Tumbling with Steel Media... WOW!

[NJdiverTony 27]

I have to admit that I had read a lot about tumbling with stainless steel media before and thought "Meh... big deal". I didn't see a reason to go through the expense of buying a wet tumbler and steel media, and thought just tumbling in a vibratory tumbler with corn cob or walnut media was just fine. The only thing with dry tumbling is that the insides of the cases and the primer pockets were still somewhat dirty, but was something I tolerated because: a) My reloads still worked fine and b) I didn't have a choice, unless I wanted to clean the inside of every single case and primer pocket individually (Who's got time for that?).

 

Just recently a friend gave me a virutally new Thumler's Tumbler Model B as a gift, which I thought was great... so I decided to buy the stainless steel media and give it a try. So, last night I ran about 300 9mm cases through the tumbler for about 4 hours and when opened up the tumbler I have to admit that I was really impressed. The cases came out looking like brand spanking new... Spotless and incredibly shiny, inside and out and best of all the primer pockets were perfectly clean too. The secret to getting the brass very shiny is using a spoon or two of "Lemi Shine" along with some dish soap in the water. It works like a charm.

 

So what are the pros and cons?

 

Pros:

- No carbon or lead dust that gets airborne that you end up breathing in

- Brass looks like new, inside and out

- Stainless Stell media doesn't need frequent replacement, unlike crushed corn cob or walnut media (this justifies the cost of the media... $45 for 5lbs of it)

 

Cons:

- Extra steps and time spent with this process

* You have to decap/deprime your cases BEFORE tumbling to get the primer pockets clean. (I used to tumble brass with the spent primers on, so this was an extra step for me)

* You have to dump out the dirty water and wash the brass with lots of fresh water to get out all the soap

* Separating the media from the brass requires a 5 gallon bucket full of water and a media separator

 

- Expense of the tumbler, which is around $180 to $200 (I was lucky enough to get mine for free)

- Expense of the stainless steel media ($45 for 5 lbs)

 

 

So is it worth it? If you had asked me that question before I got the tumbler and steel media I probably would have said "No"... but now that I have actually seen the resuts with my own eyes and have the equipment, I have to say "YES!" Having super shiny brass that looks like new isn't THAT important to me... I only care that my reloads work and shoot like they should. What I like best about wet tumbling is the elimination of the dust and the health benefit of this... but hey, who also doesn't love the look of super shiny brass???

[lunker 274]

Remember not to overdo it. I left my tumbler on for a long time (overnight) and found that the steel media weakened the case mouth on my 357 brass. I was getting occasional casemouth splits on my belling/powder stage. I suspect that brass will not have as long a lifespan if you clean with steel media. Just a guess on my part though.

[NJdiverTony 27]

Remember not to overdo it. I left my tumbler on for a long time (overnight) and found that the steel media weakened the case mouth on my 357 brass. I was getting occasional casemouth splits on my belling/powder stage. I suspect that brass will not have as long a lifespan if you clean with steel media. Just a guess on my part though.

 

Thanks, Chris. Yeah, I kind of worried about that myself which is why I'm going to limit it to 3 or 4 hours of tumbling per batch. I've read that the media does not weaken or thin out/grind down the brass, but I still worried that this could happen. Then again, if this was indeed happening, wouldn't you find brass "dust" or sediment at the bottom of bucket when you dump out the water? I didn't see anything like this after my tumbling session.

[lunker 274]

I didn't think to check the reloading water carefully.

I think the weakened brass issue more along the lines of the case mouth getting "worked" by the steel media, like running a rifle case through the neck sizing die a bunch of times.

[Pew Pew Plates 358]

The guys on snipers hide (the most anal brass bunch out there) have come to agreement that it does not work the brass at all. Tiny pins of stainless floating around in the water and the brass gently rolling around in water is nowhere near the stress of basically blowing it up in your gun at 10,000PSI +

 

I went to stainless for health with the added benefit of better brass prep for rifle (no need to clean primer pockets now). I use it for pistol too for health reasons. I knew it was a good idea when my basement started getting toxic dust floating around (no shed to put tumbler in...)

