Tumble media: when to replace?

PastaMan

Being a newbie to tumbling (using corn cob; daughter is lethally allergic to nuts, so walnut is out), how does one know when to replace the media with new media? Also, do folks just keep adding polish (e.g., Dillon polish) to the media over and over again?...that stuff can be expensive! Thanks in advance.

FrancF

For me no real schedule, It depends on how nasty/dirty the cases are, and if cleaning is taking to long. If I had to guess I would say about 2000 rounds of lite/med dirty .308 brass.

I also use cheap white rice in mine with the corn cob to help cut cost.

Mobuck

I don't use cobs much but when I did the powder kept sifting out. Every batch of cases required additional media so mine didn't ever need total replacement, just add to it. When the stuff gets really cruddy or looks oily it needs changed. I use walnut hulls and sometimes it's almost oily to the touch but still works.

badhabithobby

I am fairly new to tumbling myself but I have found that so far, I have tumbled about 2500 .45 and .38 cases in the same media and it still looks o.k. I have added about a teaspoon of brass polish to each batch before I tumble. I have been told that it also depends on how shiny you want your brass. If your just going for clean then the media will last longer. I am experimenting with both corn and walnut media and so far both have performed equally but I can buy more walnut media for less $$$$$ so I am leaning toward walnut. When you find what works best for you, please share it with us. Everyone has different expectations and budgets that will dictate how far they stretch the life of the media.

flyingtorpedo

You can also use rice, a little tip I picked up here on GB. I've tumbled some very dirty unfired military 30-06 cases and after an hour or two they looked like new. Rice is cheaper as well. Don't know how long it will last as I haven't needed to replace it.

PastaMan

Thanks, folks. So far, I have been using the Lyman treated corncob media that I bought at the same time as my Dillon CV-500. I tumble without any polish (because of the media already being treated) for about 1 hour (sometimes 2 hours max...though one time I forgot for 5 hours!). Each time so far (used it a half dozen times with about 200-300 .45s each time), the brass comes out looking great compared to what it went in looking like. But the media is definitely darkening up, and there is a 2" tall dark swath across the inside top of the bowl that paper towel wiping does NOT take off. I have not yet changed the media since the brass is still coming out fine, although each time I am using a dental pick to punch out the one grain of corn cob that 98% of the time gets stuck in the flash hole...no big deal...but obviously I'd rather not have to do that, but if it goes with the turf, then that is fine. I then use a Lee primer pocket cleaner tool with 2-3 turns to clean out that area, and the shells are good to go (but the inside of the sheel still looks nasty).

THREE questions: 1) I have read that cut up dryer sheets (softener stuff) thrown in with the tumbling media will clean up the media, but I haven't tried it...any experience with anyone else doing that or using something else to clean that bowl part AND the media part (or just toss the media when it stops cleaning the brass)?, 2) I keep reading here and other places about using "rice", but what kind?...is it Uncle Ben's (or whatever brand) 1-minute rice stuff or doesn't it matter...I am not an organic type, so I won't be going to the health food store for their expensive rice , and 3) anyone know a good (and easy) way to clean out the flash hole (or doesn't it matter)?

Thanks in advance.

flyingtorpedo

For rice just get the cheapest bag of it. I did have it get stuck in the flash hole on my unfired brass. I just ran it through a decapping die or you could just let the decapping pin punch it out as you are resizing.

idahoducker

I tried the dryer sheet trick, it left a residue on the brass that would build up in the sizer die and then leave black streaks on the brass. Maybe it was just the brand of sheet I was using, don't know because others seem to be happy with doing that. Now I just add a small piece of plain paper towel. Comes out black so it helps.

PastaMan

Well, I finally just threw away the media since it was pretty dirty looking and the latest round of brass shells didn't come out as clean as the prior (I first tried the dryer sheets, and then paper towels....both of which came out black, but the media still looked dirty, so I just tossed it).

As for cleaning the inside of the bowl after tossing the media, I used some hand gel sanitizer (all alcohol/water ingredients...no ammonia) on plain paper towel, and it worked great!

I haven't tried the rice stuff yet.

Now, back to some more happy tumbling with the new corn cob media...[8D]

fire for effect

I don't use corn cob. Have tried rice in the past and didn't like it. I settled on Walnut shells. and have used the same media for ten years. When it gets dirty, I pour in a cup of acetone, and turn it on. Don't know how or why it works, but the acetone seems to clean the media, as it churns and evaporates out.

