After using my Dillon vibratory case cleaner for many, many years, I decided to try ceramic media. I shoot a lot of black powder cartridges and the cases need a good scrubbing and many hours in the vibrator. I bought a Thumblers rotory tumbler and 3mm ceramic beads and some cleaning media and in two hours a good pile of 416 Rigby cases looked like new - inside and out. Wow! this stuff works great.

How about removal of the media from the cases after you are done tumbling?? Does it get stuck in cases, primer pockets and flash holes like most other media does??

Will this work in a non-rotary tumbler as well??

Price and supplier??

- mike

mho:

They sell different size and shaped ceramic beads. The 3mm round bead will work well in bottleneck cartridges, however I've only tried them in the 416 Rigby which of course has a large diameter case mouth. Because you use water in the media, there is no dry media to get stuck, it just falls right out. I don't know how well it would work with a .223 case though.

The beads designed for straight wall cases like 45-70, 45-110 et al will clean the primer pockets like new. However these beads do not work well with bottleneck cases. I didn't decap before cleaning the Rigby cases so I do not know at this time how well the 3mm round bead will work on the primer pocket.

I was told that this media could work in a standard vibrator but it would have to be a heavy duty model due to the weight of the media and water and also the center stem would have to be well sealed. The rotory type works best for this because they are sealed and were originally designed to tumble rocks so they can handle the weight.

Hope that helps.

RC

As far as price and suppliers, a Thumblers tumbler can be bought at most Hobby stores. I bought mine from www.buffaloarms.com for $145.

The 8 lbs of porcelain media and 8 oz. of cleaning solution (you only use a small capful) was about $45. The media never wears out. I
got it from www.sagebrushproducts.com