Vibrating case cleaner media.

[JohnMc]

It's also an inhalation hazard, along the lines of asbestos. Do NOT put it in your tumbler.

I work with Diatomaceous Earth (DE) every day... I'm in the pool business. There are 2 kinds of DE... pool filter DE, which also has silica in it, and natural DE... with no silica. If you want to run DE, get the natural kind... which actually is good for pest control, and some people ingest, believe it or not, for various reasons. Natural DE is not poisonous, per se, but does pose an inhalation hazard.

The exoskeletons cell walls of diatoms are mostly silica. If something has diatom bits in it, it has silica. If so-called natural DE isn't really leftover diatom bits, then that's something else entirely.
See paragraph 3:

Diatom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JohnMc]

Silica...isn't that really bad to breathe? Edit: Didn't reload page before I posted mine...@Charlie98 got it.

Any dust of sharp crystals is bad to breathe, like coal (black lung) or asbestos.
Silica is silicon dioxide; a component of many sands, known as silica sand or quartz sand (quartz is silicon dioxide). I'm not going to avoid the beach.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Any dust of sharp crystals is bad to breathe, like coal (black lung) or asbestos.
Silica is silicon dioxide; a component of many sands, known as silica sand or quartz sand (quartz is silicon dioxide). I'm not going to avoid the beach.

Me either but I have seen some things there that took my breath away!

 

[Thomassss]

Pet corn cob has larger pieces which often get caught in flash holes. I quit using it for that reason and now use walnut that does a much better job and lasts a lot longer too.

 

[stoney1666]

tried car wax/polish, but it just clumped on me, do you mix it with anything?

 

[Charlie98]

If something has diatom bits in it, it has silica.

There is a difference between pool DE, and natural DE... I have both here at the house, they are quite different. I don't know if they add more silica to pool DE, or maybe it's refined more... dunno.

What’s the difference between Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth and Pool Grade Diatomaceous Earth?

The uses for diatomaceous earth (DE) are incredibly varied. DE is used with livestock, for pest control, as a health supplement, and for industrial filtering.

ingredi.com

I'm not going to avoid the beach.

Beach sand is not finely ground, it does not have the inhalation hazard DE does.

 

[JohnMc]

There is a difference between pool DE, and natural DE... I have both here at the house, they are quite different. I don't know if they add more silica to pool DE, or maybe it's refined more... dunno.

What’s the difference between Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth and Pool Grade Diatomaceous Earth?

The uses for diatomaceous earth (DE) are incredibly varied. DE is used with livestock, for pest control, as a health supplement, and for industrial filtering.

ingredi.com

Evidently it gets heated, and the heat tightens up the crystal structure. It probably bakes off any organic stuff, too. It's still silica.

Beach sand is not finely ground, it does not have the inhalation hazard DE does.

Given the dust I've seen swirl up on hot, windy days at the beach, it makes me wonder otherwise.

 

[9mmepiphany]

tried car wax/polish, but it just clumped on me, do you mix it with anything?

I use NuFinish straight from the bottle

You're likely adding your cases too early.

You need to load your media first and turn on your vibrator. Once it get going, you can add your capful of polish. Let that run about 20 mins to get spread around the media before adding your cases. The time spent mixing with the media breaks down any clumps you're getting

 

[CQB45ACP]

Evidently it gets heated, and the heat tightens up the crystal structure. It probably bakes off any organic stuff, too. It's still silica.

Given the dust I've seen swirl up on hot, windy days at the beach, it makes me wonder otherwise.

If beach sand were a hazard, EPA, FDA, and Oakly would've shut em down long ago

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

If beach sand were a hazard, EPA, FDA, and Oakly would've shut em down long ago

Y’all only think you’re joking. Right now, somewhere deep in the bowels of DC, exactly that kind Jack-Foolery is being hatched.

 

[Charlie98]

Given the dust I've seen swirl up on hot, windy days at the beach, it makes me wonder otherwise.

Dust = dirt... not sand. Not saying there isn't some sand mixed in there, but unless you are standing there huffing a cloud of sand, I would think the risk is relatively low.

Y’all only think you’re joking. Right now, somewhere deep in the bowels of DC, exactly that kind Jack-Foolery is being hatched.

Nothing surprises me anymore.

 

[film495]

Film495 I use lanolin for case lube. I removed the steel pins from my wet tumbler and tried using dish soap and a little lemmy shine. The cases came out horrible. The lanolin was still on it and they looked worse than when they were fired.

ugh, sounds bad. I use RCBS case lube and basically just rinse it off in the sink with hot water. I'm always surprised how much media and gunk comes out of them too. Not saying to do it this way, just sharing what I've landed on for this step for now. I have no wax or polish on the cases so it will be interesting to see how tarnished they are when I get them out of storage to use them up this summer.

I usually do like 200 or 300 at a time. I've considered just wiping the case lube off with a shop towel by hand. Probably would take about 10 minutes, but never did it that way. Maybe next time if it seems like it would be faster and adequate.

 

[JohnMc]

Dust = dirt... not sand. Not saying there isn't some sand mixed in there, but unless you are standing there huffing a cloud of sand, I would think the risk is relatively low.

Dust is fine particles of whatever. Dirt is a catch-all term, FWIW.
The grinding action of sand upon itself will create silica dust.
On a beach, the moisture will keep the dust down. I've read about desert sand dust causing respiratory problems, silicosis, IIRC, but that's from long-term exposure, as is black lung with coal dust.

 

[Roverguy]

Pro tip: don’t breathe in a lot of silica based abrasive powder. Or the dust from any tumbler medium.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Pro tip: don’t breathe in a lot of silica based abrasive powder. Or the dust from any tumbler medium.

Pro Pro Pro tip: don't follow Robby Gordon at Dakar!

 

[lightman]

CRN3-40 Blast Media,Corn Cob,20 to 40 Grit | Zoro.com

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40 pounds
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I think this is where I ordered mine from. Just don't hit the "Buy" button twice! When I used the Harber Freight and Pet Store stuff I would add a cap full of Mineral Spirits along with a cap full of liquid polish to help with the dust. I would run it about 30 minutes to mix it before adding the brass.