Can your media do this??? The ultimate challenge

[mdmp5]

Since Terry mentioned it that one day, tumbling with stainless steel media has really become a hot topic. After seeing the results myself, I will never go back to corn and nuts media. I really wanted see what the media was capable of, so I put it up to the ultimate challenge. My friend in ESU gave me a box of .223 range brass from his NYPD range a few months ago. It was sitting in my car for almost the entire time. I opened it up the other day, and was horrified. It was the dirtiest, skank, scumbag brass I have ever seen. It looked like it had been sitting at the bottom of the ocean for 10 years. Here is a pic of the brass:

The brass is as good as scrap, and normally, I would have tossed it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I grabbed 2 handfuls of this crap and threw it into the thumlers with the steel media, water and a capful of dish soap for about 6 hrs. Here are the results, with skank brass beside it to compare. The brass is Winchester headstamp btw:

The brass is clean, smooth and shiny on the outside. The flash holes are clear. The insides of the cases are pretty clean, but there is a little bit of oxidation left over. Before considering loading these, I am gonna throw the skank brass in the vibratory tumbler with walnut first and then throw them in the thumlers. I think this will loosen most of the oxidation from the insides.

So there you have it. I took brass that was considered unsalvageable, and restored it into something viable. I firmly uphold that tumbling with stainless media in the thumlers is the best method out there. Big thanks to Terry and his friend who supplied the media.

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Can your media do this???

You should get better freinds! That is some pretty shitty brass! No wonder he gave it to you!

I'm not sure I would have even tumbled that and I have tumbled some scungy brass! Interesting to see it!

Did the have 223's during the Civil War? LOL!

That brass looks like a peice of BMG brass I found on the Normady coast!

Terry

 

[mdmp5]

Re: Can your media do this???

twas definitely the worst looking brass I have come across

 

[Chiller]

Re: Can your media do this???

After Terry helped me with this I have already run through 800 pieces of .260 brass (1 week). It is amazing what it does. Everything gets cleaned Outside, inside, Primer, etc.

The only thing I can come up with is the need for a larger tumbler.

There is only one thing you need to be aware of on the Thumbler’s Tumbler. They have changed their manufacturing there are some finger washers that have been removed that previously held the drive in place. If your drive Rubber wheels begin to walk, contact Thumbler. Al was very helpful in finding a resolution.

 

[mdmp5]

Re: Can your media do this???

I modified mine to minimize any movement of the rollers and wear on the nylon bushings. I placed an e-clip on the proximal side of the distal roller on the drive shaft, and a finger washer on the distal side. I also placed washers on the ousides of the shafts, between the finger washers and the nylon bushings. In addition, I stacked up a bunch of washers and wedged them underneath the right side of the motor, as it is not supported on this side. This keeps it from vibrating up and down, and keeps it level with the floor. This should translate to reduced stress on the drive belt, and more efficient energy transfer to the drive shaft.

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Can your media do this???

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Chiller</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There is only one thing you need to be aware of on the Thumbler’s Tumbler. They have changed their manufacturing there are some finger washers that have been removed that previously held the drive in place. If your drive Rubber wheels begin to walk, contact Thumbler. Al was very helpful in finding a resolution.
</div></div>

Terry

 

[poles93]

Re: Can your media do this???

Just got my SS media from Terry's friend today. He is a super nice guy and I'm looking forward to talking to him on the phone. It will take me about two weeks to order my Thumlers. The Eagle shits every two weeks!

I already bought a Lee depriming die and worked through all of my rifle brass in anticipation of tumbling them. By the way the Lee decapping die works awesome I had one really tough primer in my Lake City brass (I probably missed it when I swaged the crimps out) and instead of the pin bending or breaking it just pushed up in the collet. Took all of 30 seconds to put the pin back in place. I have an old Lyman turret press (originally my Dad's from way back) that I set up with my swaging dies and decapping die its perfect for these. Glad I didn't get rid of that old worn out press now.

My brass isn't that bad but my 454 brass gets a ton of carbon build up when using W296 so I can't wait to see how they come out. I will keep you updated on my progress.
Again, thanks Terry.

 

[Hummer]

Re: Can your media do this???

