I just bought a Lyman's Turbo 1200 case tumbler and was looking for any easy instruction. I have never tumbled my cases or ever owned a tumbler. I have also bought a container of treated corn meal as medium to tumble with. Do I need more equipment to clean brass? Do I need a case seperating screen or can I just pick the cases out? I assume the brass should be deprimed (of spent primers) before cleaning to ensure the primer pocket get a cleaning?
Brass Tumbling?
- Thread starter Nosler06
- Start date
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
i dont know the size of the 1200 (as in capacity) but dump in media, dump in brass, add a little bit of braso (less the a tea spoon) and cut a dryer sheet into 1" strips, plug in tumbler and let sit for 4 or so hours untill brass is shiny.
dont worry about the primer pockets for now, you retumble the brass after resizing/decaping to get the lube off. and IMHO the tumbler doesnt do an adiquate job of cleaning the primer pockets any way, your better off to use a primer pockey brush after your sized and delubed
the dryer sheet will pick up alot of the fine dust... its the dust / dirt that breaks down the media over time
you can just pick the brass out its just time consuming.. i took an old bucket, driller a shat load of 1/4" holes in the bottom, then dump my brass /media into there (this sits inside a larger bucket) and just shake till its all seperated
dont worry about the primer pockets for now, you retumble the brass after resizing/decaping to get the lube off. and IMHO the tumbler doesnt do an adiquate job of cleaning the primer pockets any way, your better off to use a primer pockey brush after your sized and delubed
the dryer sheet will pick up alot of the fine dust... its the dust / dirt that breaks down the media over time
you can just pick the brass out its just time consuming.. i took an old bucket, driller a shat load of 1/4" holes in the bottom, then dump my brass /media into there (this sits inside a larger bucket) and just shake till its all seperated
I cover the top with a plastic grocery bag, to keep the dust down, and use Nitril gloves to fish out the cleaned brass.
Some pour the entire contents of the tub through a seive to recover their cleaned brass.
I tumble first, then deprime.
Reloading straight case pistol brass, I use carbide dies.
With rifle brass etc that has to be lubed, I just wipe off after it's reloaded.
I don't like the idea of tumbling a loaded round.
X2 on the cut up dryer sheets.
Some pour the entire contents of the tub through a seive to recover their cleaned brass.
I tumble first, then deprime.
Reloading straight case pistol brass, I use carbide dies.
With rifle brass etc that has to be lubed, I just wipe off after it's reloaded.
I don't like the idea of tumbling a loaded round.
X2 on the cut up dryer sheets.
I usually put in 4 or 5 whole dryer sheets. My 1200 has the autoflow so I just let it empty while it's running into a pail and shake the remaining cases upside down when I pick them out of the empty tumbler. It gets pretty loud with a bunch of brass in it and no media.
I typically deprime (using a deprime die, not your size-die), trumble in walnut shells, to clean, then resize and tumble in corn-cob to polish, then finish reloading.
Stainless steel or ceramic media do a good job on primer pockets, or so I've read, haven't tried it yet, so like Monkey wrote, do the primer pockets in a seperate operation.
The dryer sheets thing is a great trick, it makes sifting the media easier too because it cuts-down on static build-up.
As for sifting, didn't your tumbler come with a slotted/perforated lid? If so, dump the media and shells into a small bucket (I typically use an empty 4l icecream pail) then reattach the lid, upside down, turn the tumbler on, and slowly pour a small quantity of the media-brass mix into the lid, and let the brass dance around for a few seconds after the media has fallen away, to let most of the media inside the shells escape, then gather the brass off the lid and repeat.
Unless you've got a "AutoFlow" like that pampered bugger KDX,
then just pull the drain-plug and wait.
Or if you've got time on your hands, it's entirely possible to pick the cases out one-at-a-time, I've done it when I'm into some heavy procrastination...
Stainless steel or ceramic media do a good job on primer pockets, or so I've read, haven't tried it yet, so like Monkey wrote, do the primer pockets in a seperate operation.
The dryer sheets thing is a great trick, it makes sifting the media easier too because it cuts-down on static build-up.
As for sifting, didn't your tumbler come with a slotted/perforated lid? If so, dump the media and shells into a small bucket (I typically use an empty 4l icecream pail) then reattach the lid, upside down, turn the tumbler on, and slowly pour a small quantity of the media-brass mix into the lid, and let the brass dance around for a few seconds after the media has fallen away, to let most of the media inside the shells escape, then gather the brass off the lid and repeat.
