Very Fine Tumbling Media - Where to buy

[Stan_TN]

Not trying to beat a dead horse here - I know the litter people are going to chime in. But, I purchased a used tumbler at one time and it had a very fine tumbling media in it. It is almost smaller than grains of sand. Works VERY WELL - although I have purchased some Lyman media, Corn Cob with the polishing agent, but cannot seem to find a very fine media that is used for brass. Does anyone know what it is called and where to get it. Thanks....PM or reply here.

[Stan_TN]

Sorry - it may be walnut hull media. Is it very fine? I have not purchased any - let me know before I do.

[Camper64]

Go to a pet store and get some Ground English Walnut Shells. The brand I use is Zilla Desert Blend.

[dragon813gt]

Harbor Freight, you want the fine crushed walnut. It’s less than $1 a pound if you use the coupon. Comes in 25# boxes.

[TNsailorman]

I have gone to lizard liter sold in pet stores and WallyWorld. Works better for me and doesn't hang up in the flash holes as much. Also is cheaper. james

[onelight]

I have gone to lizard liter sold in pet stores and WallyWorld. Works better for me and doesn't hang up in the flash holes as much. Also is cheaper. james
I give mine a quick look and blast with an air hose to clear any lumps in the case the decapping pin will clear the flash hole when I resize

[9.3X62AL]

Take a look at Kramer Industries in New Jersey. They have all manner of tumbling and polishing media available. I bought a 50# box (!) for #14-#20 grit corn cob media for about $100 maybe 5 years ago. Shipping was nominal, in the range of $20-$25. I use it untreated, and it does a nice job of cleaning fired brass.

[country gent]

Check graingers MSC McMaster Carr and shops that supply sandblasting shop equipment. Corn Cob and walnut come in various grit sizes for use in sand blasters. I also wonder at one time how glass beads would work in a vibratory. I believe the Corn Cob I bought was listed as 20-20 and came in a 50lb bag. this was fine enough to flow thru the flash holes. It was untreated so you have to treat it yourself. Some were here were using rice but it plugged flash holes a lot. I think the last bag of corn cobs I bought was $20.00 for 50lbs.

[lightman]

The last I bought came from an outfit called Drill Spot and it shipped from Granger. I bought the corncob in the 20-20 grit.

[JBinMN]

Another vote for the HF fine walnut.
https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-fine-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92155.html

They also have course if ya want it too.
https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-coarse-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92150.html

I have not looked at the lizard litter yet, but I will tomorrow when the missus & I go to Walmart. If I think it is a better deal than the HF walnut, I would say so, but as of yet, that HF fine has done well for me.

I use a mix of 2/3 HF fine walnut with 1/3 corncob, add about a teaspoon of mineral Spirits & about the same of Nu Finish, after I do a citrus/dish detergent/hot water shake-wash in a sealed container, then rinse & dry, into the tumbler & the brass comes out looking like new when all done.

Usually I time the tumbler for 1-2 hours, & no longer. Works fine for me anyway...

G'Luck! whatever ya decide!

[TNsailorman]

JB, I use a similar mix of Mineral Spirits and NuFiniish Car Polish (about a cap full) to polish brass. Only I mix mine 2/3rds mineral spirits and 1/3 NuFinish car polish. I just like a little more mineral spirits to cut the dried powder burn out of cases. I tumble usually around 2 hour or a little less depending on how dull or tarnished they are in the beginning. works for me, james

[ReloaderFred]

What you want is ground corn cob in 20/40 grit. I buy it by the 40 pound bag from zoro.com, which is owned by Graingers, but their prices are less in most instances, and they have frequent 20% off sales. They also ship for free with a $50 minimum order, and since they sell just about everything under the sun, that's easy to do.

Here's the link: https://www.zoro.com/econoline-blast-media-corn-cobb-size-2040-40-lb-526040z-40/i/G2641952/#specifications

The current price is $27.25 for 40 pounds, and if you're a first time buyer, and sign up for their e-mails, they'll give you 15% off your first order.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[BigAlofPa.]

I get my walnut from harbor freight. And corncob from home depot in 50 lb bag. I think the corncob was 48.00

[abunaitoo]

Try a sandblast supplier.
That's where i get it.
They have different grits.
Way cheaper than granger.

[osteodoc08]

Harbor Freight, you want the fine crushed walnut. It’s less than $1 a pound if you use the coupon. Comes in 25# boxes.


This is what I do.

