Tumbling media that doesn't clog the prime pocket or flash holes?

T

The Famous Grouse

New member
Is there a conventional polishing media that doesn't stick in the primer pockets or the flash hole?

And let me say here that no, I will NOT be converting to a wet process like stainless. Sorry, the Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller has already warned me that she will deny all expenditure requests for new infrastructure as she views the old infrastructure as under-utilized. Geeze...I'm shooting as fast as I can...

Anyway, my current corn cob medial is driving me nuts because about 80% of the casings come up with the primer pocket jammed up the wazoo with media.

I've tried walnut with rosin. This makes a huge mess because of the rosin and walnut seems to LOVE sticking in the flash hole.

What else IS there to try? This is just so [beeep] time consuming picking the media out of each flash hole and primer pocket. I just did 500 last night and this blows butski.

I'm running a Lyman 1200 vibrating tumbler if it matters. When using the auto-separate feature I let it run about 10 minutes to try to knock as much media out as possible, but that only slightly improves the situation.

Ideas?

Grouse
 
What kind of corn cob media are you using?
I run cases with both .060 and .080 flash holes and rarely have a piece of media stick.
Maybe 2 per 50 on the .060's, and practically zero on the .080's.
 
They make really fine media that would create less clogging but I am not sure where you buy it as mine just came in a used tumbler I bought. It seems to be very fine walnut shells and is almost like fine sand.
I never tumble decapped brass in mine anymore as I do the decapped stuff in stainless and water. Back when I used corn cob and had the same issue I actually dumped the media out of the tumbler and left the brass in there and turned on the tumbler and that seemed to vibrate all the media loose from the flash holes..... very noisy.
Quick story that may give you another idea. I had a large batch of .223 brass most with corn cob media stuck in the flash holes. I left to go on the road a few days for work so I threw a large bag of that brass to pick-out the flash holes while sitting in the hotel room. Low and behold when I got to my destination the vibration of the vehicle and shaken it all out. Maybe if after tumbling you put all your brass on top of your CFO's dryer and explain how it needs to sit there thru several cycles at some point she will rethink sequestration.
 
First I started out using corncob media and it would clog the flashholes. Been using walnut for about 30yrs now and the stuff works fine. Forget the rosin, just use a liquid brightener.
 
Originally Posted By: The Famous GrouseIs there a conventional polishing media that doesn't stick in the primer pockets or the flash hole?

And let me say here that no, I will NOT be converting to a wet process like stainless. Sorry, the Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller has already warned me that she will deny all expenditure requests for new infrastructure as she views the old infrastructure as under-utilized. Geeze...I'm shooting as fast as I can...

Anyway, my current corn cob medial is driving me nuts because about 80% of the casings come up with the primer pocket jammed up the wazoo with media.

I've tried walnut with rosin. This makes a huge mess because of the rosin and walnut seems to LOVE sticking in the flash hole.

What else IS there to try? This is just so [beeep] time consuming picking the media out of each flash hole and primer pocket. I just did 500 last night and this blows butski.

I'm running a Lyman 1200 vibrating tumbler if it matters. When using the auto-separate feature I let it run about 10 minutes to try to knock as much media out as possible, but that only slightly improves the situation.

Ideas?

Grouse


I leave the primers in the cases when I polish them, it is too much trouble to get the pockets clean.
 
Originally Posted By: CatShooterOriginally Posted By: The Famous GrouseIs there a conventional polishing media that doesn't stick in the primer pockets or the flash hole?

And let me say here that no, I will NOT be converting to a wet process like stainless. Sorry, the Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller has already warned me that she will deny all expenditure requests for new infrastructure as she views the old infrastructure as under-utilized. Geeze...I'm shooting as fast as I can...

Anyway, my current corn cob medial is driving me nuts because about 80% of the casings come up with the primer pocket jammed up the wazoo with media.

I've tried walnut with rosin. This makes a huge mess because of the rosin and walnut seems to LOVE sticking in the flash hole.

What else IS there to try? This is just so [beeep] time consuming picking the media out of each flash hole and primer pocket. I just did 500 last night and this blows butski.

I'm running a Lyman 1200 vibrating tumbler if it matters. When using the auto-separate feature I let it run about 10 minutes to try to knock as much media out as possible, but that only slightly improves the situation.

