2aHawaii
Tools and Uses => Reloading => Topic started by: Dolomite on May 16, 2013, 04:57:41 PM
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what does everyone use for tumbling?
wet or media tumbler?
any advantages or disadvantages to either one?
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I use corn cob and walnut shells and occasionally some polish. I prefer it because I don't have to wait for cases to dry. And it is VERY important your cases are dry inside BEFORE you reload them. It takes a little longer and I probably don't get as great results as those who use the wet methods.
One other thing I prefer about using dry media is after I use lube on my cases I have to wipe them off. A buddy of mine got a very small amount of lube inside some of his cases and the powder did not ignite. So it turned out to be a messy squib load with unburned powder all over the place. After learning from his mistake I always throw my cases back in the tumbler after sizing if I use lube. I know it is an extra step but it is something I do just to be safe. In all my years I have had only one squib load. And it was my fault (no powder).
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Used to use dry, but now I wet tumble with SS pins and never looking back!
Check out this thread that drifted a bit . . . http://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=4337.0 (http://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=4337.0) and check out Ren's pics.
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corn cob and walnut with polish and some petroleum solvent and used dryer sheets.
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corn cob and walnut with polish and some petroleum solvent and used dryer sheets.
I add a little liquid cleaner car wax to the walnut media, but the dryer sheets sounds like a good idea.
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which wet tumbler are people using?
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which wet tumbler are people using?
Thumler
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I had someone wet tumble some of my brass for 2 hours... they use the tumbler for non brass related work, so I asked them to run it tonight..... pure coincidence...
I have yet to see the actual brass but it looks clean....
should it get cleaner if tumbled longer?
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/17/ahusybum.jpg)
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I dry tumble. Have a friend who uses a sonic cleaner. Very very clean when it comes out, but after a while the brass discolors. I would think a wet tumble would do the same thing.
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Dry tumble. After the range I tumble with walnut to get them clean, and then tumble in corn cob and polish to get them nice and shiny.
I'm amazed at how nice cases come out with wet tumbling and how it cleans the primer pockets. But I'm on the fence on whether it's worth the extra work and initial cost for something that's mostly cosmetic.
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I dry tumble. Have a friend who uses a sonic cleaner. Very very clean when it comes out, but after a while the brass discolors. I would think a wet tumble would do the same thing.
Different formula. I use Lemishine with Dawn dishwashing liquid.
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Different formula. I use Lemishine with Dawn dishwashing liquid.
Hey Ren, does your brass come shiny from neck to base? or do you have some discoloration remaining?
how long do you tumble using the water tumbler?
I'm on the fence too about the water tumbler.
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I tumble for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Thats enough bling for me. I put in about 100 .223 cases with a tablespoon of Lemishine follwoed by 2 tablespoons of Dawn. Fill enough water to about 3/4 of container. The key is rinsing it off well in cold water and drying it on a towel.
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I tumble for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Thats enough bling for me. I put in about 100 .223 cases with a tablespoon of Lemishine follwoed by 2 tablespoons of Dawn. Fill enough water to about 3/4 of container. The key is rinsing it off well in cold water and drying it on a towel.
wow how big is your tumbler? I was looking at the 6lb (2 tub) thumler for 308 and 9mm cases... will that work?
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(http://rocktumbler.com/620/thumlers-model-b.jpg)
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I tumble for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Thats enough bling for me. I put in about 100 .223 cases with a tablespoon of Lemishine follwoed by 2 tablespoons of Dawn. Fill enough water to about 3/4 of container. The key is rinsing it off well in cold water and drying it on a towel.
OK..............wtf is lemishine? You polishing lemmings?
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/18/yny8y7ar.jpg)
LOL
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The main reason I went with wet tumbling was the absence of dust. I live in a townhome with no garage or backyard so dust is a concern. I reload in my spare bedroom and wet tumble in my spare bathroom.
Here's a thread on how to make your own: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html (http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html)
I have an old Sears 1/3 HP motor I found. Been contemplating awhile.
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The main reason I went with wet tumbling was the absence of dust. I live in a townhome with no garage or backyard so dust is a concern. I reload in my spare bedroom and wet tumble in my spare bathroom.
Here's a thread on how to make your own: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html (http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html)
I have an old Sears 1/3 HP motor I found. Been contemplating awhile.
+1 I'm in same situation... water definitely sounds like the way to go...
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Wet for me too. SS pins and Thumbler. I get my lemii shine from Walmart.
