Tumbler media??

D

Drewz

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Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
I have a small tumbler and was wondering what kind of media I should be using in it. The tumbler runs about 80 .40 cal. casings at a time. I am using an organic media right now but should I look at something else? I think the stuff I have is corn cob I believe.
 
Crushed walnut from a sandblasting supply shop can be had quite cheap, and in bulk 50 lb bags.
Treat with Lyman tumbling cleaner (looks like suntan lotion) and you will be set for a long lime.
 
I am using the Princess Auto walnut shell and quite like it.

Was about $32/50lb. Small granular size doesn't stick in primer holes.
Just throw in a glob of metal polish when it starts taking longer to clean. Adding used dryer sheets helps with the dust.
Pet store walnut shell is pretty good too but larger and can be a pain if you deprime before tumbling.
 
hometownhero said:
Lots of people say the dust from this princess auto stuff is unreal.
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Went down that route a month ago and yes it is dustier than the treated Lyman store bought stuff but soooo much cheaper.

The dust is easily gotten rid of in about 15 minutes tho, outside on a breezy day. I transferred the media from the bag into cat litter jugs. Get a wide mouth cardboard box (at least 2 ft x 2 ft), the bigger the box the higher you can pour your media into the wind and still have the clean media hit the box. Pour from the jugs slowly and let the wind do its work. The stronger the breeze the less pour height you need. You will loose a bit of the "good stuff" but the 80% savings over the Lyman stuff really offsets any loss.
 
fingers284 said:
Went down that route a month ago and yes it is dustier than the treated Lyman store bought stuff but soooo much cheaper.

The dust is easily gotten rid of in about 15 minutes tho, outside on a breezy day. I transferred the media from the bag into cat litter jugs. Get a wide mouth cardboard box (at least 2 ft x 2 ft), the bigger the box the higher you can pour your media into the wind and still have the clean media hit the box. Pour from the jugs slowly and let the wind do its work. The stronger the breeze the less pour height you need. You will loose a bit of the "good stuff" but the 80% savings over the Lyman stuff really offsets any loss.
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Lol. That is one way to do it.

I tried the lyman stuff when I first started was to dusty for me and left red dust on all the brass. Used that setup for 2 days exactly then ordered a ultra sonic cleaner. Used that for about 3 years until I read about ss tumbling. Was sold on that so that is what I use. There is not lead dust to worry about at all.
 
fingers284 said:
Went down that route a month ago and yes it is dustier than the treated Lyman store bought stuff but soooo much cheaper.

The dust is easily gotten rid of in about 15 minutes tho, outside on a breezy day. I transferred the media from the bag into cat litter jugs. Get a wide mouth cardboard box (at least 2 ft x 2 ft), the bigger the box the higher you can pour your media into the wind and still have the clean media hit the box. Pour from the jugs slowly and let the wind do its work. The stronger the breeze the less pour height you need. You will loose a bit of the "good stuff" but the 80% savings over the Lyman stuff really offsets any loss.
Click to expand...

I'm embarrassed to say I never considered winnowing the 50lb bag I bought. Dust is less of a problem in a vibratory tumbler with sealed lid. I usually use the ultrasonic cleaner for soot and carbon but the tarnished and stubborn dirt earns an intimate encounter with the vibratory tumbler.
 
That red dust is actually one of the reasons I don't like gun store-bought cleaning media. That red (some have green) dust they use is actually the jewelers rouge metal polishing compound carrying media. If you are getting a left over covering on or in your brass, it may be embedded in the bullets when being seated or blown down the barrel with the muzzle blast, in effect you are honing/lapping the throats out of perfectly good barrels...for this reason I will never add metal polishing compound to my cleaning media.
 
I only find the dust really bad if I use it for too long with out changing it. But I run my tumbler in a half bath with the door closed and I can have the fan on as well. I run it for 8 hours and it comes out very shiny.
 
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