Questions about case tumbling???????????

[mikeym1a]

Case tumbling. Put cases in tumbler, turn on tumbler. Some time later, turn off tumbler and remove cases. That is the extent of my knowledge about tumbling cases. Now for the questions. I have a Thumbler's Tumbler, the twin drum model. I picked it up at a gun shop several years ago, but only started using it this year. It came with a redish tumbling media in it that I assume is corn cob. As it has deteriorated, I have added more corn cob. The tumbler does not shine the cases. It cleans them, but leaves a matt finish on the case. I don't have the money for a vibratory tumbler, so I use what I have. Any suggestions about how to make what I have give the cases a bit of a shine? Thanks for any replys.

[David2011]

Mikey,

Try adding a tablespoon of Nu-Finish Car Polish (not a wax) and a capful of mineral spirits paint thinner to some fresh corn cob per drum. Don't substitute lacquer thinner. For the larger Thumbler drum or a vibratory I would add 2 tablespoons of Nu-Finish. Tumble it about 30 minutes before adding brass. If you don't wait long enough it can clump up in the cases. Let it run a few hours. I usually ran my Thumblers overnight. For others reading this, a vibratory only takes about 2 hours. The Thumbler does a nice job; it just takes longer. The motors on them seem to hold up very well.

The corn cob can be periodically rejuvenated by adding more polish and thinner.

David

[trixter]

I use and really like walnut media (Lizzard Litter), Nu Finish and a used dryer sheet cut into 4 strips. Hurts your eyes because of the brightness of the brass. Yup!

[wv109323]

There are two common medias for rotary tumbling. Corn Cob and crushed walnut shells. Try to crush some of the material and the hardness should tell you which you have. My guess is walnut shells. The red is polishing rogue. There is no real difference in rotary and vibrating tumblers except the vibrator is quicker. I liked the walnut shells better. The corn cob media left a dust on my brass. The Nu-Finish wax helps a lot.
I don't know what condition your brass is in. You may wash your brass in water citric acid and soap (dish washing detergent). You can use lemon juice, Kool-Aid for citric acid. Dry the brass then tumble.
If the brass is oxidized then the only way to clean that is stainless steel pins wet media.

[possom813]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?168359-Tumbler-Media

Read post #12

[mikeym1a]

Mikey,

Try adding a tablespoon of Nu-Finish Car Polish (not a wax) and a capful of mineral spirits paint thinner to some fresh corn cob per drum. Don't substitute lacquer thinner. For the larger Thumbler drum or a vibratory I would add 2 tablespoons of Nu-Finish. Tumble it about 30 minutes before adding brass. If you don't wait long enough it can clump up in the cases. Let it run a few hours. I usually ran my Thumblers overnight. For others reading this, a vibratory only takes about 2 hours. The Thumbler does a nice job; it just takes longer. The motors on them seem to hold up very well.

The corn cob can be periodically rejuvenated by adding more polish and thinner.

David

Thanks for the response. I'll give it a try. It does clean them as it, but, not shiny. Maybe this will change things. Seems the cases did come out shiny when I first started using it. But, That was a couple thousand cases ago. And there are more to come! Oh, back during the summer, that little motor got really hot, even after lubing the bearings. So, I bought a cheap 6" desk/clip-on fan, and clipped it on the base, aimed at the motor. Keeps it cooler. A cooler motor is a happy motor. :D

[mikeym1a]

There are two common medias for rotary tumbling. Corn Cob and crushed walnut shells. Try to crush some of the material and the hardness should tell you which you have. My guess is walnut shells. The red is polishing rogue. There is no real difference in rotary and vibrating tumblers except the vibrator is quicker. I liked the walnut shells better. The corn cob media left a dust on my brass. The Nu-Finish wax helps a lot.
I don't know what condition your brass is in. You may wash your brass in water citric acid and soap (dish washing detergent). You can use lemon juice, Kool-Aid for citric acid. Dry the brass then tumble.
If the brass is oxidized then the only way to clean that is stainless steel pins wet media.

I must have corncob media, as the cases have always come out dusty. The really badly oxidized cases get a citric acid bath. From what I've read, it not only cleans, but helps the brass in some way. I don't pretend to understand, it just sounded like a good idea. If I have lot of medium dirty cases, and have a good batch of citric acid heated up, putting the cases in the bath cleans them up really quick. But the tumbler is more convenient. Thanks.

[mikeym1a]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?168359-Tumbler-Media

Read post #12

Thank you for the link, it was very informative. I will follow the suggestions. I probably have some mineral spirits here, somewhere.......... It'll probably be easier to just get a can of it at the hardware store, and get the Nu-Look at the same time. I used new look on my first car, a '62 Impala 4 dr. Pretty 2 tone blue. The dark blue body was faded. The new look really make it shine, for a couple weeks, anyway. Long time ago.

[gandydancer]

Bet you wish you had it now? mine was a 62 convertible kind of a dark cherry. sad part is I know where it is today.same guy I sold it to back in 69. along with my 1937 Plymouth pick up. :killingpc:bootgive:

[Moonman]

Pistol Cases I run my Thumbler's Tumbler (15 pound, model B, Hi-Speed) for 2 hours

with a "DO-IT" Push Button Timer, 1-2-4-8 hour push button unit.

1 gal Water, 5 pounds Stainless (magnetic) pins (.042 x .255 Long), 2 pounds of Brass,

A squirt of DAWN Dish-Washing Liquid, and about a 9MM Case-Full of Lemi-Shine Liquid.

Lemi-Shine is a RINSE AGENT.

