Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Case Cleaning Tumblers and Media

Decap
Tumble
Anneal
Size
Trim and Chamfer if needed
Prime
Load

Yes, that way you can clean the sizing lube and primer pockets too.

If you decide to go the SS wet route Google bulldawg Tumbler or just build it yourself. I'm in the process of doing just thatmmyself now. It can be made as easy or difficult d you like.
But I will say stainless Is certainly the way to go.

This is what I use. Love it

I currently have been using RCBS vibratory cleaner with corn and dryer sheet cut into small squares. I'm always tempted to size right away then tumble, but I'm too afraid of getting sand into the die and scratching it. So I tumble clean, size, then re-tumble for about an hour to get the lube off, then clean the primer pockets.
When my tumbler dies, I'm definitely going to get a rotary tumbler with the stainless media.

FYI: if your using a tumbler or vibratory cleaner with media, invest in one of those media separators or sifter. It sure beats digging through the media to grab each case.

I've been hesitate to go the stainless media route. I can't like the thought of rinsing and drying cases. I'm afraid my impatience would set in and I'd end up with rounds loaded with wet powder. It'd keep me awake at night.

Don't want to sidetrack the thread, but have a RCBS Sidewinder on the way, and this is what I was looking for. Any secret measurements for the dish soap, Lemishine, and water (+ 5 lbs of SS pins) recipe or just a squirt, a dash, and let her go for a couple of hours? How are you drying the cases......oven, compressed air, etc?

I ordered a SS setup, should get it in soon. We have a drip oil stove here on our camp, I am planning on dumping the cases onto a cookie sheet on top of the stove. I am excited to see how shiny the cases get. My old vibratory tumbler worked OK but I wasn't completely satisfied.

Been using the SS media for a while and ceramic before that, and using a cheap $50 food dehydrator the round type with the trays it dries the brass in less than a hour and holds way more brass than both of my tumblers drums

Well, I went ahead and got the cheapy dual tumbler from
Harbor Freight, along with some stainless pins on line.
The brass turned out just like this guy's brass did:

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/reloading/388461-sold-wet-tumbling-ss-pins.html

Here is an old post of mine:

I just wanted to show a few pictures of some brass I've been working on the past couple of weeks. I say weeks, because of being able to work on the brass in stages as I get a chance.

First, I was sent some brass from a generous AR member and I had a few odds and ends laying around from factory loads of my own.

Here is a picture of the brass prior to cleaning.


The brass after cleaning in my tumbler with stainless steel media.


Running the brass thru my annealing machine.


The brass after annealing. You can see the annealing marks just below the shoulder.


The brass is now ready to be sized, prepped, etc. and used as needed.

I don't know anything about the RCBS Sidewinder, but the Thumbler's Tumbler supposedly is limited to a 15-pound gross weight load. The instructions say X amount of cases can go in the drum and then they say to fill the drum up to some point with water (I can't find the danged instruction card or I would quote it...but who in hell reads or even needs instructions? ;)). I decided I'd rather tumble more brass and less water, so I will put the drum on the bath scales and fill it with brass until I've got about a 13- or 14-pound load, and then I add water to bring it up to 15 pounds. I actually cheat a bit and go to 16 pounds. This works just fine and I think I'm getting a little more production this way.

As far as the amount of detergent and Lemishine, I follow the recommendation on the amount of Lemishine but I don't worry too much about the amount of detergent. A generous squirt of the stuff seems to be sufficient.

A lot of years ago when I was doing a bunch of pistol shooting, I bought a Lyman Turbo 3200 because it waould do a gallon icecream container full of 38 Spl brass easily. Those heavy use pistol days are over now mostly, but the Lyman still does good duty on all my cleaning needs. I use treated corncob media and add a splash of Lyman Turbo shine. Couple hours cleans up the brass nicely.

Those big old tumblers were nice. I bought a 2092 from Midway back in '91 or thereabouts and it would tumble a bucketful of brass all at once. It unfortunately bit the dust last summer. I started shopping around for something comparable, and I found a few but the prices were up there. That's why I sprung for stainless. If yours takes a dirt nap anytime soon, I'd urge you to make the transition. Shiny stuff can be irresistible!

I have the Hornady ultrasonic unit.

Using home brew and store bought ultrasonic solutions I'm not impressed.

My vibro bowl unit will always have a place in my shop for applying wax but my future is a Tumblers Tumbler and pins one day

I have three tumblers, each a different brand. They all clean brass. The Cabelas branded tumbler seems to take a little longer to get that spit and polish shine but it works. The only time I really notice the time difference is when I have all three going at once. I use the same media in all three and once in awhile I juice it up with some additive.

[quote=rcamuglia]Thumblers Tumbler with stainless steel media is the only way to go

Lemmi Shine and a squirt of dish soap


I am using the Frankford Quick-EZ Case Tumbler with lizard bedding and not satisfied so looking at your suggestion and the link provided by someone. The stainless steel media is 5lb per the link. How many cleanings can you get from 5 lb? My guess is it lasts a long time so you only need to order 5lb?

What is the max number of brass can you put in with 5ln stainless media?

What tumbler do you use with this stainless steel media? Is it on their website too?

And how much Lemmi Shine and squirt of dish soap do you use? Do you mix in water and then put in with the tumbler? Afterwards so you have to rinse off the dish soap?

BTW your brass is what I want for my brass!

Valad, the media will last a lifetime. The number of cases you can tumble will be limited by the capacity of the tumbler used. Mine is a Thumbler's Tumbler and it's rated at 15 pounds gross, but I generally push it a bit to about 16 pounds. In a previous (above) post I told how I get a bit more brass into a load. I couldn't say how much more brass I'm tumbling than the instructions would have you doing, I haven't counted them out. All I know for sure is that I'm not tumbling as much water as the instructions direct and I'm making up the weight difference with more brass per load.

I see what you mean. Well I doubt I shoot that much to need to tumble a lot of brass. Not sure how many say .270 brass will get 15 lbs but guess I can play around with this. So you have the Thumblers Tumbler. Will have to see how much this costs. Do the ones from Harbor Freight work good as well? Reason for asking is because "I want to buy once and cry once" hehe.

I couldn't speak to the quality of any rotary tumbler other than the Thumbler's. I have one and my neighbor have one and there's nothing wrong with them IMO.

To clarify, the model I use requires the weight of the drum filled with the media, brass, and water be no more than 15 pounds (but as I said I am pushing a few ounces over than). Less water, more brass.