BB tumbling

jrcarbine

jrcarbine

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Hey guys. I had a bunch of dirty 9mm range brass that needed some tumbling, so I decided to make my own process for tumbling. I have a whole bunch of 6mm plastic airsoft BB's that I used as my tumbling media. So I got a margarine container and filled it half way with 9mm brass and airsoft BB's, and then added some dawn dish soap. Fill the margarine container all the way with hot tap water, then get the lid and close it. Shake it for about 1 minute, then open the lid a crack (just enough so the BB's don't spill out, but the water drains), all black crap from the shells will drain out. Fill it with hot water again, then repeat the process until there is no more soap suds left.

It won't remove the old stains on the brass, but it does a pretty good job getting the bulk gunk off the brass. I'm probably going to buy a tumbler, but I thought it would be a cool idea to share on here. The pictures below are in order from before they were cleaned to after.













 
Nice..... You should try with a vinegar and baking soda mix.... Then rinse and maybe out into a lanolin mix so thy are ready for resizing..... I have at least that many of the same Airsoft bb's on th floor of my basement.... Damn kids (I swear I didn't even shoot one.... Lol)
 
You would probably get the same result without using the bb's. A lot of people pre-wash their range brass before they use a vibrator tumbler, saves the media.
 
To save some time, effort:
What about using a sawzall for your agitator? There are some adapters that are for shaking paint cans. Use a removable cap PVC pipe and good to go. Shake as long as the batteries last, at whatver speed you like.
 
All good ideas mentioned . Another method that I do not see here , but I have used along with tumbling is to dip
the brass in a cleaner called ,,,,,,,,,, "Silver Dip" . I buy it @ Home Hardware in a tall black plastic container .
Of course it is intended for jewelry but does a nice job on brass. All you do is dip for a few min. & the rinse / dry.
You can continually re use it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,, Frank
 
SoylentD said:
You would probably get the same result without using the bb's. A lot of people pre-wash their range brass before they use a vibrator tumbler, saves the media.
Click to expand...

Yes. I've also picked up filthy range brass and pre-clean by shaking in a gallon mayonnaise jug half full of water: It's the agitation that dislodges the excess dirt, which keeps same dirt out of whatever tumbler is favoured. OP - try it without the BBs and the result should be the same, just without the hassle of having to pick out the BBs. If you don't have a case cleaner of some sort, you might be on to something with this, but it will also involve a tiring amount of shaking.
 
SoylentD said:
You would probably get the same result without using the bb's. A lot of people pre-wash their range brass before they use a vibrator tumbler, saves the media.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, based on my experience washing brass before I got a tumbler.

Brass does not need to be spotless and shiny to resize, removing any dirt particles with a quick wash is sufficient. It probably doesn't even matter that much with carbide dies.
 
My dad was using steel shot in a wet tumbler before I'd heard of stainless pins. The price is right and a quick shot of Wd40 once drained in a seive keeps them from rusting when you are done.
 
I use an old juice jug with a screw on lid.

Add brass, hot water, dish soap and some vinegar. Shake well, let sit for a while, shake well again, drain and rinse.

Im too poor for a tumbler plus I don't really have anywhere to put one, so this method works for me.
 
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