YOUR WATER HARDNESS can effect how much Dawn you'll need.

After tumble cleaning, some folks tumble with the Nu-Finish/Mineral Spirits and corncob

for a protective finish to the brass cases.

MOONMAN

[claudesapp]

I'd never considered the nut allergy thing with the walnut media, my daughter has nut allergies as do many kids.
Dillon recommended I use corn cob so I picked up a 40 lb bag from Grainger, part 2MVR5.

[Bayou52]

A squirt of DAWN Dish-Washing Liquid, and about a 9MM Case-Full of Lemi-Shine Liquid.


I used to use Dawn, but have switched to Armor-All auto wash & wax. This stuff both cleans and provides a protective coating against the return of tarnish.

Bayou52

[LeftyDon]

I bought a box of fine walnut sand blasting media from Harbor Freight to use in my tumbler and just add some Franklin Armory's polish to it. Might try Nu-Finish some day, but my brass turns out just fine so far. Sometimes I do toss the brass into an ultrasonic washer prior to tumbling, but that's just me making extra work for myself, I guess.

[mikeym1a]

Thanks for all the information and suggestions. That's a lot to digest. I just added some NuFinish and mineral spirits to the drums, and they are currently tumbling, getting used to each other, as was suggested. In an hour or so, I'll add the next batch of cases, and see how it works. A tablespoon of NuFinish didn't sound like much, until I put it in the drum. Look like a lot more in the drum than when It was just in the spoon! Thanks, guys!!

[mikeym1a]

Well, the NuFinish and mineral spirits did the job. the cases came out nicely shiney! I did notice that the back of one of my drums is cracked in three places. Guess I'll get some heave plastic and some GOOP and make a repair. Should do the job until I find out about a replacement.

Thanks everyone! :grin:

[Cobbler]

http://www.amazon.com/R3-Rubber-Molded-Barrel-3lb/dp/B000BUUT9G/ref=pd_sim_t_4 Replacement Barrel
http://www.amazon.com/Pellet-Pins-Stainless-Steel-Tumbling/dp/B00D0HP05U/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1383126081&sr=1-1&keywords=.047+stainless+media Stainless Media w/LemiShine (good deal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIpNcj5f9s4 Video from Bullseye stainless media
I have your exact tumbler set-up (twin barrels) and absolutely LOVE it with the .047 Ultra media. This is by far the best at cleaning brass I have ever used, I've been reloading since the early 90's. My steps are this- Get a small kitchen scale that goes to at least 1-1.5 lbs. I weight 1lb of brass- 1 lb. of media- fill to top of brass w/water- add 1/8 tsp of LemiShine and about 4 drops of Dawn detergent and let it run. The guy in the vid says an hour but I go longer. You can keep checking until your satisfied. You'll need a 5 & 1 lb paint strainers. When done, pour everything into your brass/media separating tumbler and separate. Pour brass into 5lb paint strainer and media into 1 lb strainer, rinse both with cold water. Then I take my brass (still in the strainer) and place them into my clothes dryer with a running shoe rack and turn it on medium heat for about an hour, you can lay them in the sun or just let them dry for naturally. I dried my media in a large pizza type pan or dish naturally. I know it sounds like a lot more BS to do than a vibratory system, and it is, but it's not bad when you do a few batches. You'll get your own system down and it will become second nature. Believe me when I say the final result will be worth the little extra effort. I do have to check out Bayou52's ArmorAll method though, sounds interesting. Don't hesitate to contact me for further information. Good Luck!

[rattletrap1970]

I have used 5 different brands vibratory tumblers with a long list of different media, such as.
Corncob, walnut shell, white rice (worked well), sandblast media, plastic blast media, rouge coated corncob, corncob with a bit of kroil sprayed on it with some "Wizard" metal polish was the best. Then I switched to stainless wet tumbling... I will never turn back. While the initial set up costs are a bit higher, nothing, and I really mean "nothing" works as well. I built my tumbler out of spare junk, I think the only thing I bought were the bearings, and clean-out plugs. I use a capful of citranox cleaner and a dash or lemi shine, tumble for 2 hours. Cleans inside and out including the flash hole and primer pocket.

Here are some drawings of mine.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac51/rattletrap1970/ASSYTUMBLER_zps665f70fb.jpg (http://s885.photobucket.com/user/rattletrap1970/media/ASSYTUMBLER_zps665f70fb.jpg.html)

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac51/rattletrap1970/ASSYTUMBLERBASE_zpsa68abcfd.jpg (http://s885.photobucket.com/user/rattletrap1970/media/ASSYTUMBLERBASE_zpsa68abcfd.jpg.html)

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac51/rattletrap1970/ASSYTUMBLERDRUM_zps0a69dcd2.jpg (http://s885.photobucket.com/user/rattletrap1970/media/ASSYTUMBLERDRUM_zps0a69dcd2.jpg.html)

I did make some minor changes. I didn't screw the paddles into the drums (I made more than one drum). I bought PVC Angle 1-1/2" x 3/4" x .157 (McMaster Carr #8659K63) cut into shorter lengths and cemented them it in at 120° apart. Works much better with no chance of leaks.

['74 sharps]

Citric acid is available on line. I just paid $24 of 10# which included shipping. The grocery store products run considerably more.

[captaint]

Mikey,
Sounds like you have walnut shell media. As someone mentioned, the red color comes from the polishing rouge. My Thumblers won't shine the brass like my vibrator, but it will get it clean. Any more, I have the stainless pins in the Thumblers for when I want then REALLY shiney !!! Mike