Length of time in tumbler

Foxamaphone

Foxamaphone

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Hey guys,

Another newbie question here, and I'm sure this has been discussed in the past, but, how long do you leave your brass in the tumbler? I'm using a Lyman 1200 Turbo Tumbler with untreated Corncob media.(If that makes any difference) I've heard anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
 
It will depend on the condition of your brass as well as the condition of the media. I like walnut shell over corn cob, but they both work. I'll tumble for only a few hours on most of my reloads, but If I come across some grubby range brass, it's at least 24 hrs.
 
I run mine for 1.5-3 hrs (on freshly fired brass). Use walnut crushed shell; you can get it from pet stores for less.
 
Using relatively fresh corn cob, I can't get my brass to look good unless I run it through the tumbler for 4 hrs. I tried 2 & 3 hours, but I wasn't satisfied. 4 hours is the closest to happy I've been.

I'm also a newb, btw!;)
 
2 hours give or take is fine (it doesn't have to twinkle like 24k gold) just that the fouling and dirt is off.

No harm if it's longer, you just end up wasting time and electricity. Some guys think you'll wear the brass thin and cause a problem, but I haven't seen that to be the case.

Sincerely,
on-ca
 
3 hours is what I aim for. At my old place I had a cheap Cambodian Tire timer that I plugged the tumbler into, but it got "misplaced" in the move. I know for sure it is in a box, be damned if I know which box ....:mad:

I have also found that when I forgot and they ran for a day or so that the mirror finish tends to go away, and you get a dull finish, likely from the cases banging off each other for a long time. It also tends to shorten the life of the media as evidenced by the increasing amount of black dust on the top of the machine when you are done.

As was noted above, tumble them till they are clean - its not jewelry. :D
 
i have the cabelas tumbler, and with new media and not too dirty brass, 30 mins is all it takes. i did do some very dirty 30-06 brass with older media for 24 hours, and it came out great. not perfect, but i got tired of waiting.
 
I got a cheaper tumbler, Berry's 400 from Sportsman's. It's quiet too.

Pistol or straight wall brass should be the easiest to clean.
Throw away your corn cob, get walnut shell... :D
 
Wow, I tumble for 1 hour and it usually seems to do the trick. I use the Lyman media recharger with corn cob. It doesn't come out sparkling, but clean enough that I will be able to notice any defects.

Maybe I will try and tumble for 3 hours next time and see what difference it makes.
 
I use Hornady "one shot" polishing liquid in with my corn cob media,
run my tumbler for aprox 4 hours or so, and brass comes out gleaming.
I have the small dillon tumbler, but same results where had
with my hornady one.
 
I've mentioned it before but when I got a tumbler I opted for thr RCBS SideWinder. In most cases, corn of walnut shell media can be used and for the tougher jobs, there's a concentrated liquid cleaner RCBS puts out. The SideWinder has the flexability to be able to use either 'process'.

I had some cases that were on the 'difficult' side and I can't remember exactly where I got the info/suggestion, so I thought I'd try it, and it works well. That suggestion was to add a few tea spoons of Brasso to the walnut media. At later batches of cleaning, once the time required increases noticably, add a few more spoons of Brasso. Also, that small addition of Brasso also seems to moisten the media enough to cut down on the dust factor. After I cleaned with the media and Brasso, I changed that mixture out and used more media with the polish in the packet RCBS sends in conjunction with the walnut shell.
 
Where to get tumbling media

Bit of a sidetrack on topic, but as a Newbie, you will be looking for tumbling media sooner or later and you will get tired of the prices you get from gun shops and on-line will kill you for shipping.

Go to the yellow pages and look up any company in your area that sells abrasives to the sandblasting industry. You can buy it for about $1/lb, though you may need to buy 30 or 40 pounds at a time, it will last a lifetime. I split the cost with a few buddies. The grain size matters and at the moment I cant remember exactly what sieve sizes I used. Best to go to the counter and have a look at the samples. Take some of what you are using now as a comparative, because once you get there, they all look the same ...trust me on this one ... :redface:

I posted this elsewhere earlier this week, but if you are in the Toronto area, Spectrum Abrasives is just north of the airport off the 427, and it is where a number of us have purchased the media in the past.

Spectrum Abrasives Ltd.
3687 Nashua Dr.
Mississauga, ON , L4V 1V5

Phone: 905-678-1060
FAX: 905-678-1216
Toll Free Phone: 877-299-4905

You can get both walnut and corn cob from Spectrum,

My favourite mix is about a 50:50 mix of walnut and corn cob, with a capfull of Lymans brass polishing goo, my theory being that the walnut cleans (harder) and the corn absorbs the Lymans and does the polishing bit.YMMV

One final tip - throw a used dryer sheet in the tumbler. Gives your cases a Spring Time Fresh smell ;) but also traps the dreaded black dust. The less of that you have to inhale, the better your blood lead counts will be.

Welcome to the addiction ... :D:D:D
 
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