Tumbling options

**bartomark** · February 22nd, 2014, 09:34 AM

I've been reloading for 30+ yrs. and always used walnut media and polish. I usually don't fix things if they aren't broke but was wondering if there is anything better. I have seen some impressive results with SS pins and wet tumbling. Also has anyone used ceramic beads in a vibratory tumbler. Looking to possibly get the inside of the cases cleaner. What do you guys use/reccomend

**theunrulychef** · February 22nd, 2014, 10:12 AM

Haven't used ceramic for brass, but I do use ss media in a small rotary tumbler from Harbor Freight. It works awesome, though there's more steps & therefore more hassle. I use walnut for everything off the range. Once it's to that base level & depending on how "nice" I want to do a batch, they might get decapped & put in the ss media or I might just reload as is. I have to say it sure gets the primer pockets & inside the case nice & clean. It's like new brass (cosmetically). For big batch 223/556, I size, swage, trim everything, then put it in the ss media. It gets all the case lube off & they can be stored 100% ready to go on the press.

All said & done, I'd recommend it. My set up with the ss pins & HF tumbler was under $100, so don't feel like you have to get one of the $300 packages to get good results.

**bartomark** · February 22nd, 2014, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by theunrulychef

Haven't used ceramic for brass, but I do use ss media in a small rotary tumbler from Harbor Freight. It works awesome, though there's more steps & therefore more hassle. I use walnut for everything off the range. Once it's to that base level & depending on how "nice" I want to do a batch, they might get decapped & put in the ss media or I might just reload as is. I have to say it sure gets the primer pockets & inside the case nice & clean. It's like new brass (cosmetically). For big batch 223/556, I size, swage, trim everything, then put it in the ss media. It gets all the case lube off & they can be stored 100% ready to go on the press.

All said & done, I'd recommend it. My set up with the ss pins & HF tumbler was under $100, so don't feel like you have to get one of the $300 packages to get good results.

How many .223 can you tumble at one time in the HF unit?

**cephas** · February 22nd, 2014, 11:23 AM

Also a fan of stainless media. If going that route determine what size stainless pins you'll want. When first starting the pins I tried were a bit too long and I had to be certain none were left in the case after tumbling. Wasn't a major chore but some, particularly bottle necks, needed a fair shake to dislodge. Walnut or corncob going down the bore is one thing but I think stainless pins would be another story. Recommend having a strong magnet to pick up any stray pins. Helps if you drop a handfull of them.
Talked to a guy who initially experimented with small stainless nails from the hardware store. Don't know myself, but I'd use some brass I didn't care about if I wanted to try it.
I use stainless the majority of the time, but still use a citric acid solution every so often or walnut media tumbling. Looking for clean brass not necessarily a showroom look.

**wanneroo** · February 22nd, 2014, 11:55 AM

With wet tumbling I'm not convinced you need any sort of media at all. Lemishine and a touch of power clean dawn got my brass pretty clean on it's own and then I used an Ultrasonic cleaner later down the road once I deprimed and resized.

**theunrulychef** · February 22nd, 2014, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by bartomark

How many .223 can you tumble at one time in the HF unit?

It fits around 120 in each drum if my memory serves me correctly, so a max total of 200-240. It won't work if you're going through thousands of cases, but for me it fits the bill. I got 5lbs of pins off amazon.

This is the one I have. http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-dr...ler-67632.html

**DucatiRon** · February 22nd, 2014, 11:44 PM

I'll also throw a plug in for stainless. My biggest difference is I do mine in a much bigger scale. I started out with a 20 gallon rotary driven by a 1hp gear reduction motor. That worked good and could tumble close to 1500 223 at a time. Since them I've upgraded to the cheapie cement mixer from Lowes. Best $325 i ever spent. Plastic drum is nice and quiet. It will hold about 5k 223 with approx 60lbs of walnut or about 4k 223 with about 80 lbs of stainless media. Last time I tumbled 12k of 40 S&W at once in walnut. If you got the room and the the need its money well spent than a specialized tumbler.