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Thread: Tumbler Medium

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy DeanoBeanCounter's Avatar
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    Tumbler Medium

    I did a search and couldn't find what I was looking for. What do you use to keep your corn cob or walnut shell tumbler medium clean? I use used dryer sheets all the time but wondered if there was something else that could be used There's paper towels but doesn't work as well. I've done new dryer sheets before, they work well but leaves a goo in the bowl. I cut the used dryer sheets into about 8 peaces and probably put 8 to 12 peaces in per batch. Is there any thing more or else that can be used?
    Thank You
    Dean

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Are you talking about dust? Then used dryer sheets cut into strips worked for me back when I used corncob or walnut hull. If you're talking about getting out the stuff removed from the brass and the polish residue I think a lot of it is in the dust. I've heard of folks actually detergent washing and then drying media to reduce what's left that's coating the granules, but I was in the habit of discarding it when it got that dirty; I figured the granules were rounded off and had less scrubbing action by that time.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    The best luck I've had are the used dryer sheets - it appeals to me to get extra use out of 'em prior to throwing 'em away. I have also run the tumbler with the top off and a fan blowing across the bowl, if I have a handy window for the dust to vent outside.

  4. #4
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    I save up used dryer sheets for the dust, and put them in whole.

    It still gets fouled over time and back when it was hard to find, and stupid expensive, I'd wash it with dish soap,
    then rise it with running water going through a big tea strainer.

    Oils and some sort of greasy feeling stuff would accumulate on the media, and that washed it off.
    Lay it out to dry, and it was like new again.
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  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy gnappi's Avatar
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    This is the first I've heard of keeping tumbler medium clean, live and learn Then again, I don't make my brass look like new and shiny, once they're "clean" they're done and reloaded.
    Regards,

    Gary

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Drop a "Sanitizing Hand Wipe" in the tumbler. The alcohol will dissolve some of the gunk and pick it up. Alcohol will evaporate quickly so the media won't get soggy. But, I've never needed to clean my corn cob or walnut media 'cause when it takes too long to clean my brass, I dump it...
    My Anchor is holding fast!

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    what mdi said

  8. #8
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    I buy media at Harbor Freight and just replace it. Unless your running a commercial operation I can't think of why I would try to clean and reuse
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  9. #9
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    I don't like using corncob media, I prefer walnut hulls. I never really worried about keeping the media clean, when it gets too dirty I just replace it.

    Last few times I bought any, I went to a pet store in the city and got lizard bedding. it is made from English walnut hulls and is supposed to be harder than black walnut hulls. Weather it is or not, I can't say, but with a capful of nupolish it cleans my brass and isn't going to break the bank.

    Like gnappi said, once its clean it is ready to load.

    Robert

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    The corn cob media that came with my Lyman tumbler was fairly dusty. I replaced it with walnut shell media from Bass-Pro. Still had issues with dust. Replaced that with walnut shell media from Midway and no issues with dust. I don't know what the difference is. Other than no dust, it looks the same as any other. I do take the tumbler apart every so often and wash it.

  11. #11
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    I use walnut. Every so often I will put in a paper torn into strips moistened with mineral spirits in with the brass. It picks up a lot of dirty stuff. And cuts down some of the dust. I run with the top on.
    swamp
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  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I use walnut. Every so often I will put in a paper torn into strips moistened with mineral spirits in with the brass. It picks up a lot of dirty stuff. And cuts down some of the dust. I run with the top on.
    swamp
    There is no problem so great, that it cannot be solved by the proper application of high explosives.

  13. #13
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    I don't worry about keeping it clean. My only concern is the dust from fresh walnut hulls. I use a Thumblers Tumbler commercial model and that thing can whip up a dust storm with fresh walnut. I'll fill it up with fresh untreated walnut and leave outside of the shop for a couple hours to undust then add the polish. When the media is looking dark, I bag it and chunk it. I buy the media untreated from Midway in the big box.

  14. #14
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    I buy corncob media 16.00 for 50 lb , go`s along way when it gets dirty I toss it

  15. #15
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    For quite a few years I’ve used fine corn cob exclusively. I add a little mineral spirits and a squirt of Nu-Finish car polish periodically. The media lasts a long time by replenishing the mineral spirits and Nu-Finish. They also control the dust.
    Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris

  16. #16
    Boolit Master

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    Ground walnut from the pet store sold as 'lizard bedding.' I have 2 burlap bags with zippers which are used to wash the ground walnut with Dawn dish soap. I treat my walnut with 1 or 2 tablespoons of Turtle Zip Wash periodically. When I clean my brass, I de prime with a universal de priming die on a single stage press used just to keep crud from getting near my working press.

    I use Dawn dish soap before sizing, and size while still soapy. The friction from sizing causes the brass and the sizing die to dry off. After sizing, I rinse with Dawn dish soap with some lemon juice for my final rinse of about 5 minutes. Brass gets strained and dumped wet into the tumbler. After about an hour, the media is dry and the brass is shiny like new with a thin layer of wax from the zip wash. This helps seal the pores of the brass. This prevents the zinc in the brass from oxidizing and turning dark.

    I have brass that was processed 5 or 6 years ago that still shines, loaded ammunition older than that, still shiny. I have a box of factory .308 W that my brother gave me when I bought my M1A. That factory brass is tarnished brown in it's factory box. As far as the used walnut, it gets washed and rinsed until the water runs clear. I then swap out the media for the second burlap bag while the first bag gets hung on the picket fence to dry. I haven't bought new walnut for 12 years. Sure, the stuff I have is stained dark.

    The act of washing the media causes the walnut to swell and become abrasive again. Dumping wet brass into the walnut does the same thing. The main thing is my brass is shiny like new, my main loading press stays clean, and the de priming die and press is easy to clean up. It sounds a bit retentive to be fastidious about my brass but it works for me. When I was shooting 1250 rounds every week I developed a routine of casting, loading, shooting, repeat.

    It was not uncommon to load 250 rounds each morning before work, cast 2k + boolits each week, trading 500 boolits for 1k primers, and another 500 boolits for a pound of powder. Lead was free from the range at work, all I had invested was time with a baseball game or country music on my little transistor radio. Good times.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check