Sandblasting sand in tumbler?

17asleep

17asleep

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Is there any reason to avoid doing this? I've got a coffee can half full of it, and some used welding nozzles mixed in chucked into the lathe as we speak, just to see how it will turn out. Got it turning at 38 rpm, planning to let it run for another hour and a half. If it works I will throw in a couple hundred pieces 220 Swift brass. Anybody think it will be too abrasive for rifle brass?
 
Don't waste your time, use the proper media. It isn't worth the effort to ruin some cases, and you will ruin then by scratching them, with the resultings possibility/probability of ruining the dies.
 
17asleep said:
Is there any reason to avoid doing this? I've got a coffee can half full of it, and some used welding nozzles mixed in chucked into the lathe as we speak, just to see how it will turn out. Got it turning at 38 rpm, planning to let it run for another hour and a half. If it works I will throw in a couple hundred pieces 220 Swift brass. Anybody think it will be too abrasive for rifle brass?
Click to expand...

Been there, done that. Don't do it!!!. It ruins your brass:runaway::runaway:
 
Well, those nozzles were seriously filthy when I put em in, and came out less filthy, so I put three pieces of brass in along with a gob of metal polish and let her go for half an hour. They came out nice and clean with no evidence of the sand being too harsh. So I put another 20 pieces in and let them go for 15 minutes. It seems like if I let em go for 20-25 minutes it wont wear my brass away and still gets all the black crud off the necks.
That being said, I am probably gonna be going to Winnipeg tommorow, so I am gonna pick up some corncob or walnut media and see how that compares with the sand.
 
I would be concerned about that very abrasive sand "imbedding" in the brass and causing scratches or other damage to my resizing die. You might not be able to see or feel it, but it could be there nonetheless. Regards, Eagleye.
 
Imagine trying to clean your brass with #40 sandpaper. If you are happy with that kind of finish, go for it.

I accidentally threw a bunch of brass that was filled with sand, into my tumbler and a couple hours later, all the brass came out clean but very dull, not shiny like I expected.

Try walnut with a polishing abrasive. I left a bunch of brass in the tumbler overnight and the next day it had started to wear the nickel off the cases.
 
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I tried Selkirk silica sand years ago...the brass came out with a frosted look, that you could feel . Didn't use it again .
 
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