If tumbling is the way to go, who makes the best tumbler?

I have tumbled brass for many years. As long as you do not overload the tumbler, I have never had a problem. You have two choices - vibrating and rotary. I use the Midway 1292 vibratory type tumbler. I use both corn and walnut media with Dillon brass cleaner. I always wash and dry the brass after using the tumbler to remove any residue or chemicals from the polish.

Midway - 800 243-3220. Hope this helps.

Z

Hicks - I just read Varmint Al�s info. A vibratory cleaner is not that hard on your brass. I always inspect my brass after cleaning & washing. I never see any damage to the neck or mouth of the brass as he has described. However, I am always careful to fill the tumbler with media and only clean 20 to 50 at a time depending upon caliber.

I anneal my cases after every 4 or 5 loads and tumble my brass every 3 to 5 loads. If there is a problem with this method, I have never experienced it and have always been able to maximize the life of my brass.

[This message has been edited by Zero Drift (edited 07-12-2001).]

I take a different route however. I take all of the brass to process and initially decap each shell (this step removes the spent primer without resizing. I use the RCBS universal decapper).

Next, in a vat of deionized water solution heated to a temperature of 120 degrees, I ultrasonically clean the whole lot. This is based on how large your UC unit is. Mine is a three-quart unit. The cleaning solution can be either regular laundry detergent (2%) or plain old vinegar (10%�20%). I find for standard pistol cases, the detergent is good enough and for rifle cases, I use vinegar. For each quart that the UC unit is comprised of, you can effectively and thoroughly clean as many as 17 pistol or up to 7 rifle cases per quart. After that it does not yield expected returns.

This UC process takes 10...15 minutes (not counting the decapping).

Next, I use an air hose to blow dry the lot.

Next, I place my lot into a vibrating tumbler (I use a Dillon CV2000) with corncob media and polish until I am satisfied with the luster (30...45 mins.). I have used a number of them, I seem to favor the Lyman or Iosso polishes. Lyman yields a nice; high-polished luster whereas the Iosso a medium, low sheen.

Finally, I give them a thorough acetone bath and blow dry again with the air hose.

Viola! Good to go brass. This process takes only one-fourth to max one-third the processing time as opposed to the old method of tumbling between the course and polishing medias (metrics typically stand at 4...6 hours).

If you do not wish to invest in a UC machine (3qt unit approx $400 street price US), then you may substitute that step with either soaking the shells in Iosso Brass Cleaner or a 10-20% solution of distilled water & vinegar. The brass must be thoroughly washed of all acid or cleaning solution before proceeding to the next phase (usually clean distilled water {deionized is best though} fully agitating the cases for a couple of minutes). I've found that you must use the Iosso cleaner in accordance to their instructions because it tends to radically discolor the brass if left to soak longer. With this method, you may have as much as about 25% of primer residue remaining in the pocket however (outline of the anvil support showing much like the pattern of a wagonwheel). You still have to clean it with a pocket primer cleaner (whatever one you happen to favor) in order to correctly seat the new primer. This substitution has been a good-enough approach for me at times. A gallon of the cleaner runs about $25 as I recall right from the Iosso people. I also found that by periodcially agitating the cases while soaking yields better results. The only caution is do not use this stuff in other than plastic container. I have been known to even use this as the cleaning solution with my UC. You would immerse a plastic container of solution and brass directly into the vat of water and ensure that it is NOT heated! This stuff tends to break down quickly.

Since time is typically cyclic for me, I've adopted this method in order to have a set of loadable-ready brass whenever I have a free moment. Obviously, incorporate maximum safety whenever you work with accelerants or highly volatile solvents!

Really, when push comes to shove, all that is really needed to get brass back to a workable state is (1) No Dirt on the outside of the case; (2) Primer Pocket Clean of all residue in order to accomodate proper seating of the next primer; (3) Inside of neck is clean from all debris and residue. To me, all the stuff I demonstrated prior is really a vanity thing because I think I will shoot better if my brass is reaaaally shiney and clean.

I say, it can't be work, it has to be fun.

Best regards,
Alex

[This message has been edited by Alex Szabo (edited 07-13-2001).]

I do this with range brass, or heavily tarnished or corroded brass. Works great. The only negative is that the brass is not quite as shiney as polished brass. If I want highly polished brass I just tumble in media for a few minutes and it polishes right up. The advantage to this method is that the vinegar is cheap, the solution is reuseable and lasts forever except for spillage. It also removes most carbon deposits or at least loosens them enough to easily wipe them off.

For regularly used brass, when it's shiney when new or recently polished, if you carry a small 35mm film container with a patch saturated with bore cleaner, just wipe off the brass after firing. It will stay clean forever this way. Some people use KrazyKloth, a metal polishing cloth available at grocery stores, and wipe off the brass as you shoot. I seldom need to tumble my brass during its life using the bore cleaner in the film can.

[This message has been edited by Bob338 (edited 07-13-2001).]

Best regards,
Alex

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broj

quote:

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Originally posted by Zero Drift:
broj - Be extremely careful with Brasso. I would recommend that you use a polish designed for vibratory cleaners. Brasso can and will embed. If you do not wash it completely from your cases both inside and out, it will find its way to your barrel. Once there it can embed and cause premature wear. There are plenty of safe alternatives.

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Completely true and correct! Despite all that, a key ingredient in Brasso is ammonia (ignoring the abrasvie materials suspended within the product).

Best regards,
Alex