Unless you've got a "AutoFlow" like that pampered bugger KDX,
then just pull the drain-plug and wait.Or if you've got time on your hands, it's entirely possible to pick the cases out one-at-a-time, I've done it when I'm into some heavy procrastination...
just having some fun
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
the brass/ media should slowly swirl around
if it does not swirl around you have too much brass or not enough media
app 100pcs 308 brass or 3-400 pcs of pistol brass to start with you can add more later as long as it swirls around ( if it just sits there and vibrates change some thing)
and do not put two types of brass that one of them will go into the neck of the other
ie 40& 9mm / 40& 45acp you will have hundreds of brass stuck inside case necks jammed with media
you can use a hammer bullet puller to remove the odd pc of brass that you miss sorting out
if it does not swirl around you have too much brass or not enough media
app 100pcs 308 brass or 3-400 pcs of pistol brass to start with you can add more later as long as it swirls around ( if it just sits there and vibrates change some thing)
and do not put two types of brass that one of them will go into the neck of the other
ie 40& 9mm / 40& 45acp you will have hundreds of brass stuck inside case necks jammed with media
you can use a hammer bullet puller to remove the odd pc of brass that you miss sorting out
While I have walnut shell media, I just tumble in corncob media now.
I found I didn't really need to use the walnut shell.
I tried depriming first, but I got a lot of small particles stuck in the flash hole, requiring another operation to clean it out.
Now I tumble first, then deprime.
That's the way it works for me anyway.
I found I didn't really need to use the walnut shell.
I tried depriming first, but I got a lot of small particles stuck in the flash hole, requiring another operation to clean it out.
Now I tumble first, then deprime.
That's the way it works for me anyway.
BrotherRockeye
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rural Saskatchewan
my MO same as the Kids
gotta clean and run the uniformer in the flash hole after depriming anyway...
gotta clean and run the uniformer in the flash hole after depriming anyway...
Buy tumbler. Make sure plug is firmly inserted in bowl (trust me on this, in a Lyman it's important). Fill tumbler with media (you can get walnut crushed media as guinea pig bedding at the larger pet stores for cheap). Plug in and turn on tumbler. Dump in fired brass. Watch it start to roll and disappear into the media. Brasso and dryer strips are a good idea, but not a requirement. Install tumbler lid. Run tumbler over night, come back in morning. Remove lid, shut off tumbler, remove shiny brass and begin reloading process. - dan
You will definitely want one of the crank type media separators. The time savings over a plain sieve pay for themselves in a couple of sessions and minimize the amount of contact required with the media.
Personally, I'm not convinced that cleaning primer pockets makes much of a difference.
Personally, I'm not convinced that cleaning primer pockets makes much of a difference.
All of the above. I use a decapping die first and then throw the brass into the tumbler.
I have tried the Brasso lube in there and I was impressed.
Use the dryer strip as well.
If you tumble after knocking the primers out, make sure you don't forget to knock
the media out of the flash hole.
Next batch I'll try the tumble first before knocking out the spent primers.
Save some time.
I have tried the Brasso lube in there and I was impressed.
Use the dryer strip as well.
If you tumble after knocking the primers out, make sure you don't forget to knock
the media out of the flash hole.
Next batch I'll try the tumble first before knocking out the spent primers.
Save some time.
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
if u read my first post
the dryer sheet will pick up all/most the fine dust /dirt that comes from cleaning brass, the fine stuff is what breaks down your media faster so this just helps prolong the life of it
With Lyman make sure that rubber thingie that holds the bowl is screwed in until it has a bulge (see manual) otherwise it will be loud. Keep screwing it until tumbler becomes quite. Then fill it with media up to the end of central bowl stem and turn on. Keep throwing the brass in small batches. After you will hear the noice level increase from the brass bumping into the bowl and each other stop. Put paper towel or bag or anything under the lid so the dust will be contained in the tumbler. Leave for 1 - 1.5.. it should do. After you done, remove the dust trapping contraption, and put the lid back on. Put the garbage bag on top of the tumbler and flip it upside down. Be careful not to shake it too hard as 9mm will make it through the lid sometimes. Enjoy your shiny brass
dinsdale
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Just outside the Ottawa City Limits!
Dang, I missed that in the posts. Makes sense and I will have to give it a try.
If nothing else, my brass will smell nice.
Use your USED dryer sheets.
That's what I do. Never understood why some people want to make it so complicated. Although I have tried dryer sheets, I dont' bother anymore.
Dollar store colander
I use a dryer sheet cut into 1"ish squares to grab the dust, it does seem to work but not necessary. Mostly it's just the range brass that makes the most dust.
