I have just purchased a Lyman Turbo Pro 1200 and have recently tried to clean some 22-250 brass. The problem is that the inside of the cartridge still looks very black (they tumbled for 4-5 hours). Is this normal, how clean should it be??? I am using corn cob media and Dillon Polish. Do you have any suggestions for me???
Lyman tumbler help?
- Thread starter sbirm
- Start date
Make sure the tumbler is full to the brim with media. I find walnut does a much better job than corn cob.
Let 'er rip overnight, or even for a day or so.
Really, it makes no difference if the inside of the cartridge is sparkling clean anyway.
Let 'er rip overnight, or even for a day or so.
Really, it makes no difference if the inside of the cartridge is sparkling clean anyway.
You can tumble them till hell freezes over and the inside will never get clean. Nice and clean on the outside is all you need to worry about, clean the primer pockets and the inside of the neck before loading them up.
Silverado, do you use treated walnut? I found the treated walnut pretty messy.
Walnut with jewelers rouge. A bit dusty when new, but works best for me. I even cover the top of the container to keep the dust down.
Primer pockets .... I tumble before de-capping, so any media stuck on the inside of the primer hole gets pushed out by the de-capping pin.
Primer pockets .... I tumble before de-capping, so any media stuck on the inside of the primer hole gets pushed out by the de-capping pin.
blacksmithden
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I've got a 1200 as well. Like the other guys said.....the inside won't come totally clean. For 22-250, use crushed walnut with a cap full of NuFinish car polish. Let it run for 5 or so hours. That's about as clean as it's going to get. I don't fill my tumbler to the top. The media doesn't "tumble" if you do this and it gets all over the place if you start digging for cases.....half full is my maximum.
Yep, Lyman walnut with the jeweler's rouge in it. One jug lasts me about a year. I don't find it messy at all; I get a very small pile of dust over to one side of my tumbler, but no mess really. I do have to give the cases a quick wipe with a rag to get the dust off, but that's no different than any media I've used.
I decap when sizing, so my cases in the tumbler all have spent primers still in them.
As for the media not tumbling when the bowl is full... mine does; It vibrates and the whole works goes around and around with a nice rolling motion. I also find it much quieter when full of media.
Who cares if the inside is clean. You'll never get the inside clean and you don't need to have it clean. Tumbling is only to clean the outside to be able to check for cracks and wear. I guess there are those who care about where they must have it real shiny but it's not important.
As for cleaning flash holes, unless you're going to put them in a bucket for storage, you don't have to. The resizing/decapping die will take care of that when you go to reload them. I don't even bother decapping them before tumbling for the brass that is in constant use. Only match ammo (or for the storage buckets) do I decap and clean the pockets before tumbling.
As for cleaning flash holes, unless you're going to put them in a bucket for storage, you don't have to. The resizing/decapping die will take care of that when you go to reload them. I don't even bother decapping them before tumbling for the brass that is in constant use. Only match ammo (or for the storage buckets) do I decap and clean the pockets before tumbling.
