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Worthless tumbler?

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Larryswn said:
I feel I would prefer to have dry cases. And as long as it cleans well enough for the rounds to chamber properly that's good for me. I don't care how shiny they are.. I ordered some fine grain walnut. Thanks for the info. If I have to I will glue some plastic over the holes..... As of right now I don't see any gaps between the secondary bowl and the main bowl so it doesn't appear that it will make a mess but I guess I'll find out lol
Click to expand...
The mess occurs when you pull that rubber plug and turn the tumbler on to drain it.
I also taped over that rubber plug as it would fall out while it was running, putting media everywhere.
It's not about shiny but clean for sure, but this type of tumbling will NOT clean the primer pockets or the insides of any caliber case.

Post back after you have tried it!
jmo,
 
I have a wet tumbler for brass that has dirt etc. been laying in dirt awhile ,and I have Dillons large tumbler for plain indoor range brass
 
Another option is to replace the tumbler bowl for the same size but without the drain option for dry tumbling. Once you get that either save the wet bowl for some future use or sell the wet tumbler bowl and pins! :)'s
 
Larryswn said:
........ Jesus I'm an idiot. It makes sense now. You put enough media in it to fill the secondary bowl as well as the bowl that holds the brass. When you're done you just pull the drain plug...... Which is actually pretty cool no wonder it costs a $150
Click to expand...
Don’t cut yourself down…you were smart enough to come here for answers!
 
Sooner or later, unless they’ve improved the bung, it’s going to start leaking media all over the floor. The bung on mine started leaking after the material it was made from dried out. And as mentioned it takes time for all the media to empty out. I needed a replacement bowl for my 1200 and that’s what was available.
 
whughett said:
Sooner or later, unless they’ve improved the bung, it’s going to start leaking media all over the floor. The bung on mine started leaking after the material it was made from dried out. And as mentioned it takes time for all the media to empty out. I needed a replacement bowl for my 1200 and that’s what was available.
Click to expand...

Dang, no one likes a dried up, leaky bung hole!
:neener:
 
mdi said:
Tried wet tumbling, don't care for the mess (I certainly don't need pristine case interiors or shiny primer pockets). I have experimented with dozens of media over the years (beach sand, pet litter, cat litter, glass beads, baking soda, wood chips/chunks, BBs, ceramic and hard resin "pyramids", lead balls, air soft balls, and a bunch others I can't remember right now). Most worked to some degree, but I settled on corn cob blast media, 14-20. Blast media is designed for cleaning metal and is much better quality controled than litter (blast media is for cleaning metal and litter is designed to catch pee). The only "additive" I use is a dollop of Turtle Wax in some new media. I normally use a rotary and I don't tumble to a high shine except for my 45 ACP and 30-06 brass; easier to find in the dirt and trash at the "range".

Remember, shiny brass is cosmetic only so don't fret over which media, which junk to add, and how long to tumble (you will get many, many "suggestions", "formula", and "I use..." answers and case cleaning/tumbling is probably the most talked about but least important aspect of reloading). I reloaded 12 years before I got a tumbler and I had no scratched/ruined dies or chambers. I just wiped each case with a solvent dampened rag while pre-reloading inspecting. Totally a personal preference. I left 200, 9mm cases in my custom tumbler and forgot about them for maybe 6-7 hours. First glossy 9mm brass I've had in a very long time...
Click to expand...


Yeah, putting brass in the oven or waiting for it to dry seems like an extra step I wouldn't want to mess with.......... I heard that the fine walnut shell will clean primer pockets so we will see. That might bug me a little bit if I have to clean them by hand
 
Larryswn said:
I heard that the fine walnut shell will clean primer pockets so we will see. That might bug me a little bit if I have to clean them by hand
Click to expand...
Fine grit (24) walnut media WILL NOT clean primer pockets as they will simply pack and move with the brass inside the vibratory tumbler. Same for inside the case.

Small stainless pins clean inside the primer pocket by making contact with softened fouling buildup with rotating action of the drum.

Vibratory dry tumblers will remove any loose fouling inside the primer pocket but if there is any hard packed fouling inside the primer pocket, not even fine grit walnut media will remove them. Dry tumbler clean by moving on brass surface back and forth but when packed in, there is no movement and no cleaning.
 
Just a thought; my primer pockets seem to be "self cleaning" I quit cleaninf primer pockets about 35 years ago and have never had a misfire since. I inspect my brass and the worse pockets hav a bit of soot on the base of the pocket and not enough to interfere with good anvil seating. I have assembled some very accurate rifle rounds and better than I can shoot handgun loads,

There are many personal choices when handoading and many don't make much difference. I dont clean primer pockets, many do. I don't measure/trim handgun brass, many do. I deprime prior to tumbling with no excess media stuck in flash holes. Some are troubled by stuck media. But my reloading has produced many, many handloads that function 100% and are very accurate (my Dan Wesson 44 Mag gave me sub 2" groups at 25+ yards and my 308 Ruger often shot 7/8" groups at 100 yds, and I haven't had a semi-auto fail to feed or fire in many thousands of rounds). If your methods/choices make you feel more confident in your handloads, by all means continue to use them. Ammo you are happy with shoots much better in your guns!
 
