case cleaning

[rb dave]

Which is better, sonic cleaner or vibratory tumbler? Also which media is best? Old tumbler crapped out and need info on best choice

[David2011]

RB Dave,

Welcome!

How much of what kind of brass and do you want it "just" clean to reload or looking like new? If you shoot 100 rounds of rifle in a year and want it to look brand new would have different requirements from shooting 20,000 or 30,000 pistol rounds a year.

David

[44Vaquero]

Most of the sonics are small and expensive, how much brass do you need to process?

SS pin wet tumbling is all the rage right now! I have not made a decision on weather I prefer wet or dry tumbling!

Check around the forum there are lots of discussions/information, I even built a vibratory for my Grandfather.

[rb dave]

Mostly 3-4 hundred pistol per month give or take

[41 mag fan]

For that amount go with vibratory. Sonic you still have to dry after cleaning.

[7of7]

Most of the sonics are small and expensive, how much brass do you need to process?

SS pin wet tumbling is all the rage right now! I have not made a decision on weather I prefer wet or dry tumbling!

Check around the forum there are lots of discussions/information, I even built a vibratory for my Grandfather.

I prefer the SS Pin wet tumbling..I use simple green, and 1/4 tsp citric acid... they come out nice and shiney.... you do have to dry them though..
I still have my vibratory tumblers... but they don't get used much any more..

[200swc]

I prefer the SS Pin wet tumbling..I use simple green, and 1/4 tsp citric acid... they come out nice and shiney.... you do have to dry them though..
I still have my vibratory tumblers... but they don't get used much any more..

How much more shiny than CC media? How long does it take?

[barrybrice]

I purchased my case cleaner about a year and a half ago. After doing a lot of research I bought a thumblers tumbler off eBay and 5lb of SS media. I could not be happier. It was worth every penny and all the hype.

[btroj]

I use a vibratory, it gets the cases clean. SS pins may be the leader in shine but that doesn't mean much to me. I just want dirt and crud off the cases so I doesn't get into my dies. That is clean. Shine isn't required. I prefer to avoid wet methods as it requires drying the cases.

Pretty much anything works as long as it gets the dirt off the cases before sizing.

[sparky45]

How much more shiny than CC media? How long does it take?

With SS media, the brass cleaning is more or less complete, outside and inside. I will never go back to the CC/Walnut media for a couple of reasons; 1) the brass gets cleaned completely including the primer pockets; and 2) I don't have to deal with the mess of the cob/walnut media and not only that, there isn't the slightest chance of having airborne lead and it's byproducts floating around. I let the local waste disposal service handle that stuff (down the drain it goes). Also, if you can time manage, the drying of the cases is left as an overnight process for me and for some a hour or so in a oven on low heat works for them.

[captaint]

I mostly use a vibrator & corncob with the dryer sheet. If I decide I want the brass really spanking clean I break out the stainless pins and the old Thumbler's model B. It's more of a pain, but those primer pockets really look cool after that treatment. Amazing, but not every time. enjoy Mike

[W.R.Buchanan]

If you are doing 3-400 psitol cases a month I'd recommend a vibratory tumbler with Walnut hulls from Petco, and some Dillon or Nu finish brand polish.

Run for several hours. Sift out media, you're ready to reload.

Randy

[gunoil]

type "prongpusher" into youtube. I made one, dang things incredible.

[H1RedWagonMan]

type "prongpusher" into youtube. I made one, dang things incredible.

Got any photos, supply list, videos? That looks awesome Gunoil!

[gunoil]

there is a big thread i started ongoing here.

amazingmagnets.com 2 inch by 2 inch x 1/2 inch thick.

7 inch grinding disc /harbour freight/home depot

motor is around 5 or 600 rpm

plastic bowl, bottom must be flat

piece of plexiglass

magnets on will black silicone

ss media & lemi-shine (must have) from midwayusa

Dawn dish liquid, just a lil' with lemi-shine and water

RCBS brass/ss media seperator

build a box, nuts snd bolts.

must be secured to table

watch video 5 times.

