Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

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Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by Jarhead » 30 Jun 2020, 2:37 pm

Hi All,

I have read somewhere that corncob tumbling media is great at polishing brass, and that walnut shell is better at cleaning brass.

I find that 3-4 hours in corncob with about 20mls of Nufinish polish makes my brass shine on the outside.

But there is still some carbon build up inside.

Has anyone tried a mix of walnut and corncob media to get the best performance of both?
Regards,

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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by JimTom » 30 Jun 2020, 3:06 pm

No I haven’t tried that mate. If you give it a shot let us know the results.
If you are however, after brass that looks like new before reloading mate, try sonic clean first, which removes the carbon etc, then give them a few hours in the corn cob.
Yeah it’s an overkill and not necessary by any stretch of the imagination. I do however have the time to do it and I enjoy it. It really does give you fantastic looking clean brass.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by TassieTiger » 30 Jun 2020, 3:34 pm

Every time I tumble - I try new stuff. Lead shot, stainless ball bearings, stainless rivet stems cut into small pieces, wire wool, coarse sand, etc etc - I sold my sonic cleaner, I didn’t see a good enough result from it - the tumblers are brilliant. I use white vinegar, a squirt of degreaser, some soap and wAter - change out mix on the hour - so shiny, ya will need ya sunnies!
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by Lorgar » 30 Jun 2020, 3:58 pm

I haven't tried a combination, but a while back I took to washing my walnut media periodically, which I think basically achieves what you're after here.

I've had this conversation a few times with people since and, in hindsight, find it funny people are critical of walnut (or whichever) media for not cleaning well enough when they are/were re-using the same batch endlessly.

If you wash a window with a dirty rag, no one is surprised that the window ends up looking dirty. Yet people expect tumbler media to just magically send grime off into the ether :unknown:

If you're not cleaning your media as well, at some point you're obviously just re-circulating the lube and grime from the cases.

Check out this which I posted a while back.

Before and after washing tumbler media

The results of the cases before and after the wash were night and day.

Hope that helps.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by Rwd22 » 30 Jun 2020, 5:13 pm

I definitely need to clean or ditch some of my walnut media, some of it is quite dirty and stupid me has been circulating it back through with the clean stuff. I figured once it all got trashed enough, I'd turf the lot and grab another 10-15kg bag.

I did consider mixing corncob and walnut as Jarhead has asked, but having a background in metal fabrication and polishing, mixing grits of different types/grit seems counterproductive, you're fine polishing with the corncob, then rough polishing with the walnut at the same time, kind of like a wax on, wax off with a dirty rag in one hand and a clean rag in the other.

I took to dumping a little bit of liquid polish of whatever I could find in with the walnut and it comes out a treat, have also tried a little bit of turps to work at removing the base grime and softening some of the carbon, the turps eventually evaporates so you don't end up with grimey media.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by Lorgar » 30 Jun 2020, 5:36 pm

Honestly mate, give your walnut a wash. I think you'll be pleased.

All I did with mine was put it in a stocking and dunk that around in a sink full of water, then spread it out on a tray to dry thoroughly.

I don't use any polish or cleaning additive, and the brass comes out looking absolutely great from washed walnut.

No dust, lube residue, or anything. It comes out great.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by deanp100 » 30 Jun 2020, 6:20 pm

I’ll have to try sand in the tumbler next time.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by JimTom » 30 Jun 2020, 7:11 pm

Apologies for the brief side track, however what solution were you using in your sonic cleaner, and how many of what cartridge were you putting in your sonic cleaner TassieTiger? Mine is relatively small, circa 3lt I think. It works a treat provided it is not overloaded.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by TassieTiger » 30 Jun 2020, 9:35 pm

I had a 3 litre sonic heater from eBay - the heater aspect would get water neatly boiling and that did most of cleaning...the buzzing drove me nuts and did sfa. It cleaned jewellery ok but didn’t get “dirt” off anything.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by JimTom » 30 Jun 2020, 9:46 pm

Thanks mate, interesting. Mine works a treat using the Lyman cleaning solution if I have it, or just as well with water, vinegar, dishwashing liquid solution. Admittedly I can only put about 20 .308 cases in it at a time as they need a bit of space to bounce around. Can be time consuming. Wouldn’t mind trying the wet tumbling one day.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by TassieTiger » 01 Jul 2020, 8:06 am

Bounce around? See that’s exactly what mine didn’t do...they just sat there thinking they were getting a free spa!! Lazy bastards. Now they get thrown against steel and plastic at speed - ya know, they earn their keep and are a better product for it...might use that analogy with my kids lol.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by Blr243 » 01 Jul 2020, 8:48 am

Reading thru this has inspired me to google HOME MADE WET TUMBLER. On YouTube there is a 47 second vid. The cost of a wet tumbler I think is the main reason a lot of us are scared away. I already have a sonic cleaner and a corn cob tumbler. But for years I have been struggling to get the insides of my necks smooth and beautiful.... I care not much for having my case outsides clean enough to enter them in a beauty competition For me it’s all about eliminating that horrible dry drag of the expander ball . I hate the idea of the resistance affecting the shape of my freshly sized shoulders and over all case length. ..........I have tried bronze brush in a cordless drill , lube, powdered graphite. I think bronze brush in a drill then wet tumbling could be what I need ...after watching that vid, .If I can find amotor this morning I’m going to be wet tumbling by noon today ........I just remembered that due to covid and no hunting and lots of reloading I have no empties.....bugger
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by TassieTiger » 01 Jul 2020, 12:22 pm

Thing is BLR - most ppl are searching for a case tumbler and prices are aligned with the expensive sport of shooting.
Look up 3kg tumbler on eBay - $75 and they are generally for rocks so therefore, over designed for brass cases...they work brilliantly (or mine does lol) and you get a few spares of consumables like o rings, belt drives. Etc.
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by pomemax » 01 Jul 2020, 1:29 pm

I use corn cob with a dash of Purple car polish works ok sometimes if the inside is real carbon coated I will throw them through the sonic cleaner first but generally just corn cob the tumbler I am going to copy is something like this one .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cUHJ7z3ZGI&t=464s
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by Blr243 » 01 Jul 2020, 1:31 pm

Good point TT. SO FAR I CANT EVEN GET MY 50 dollar motor to turn and I got a black flash come out of the power point so maybe I should stick to my day job if I want to live for a bit longer
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Re: Case tumblers- Has anyone tried a media mix?

Post by TassieTiger » 01 Jul 2020, 1:46 pm

Ha. Literally just laughed out loud...now ppl looking at me weird. Don’t mess with the dark arts mate - they can kill you.
Get an eBay one - if nothing more, it will tell you if you want to progress in that direction.
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
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