Ideas?

Grouse


I leave the primers in the cases when I polish them, it is too much trouble to get the pockets clean.



So do I actually. Unclean brass never goes into a die.
 
Originally Posted By: CatShooterOriginally Posted By: The Famous GrouseIs there a conventional polishing media that doesn't stick in the primer pockets or the flash hole?

And let me say here that no, I will NOT be converting to a wet process like stainless. Sorry, the Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller has already warned me that she will deny all expenditure requests for new infrastructure as she views the old infrastructure as under-utilized. Geeze...I'm shooting as fast as I can...

Anyway, my current corn cob medial is driving me nuts because about 80% of the casings come up with the primer pocket jammed up the wazoo with media.

I've tried walnut with rosin. This makes a huge mess because of the rosin and walnut seems to LOVE sticking in the flash hole.

What else IS there to try? This is just so [beeep] time consuming picking the media out of each flash hole and primer pocket. I just did 500 last night and this blows butski.

I'm running a Lyman 1200 vibrating tumbler if it matters. When using the auto-separate feature I let it run about 10 minutes to try to knock as much media out as possible, but that only slightly improves the situation.

Ideas?

Grouse


I leave the primers in the cases when I polish them, it is too much trouble to get the pockets clean.



Same here.

I also use a walnut media that I buy at the pet store. Its for bird cages or something like that. Its clean with no polishing rouge in it and leave the brass nice and clean. When I size the brass the de-capping pin makes sure there's nothing in the flash holes.

The ways and means committee here could care less about the expenditures. Its me that's having a hard time spending the scratch on the SS system. Dealing with water, drying the cases in the sun, or oven before you can use them, don't loose the pins, rinse this off, add a teaspoon of this to the water, clean that when your done....... It sounds like a pain the the azz.... Right now I put brass in walnut, I turn it on, when its done I dump it all into a strainer, shake and use... Pretty simple.
 
I use the Lee Universal Decapping die. Works great, and brass doesn't touch the sides of the die. But...I use SS pins so mine come out clean everywhere! To each his own, I love my SS and tumbler. But I'd try the Decapping die and then size. Like posted above, the Decapping rod will push any media out of flash hole when you size.

Kevlars
 
I have started using walnut media that is used for lizards and such. Get it from Petsmart, Petc, etc. it's used in cages for lizards and is almost like sand. Cleans brass very well.
 
Originally Posted By: kevlarsI use the Lee Universal Decapping die. Works great, and brass doesn't touch the sides of the die. But...I use SS pins so mine come out clean everywhere! To each his own, I love my SS and tumbler. But I'd try the Decapping die and then size. Like posted above, the Decapping rod will push any media out of flash hole when you size.

Kevlars

This is a good way to go. There are both walnut and corncob media that are ground fine enough to preclude the primer pocket/flash hole problem. Check out blasting media at Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc. I used a batch of finely ground walnut for near twenty years, so I can't recall where in heck I got it, but my neighbor came up with the corncob blasting media several years ago before I went to stainless, and that fine-ground corncob polished brass every bit as well as any corncob media I ever used. It was dang near as fine as beach sand.
 
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Originally Posted By: FurhunterDealing with water, drying the cases in the sun, or oven before you can use them, don't loose the pins, rinse this off, add a teaspoon of this to the water, clean that when your done....... It sounds like a pain the the azz.... Right now I put brass in walnut, I turn it on, when its done I dump it all into a strainer, shake and use... Pretty simple.
I switched from dry media to stainless a couple of months ago and plan on switching back. My brass turns out better than new with stainless but I can't take the rinsing/drying with this system. Anyone looking for a new stainless tumbler with media can PM me! The brass is not greener on the other side.....or was that grass???
 
OK, thanks for the advice everybody. Looks like the fine ground stuff from the pet store is the way to go. I picked up some tonight, so a test run is in the works.

But just from looking at it, I can tell it's going to work. I filled up a case and it's possible to shake the powder right out the flash hole, so very few particles are big enough to jam into the flash hole as they do now.

Will report back. Thanks again.
Grouse
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogEveryone says I'm to anal about cleaning brass...I like it nice and shiney!

I'd be hard pressed to prove it nut I am SURE purty brass will shave a minimum of 0.005 inch off your groups.

grin.gif
 
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