2 magnets facing up north and 2 faceing up south then silicone as balanced as possible.

decap and wash or wash at least.

[farmallcrew]

Another vote for vibe tumbler.

[zuke]

SS is the best of them all,hand's down.

[wtfooptimax200]

there is a big thread i started ongoing here.

amazingmagnets.com 2 inch by 2 inch x 1/2 inch thick.

7 inch grinding disc /harbour freight/home depot

motor is around 5 or 600 rpm

plastic bowl, bottom must be flat

piece of plexiglass

magnets on will black silicone

ss media & lemi-shine (must have) from midwayusa

Dawn dish liquid, just a lil' with lemi-shine and water

RCBS brass/ss media seperator

build a box, nuts snd bolts.

must be secured to table

watch video 5 times.

2 magnets facing up north and 2 faceing up south then silicone as balanced as possible.

decap and wash or wash at least.

Just out of curiousity, as much as I love making homemade a tool rather than buying I tend to only do it when it has a benefit (cost, quality, etc). According to amazingmagnets.com, you're looking at $200 + shipping just for the magnets. At this price why not just buy the Thumlers Tumbler (especially once you consider time and money for other materials to make the prongpusher maching).

Is there an advantage to the prongpusher?

Branden

[Doc Highwall]

Question, Why 2 magnets facing up north and 2 facing up south? Does this affect the wave of the magnetic field?

[gunoil]

thumblers tumblers too slow. This washes brass in 10 mins.. I have one with smaller magnets, but i want one larger. Where ia that big thread on here, thats where all the info is gang! Its a few weeks back. Go fine the big thread.

If your scrounge ability is great you got it. No leaky , 8 bolt tumbler. Slow a$$ thing.

This is the lil' one. And my twin fan system for smoke/lead.
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/1B875A2E-B857-4D14-9A52-2BF3D1DDFC63-448-0000002E26F16396.mp4

[MtGun44]

Vibrator, use corncob from Graingers, add a capful of NuFinish car wax and you will have brass that is at
LEAST as shiny as new. I can't see that the mess and cost of wet SS pins can possibly be shinier, you could
polish with Simichrome for 5 minutes per piece by hand and not be shinier. Shiny is shiny. The slight bit of
wax also makes the brass resist tarnish for a long time.

Bill

[TreeKiller]

Check out the magnets from a dead hard drive. I do not know if they will work but they are very strong for the size.
Dan

[gunoil]

No mess with ss pins and rcbs seperator. And ya dont have to pick corn out of lil' holes. Lemi-shine, dawn, & water makes everything slick'er than whatever. With rcbs seperator your clean brass is seperated and already in rcbs basket for rinsing. I decap first!

Just thro out on a towel in front of floor fan from walmart/k-mart.������

[willy3]

Advice from a fellow Buckeye. Go with the vibe. But buying a tumbler is like buying a car.. How much for how much is the question. My first choice is my Vibrashine Vortex. Quiet, fast and efficient. A little pricey. A few months ago I needed a second machine for back-up/overflow use. I bought a Frankfort Arsenal unit. Noisier, a little slower and has a tendency to spit media if you don't use the lid. But it does what it is intended to do. Cleans brass. I went through Amazon and got a great price and fast delivery. And don't spend a fortune on media. Harbor Freight has #24 grit crushed walnut shells for about a dollar a pound. Works great.. Hope this helps..

[MtGun44]

"Pick cob out of little holes" - never have, use the right cob size available
very cheaply from Graingers. Does not happen.

IMO, wet is by definition messy, we will have to agree to disagree on this.
Same with water dropping cast boolits, can't imagine how having to dry
wet brass and wet boolits is so often touted as "easier" than dealing with
clean, dry brass and dry boolits. To each his own.

