Stainless tumbling media?

[Shrinkmd]

I was looking at their videos, and the results look amazing. Has anyone been using their products successfully?

My other question is, compared to ordinary tumbling and not depriming first, what application is this process best for? Since the article is from 6mmbr.com, I imagine that accuracy hounds are interested in this.

So, my question is, besides for having pretty, "like new" brass to load, is this more aimed at rifle shooters? It seems like not having to brush case necks, manually clean primer pockets, and having perfectly clean brass makes more sense for rifle, especially benchrest people looking for the extra edge.

I wonder, for my AR-15 at up to 300 yards with Hornady FMJ's, would I see any difference in this level of case preparation? Is this for match, benchresters only, or a helpful (if obsessive) step for just about any reloading meant for more than casual plinking?

 

[Walkalong]

Benchresters? I would have fainted if someone tumbled my tediously prepped cases in the stuff. May not hurt, but no way I would do it.

Looks like it cleans superbly. I do not believe it will make ammo that shoots better. I like mine to shine on the outside so it looks like quality, but the heck with the inside.

You can use brand new, perfectly made cases and it won't make a difference with 55 Gr FMJ's, no matter what brand.

Buy better bullets to make a tremendous difference. Any quality soft point, poly tipped, or hollow point will beat the eyes out of any 55 Gr FMJ.

 

[Mxracer239y]

Being using this process for a week or two now.

There are a significant list of pros:
Case inspection is 100% easier.
New looking brass
Clean primer pockets
Easier on dies (cleaner brass)
Keeps the press and reloading area cleaner, as depriming is now done in advance (though you could do this with traditional tumbling)
Less dust in the air, for those of us who don't have the option of tumbling outside or in a basement/garage
Media doesn't wear out

Cons:
Takes additional time (both tumbling time, and prep/media separation time)
Start up cost

The advantage of this process partially depends on what kind of brass you start with. I have a habit of using range pick up brass, bulk brass from police ranges, etc. This is often quite dirty and inspection can be a bear. Suddenly, surface corrosion, staining, etc is no longer a problem. I am a bit OCD about cleanliness of mechanical systems (reloading press, firearms, etc). I think this is worth it. If you don't want to put the work in, traditional tumbling works just fine. This process is not right for everybody.

 

[Otto]

The stainless media thing isn't anything new. Brad Sauve (2007 F-Class TR National Champion) has been using it for years.
I use both stainless and ceramic media but much prefer ceramic.
The only advantage of stainless over ceramic is that it bridges less in bottle neck cases (bridging causes the media to get stuck inside the case).
Ceramic on the other hand is faster, cheaper, less abrasive, easier to handle and produces an higher shine.

For me, tumbling one hour with ceramic gets the brass cleaner than 4 hours with walnut or corncob. Drying the cases takes 5 minutes using a Lasko 4900 blower.
The cleaner the brass, the easier it is to inspect for defects. Another plus is that wet thumbing leaves no residual film on the case unlike NuFinish and other case cleaners do.

 

[jmorris]

I looked into it and except for the fact that:

The media costs an arm an a leg ($50 for 5 pounds).

The 10 step instructions.
“Instructions
Notice. It takes a few times to get the media broke in. The media is dirty form manufacturing process and has a few burs. Media does not work in a vibratory cleaner
1. Add 5 Lbs of SS media into the drum
2. Next fill with one gallon of cold water. (One gallon)=8 Lbs
3. Add your unprimed brass into the drum.
4. Then add your soap. 1 -2 Tbs of ether Dawn,Ivory,Joy dish soap (if there are no soap bubbles in the water after you tumble, you need more soap)
5. 1/4 Tsp. of Lemishine. This is the key to the shine. (Not to much)
6. Tumble 1-4 hours with the High Speed Thumler’s Tumbler
7. Pour out as much water as you can without losing any brass or pins (The more you can flush out the soap, and dirty water out of the drum. The better your results will be next time)
8. Fill drum back up with water, and ether separate brass by hand while holding it underwater. Or use a media separator
9. Rinse your brass off really good with some warm water. (Not getting a good rinse can leave water spots on the brass)
10. Dump brass onto a towel and let dry.”


Once you add 8#’s of water and 5# of stainless steel the tumbler can will hold less than 400 9mm cases (my Dillon will tumble over 1500 at a time).

It would turn my progressive reloading into something less progressive, with the multiple passes.

The drying time not to mention the water spots some report would be a deal breaker for me too. Some even suggest running it back through corn cob to remove the water spots!?

If I were more anal about aesthetics (especially inside the case and primer pocket) than I am performance I might switch despite all of the down falls.

 

[TexasShooter59]

Being using this process for a week or two now.

There are a significant list of pros:
Case inspection is 100% easier.
New looking brass
Clean primer pockets
Easier on dies (cleaner brass)
Keeps the press and reloading area cleaner, as depriming is now done in advance (though you could do this with traditional tumbling)
Less dust in the air, for those of us who don't have the option of tumbling outside or in a basement/garage
Media doesn't wear out

Not for accuracy, but for cleanliness. Yeah the media costs $50. You buy it once. How many bags of walnut and corn will you buy?

I tried this because I have allergies and did not want to deal with the dust starting out. I've had no regrets about this. It's nice to throw in dirty, nasty range pickups and later pull out nice looking brass.

 

[rfwobbly]

Gosh, how long will it be before kitchen dish washers use this method ?

 

[okespe04]

Get some size BB carbon steel shotgun shot, then go the the welding supply store and get some stainless steel 1/16 welding rod and cut it into little pins. (This will ruin your tin snips so use and old pair) Steel media on the cheap. Tumble it for a long time with a strong dish soap to clean it up before you use it. Do keep in mind that when you tumble steel with brass you are removing some of the brass every time. But probably not enough to matter.