PastaMan

Wow....acetone. That is some nasty stuff to be breathing in...even just having it evaporate into the air around your work area. And this is coming from someone in the health field, my friend. Be careful. Keeping adding up 1+1, and when you don't come up with 2 as the answer...well, it's then too late!

Unfortunately I cannot use walnut because of the highly sensitive allergy of one of my children to nuts. So, for me, corn cob it has to be...I still haven't tried the rice deal yet.

Thanks for your tip, though.

B17-P51

Tumble the brass before you size it. Saves on the dies and no media in the flash hole (comes out with the sizing). The media will not clean out the flash hole, as you know, so why deprime 1st? Treat the media (even the pretreated) after 3 or so uses. Don't worry about the black crud in the tumbler until it starts to come off by itself in sheets about the size of potato chips. Then toss the media.I have the huge Dillon tumbler and have done at least 30,000 cases with it and have just replaced the media. It was new in 2001.

PastaMan

B17-P51, thanks!!

Question, though, about the "tumble the brass before you size it": if I have carbide dies, will they be okay if I have already been doing the depriming (and sizing) first?

Second question (and I apologize for the dumbness of this one): with tumbling, I thought that it was really for cleaning the outside of the shell and *maybe* for the inside; thus, is it a 50:50 deal on both sides getting cleaned with the tumbling?

Third question: What do you use to "treat the media (even the pretreated)? That Dillon stuff is expensive, and I have read about folks using NuFinish (even diluted with mineral spirits). Related to this question, if my main objective of tumbling is to just get the residue off of the shell and not really caring about the *shine*, is it still better to use some sort of media treatment, and if so, why?

Thanks in advance!

dcs shooters

1-If you tumble the brass before you size it, it saves your dies. A piece of crud on dirty brass can score the die.
2-Tumbling cleans both the inside and outside.
3-I use Lyman media Turbo Charger when my media stops cleaning very good.

B17-P51

The MIDWAY frankford arsenal product works well to treat with and can sometimes be had on sale. Treating just seems to me to add that extra clean look to the brass and leaves a SMALL amount of residue that actually makes sizing a little easier and seems , to me, to protect the cases from getting really dirty which helps when you decide to clean them again, sort of like waxing your car.


Your dies are ok with the small amount of use that you have on them particularly since they are carbide. (see DCS reply)

Inside cleaning- maybe a little by tumbling, at least the heavy stuff, but dont worry so much about the inside it will be fine.

Odawgp

mine never gets dirty, dusty as hell but never dirty

dardascastbullets

quote:Originally posted by PastaMan
Being a newbie to tumbling (using corn cob; daughter is lethally allergic to nuts, so walnut is out), how does one know when to replace the media with new media? Also, do folks just keep adding polish (e.g., Dillon polish) to the media over and over again?...that stuff can be expensive! Thanks in advance.


Your question pertains to [when do I have to change the corn cob?]. When you are able to take a handful and compress with your hand and the granules stick together in large clumps. They will break apart in a very short time (a second or two). This is indicative of the amount of oils absorbed into the cob granules. There is no saving the cob at this stage - it is destined for the garbage barrel.

I used Dillon polish in my cob. My cases coming out of the tumbler were very clean. Dillon polish is a great product but like any other liquid product it must be used correctly. A few drops into a new batch of corn cob without the brass and cycled for a while will treat the cob very nicely. You only need to treat the cob once - it will last until the cob becomes saturated with oils.

I trust that this information will help you.

Matt

MMOMEQ-55

I buy 50 lbs of rice from Sam's club for $10.00. Works great for me. Last for many thousands of rounds.

fire for effect

quote:Originally posted by PastaMan
Wow....acetone. That is some nasty stuff to be breathing in...even just having it evaporate into the air around your work area. And this is coming from someone in the health field, my friend. Be careful. Keeping adding up 1+1, and when you don't come up with 2 as the answer...well, it's then too late!



I don't recall telling you to stand over the vibrator and inhale deeply. Your spray antipersperant is more deadly, yet you continue to ues it.

e8gm

As far as whether to tumble before or after sizing, for me it depends on the type of brass I'm resizing.

If sizing pistol brass I tumble before sizing.

Rifle brass I sometimes tumble twice. Once before sizing to remove the dirt and grime from the cases. Then once after sizing to remove the case lube.