I have both a vibratory and a tumbler and have used walnut shell, corn cob, and steel shot with good results.

Of course the walnut and corn do not last indefinitely..

I ran across this stuff, and wonder if anyone has tried it yet.. At only $8 bucks a bag, I'm thinking its worth a try..

Coal Slag blasting abrasive

I have an elderly Lyman 600, and all I have ever used in it is Pecan shell. Seems to work fairly well, and has cleaned God knows how many thousands of cases.
The coal slag stuff is interesting though.

Never used it as media, but welded a boiler after it was blasted with it, it was far better than the usual stuff, we have a power plant near by and the blaster can get it for almost nothing. will look forward to trying some thanks!!!

I've never used it as media, but we do use it by the ton to blast pipe and vessels for painting. Might just work, but a word of caution. Black diamond is susceptible to moisture and will cake up hard. Power plant coal slag use to be used to dry up oil rig mud pits, because it would absorb the water and turn to a weak concrete. EPA made us quit using it (without rigorous testing) because of the heavy metals usually found in the slag.

I have a Thumler and use the tiny stainless steel "pins" - it even gets the primer pockets clean. The word "abrasive" in your link would give me pause.

If you want to watch your brass turned into dust, it's the hot ticket.

No offense, but I'd call that a VERY DUMB idea,

GTC

The bottom of the tumbler would also wear through after a few hours.

It used to be a popular blasting media at work. I haven't seen it used in a few years. They called it black beauty. I think the disposal was more expensive and the environmental and health hazard was higher.

Floor dry or kitty liter?

....maybe some dirt from those hard to reach places,...under the fridge and stove, etc. ?

Too hard/abraisive for use as brass tumbling media.

I know,.....CLAM SHELLS, in a concrete mixer !

i aquired some off a job years ago and used it for a very short time. it really cut the brass. took it out ,put it in a coffe can and it got wet somehow(spilled drink?) and turned to rock.
today i still have a vibe for quick cleaning but every 3-4 loadings it goes into a ss pin tumbler.

Lizard Litter from your pet store. A bunch for not much.

^^^^ This works great for me, too.. and yes, it does.