Lortone tumblers

[DanM]

Anybody else using one? Mine is a QT6 model, and has been rolling along for over 20 years. I don't know exactly how old it is, but do remember paying just over $40 for it. Bought it at a family owned jewelry store that catered to rockhounds. Interesting store, in that all employees were packing iron in open carry. Friendly place, and I don't think they were ever troubled by banditos. My experience tells me Lortone is tip top....

[montana_charlie]

I use the QT-12. Bought it 'used' on eBay, and am very satisfied with it.
I have never used the 'liquid and ceramic' media, so I am curious about how well it would hold in all that water. But I'll cross that bridge if I ever reach it. I'm still happy running walnut shell and Bon Ami, with a little mineral spirits.
CM

[bobthenailer]

i have been using my QT -6 for 30 years and the only thing i ever replaced was the belt one time . i wash my casings every time i shoot them ,so i guesstimate ive cleaned at least 700,000 casings or more in that time. about a year ago i picked up a slightly used QT- 12 for $25.00 and it allready has about 10,000 to its credit. for my cleaning soultion i use 1/2 oz joy dish washing detergent and a 1/2cup bb gun bbs and the rest water thats what ive used for 30 years and it works excellent!i tumbel my fired casings for 1 hour ,thats all that is needed. i also have a dillon vibratory for the as new final polish with corn cob and flitz polish but its uaually not needed. bob

[Orygun]

Not sure which model that I have, but it's been doing well for many, many years. It has 2 sides which is nice if you want to do different calibers at the same time.

I have settled on corn cob with a little mineral spirits and a dryer sheet.

[longhorn]

Charlie--the Lortone works just fine with water+ceramic--gets a little hot after 24 hours. I've found that running that long is excessive.......

[Johnw...ski]

I have had my Lortone tumbler for almost 30 years and have replaced the belt and cover rubber. Otherwise it just keeps on running.
I started out useing it for case cleaning but have tumbled rocks in it for months at a time with only short stops to recharge the contents, says a lot for their quality.

John

[montana_charlie]

John,
Do you know anybody that calls himself Vbull?
CM

[David2011]

How about some detailed info on what works well for some of you for polishing brass? I shoot mostly .40S&W and .45ACP and polish in a Dillon vibratory polisher. Sometimes I start with walnut shell with an additive and sometimes I go straight to corn cob, again with an additive.

For walnut I've used Thumbler's liquid jeweler's rouge, Dillon's liquid and Midway's liquid. There's no substitute IMO for walnut if the brass is really dirty. Last year I started using Titegroup and Jake's Purple Ceresin lube. Both gun and brass seem to stay much cleaner than with beeswax/alox and Unique so I've been able to skip the walnut most of the time and go straight to corn cob. Walnut with the jeweler's rouge is great on really dirty or really dark, aged brass.

With corn cob I tried the rouge but it seemed to work very well for a very short time and then the corn cob seemed to load up and quit working. The Dillon blue stuff seems to last a little longer before the corn cob loads up. Midway, so far, seems to let the corn cob work the longest.

I haven't settled on a set way to polish that I really like. I used a rock tumbler for years. The vibratory polisher is one of my best investments ever. I've had it about 1-1/2 years and average about 1800- 2000 rounds/month. I take pride in how my brass looks and like to go for a factory new shine. What works for the rest of you?

[BruceB]

"How about some detailed info on what works well for some of you for polishing brass?"

David;

My method is very simple, but it turns out brass that is FAR shinier than factory-new cases.

I use 1/8"-grind corncob, bought from a local feed store for about $18 for a FORTY-pound bag. Each time I process a batch of brass (Midway 1292 tumbler), I add an ounce or so of Turtle Wax "Scratch and Swirl Remover". I then run the tumbler long enough to break up the polish clots before adding the brass. Stirring with a screwdriver or some such tool speeds the breaking-up of the clots.

Because the corncob is so inexpensive, I change to fresh cob after half-a-dozen or so batches of brass are polished.

I run the machine for at least several hours, or until I remember that it's running (grin). Not only are the cases brilliant, but they KEEP that brilliance in storage for months or even years, because the polish leaves a microscopic wax coating on the cases.

I once had some .30 Carbine cases which were dark brown from tarnish. 24 hours in the tumbler with the above recipe gave me cases that looked like highly-polished jewelry.

[GSM]

Brass polishing routine (must be mine - it's a little anal):

1. Use a universal decapper to remove the primers.
2. Tumble in walnut (from the pet store) media. Add a little Flitz or a tablespoon of Hoppes.
3. Size shells and re-tumble in corncob media with a tablespoon full of liquid car wax.
4. Check primer pockets for plugging strays.

I do the second tumble because I have no idea when I will get back to loading the same batch of brass.

Just a note / opinion: The type of lube you use may have an influence on how long it takes to get the brass clean. When I was buying commercial cast 45's with hard lube, the cases seemed to come out with black smoke areas (not running the load too hot either) that was really tough to get off. When I cast my own and use the old NRA 50/50 lube, the blackened areas can be easily pushed off with my fingers.

[montana_charlie]

How about some detailed info on what works well for some of you for polishing brass?
I clean brass, but don't really care about a high-gloss polish. If it comes out looking like the new brass tubing sold in hobby shops, that's what I'm after.

To be 'detailed', proportions would be important. But I'll have to estimate that some for you.

My rotary barrel is a '12-pound' container. I suppose it would hold about 5 quarts of liquid...maybe 6...and I have it two thirds full of walnut.

To that amount I added three heaping tablespoons of Bon Ami cleanser, and three ounces of mineral spirits.
I tumble for four hours because that worked well the first time, but could probably get by with three hours. (That first time, the cases were clean, but very darkly stained when I started.)

I keep the drum tightly sealed between cleanings, and if the medium stops smelling like paint thinner, I add three ounces.

Those are my details...
CM

[David2011]

Thanks to all who replied and those who will in the future.

BruceB, yours looks like the lowest cost, easiest and fastest. I like the idea of the swirl and scratch remover. In a good summer month I'll reload every piece of .40S&W brass I have so fast is important. Sometimes my method has given great results nad sometimes just average. I'm probably trying to use my corn cob too long when the brass isn't coming out looking really great. I've been getting my walnut and corn cob at WalMart- not as cheap as the feed store but a better price by far than the gun related sellers.

GSM, I admire your patience. Unfortunately, I don't have enough spare time to decap and tumble twice! I've found the NRA lube to produce too much smoke. It's great for reducing low-medium velocity leading but when I shoot fast or at night at our evening matches with lights hitting the smoke from above and behind, it's a big problem. The targets disappear! Even in daylight I've lost targets. We had a stage recently with 4 IPSC targets side-by-side, each getting 4 shots. At .25 second shot intervals (I'm slow) the smoke obscured the targets by about the 12th shot.

Montana Charlie, you're not the first I've heard of adding mineral spirits. I may try that, but I like the high shine so will likely stay with a final polish with corn cob. I think shiny brass goes through my XL650 easier and I KNOW the 9mm goes through a Square Deal B easier if it's highly polished.

It seems to me that not using media for too long keeps it working faster and polishes better. Hotter powder charges definitely leave the brass cleaner when shooting IPSC but for PPC, ICORE and steel plate I'll keep the light loads and spend more time with the polisher running.

Thanks to all!

David