What do you think? I've been washing mine, the walnut stuff seems to have alot of dust.
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What do you think? I've been washing mine, the walnut stuff seems to have alot of dust.
I never use tumblers. 37 years loading without one and counting. No dust problems at all. ;)
The dust contains a lot of particulate lead and lead oxide. Needless to say, it is not a healthy thing for you or your family to be breathing. To reduce it, add a little water to the media.
Or you could simply stop using the tumbler altogether.
I take it outside to dump it, or i will get in trouble!!!
look for the citric acid thread next door.
it works well, and can be followed by corn cob for a polish. [some use nu-finish car wax too]
or just dried and used as is.
i use an enclosed vibrator after the citric acid cleaning and really like it, it's good for the brass too.
I read that this afternoon, going the have to try the nu-finish
Been doing this for a LONG time.......
Here's the trick:
BEFORE adding any brass to the tumbler, add a capful of NuFinish liquid car polish AND a couple of capfuls of Turpentine or Mineral Spirits to your media. Turn on the tumbler and allow the additives to work itself in, with no brass in the tumbler. Should take about 20 minutes to completely mix in. The media should be only slightly damp. (that solves the dusty problem)
Now, add your brass, and tumble as usual.
NuFinish is a polymer type polish. No wax. And, no ammonia.
Brass tumbled in this manner will come out bright and shiny, and will stay so for months!!!
Another plug for the Citric Acid cleaner recipe next door.
I boil my brass in the solution mentioned, pull the brass out, rinse in hot water, put on a towel in the sun for at least a day, then in the vibratory tumbler for 30 minutes or less with PLAIN corncob pet bedding treated with a little Mequiar's liquid wax per DukeInMaine's method. The citric acid solution "passivates" the brass, which means it prevents further oxidation as well as reduces surface oxide back into elemental copper and zink.
Gear
Why do you tumble the Brass in the first place - just to look purdy...?
I have a tumbler and have used it, but eventually I asked myself, "Self...WHY are
you doing this ?".
I had no good answer....
DoctorBill
After loading 1000s of rounds i picked out all the purdy cases and what was left was really dirty.
I have been following this procedure for some time now and it works very well for me also. Even if you run a batch or two without adding more polish a bit of mineral spirits will keep the dust down quite well and still brighten the brass too.Quote:
Originally Posted by DukeInMaine
To keep the dust down try using a dryier sheet,used or new.They catch a LOT of the dust and other stuff in the tubbler.Take one and cut it into 4 pieces.pan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoctorBill
I do. After I tumble it and get it all nice and shiny I can more easily find defects in the brass that I otherwise may have missed... Every step in handloading is a brass inspection step..
Inspecting your brass is easier and in my own little mind I think it is easier on my dies.
Plus it really really purdy when it is all shiney.
Ken.
I couldn't agree more. I was going to pass on purchasing a tumbler initially but then the guy at Dillon mentioned the inspection issue and that made sense to me. He was right!Quote:
Originally Posted by kodiak1
Nothing looks nicer than a bucket full of that brass Bling!
Tumbled brass is pretty, no doubt. But the other reasons I tumble brass is I find it easier to see cracks on a clean piece, and they seem to slide through the sizing die a bit easier. I also believe it's a reflection on the quality of my work, and I take pride in most of the things I do.Quote:
Originally Posted by DoctorBill
Of course, non-tumbled ammo is just as functional and if I didn't have access to a tumbler I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
GH1:-)
There is a used brass supplier online called first class bullets and brass, He preps the brass and cleans them before shipping, They look brand new inside and out! mirror finish. I wrote him to ask how he proccesses his brass, but got no reply. Has anyone know what this company does to their brass? I would sure like to know, Thanks john
jay
They probably have ceramic media in their tumblers.
I have yet to use it but everyone that has and talks about it gives it the big thumbs up as it cleans inside outside and primer pockets.
Ken
Walnut to clean and corncob to polish. that is all.
http://reloaders.gunloads.com/imageh...177436f6b2.jpg
Just a tsp in the media & wahla !
brasso has ammonia in it, bad for brass under pressure.
if you want to use somethig else you can use vinegar and some salt to make a weak acetic acid but you then have to rinse with a baking soda solution to neutralize.
if you want brass thats shinier than new, the stainless pins will do that for you.
i still use citric acid to clean the gunk out.
it's safe and good for the brass.
walnut to dry and get the sizing lube off, if i want bling i go with some nu-finish in the media.
dryer sheets do pick up the dust quite well.
but you need to keep the pieces large.
Brasso is a big time NO-NO. Never use anything with ammonia in it to clean cartridge brass. The ammonia pulls the copper out of the alloy and into solution (that's why it cleans copper fouling out of a barrel so well) seriously weakening the brass over time. You are asking for catastrophic case failure - body splits, neck and shoulder splits, head separations. This is an issue of basic safety.
Wow nevr to old to learn some thing , it never cross my mind to use nu finish to the brass int he tumbler. im finaly well enough to start reloading some ammo and now i have something new to try. Great info thnx gents http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...MIG/tubby1.gif
Does clean brass shoot better?
Not in my experience. I have reluctantly come to realize that in some climates you really do have to clean it, but not in this one. I never load black powder in cases, only muzzle loaders, so that is never an issue. I try not to eject them onto dirt and I do wipe my cases all clean of any dirt before lubing/sizing, but that's as far as I'll go. I have never cleaned a case in the 35+ years I've been loading ammo, and despite also casting thousands of bullets every year for almost as long I have never had a measurable lead level in my blood. (It gets tested yearly.) Every single loader I know that shoots a lot and tumbles brass dry and has been tested has an elevated lead level. Some of them have kids in the house, too. At my old club we tested a bunch of handgun and rifle loads in proven accurate guns and the dull cases shot just the same as the pretty polished ones every time.
Been using Dawn dish soap and a small amount of white vinegar and NO SALT for years now. Each time the cases are cleaned this way they become brighter. I whip the cases around vigorously in the solution in a pan/bowl using a paint brush until they shine. I then strain the solution into another container and am able to reuse the solution many times. I don't use any salt because I have found if the cases are left in the mix with the added salt too long, the cases turn to a copper looking color. This no salt method allows for rinsing with just plain hot water.