[lunker 274]

The guys on snipers hide (the most anal brass bunch out there) have come to agreement that it does not work the brass at all. Tiny pins of stainless floating around in the water and the brass gently rolling around in water is nowhere near the stress of basically blowing it up in your gun at 10,000PSI +

 

I went to stainless for health with the added benefit of better brass prep for rifle (no need to clean primer pockets now). I use it for pistol too for health reasons. I knew it was a good idea when my basement started getting toxic dust floating around (no shed to put tumbler in...)

 

I didn't know about the Sniper's Hide consensus. You are right about them being anal. Also, I have never seen a group with such finely tuned bs detectors. They are always looking to trash any self-styled "operators" that make dubious claims.

As for the health reasons, I am with you on this one. As someone with acute lead toxicity, I have been looking for contamination sources and brass tumbling seemed like an obvious one. Indoor ranges are the other biggie.

[NJdiverTony 27]

I went to stainless for health with the added benefit of better brass prep for rifle (no need to clean primer pockets now). I use it for pistol too for health reasons. I knew it was a good idea when my basement started getting toxic dust floating around (no shed to put tumbler in...)

 

Glenn,

 

Agreed... the health benefits are the most important factor. I was tumbling in my vibratory tumbler in the garage, but did all the case/media separation outside to ensure I didn't get lead dust all over the place. In any case, the wet tumbling is much better... although a little bit extra work... so there is a trade-off. I also agree that this is the ideal way to clean rifle brass if you're looking to reload for accuracy.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Tony, I have the same tumbler. I just happened to de-prime about 2K of .40 brass and another 2K of 9mm last night and ready to start the tumbling process today when I get home from work.

 

One thing I do, is cut back the water by about a cup to a cup in a half from the recommended amount. I use 2 table spoons of Dawn and 1/4 table spoon of lemi-shine and only tumble for an 1hr 45min to 2hr's and see no difference compared to tumbling longer.

 

Also for .40 I tumble 400-425 cases at a time and 9mm I'll do about 500 at a time, thats the reason I use less water, doing more cases at a time and reducing the weight being the number of recommended cases is only for weight reasons and wear and tear on the motor.

 

So save on the lemi-shine and use less (less is more here)

[NJdiverTony 27]

Tony, I have the same tumbler. I just happened to de-prime about 2K of .40 brass and another 2K of 9mm last night and ready to start the tumbling process today when I get home from work.

 

One thing I do, is cut back the water by about a cup to a cup in a half from the recommended amount. I use 2 table spoons of Dawn and 1/4 table spoon of lemi-shine and only tumble for an 1hr 45min to 2hr's and see no difference compared to tumbling longer.

 

Also for .40 I tumble 400-425 cases at a time and 9mm I'll do about 500 at a time, thats the reason I use less water, doing more cases at a time and reducing the weight being the number of recommended cases is only for weight reasons and wear and tear on the motor.

 

So save on the lemi-shine and use less (less is more here)

 

Harry,

 

You deprimed 4k cases in one night?!?!?! Holy sh*t! What are you using to deprime in those kinds of quantities? I was using my Lee Turret press and just running the brass through my priming/resizing die (which deprimes as well)... but 4K cases would take several hours to do.

[Pew Pew Plates 358]

Dont run dirty brass through your sizing die! Very bad for it! Part of the reason of cleaning is so you can run the brass through your sizing die. So putting it through the die before preparing it for the die.... Get a universal decapping die for $10 and a cheap single stage. Much faster because there is no resistance, 4k deprimes in a night, while alot, isnt as crazy as it seems.

 

Also, I tumble 500 .45 cases at a time with no problems and good results. Im lazy and impatient lol

[lunker 274]

+1 on the depriming die. I have a Dillon die holder setup just for that decapper. You can knock out a lot of brass fast with that die.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Harry,

 

You deprimed 4k cases in one night?!?!?! Holy sh*t! What are you using to deprime in those kinds of quantities? I was using my Lee Turret press and just running the brass through my priming/resizing die (which deprimes as well)... but 4K cases would take several hours to do.

