points.

Good points: great cleaner! gets the inside of the 45 and 44 cases very clean if I add a little Comet to the rice. Do not add a liquid polish of any kind. You want to know how much curd comes off? Clean white rice goes in 2 hours later the cases are clean and the rice is dark grey!

Wear a filter mask! This is where we get the most lead exposure and the least amount of recognition of the issue!

Bad point: Do not use rice in case's smaller than 30 cal. Ran some 223 cases to give to the nephew, cases, exterior, were clean but rice was packed inside and I had to dig it all out !

Tired grinding the rice into smaller kernnels worked OK but left a lot of dust I didn't get with the whole rice.

So far still playing with it but, as rice is cheap, I'm not going broke.

[deboog93]

well let me throw my two cents in I have used both corn cob and walnut and I personally think the walnut does a better job of getting the cases clean and a nice shine. found the walnut is dusty though

[Dave Berryhill]

Thanks guys, next time I'm in town I'll have to take a look at Petsmart, never would have thought of that. ...

They sell it to line the bottom of terrariums so look in that section of the store.

[compass will]

the larger grain corn cob don't become smaller stuff even if you run it through a food processor (don't ask). Get the right stuff the first time.

[mike in co]

anyone that has bought any of my brass will tell just how well fine corn cob polishes.....

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I found a 50/50 mixture of the fine corn cob with the lizard bedding media, both from the pet store and a capful of Nu Finish Car polish from wal mart works great for me.

Dave

[LAH]

If I clean brass with primers still in pockets, I use rice. Let it run while you sleep. If it don't come clean by morning, it's not coming clean. Most are happy with the finish left by this.

For a bright shine, use corn cob. Please note if you use the rice first the corn cob will last lots longer. Just my two....Creeker

[sniper]

I must be a heretic, or something. I use a 50-50 blend of corncob and walnut, with a shot of some brass polish I bought years ago.

I'm down to the last capful or two, so will probably be trying the Mothers stuff in the future.

To make the media last longer, I throw a piece of paper towel, about 1-2in. by 6in. in the tumbler with my brass. It gathers a lot of dirt.

I don't doubt that ceramic media will do a good job, but it is expensive, and how do you clean it? Crock stick knife sharpeners are probably the same stuff, and they are murder to clean, once they are clogged.

As far as corncob becoming stuck in the flash hole, that is part of my inspection after tumbling, and a dental pick or paper clip works fine for dislodging it.

I do wonder just how much of a problem a small piece of media in the flash hole might cause, though, if any at all.

[Typecaster]

My last batches of deprimed .308 cases ended up with a LOT of walnut media (from Petsmart) both wedged in the case and in the flash hole. Even when there was only 1 chip in the flash hole, it was almost always wedged from the primer pocked side, so it wouldn't just poke through. What a PITA.

I think it happened because the media had soaked up enough oil from running resized cases that it was sticky...this was toward the end of 3000+ cases.

[Huntducks]

I use fine corn cob with some clearner mixed in either chrome or nu car.

If the brass has been sitting in the air for some time it's walnut with cleaner.

[Ken O]

I use both. I think the walnut is a little more aggressive for cleaning, then afer re-sizing and priming I tumble in corn cob to get the lube off and polish.

[rugerdude]

[QUOTE=sniper;326084]I don't doubt that ceramic media will do a good job, but it is expensive, and how do you clean it? Crock stick knife sharpeners are probably the same stuff, and they are murder to clean, once they are clogged.


All of the ceramic media I have come across is designed to be used "wet." That is you put the media and the brass in the tumbler drum with water and a small amount of cleaning solution. You can use the media virtually forever and it doesn't "load up" like dry media, so it doesn't have to be cleaned.

And as for dry media sticking in primer pockets, I deprime all brass prior to tumbling with a decapper. Then, after tumbling, I size all my brass whether I'm going to use it right away or store it for future use. The decapping rod in the sizer cleans any stuck media out very easily.