tumbler media

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lex
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tumbler media

Post by lex » Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:52 pm

need a little help, getting into reloading and wondering the best media for cleaning brass in a tumbler! thnx guys

Rigger28
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Re: tumbler media

Post by Rigger28 » Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:35 pm

I use corn cob and polishing liquid but I have heard of people using walnut shells. I highly recommend the Frankford Arsenal Tumbler Kit, it comes with everything you need and is very cheap and very quiet.

lex
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Re: tumbler media

Post by lex » Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:54 pm

can u use anything else like a light grit powder?

Rigger28
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Re: tumbler media

Post by Rigger28 » Wed Oct 29, 2014 6:33 pm

Probably, but if your tumbler has a plastic bowl you might not want to use anything too overly abrasive as it will start to "sand" down the plastic. If you don't have a tumbler or don't want to spring for one yet, there are ways of "washing" brass. There are multiple YouTube videos showing how. Also, you don't want anything that can eat into the brass, you just want something that can clean the old powder residue off and slightly polish it for ease of resizing and loading. And to make them pretty :D

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rgg16g
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Re: tumbler media

Post by rgg16g » Wed Oct 29, 2014 7:30 pm

There is a lady at the gun show (coming this weekend BTW) that sells large zip lock bags of walnut and corn cob. They both do a great job and last a long time from my experience. I think she asks $8 per bag.

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BC38
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Re: tumbler media

Post by BC38 » Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:01 pm

I bought a 15 pound bag of walnut shell kitty litter for about 10 bucks at the pet store...
Always looking for a deal on more ammo and reloading components.
I've tried to see things from the liberal point of view - but I'm just not flexible enough to get my head up my ...

boarderwayne
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Re: tumbler media

Post by boarderwayne » Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:50 pm

Wet tumble with stainless pins.

lex
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Re: tumbler media

Post by lex » Thu Oct 30, 2014 1:33 pm

thnx for all the help guys, im just borrowing a buddies little tumbler so the walnut shell should work great. Also thnx for reminding me the gunshow is this weekend :D

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Re: tumbler media

Post by thumpar » Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:02 pm

I have used a few different ones. The corn cob doesn't last long. The best I have used was the Lyman red but it doesn't last long either and leaves residue as it gets older. I now use walnut that I get at the pet store that is labeled lizard litter. The corn cob gave the best polish but also gets stuck in the flash hole. The walnut cleans well it just doesn't have a super polish on it. My tumbler is the Cabela's label tumbler. It is really a Berry's and even has the warranty card in the package from Berry's.
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Re: tumbler media

Post by Slobberknocker » Fri Nov 07, 2014 3:25 pm

boarderwayne wrote:Wet tumble with stainless pins.

+1^^^
Been using pins for a couple years now. Punch the primers first, and the pins will clean the primer pockets as well. Then I tumble in corn media once loaded to clean all the oils off and dry the rounds off real well before storage. Better than a factory finish!

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