I got a nice plastic collander (need lot of holes, or slots for the media to pass through) from the dollar store (you could get two to make your own media separator) that just rests nicely on a 5 gallon bucket, then I dump the tumbler contents into the collander and give it a bit of a shake and all the medial falls out. Then just pick the brass out and dump whatever is left in them out. Very easy.
I use walnut media from princessauto, 50lb bag for $30. It's finer than the gunstore stuff, but it works just fine.
I use a dryer sheet cut into 1"ish squares to grab the dust, it does seem to work but not necessary. Mostly it's just the range brass that makes the most dust.
I got a nice plastic collander (need lot of holes, or slots for the media to pass through) from the dollar store (you could get two to make your own media separator) that just rests nicely on a 5 gallon bucket, then I dump the tumbler contents into the collander and give it a bit of a shake and all the medial falls out. Then just pick the brass out and dump whatever is left in them out. Very easy.
I use walnut media from princessauto, 50lb bag for $30. It's finer than the gunstore stuff, but it works just fine.
I've got the 1200 too, I think. Random thoughts:
- I put in about a margarine container's worth of brass when I run it. Doesn't matter if it's pistol of rifle - about that much.
- At Canadian Tire (or was it Rona), I found a Woods brand electronic timer. Nothing fancy about this one, except that it has a countdown function, so I plug in the ready-to-go tumbler in the evening, then start the timer as I leave for the work in the morning. 3-4 hours, and it's done when I get home.
- If you tumble more than one caliber, take a look at how they'll interact - if one will fit inside the other, don't mix them in the same tumble. My 9mm fits PERFECTLY inside my 40s, which fit great inside my 45s. With a bit of media jammed in between, all three are stuck together until you pry them apart, and of course only the outside layer got cleaned! Same with 9mm fitting over the end of a .223!
- Workflow: I get home, dump the dirty brass into a bucket(s) (sorted by caliber - see previous point). When I have enough to bother with (margarine again), I set it up to tumble. I have the green media.
- I haven't tried Brasso yet (rumoured to make brass brittle, but at that small amount I doubt it would harm, and might help shine it up)
- I use a cheap dryer sheet (or since we do 5 or more loads of laundry a week, I collect-up all the old sheets). I only used one, but dust control is very important - I think I'll bump that up to two or three sheets, torn in half (6 pieces).
- I don't deprime first. There are so many different workflows and tools to prepare brass. I prefer to leave the primer in (otherwise you're guaranteed media jammed in the flash-holes, and occasionally in the whole primer pocket). I deprime and size in one operation. (but if it's full-length rifle brass, I have to wipe off the lube = whole different forum thread
See how confusing it becomes? And that's not even talking about pocket cleaning, length trimming, etc, etc. My next media will be from Princess (thanks!)
- I put in about a margarine container's worth of brass when I run it. Doesn't matter if it's pistol of rifle - about that much.
- At Canadian Tire (or was it Rona), I found a Woods brand electronic timer. Nothing fancy about this one, except that it has a countdown function, so I plug in the ready-to-go tumbler in the evening, then start the timer as I leave for the work in the morning. 3-4 hours, and it's done when I get home.
- If you tumble more than one caliber, take a look at how they'll interact - if one will fit inside the other, don't mix them in the same tumble. My 9mm fits PERFECTLY inside my 40s, which fit great inside my 45s. With a bit of media jammed in between, all three are stuck together until you pry them apart, and of course only the outside layer got cleaned! Same with 9mm fitting over the end of a .223!
- Workflow: I get home, dump the dirty brass into a bucket(s) (sorted by caliber - see previous point). When I have enough to bother with (margarine again), I set it up to tumble. I have the green media.
- I haven't tried Brasso yet (rumoured to make brass brittle, but at that small amount I doubt it would harm, and might help shine it up)
- I use a cheap dryer sheet (or since we do 5 or more loads of laundry a week, I collect-up all the old sheets). I only used one, but dust control is very important - I think I'll bump that up to two or three sheets, torn in half (6 pieces).
- I don't deprime first. There are so many different workflows and tools to prepare brass. I prefer to leave the primer in (otherwise you're guaranteed media jammed in the flash-holes, and occasionally in the whole primer pocket). I deprime and size in one operation. (but if it's full-length rifle brass, I have to wipe off the lube = whole different forum thread
See how confusing it becomes? And that's not even talking about pocket cleaning, length trimming, etc, etc. My next media will be from Princess (thanks!)