[mdi]

Blast media. I have experimented with nearly everything I could think of from beach sand to gravel, rice, wood chunks, glass beads, and pet litters (and mebbe a half dozen more I can't think of right now). I now use corn cob blast media, 14-20 grit which is much better quality controlled than litter (the larger the grit number the finer the grit size). Grit sizes of 20-40 are available too, but I find 14-20 to work quite well for me. When I'm dealing with heavy tarnish or heavily sooty/dirty brass I add some (25%) HF hard resin tumbling media which aids the cleaning and the mix is not so aggressive that it leaves the brass with a matte finish (for rusty tools, other parts I have used the resin alone and it works quite well)...

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+R ank%2Cf&q=tumbling+media

[Kenstone]

+1
The Zilla stuff
buy it here (or local):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001OVGPH6/ref=olp_twister_child?ie=UTF8&mv_customer_package_type=0&mv_size_name=0&qid=1553202223&sr=8-1
:-P

[skud007]

User of the zilla "Desert Blend" here as well!

[JBinMN]

Missus & I went to Wallyworld couple days ago & I went into the pet section looking for "lizard litter".

I did not see any in 2 trips up & down the aisle along the back wall. There was some tanks of some cool looking fish in between the bags & bags & bags & bags of cat litter.

I learned 2 things that day & reinforced a third & fourth.

1) There are Too Many different makers & kinds of cat litter.

2) I am no longer going to look for lizard litter in Walmart.

3) Once again, it was reinforced that I do not like to shop in Walmart for anything...

(There are too many weird people in Walmart & if I am ever in the store again, and anyone ever asks me if I know where something is in the store, I am simply going to look them straight in the face & tell them, "There is no lizard litter in the store.", no matter what they are looking for, just to see the look on their face.)

4) I am a misanthrope.

(As I get older I begin to dislike being around many people. It just seems to me that they are just a bunch of sheeple. I know you folks will likely think I am just a curmudgeon, or becoming one as I age, but I have to tell ya. There are a LOT of really stupid people all around us every day. Particularly when one lives out in the sticks, or in a small rural town, & then go to a a larger town, or even a city. It is amazing how the ratio of those with any sort of common sense & those without, changes. Perhaps I am the only one who notices it, or thinks that, but IMO, I am right.
;) )

I will stop with that line of commentary, so I don't turn this into a "PIT worthy" topic.

I think I will just stick to just getting what I need for tumbler media, either online, or thru HF, when I go there about once a year. Much simpler & I can avoid & forget all about cat litter makers & types... and all those stupid people with no common sense...

;)

P.S. - Yes, I could have asked about the lizard litter, but I did not need it that badly & I did not want to become the story of the day at Walmart & their employees. I can just hear them saying to one another in the break room...

"Hey, y'know what happened to me in the pet section today? Some guy was looking for lizard litter! Yeah, Lizard Litter! What a weirdo!",

or something like that...
LOL

Not really... Just teasing ya'll.

I think they just did not have any in that store at the time I was there. Or, it was hidden somewhere amongst the cat litter somewhere.

Did I tell ya that there is LOTS & LOTS of cat litter in Walmart?

LOL X2
;)

[David2011]

When I started polishing brass I used walnut and I still have some. It's faster than corn cob but dusty and leaves a satin finish. Functionally there's nothing wrong with the satin finish; I just prefer shiny, slippery brass. I've used 14/20 ground corn cob media for the last 10 years and really like it. It's fine enough that it rarely gets stuck in a small primer flash hole but I usually polish with spent primers still in the cases so it's seldom an issue. Don't think I have ever seen a piece stuck in a large primer flash hole. My last came from Drillspot.com, 40 lb for about $26.00 and shipping was free. Shipping went from free to pricey and now you can't even browse Drillspot without setting up an account.





I like to add a little mineral spirits paint thinner (keeps dust down and probably helps the polishing action) and a tablespoon or so of NuFinish Car Polish to a load of corn cob. Run the tumbler for 15-30 minutes after adding mineral spirits and NuFinish before adding brass. If you don't the media will stick to the insides of the cases. The combination gives nice slick finished brass that is very slow to darken. For a really high polish you can add 1/2 teaspoon of Thumbler's Liquid Jeweler's Rouge. The NuFinish makes the brass stay bright for several years for me in the desert. I'll have to see how it holds up when I set back up near humid Houston.

[CrystalShip]

as was said Kramer industries has several grit from Ultra Fine to course in walnut and Corn cob. .. Weather they work for your application is another story

[Burnt Fingers]

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0063GT330/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Really fine corn cob. I've been working on the same 15 lb bag for over two years and still have more than half I have yet to use.