Walnut media size

[OREGUN]

Anyone have experience with upping the screen size of walnut tumbling media to keep it from clogging flash holes-primer cups? I believe Lyman walnut is 12/20. What about going to 8/12 media?

For various reasons, I’ve been decapping before tumbling lately and it helps the other parts of the process but dealing with media in the primer holes sucks.

I’m not going to a wet process so don’t suggest it. Somehow it rubs me the wrong way to use a food product for this so I’d rather not use rice.

 

[KnowNothing256]

Interested in what you hear back.

My current process is using Frankfort Arsenal walnut, which Midway says is 16/20 seive. I tumble twice, once after decapping. I grab a handful of pieces in a bundle and look through the flash holes at a light, took me less than 10 mins for 320 pieces this weekend. I always have a few flash holes that need to be cleaned out per hundred.

 

[OREGUN]

Interested in what you hear back.

My current process is using Frankfort Arsenal walnut, which Midway says is 16/20 seive. I tumble twice, once after decapping. I grab a handful of pieces in a bundle and look through the flash holes at a light, took me less than 10 mins for 320 pieces this weekend. I always have a few flash holes that need to be cleaned out per hundred.

I would say most of my small hole/small primer cases have a piece or two in them when they come out. It is a lot of individual handling if I’m trying to process 300 to 500 cases at a time.

 

[KnowNothing256]

I would say most of my small hole/small primer cases have a piece or two in them when they come out. It is a lot of individual handling if I’m trying to process 300 to 500 cases at a time.

Ahh, yeah if it was the majority of pieces I'd be looking for a change too.

 

[OREGUN]

Maybe super fine is the play. That way it would all run out like sand.

 

[marchboom]

This is what I use:

Zilla English Walnut Shell​

Get it on Amazon. It never sticks in flash holes or primer pockets...rifle or pistol.

 

[MustangGreg66]

I've been using walnut sand blasting media from Harbor Freight. The medium 12 grit seems to get stuck in the flash holes like you said, so much that I run a universal decapper in station 1 of a Dillon 650 when I reload 223. I've since switched to their 24 grit fine media and it doesn't stick in the flash holes anymore. Problem now is, it's so fine that there's a lot of dust from the process.