 

I have a separate tool-head with a Lee universal de-capping die for my Dillon 650 with case feeder. I can average about 30 a minute with keeping the case feeder loaded and emptying the bin and primer catch cup. 30 a minute is a 1 hour straight run, I did take a break so it did take me 3 hours total, so I guess my average is a little lower than the 30 per hour during this de-priming session..

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Get a universal decapping die for $10 and a cheap single stage.

 

Yup, using the Lee one, and for anyone who gets one, order extra pins for it. I bought a 10 pack and I have only had to replace 1 in the last 15k of brass I have de-primed.

[NJdiverTony 27]

OK, cool... thanks guys. I'll start looking into the Lee Universal decapping die today and also for a cheap single stage.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

OK, cool... thanks guys. I'll start looking into the Lee Universal decapping die today and also for a cheap single stage.

 

Something that has a case-feeder is your friend...

[raz-0 1,259]

Remember not to overdo it. I left my tumbler on for a long time (overnight) and found that the steel media weakened the case mouth on my 357 brass. I was getting occasional casemouth splits on my belling/powder stage. I suspect that brass will not have as long a lifespan if you clean with steel media. Just a guess on my part though.

 

It's not the steel media per se, it's the rotating tumbler and the mass of the contents that flop around. You can have issues when you use brass and regular media in a cement mixer. Steel media just lets you enjoy those problems with a small tumbler.

[NJdiverTony 27]

Something that has a case-feeder is your friend...

 

Yeah, that is true... but also $$$... I need to find something cheap. I wonder if this will work: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/807734/lee-reloader-single-stage-press

 

or if I should just get a separate turret plate and mount the universal decapping die on it and just use my turret press? Using my turret press would probably be the cheapest solution.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I'd let others chime in on this, I am only familiar with the Dillon..

[Pew Pew Plates 358]

Yeah, that is true... but also $$$... I need to find something cheap. I wonder if this will work: http://www.midwayusa...gle-stage-press

 

or if I should just get a separate turret plate and mount the universal decapping die on it and just use my turret press? Using my turret press would probably be the cheapest solution.

 

Tony, that will work. May as well spring for the ~$90 classic breech lock lee single stage since you can use it for precision rifle loading as well if you so decide. I prefer to keep decapping off the turret press, keeps it that much cleaner and then you dont need to use that plastic tube on it anymore

[Gregg 5]

I switched to wet tumbling back in March. I deprimed my tumbled brass and ran it through - AMAZING. Instantly hooked and completely worth it. The new tumbling setup went perfect with the new bench I had built.

 

I scoured the internet and managed to find a used Lortone 12lb tumbler for a decent price....very very happy with it. I use some dish soap and a touch of lemishine - brass comes out looking like new! I've also used it to clean up various other pieces and it worked like a champ each time.

[JonF 79]

Couple of questions regarding this:

 

How are you disposing of the contaminated water?

How are you all doing your drying phase? Just dump it on a tray? Run a fan on a timer?

[NJdiverTony 27]

Couple of questions regarding this:

 

How are you disposing of the contaminated water?

How are you all doing your drying phase? Just dump it on a tray? Run a fan on a timer?

 

Just pouring the water down the sink drain...

The drying phase, I actually wrapped all 300 to 350 cases into an old towel and jiggled them around to let the towel absorb a bunch of the water... and then put them in a dry bucket to let them completely dry out. They were dry by the next morning and had no water spots on them or anything.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I just pour the water down the drain, as far as drying, I put them out in a tray with a towel on it, let them dry for a little while and then I put them in a low cut box like you would get 4 6packs of soda in at Costco and let them dry overnight.

 

I also use a media separator that I got from STM.

 

Another thing, rinse with cold water, no spotting like if you use warm or hot water. Now if you really have crappy water I would get a 5 gallon bucket and put distilled water in it and dip the tap water rinsed cases in that one last time if your really worried about spotting.

[Socom 19]

i just uni decap mine then mix water with vinegar salt and brass shake it every half hour leave it over night wash it a few times then let it air dry then tumble it in my walnut media and the brass comes out very very nice and i want to say 85 to 90% clean primer pockets and all; no need to waste money on those awesome thumbler liquid tumblers