Tumblers - What is the advantage?

[davevabch]

Ok, I decided to take the plunge and start reloading. I go to the range and quickly pick up 250 casings. I do not want to buy a tumbler at this point and all the crap that goes with one. So I try the vinegar thing, and it works ok. I try pledge and it works better. I then go to Walmart and see this product called Green Works. All natural and has a *NO PHOSPHOROUS which simple green does have. It cost less than $3.00 so I pick up some. Go home and pour in the product in a small bowl and then the Green works. Well this stuff cleaned the heck out of them. Nice and shiny. Even the inside of the case was clean. Many looked brand new with no residue and most had very little, maybe just a tad. So what am I missing with a tumbler. I'm not looking for a spit shine to impress the Babe in the shooting lane next to me, just a nice clean shell casing for reloading. I don't get it.

http://www.greenworkscleaners.com/products/

 

[SkipD]

The action of a tumbler (either one that spins or a vibratory tumbler) actually smooths the exterior surfaces of the cartridge cases so that they will feed better. In other words, tumbling makes the exterior finish become as good as or even better than new brass.

Make darned sure that you flush ALL of the chemistry you've used out of the cartridge cases. Hot water should be OK as a solvent. I use hot water to clean the sizing lubricant off my rifle cases (there are no carbide resizing dies available, at least for the rifle cartridge calibers that I load).

After rinsing, you need to ensure that the cases are absolutely dry before doing any other processes on the cases. The interior is the hardest part to get dry, especially if the cartridges are bottle-necked rifle types. I often use compressed air (I have a 25-gallon compressor in my garage) to blow 99% of the water out of rinsed cartridge cases. Then, I simply let them sit out to finish drying.

 

[davevabch]

Ok, I did rinse all well with hot water and and then took each one inspected the case and ran a q-tip around the inside. The whole process did not take long. I guess I will try them out and in they do not shoot, then get a tumbler and a cat. So my question is,do the tumblers clean the inside of the case perfectly?

 

[millsriver]

I have always used a tumbler because I like to get as much oxidation and residue off of the cases before running them through my dies. Also, there is something about clean shiny cases that is appealing. I think I will try your way to see how that works. The tumbler does not get the inside of the case shiny clean, but does make it clean enough. Always open to new ideas. The tumbler will polish the cases so that they do feed better. Thanks,

 

[Denny4kids]

I use the Berry's vibrating tumbler kit. I'm still using the same corncob media after 2000 rounds. This has been my own once fired or purchased once fired from my honest source so the brass was pretty clean. I don't care about the inside except for my 223 necks get a brushing. Once in a while I tear up one of those clothes dryer sheets and run the tumbler for a while and they pick up some carbon. Also My brass gets cleaned soon after I shoot and then put in a baggie. The polish I add to the media keeps them from tarnishing. I am new to reloading and here is a link that shows my kit.

http://www.berrysmfg.com/product-i14545-c47-g8-b0-p0-Rotary_Brass_Cleaning_Kit.aspx

I know a guy that uses a small electric cement mixer to clean his 50 cal. brass! Den

 

[lws380]

I'd guess time is an issue if you were working with 500-1,000 rounds at a time. Easy for me to dump in my media, add a little liquid car polish, denatured alcohol, brass and some strips of Bounce. Turn it on and walk away. After the first batch is done, I can be reloading them while the next batch is cleaning up. if I had to run Q-tips through each piece of brass, I probably would not be reloading. That's just me.

 

[davevabch]

Running the q-tip through each one was not necessary. It was just something I did while checking each case for defects. The solution worked fine for me. If anything I think I would be inclined to check out Hornady's new sonic/ultrasonic cleaner. I really do not think I want to get involved with a tumbler, and the sonic cleaner seems a lot more practical than buying media and handling all of that mess. I would imagine the sonic cleaner would work with the cleaner I used. If so, then it would make life easier and cheaper.

 

[SkipD]

.... So my question is,do the tumblers clean the inside of the case perfectly?

A tumbler cycle will clean most relatively straight-walled pistol cases inside and out. The exteriors get polished in addition to being cleaned but the interiors don't get polished like the exteriors do.