An extension on that. I have found a cheap way to dry cases.
Nylon mesh storage/laundry bags.http://www.rei.com/search?query=mesh+bag I got the elcheapo for 5.50. Holds 200 5.56 cases.
When I pull the brass out of the rinse water after doing the stainless media magic I stress relieve the necks with torch and then I put them in mesh bag and lay them on furnace duct that comes up through floor to dry out the water the torch does not dry up.
In the summer months I am planning on hanging it outside in the sun as we have good wind here in the summer.

 

[bdh308]

Re: Can your media do this???

Thats just unreal. I remember reading some of the reviews on this. What was the total cost for the tumbler media combo?

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Can your media do this???

Media was at $46 per 5lb shipped. However, there is going to be a slight increase in price due to the suppliers increase in shipping cost!

Tumblers are in the $160-$200 range! Varies! Shop around and watch Ebay. The Thumlers Tumblers last forever with proper care, and the media will also.

Terry

 

[bdh308]

Re: Can your media do this???

Thanks Terry. I definitely have to put this on my to buy list.

 

[mdmp5]

Re: Can your media do this???

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hummer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">An extension on that. I have found a cheap way to dry cases.
Nylon mesh storage/laundry bags.http://www.rei.com/search?query=mesh+bag I got the elcheapo for 5.50. Holds 200 5.56 cases.
When I pull the brass out of the rinse water after doing the stainless media magic I stress relieve the necks with torch and then I put them in mesh bag and lay them on furnace duct that comes up through floor to dry out the water the torch does not dry up.
In the summer months I am planning on hanging it outside in the sun as we have good wind here in the summer.</div></div>

Not a bad idea. I Prefer the drying box, but then again I enjoy building stuff.

 

[Deisel]

Re: Can your media do this???

Terry's contact for media told me I got the last 5 lbs at $46. Don't know what the new price will be. Looking forward to trying it out. The Thumler's Tumbler Model B is on its way as well, so by the weekend I should be good to go.

 

[mdmp5]

Re: Can your media do this???

You will be astounded with the results. After you tumble a few batches, you will want to make yourself a polycarbonate lid. I made mine with a dremel, but if you are not confident with your skills, you can go the CNC route.

 

[memilanuk]

Re: Can your media do this???

I take it the poly-carb lid doesn't get abraded by the media and/or cases... I would have thought it would?

What are you guys seeing as the most effective detergent mix in your tumblers? The supplier said he used Ivory, but so far it seems a little scarce around here. Sooner or later I'm sure I'll run across some, but I'm not going from store to store searching for it

My first go I tried Lemi-shine (woulda swore I saw someone say they used it) and *that* didn't go so well - at least not straight by itself. The cases came out literally looking worse than when they went in - a nice uniform gun-metal grey. After draining off the Lemi-shine solution and rinsing, I realized that the cases were (mostly) clean, but the crap was sticking to them as a film. It wiped off with finger pressure, but that kind of defeated the point of the exercise. Tossed 'em back in with some Palmolive liquid dish soap and they came out sparkly clean a couple hours later. Second batch (6-6.5x47L) is in there now.

Anybody tried tumbling in something more... aggressive - like BC Case Cleaner solution?

Looking good so far - way less baby-sitting than ultra-sonic and way less PITA getting the media out of the cases as compared to the angle-cut ceramic stuff. Now I just have to stream-line the separating & drying processes a bit...

Monte

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Can your media do this???

You got to have dish soap in the mix for the surfactant level to hold the carbon in suspension away from the cases. Otherwise you will get exactly what you described, gun metal colored brass!

Also, soaking the case in hot water with dish soap prior to tumbling will help and cut down on the tumble time.

I use Ivory, Dawn, or Palmolive. If the cases are extremely dirty I will add a teaspoon of Citranox to the mix.

Add Dish soap and retumble, they will come out clean!

Terry

 

[Mag 300]

Re: Can your media do this???

Thanks Terry
Calling them now
Bill


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: suasponte</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Chiller</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There is only one thing you need to be aware of on the Thumbler’s Tumbler. They have changed their manufacturing there are some finger washers that have been removed that previously held the drive in place. If your drive Rubber wheels begin to walk, contact Thumbler. Al was very helpful in finding a resolution.
</div></div>

Terry
</div></div>