^^ For that matter, no one needs to tumble at all.
I don't recall Philip B. Sharpe ever writing about it. Same for Richard Lee and Joyce Hornady.
 
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Dale Alan said:
Shiny no, clean yes . Seating a primer I like to feel it bottom out against brass , not crud .
Click to expand...

Well, the primer in the case when fired was seated/bottomed out/sealed against the brass too, so there was no space for any crud to be left in that area.
The new primer is seated against the clean area of the brass bottom of the pocket/not any crud, even if the pocket has NOT been mechanically "cleaned".
Take a close look at any primer pocket after a spent primer has been removed and you'll see that clean ring in the corner.
jmo,
:scrutiny:
Edit: I have seen some primers that have a somewhat scalloped/uneven edge formed thru the manufacturing process and is accepted by the Mfg.
This uneven edge will leave crud in the seating area that could require some mechanical cleaning prior to seating a new primer.
 
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Tilos said:
Well, the primer in the case when fired was seated/bottomed out/sealed against the brass too, so there was no space for any crud to be left in that area.
Click to expand...
But when primer seated below flush is detonated, expanding gas will push the primer cup up towards the breech wall face and deform while creating space below the anvil feet/cup lip.

That's where fouling/crud builds up. Some of these build up will get removed during depriming process but not all.

But I agree, for most reloading situations this build up is not a problem.
 
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Otto said:
^^ For that matter, no one needs to tumble at all.
I don't recall Philip B. Sharpe ever writing about it. Same for Richard Lee and Joyce Hornady.
Click to expand...
one of my first encounters with reloaders was in the late '60s at a police range. Two shooters were shooting a lot and as I walked by I noticed their ammo, loose in a 30 cal can, were all brown. Their targets spoke for their handloads not a shiny case. I got into reloading in '69 and reloaded for 12 years before I got a tumbler. I just wiped each case with a solvent dampened rag as I inspected it, first step. I had no ruined dies nor scratched chambers and I made some pretty accurte handloads. Totally a personal, cosmetic process...
 
mdi said:
Just a thought; my primer pockets seem to be "self cleaning" I quit cleaninf primer pockets about 35 years ago and have never had a misfire since. I inspect my brass and the worse pockets hav a bit of soot on the base of the pocket and not enough to interfere with good anvil seating. I have assembled some very accurate rifle rounds and better than I can shoot handgun loads,

There are many personal choices when handoading and many don't make much difference. I dont clean primer pockets, many do. I don't measure/trim handgun brass, many do. I deprime prior to tumbling with no excess media stuck in flash holes. Some are troubled by stuck media. But my reloading has produced many, many handloads that function 100% and are very accurate (my Dan Wesson 44 Mag gave me sub 2" groups at 25+ yards and my 308 Ruger often shot 7/8" groups at 100 yds, and I haven't had a semi-auto fail to feed or fire in many thousands of rounds). If your methods/choices make you feel more confident in your handloads, by all means continue to use them. Ammo you are happy with shoots much better in your guns!
Click to expand...
 
I guess I'll stick with the Vibratory Tumblr then....... I have about 3000 pieces of brass to go so cleaning each primer pocket isn't an option. But if the fine nutshell will take enough of the chunk out for the primers to seat properly then I guess I won't worry about it...... I've got to admit though, drives me nuts that they're not shiny inside lol
 
mdi said:
one of my first encounters with reloaders was in the late '60s at a police range. Two shooters were shooting a lot and as I walked by I noticed their ammo, loose in a 30 cal can, were all brown. Their targets spoke for their handloads not a shiny case. I got into reloading in '69 and reloaded for 12 years before I got a tumbler. I just wiped each case with a solvent dampened rag as I inspected it, first step. I had no ruined dies nor scratched chambers and I made some pretty accurte handloads. Totally a personal, cosmetic process...
Click to expand...
 
My only concern, and excuse me if I sound silly I'm still new to reloading. I feel like if the inside of the case isn't being polished that eventually it will build-up and build-up and build-up to the point where my powder actually sits at a higher level creating higher pressures....... But I would imagine with Amount of force that blows out of the casing maybe it can't build-up that bad..... Or, you would toss them after 6 loads anyway and they would never have the chance to build-up to that point.
 
I've had that exact same tumbler for 10-15 years.
It works just fine on everything I've thrown into it.
223 to 45-3¼ Sharps
38Special to 500 S&W Mag

Put enough crushed walnut/Lizard Litter to fill half the bowl. (add/pre-tumble a tablespoon of Brasso for 15min/til distrbuted/dry if desired)
Throw the cases in before you deprime
...Turn it on.
........Walk away.






ps: the inside of the case will be cleaned just fine.
 
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