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A lot of debate about what is good for media. I have tried it all and some are too dusty, some too abrasive, some expensive and others not too forgiving.
-the primary goal of tumbling is to clean well the brass and not going to jewelry shining contest.
-some media can be very aggressive and while shining is a good sing of cleanses the abrasive elements
involved might do more harm than good.
-one might want to wash the brass to fully get rid of microscopic dust that includes chemicals and a abrasive residues therefore
extending the life of the dies and making reloading easier.
-new recyclable materials like stainless are convenient, clean well, and do not get stuck in flash holes. But they
also can be aggressive if left too long and residues need washing of both media and casings. It can be expensive.
-I tested many methods and found brass itself to be a great media. For example the many time discarded 22LR cases
are great media for cleaning 308 and pistol cases. Some can be crashed to fit other caliber. Since the brass is
of the Same hardness of the cases it is not a abrasive and it can be run longer w/o damage. As a supplement to
other cases one might include clippings from electrical cable that will also reach and clean well flash holes
and in the inside corners of the cases. Brass comes out not as shiny but shiny after all and well cleaned.
this media might be washed all together with cases and it is easily separated as most 22LR fall through the
siege like RCBS. And the best part... it is free!
As you can see the best methods will require washing of the brass or both brass and media for best results in
long term. This is why when one tries sonic cleaning the the other methods are kind of pointless because you
learn how to deal with wet brass and start doing washing cycles that result on spotless clean brass free of chemicals or dust.
But I still use the tumbling for the worst brass like my muddy range pick ups or tarnished brass and later cycles
might do with sonic only. In the end the system is fast, efficient, more economic and dust free that is one of the main reasons
I explored other methods.
Crashing some 22Lr cases or add some copper wire clippings doesn't take much longer than chopping some onions
and dicing some garlic for a taco party.
22LR cases "MEDIA" ... free at the range pickup or after you shoot your favorite 22LR rifle or pistol.
So here is one that will surprise you. 22LR whole and or crushed. And also electircal wire clippings alone or mixed with the brass. If one can shred
the 22LR cases that will also work but then some smaller particles might get stuck in the flsh holes. In any case it is a good practice to always inspect
the cases after washing them.
This one I made w/o copper clippings just to show the results of 22LR alone.
Here some filthy brass.
Now I mostly sonic clean but in some occasions I still tumble with the brass specially with the worse tarnishing and debris from range pickups.
I have one shot through a CETME. It doesn't get more gunky and filthy than that.
Put it in the bumbler along with some 223 dirty cases I had.
After 20 minutes this is how the brass looks like.
Not the shiniest but perfectly clean.
Here one close up.
Not bad. Still check 308 cases in the event some 22LR cases are still inside that didn't drop through the sieve.
This cases have no abrasive compounds but still I wash them. The dies will always thank you for that.
Media is free at the range or after shooting your favorite 22LR firearm...
-the primary goal of tumbling is to clean well the brass and not going to jewelry shining contest.
-some media can be very aggressive and while shining is a good sing of cleanses the abrasive elements
involved might do more harm than good.
-one might want to wash the brass to fully get rid of microscopic dust that includes chemicals and a abrasive residues therefore
extending the life of the dies and making reloading easier.
-new recyclable materials like stainless are convenient, clean well, and do not get stuck in flash holes. But they
also can be aggressive if left too long and residues need washing of both media and casings. It can be expensive.
-I tested many methods and found brass itself to be a great media. For example the many time discarded 22LR cases
are great media for cleaning 308 and pistol cases. Some can be crashed to fit other caliber. Since the brass is
of the Same hardness of the cases it is not a abrasive and it can be run longer w/o damage. As a supplement to
other cases one might include clippings from electrical cable that will also reach and clean well flash holes
and in the inside corners of the cases. Brass comes out not as shiny but shiny after all and well cleaned.
this media might be washed all together with cases and it is easily separated as most 22LR fall through the
siege like RCBS. And the best part... it is free!
As you can see the best methods will require washing of the brass or both brass and media for best results in
long term. This is why when one tries sonic cleaning the the other methods are kind of pointless because you
learn how to deal with wet brass and start doing washing cycles that result on spotless clean brass free of chemicals or dust.
But I still use the tumbling for the worst brass like my muddy range pick ups or tarnished brass and later cycles
might do with sonic only. In the end the system is fast, efficient, more economic and dust free that is one of the main reasons
I explored other methods.
Crashing some 22Lr cases or add some copper wire clippings doesn't take much longer than chopping some onions
and dicing some garlic for a taco party.
22LR cases "MEDIA" ... free at the range pickup or after you shoot your favorite 22LR rifle or pistol.
So here is one that will surprise you. 22LR whole and or crushed. And also electircal wire clippings alone or mixed with the brass. If one can shred
the 22LR cases that will also work but then some smaller particles might get stuck in the flsh holes. In any case it is a good practice to always inspect
the cases after washing them.
This one I made w/o copper clippings just to show the results of 22LR alone.
Here some filthy brass.
Now I mostly sonic clean but in some occasions I still tumble with the brass specially with the worse tarnishing and debris from range pickups.
I have one shot through a CETME. It doesn't get more gunky and filthy than that.
Put it in the bumbler along with some 223 dirty cases I had.
After 20 minutes this is how the brass looks like.
Not the shiniest but perfectly clean.
Here one close up.
Not bad. Still check 308 cases in the event some 22LR cases are still inside that didn't drop through the sieve.
This cases have no abrasive compounds but still I wash them. The dies will always thank you for that.
Media is free at the range or after shooting your favorite 22LR firearm...
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