Media tumbler

dearslayer

dearslayer

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Currently I wet tumble with steel pins and my brass turns out like new however I'm finding out that it's probably too clean because I've been having issues with the powder funnel sticking in the 9mm brass on my new Dillon XL750. Because of this I'd like to tumble all my 9mm ( already cleaned) brass in a dry media tumbler so I can add some wax/ polish to get the inside of the cases less sticky as it were. Problem is I only have a homemade dry tumbler that doesn't work all that well. Having said that, I'm wondering what dry media tumbler works best. There's so many brands to choose from I don't know which one I want to get and I'm looking for some advice.
Any input would be appreciated.
 
I gave up on wet tumbling altogether. Too messy for me, and drying is a pita. My Lyman vibratory tumbler works great. I like to use dust-free media then just give the brass a quick wipe with an acetone soaked cloth so that I don’t make a mess in my sizing die with any residue.

Also, if you're stuck on the wet tumbler, a tiny bit of soap and a scoop of Lemmishine might work good for you.
 
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calibrecarstairs said:
Try your wet tumbler with Armor All Wash and Wax rather than the soap.

Dry tumbling is simply filthy.
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I've been using the Armor All wash and wax for over a year now. Cases still stick. I'll still wet tumble but I just want to finish off in the dry tumbler just so I can get some wax on the cases if that makes any sense. I must have damn near 10,000 cleaned 9 mm cases. I would wet tumble for 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours which results in like new brass however it's almost too clean on the inside which makes the cases stick even more. My thought was to run all of those cleaned cases in a dry media tumbler with a few drops of wax to help reduce the friction hoping it was stick less.
 
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Canuck65 said:
I gave up on wet tumbling altogether. Too messy for me, and drying is a pita. My Lyman vibratory tumbler works great. I like to use dust-free media then just give the brass a quick wipe with an acetone soaked cloth so that I don’t make a mess in my sizing die with any residue.
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I have enough brass that I'm never in a hurry for brass to dry. I just dumped them out in a box let him sit for a couple of days that's all the drying necessary.
 
I have no idea what the Princess Auto one looks like, but I only got 2 uses out of the Cdn Tire one before the threads were getting stripped on the rod.

Clint
 
calibrecarstairs said:
Dry tumbling is simply filthy.
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Not from my experience, add a capful of Liquid car wax and a splash of varsol and there’s zero media dust. Brass comes out shiny AF.

I do both wet and dry tumbling depending on how dirty the brass or volume of cases I have to clean. Wet tumbling is more labour but no better way to deep clean larger amounts, a pin separator of some sort is nice to have when your cleaning multiple 5gal pails of brass.

dearslayer said:
Thanks. I never even thought to check Prince's Auto.
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PA also has big bags of crushed walnut media, will last you a lifetime.
 
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Try wet tumbling with no pins. I soak overnight with powder laundry soap and hot water. Tumble next day 1 hour. Cases are clean.

I spritz pistol cases with lanolin - makes things run smooth. I put a light coat of Redding case lube on expander.

I had a Lyman dry tumbler and it worked well.
 
JohnnyPython said:
Try wet tumbling with no pins. I soak overnight with powder laundry soap and hot water. Tumble next day 1 hour. Cases are clean.
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When I first got my FA wet tumbler I tried it without pins, just a bit of liquid detergent and citric acid. The exterior of the cases got clean, the insides were filthy regardless of how long they soaked or tumbled for. Granted this was all ipsc brass I picked up, so very dirty. Pins are the way to go for that from my experience.
 
Used my Frankford Arsenal vibratory tumbler for years and recently added an RCBS vibratory for a bit more capacity. Corn cob with the Frankford brass polish works very well and leaves a small amount of powder residue that lubricates inside neck operations a little. LGS had a big bottle of the Frankford polish and I grabbed 5 lbs of Frankford corn cob to start fresh. That media is treated while 5 lbs of Hornady corn cob is untreated for removing lube after sizing. The Hornady media is finer.
 
m777 said:
I have no idea what the Princess Auto one looks like, but I only got 2 uses out of the Cdn Tire one before the threads were getting stripped on the rod.

Clint
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I bought one as well. Total crap. Now I am using a Frankfort Arsenal. Works just fine. A friend brought me a few part bottles of car polish, so I squirt a bit in the media. I use PA crushed walnut media. The big bag will last me for however long I am still functioning.
 
m777 said:
I have no idea what the Princess Auto one looks like, but I only got 2 uses out of the Cdn Tire one before the threads were getting stripped on the rod.

Clint
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been using mine for 3 or 4 years. you have to really tighten the lid on. mine ate threw the lid when i didn't tighten it up all the way. had to put a big washer on top due to the new hole size but working fine.
 
I wet tumbled most of my brass but have found that an additional 30 minutes in my dry tumbler with fine ground corn cob media and a squirt of liquid auto wax make my cases much easier to size in my Lee Loadmaster progressive press. Besides being a carrier for the wax the fine ground corn cob also does a nice job of giving the brass a high polish.
 
Just wet tumble without the pins (dish soap and vinegar) and mist on a little case lube before you load. Frankford Arsenal case lube is the best stuff ever.
 
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dearslayer said:
Currently I wet tumble with steel pins and my brass turns out like new however I'm finding out that it's probably too clean because I've been having issues with the powder funnel sticking in the 9mm brass on my new Dillon XL750. Because of this I'd like to tumble all my 9mm ( already cleaned) brass in a dry media tumbler so I can add some wax/ polish to get the inside of the cases less sticky as it were. Problem is I only have a homemade dry tumbler that doesn't work all that well. Having said that, I'm wondering what dry media tumbler works best. There's so many brands to choose from I don't know which one I want to get and I'm looking for some advice.
Any input would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with my 550, I found that after I was done cleaning the brass if I stuck the brass in a container with water with some wash and wax in if for a few minutes and then gave the a swirl before dumping it and then giving it a quick rinse to get rid of the suds before drying the brass that it left enough of a coating to help keep the powder funnel from sticking, hope this helps.
 
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