Vibratory Tumbler Media

ambishooter

ambishooter

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Still a newbie in reloading (about 2 yrs) and trying several tumbling media alternatives to crushed corn cob and walnut. I am currently using vibratory tumbler and as I accidentally saw a small bag of Aquarium Gravel size of a grain of corn from a pet store, toss around 200 dirty casings for about 30-45 minutes, result is very promising. 1/2 the time required in cleaning casings against conventional tumbling media. The downside is, because of the size, it tends to get lodged in few casings. A little challenge to remove. Tossing it back to an empty tumbler for a minute or two seems to solve this minor problem. Has anybody tried this same media? I am just concerned of the weight capacity of vibratory tumbler. Since this gravel is heavier than corn cob or walnut, the motor might overheat due to overloading. Stainless steel pins is not a good idea in vibratory tumbler for it might damage the plastic tumbler.
 
Stainless steel pins also don't work in a vibratory tumble; several have tried. They really need a rotational tumbler and a lube (water) to work at all.

I haven't tried sand or gravel but just stick with Lyman green corn cob. I cut it half and half with untreated ground walnut shell from the pet store and it lasts more than twice as long than using pure green corn cob. I have no dust and my brass comes out clean.
 
Also no dust in the aquarium gravel I tried. It seems like dust settles at the bottom of the tumbler. I washed the gravel with soap and water, rinse and air dry. Now it is as clean as the original package. Just need to find smaller grain.
 
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I use lizard bedding (walnut) and some nu-finish well mixed in. Buy pet store bedding, its so cheap. I also throw in half of a paper towel sheet ripped into three pieces to capture any dust.
 
I would certainly not use any gravel based media to polish cases.

You may not observe any dust, but what little there is would be highly abrasive.

This to the detriment of your dies, your rifle, etc.

Regards, Dave.
 
I just use a 50/50 mix of corn cob and walnut, throw a cap full of NuFinish in and your good to go. 2-5 hours depending on how dirty the cases are.
 
What I use and it works really good is Pet store crushed walnut shell.
Put walnut with cut up paper towel/shop towel/used dry sheets, cut into 2” sq and run it for about 1 hr to get most the dust.
Remove up paper towel/shop towel/used dry sheets, them add about a cap full or NuFinish to walnut and run for about 1 hr to mix. now your good to go on the brass
 
I don't quite why anyone would care how long it takes to tumble brass. I do mine for 4 plus hours with corn cob and Turtle wax which is less than 1/2 the cash Nu Finish is. Young guys always in a hurry. FS
 
Aluminum will end up tarnishing your cases if you use that aluminum gravel to polish them. Ask me how I know....

Using sand would be like running your cases through the beach, not a good idea. The single best method is the rotating tumblers with SS pins, but it's more work. Next up is corn cob or walnut (I prefer corn cob). I triple tumble my brass (yes more work than needed). I run my range brass through the separator first to get out 22 shells and dirt and so on. Then into the preclean tumbler. Once it's sat in there for a day or so, it gets separated again, and then into the clean media, another day and then separated and into a bucket. Then after it's loaded it goes into another tumbler with fresh media to clean off the lube and any other crap it gets on it. That media becomes the cleaning media once it starts to lose color. The clean media then becomes the preclean and the preclean gets tossed. I get about 5 gallons of brass through a tumbler before the swap happens. I use two Frankford Arsenal tumblers and a Dillon (it does the preclean). I find the FA tumblers do a far better job than the Dillon but don't know why.
 
A 50 lb bag of crushed walnut shell from Princess Auto was about $10. It's a little dusty; but the cut-up dryer sheet trick seems to capture most of it.
 
I bought 40 pounds of sandblast corncob..... didnt have any locally so I paid shipping, oh well. I have some for a lifetime now.
 
pocojoe said:
I use lizard bedding (walnut) and some nu-finish well mixed in. Buy pet store bedding, its so cheap. I also throw in half of a paper towel sheet ripped into three pieces to capture any dust.
Click to expand...

I get my walnut shell from a local paint store. $18/50lb bag.

Splatter said:
A 50 lb bag of crushed walnut shell from Princess Auto was about $10. It's a little dusty; but the cut-up dryer sheet trick seems to capture most of it.
Click to expand...

Looks like I'll be checking out PA once my 100lbs runs out.
 
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