Bill

[200swc]

Someone suggested rice. I tried that ONCE - never again! A grain of rice in every flash hole. That was a pain to remove (not so much a pain but painfully time consuming).

I used to use walnut but too dusty.

The correct size CC and be on your way.

[Sonnypie]

How much more shiny than CC media? How long does it take?

Like anything, it depends.

In one hour:

This:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/P9070029.jpg

To This:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/P9130032.jpg

And does this look shiny to you? 4 hours...

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/P2030277.jpg

Or maybe you like .45 ACP's? 4 hours...

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/45%20ACP%20Brass/P3020311.jpg

See, Grandpa done good. Best he could.
Daddy done better. And it was better than Grandpa's ways.
But Sonny is doing best with today's ways.
Things progress. That's why we aren't pouring black powder in a muzzle, and pounding a ball down on it.
Things change.

And admittedly STM isn't for everybody. It is a big hit in the budget.
But think in decades of use, and decades of not changing media, and decades of clean anything you run in it.

[200swc]

Like anything, it depends.

In one hour:

This:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/P9070029.jpg

To This:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/P9130032.jpg

And does this look shiny to you? 4 hours...

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/P2030277.jpg

Or maybe you like .45 ACP's? 4 hours...

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/45%20ACP%20Brass/P3020311.jpg

See, Grandpa done good. Best he could.
Daddy done better. And it was better than Grandpa's ways.
But Sonny is doing best with today's ways.
Things progress. That's why we aren't pouring black powder in a muzzle, and pounding a ball down on it.
Things change.

And admittedly STM isn't for everybody. It is a big hit in the budget.
But think in decades of use, and decades of not changing media, and decades of clean anything you run in it.

Wow... Mine never looks that clean..

Is this with a tumbler and SS Media? It might be time to upgrade!

[Sonnypie]

My Lyman 3200 was going.
After decades and decades of cleaning brass, the tired motor began thermaling out on temperature.
So I started shopping. STM was what I decided on.
I've not looked back.
I do still have a tiny vibratory tumbler, but it just sits waiting.

[200swc]

My Lyman 3200 was going.
After decades and decades of cleaning brass, the tired motor began thermaling out on temperature.
So I started shopping. STM was what I decided on.
I've not looked back.
I do still have a tiny vibratory tumbler, but it just sits waiting.

Is this tumbler namebrand; if not, what?

[wtfooptimax200]

200SWC,

Most likely Sonnypie is referring to the Thumlers Tumbler sold by STM with stainless tumbling media.

[LabGuy]

I currently have Lyman vibrating, an old industrial sonic and a stainless steel tumbler. The SS tumbling gets the most use. The Lyman vibrator has been mostly relegated to removing case lube and the sonic retired. But to answerer your original question, vibrating or sonic, I’d get the vibrator, it’s just more versatile and I do like a shine. If you’re going to the trouble to use a wet method and deal with drying, forget the sonic and go with stainless tumbling.

[barrybrice]

I cannot speak for Sonnypie but his looks just like mine. I use the STM with a Thumblers Tumbler. BTW, if your belt ever goes bad on the tumbler, you can get replacement belts from a water softener system. Their rubber O-rings are the same size.

[David2011]

+1 for corn cob and NuFinish in a vibratory polisher. It's all I use. Drillspot.com, a Grainger company, has a 40 lb bag of corn cob for $33.85 delivered to your door and they ship very fast.

http://www.drillspot.com/products/499763/econoline_526020g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

My last order arrived either overnight or in 2 days; I don't remember which. I ordered it 2-3 years ago and 40 lb lasts a while. The 14/20 grit is too small to stick in flash holes,another great benefit.

David

[o6Patient]

I can't justify going to a sonic, but they are surely tempting: I remember when the biggest decision
was trying to find media small enough not to get stuck in the flash hole.( where did I set down that brandy..I mean eggnog)