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which stainless media do you use?
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The main reason I went with wet tumbling was the absence of dust. I live in a townhome with no garage or backyard so dust is a concern. I reload in my spare bedroom and wet tumble in my spare bathroom.
Here's a thread on how to make your own: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html (http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html)
I have an old Sears 1/3 HP motor I found. Been contemplating awhile.
Mahalo Ren for posting the link! :shaka:
DIY seems the way to go to process more brass at a time than then the thumler is capable of. Seems pretty straight forward with the motor being the most expensive part . . .
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I seen pictures of this guy using a harbor freight tumbler that he took off the bin and bolted down a 5 gallon bucket then he would put a smaller bucket with lid inside of that. He wet tumbled with plastic media and LSD, his brass came out just like new. I might try that or harbor freight has the rotary rock tumbler that people use for their brass that is cheap, they pick up a refresher pack of stainless pins and use the LSD bath.
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I tumble for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Thats enough bling for me. I put in about 100 .223 cases with a tablespoon of Lemishine follwoed by 2 tablespoons of Dawn. Fill enough water to about 3/4 of container. The key is rinsing it off well in cold water and drying it on a towel.
wow that is a lot of LSD, you don't get any discoloring? I've read of guys using 1/4 tsp - 1tsp of lemishine and a couple drops of dawn.
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No discoloring thus far, lots of bling from head to case mouth. The amt of lemishine depends on how hard your water is. It might be too.much for some users.
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here is a discount for harbor freight
20% Off Any Single Item
71291089
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I ordered my thumbler kit from brownells it came with 5lb bag of SS pins for $179.00
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/18/yny8y7ar.jpg)
LOL
I C.........interesting.
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Different formula. I use Lemishine with Dawn dishwashing liquid.
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Ren
Does the Lemi Shine react with the brass?
In other words, would it remove tarnish WITHOUT tumbling?
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wow that is a lot of LSD, you don't get any discoloring? I've read of guys using 1/4 tsp - 1tsp of lemishine and a couple drops of dawn.
I got a little discoloring when I put too much lemishine. I figured more lemishine would make it shinier. It doesn't. Still nice and clean though. LOL
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Ren
Does the Lemi Shine react with the brass?
In other words, would it remove tarnish WITHOUT tumbling?
I tried that with not much success. THe brass was clean but not shiny. The tarnish was still there. The pins will polish it out. I think the key ingredient in lemi shine is the citric acid. The dishwashing detergent is the carrier for the grime.
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I tried that with not much success. THe brass was clean but not shiny. The tarnish was still there. The pins will polish it out. I think the key ingredient in lemi shine is the citric acid. The dishwashing detergent is the carrier for the grime.
interesting.
I recall reading about and trying the old lemon juice-vinegar-detergent treatment which sounds like Lemi Shine and dish soap
I have used a commercial janitorial product that contained phosphoric acid for badly tarnished shells.
I also used ZUD cleanser (something like comet) that contained oxalic acid for badly tarnished shells.
Both of these were my pre-treatment for the hopeless cases that I really wanted to reload.
So it looks like the pattern is a mild acid combined with a surfactant.
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I just tumbled a bunch of pennies and got 4 wheaties! It sure beat all the coins up but who cares with these. Next is sorting out the coppers (hopefully) at least can read the dates now. Used a squirt of liquid soap and maybe a Tbsp of lemishine and 10 minutes tumble. Will try brass + pins this weekend.
Could you squeeze lemon or orange juice in instead for the citric acid?
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anyone tried using an ultra sonic cleaner?
been reading and watching videos and it seems to clean inner case and primer pocket with heat, vinegar, water and lemi shine....
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anyone tried using an ultra sonic cleaner?
been reading and watching videos and it seems to clean inner case and primer pocket with heat, vinegar, water and lemi shine....
The ultra sonic cleaners clean the brass very well.the only problem is the ones offered by hornady and other similar manufactures are small and if u want to clean more brass the larger cleaners are expensive, I'm guessing that's why most people will wet tumble with ss media
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The main reason I went with wet tumbling was the absence of dust. I live in a townhome with no garage or backyard so dust is a concern. I reload in my spare bedroom and wet tumble in my spare bathroom.
Here's a thread on how to make your own: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html (http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html)
I have an old Sears 1/3 HP motor I found. Been contemplating awhile.
Wish I had a spare bedroom and bathroom to reload. Did some dry tumbling in the living room and doesnt seem to dusty.