However, when tumbling .222 Remington or .223 Remington brass, for example, there is little to no noticeable cleaning of the case interiors (beyond a little cleaning of the neck interior). What happens with these cases is the tumbling media fills up the case and does not move enough to do anywhere cleaning/polishing that happens to the case exteriors. I suspect that my vibratory tumbler may clean the interiors of the small rifle cases a little better than my rotating tumbler would.

The real advantage of tumbling over a chemical cleaning is the polishing of the case exterior. This makes the trip through the resizing die easier on the die and makes feeding the finished cartridge into the firearm a little easier to do - especially with an auto-feed firearm.

 

[RICHGCOOP]

I use the Midway USA tumbler master kit. It works for me.

RICHGCOOP

 

[davevabch]

I cleaned more brass with the Clorox GREEN and it really did a good job. That said, I decided to go ahead and get a tumbler. So I took off 2o miles to Bass Pro shops. I did not see one I wanted but did buy some Lyman solvent to clean brass. I took it home, it was $12.99 for a small bottle. Damn, I swear this is the same exact stuff as the Clorox Green that sells for Under $3.00. Smells the same, cleans the same. EXACTLY!
Well, anyway, I really did a lot of research on tumblers. Most seem to be made by the same Manufacturer. However, the one that seems to stand apart from others is the Berry's. Better cleaning from all the reviews and last longer, and a lot better warranty. Same exact one sold by Cabela's name. I did order one from Graf. I called up, and their tumbler is in fact Berrys. Any way, I got a good deal and shipping on all products is just $5.95. I figure the brass I have is very clean, but if polishing will help the dies, and feed better in the gun, then go ahead and get one. "In for a penny, In for a pound" as the ole saying goes. By the way, try the Clorox all natural. It is a very good cleaner. I use very hot water and some dish washing soap. Do not let stand for more than 5 or 10 minutes.
Dave

 

[briant]

I finally decided to get a tumbler last week. I had been cleaning brass using a salt/vinegar/dish soap solution...and it worked well but took a lot of rinsing then a while to dry.

First batch in the tumbler (about 350 rounds) and two hours later they were ready to go. I threw another batch in and started reloading.

I was hesitant to spend money on the tumbler at first but after less than a week I am glad I bought it. I can move through more brass in less time and it is definitely smoother (runs through the dies much easier). I originally thought the same thing the OP did...what is the big deal...but there is a huge difference.

 

[SkipD]

I generally let my tumblers run overnight. The result is amazingly smooth and shiny brass.

 

[Denny4kids]

I have the Berry's vibrating tumbler kit. about $100. comes with a bag of corn cob media, about enough for 3 fills. I have cleaned 3000 rounds on the first fill. Thats 500 old brass and the rest was shiny to begin with. I shoot, put my brass in the tumbler with a little polish and turn it on for 2 hours and the brass is cleaner than new. Oh, after I tumble I just open the lid and pour it all into the separator and spin that for 30 seconds then pour my brass into a container and pour the media back into the tumbler. I never spill a speck. well just a couple. Old dull brass takes about 5 hours. For me this was a wise investment. I can't clean 9 with 10mm because the 9 will hide inside the 10 part way. Den

 

[jackjr]

I use a Dillon vibrating tumbler. I bought my first set of reloading "stuff" at one store and the Dillon is what they had. I got a package deal which resulted in a great discount that saved me a lot of money. I've added assorted chemicals but this last time I just put plain corn cob in the tumbler and it seems to be doing a good job. I do add a dryer sheet every now and then and I wipe out the bowl between batches. It is amazing how dirty that bowl is when it doesn't look that way. I'm going to get an ultrasonic cleaner to clean firearm parts and I may try cleaning some cases but I don't plan on making it a habit. I do like the looks of the stainless wet tumbler setup but that is a good sized chunk of change. http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/stm-complete-package.html Maybe down the road if I really get to loading a lot of ammo.

 

[RICHGCOOP]

The vibrator tumbler is also good for moly coating your bullets.
I have the midway usa tumbler.

RICHGCOOP



DROID3 - Tap talk

 

[jackjr]

The vibrator tumbler is also good for moly coating your bullets.
I have the midway usa tumbler.

RICHGCOOP



DROID3 - Tap talk

Rich, How do you do that? Do you have something in the tumbler with the bullets?

 

[RICHGCOOP]

I only do this on jacketed bullets.

RICHGCOOP