BB's for tumbling brass?

[JohndeFresno]

I have heard about one reloader who makes good use of ball bearings for the really tough tumbling jobs.

I personally use a vibrator drum with walnut husks and a dab of polish, which usually does the job. I have previously used a vinegar/detergent/lemon juice soak for heavily stained brass; but I'm wondering if there is a better way to get at some of my older stores of shell casings.

Has anybody tried copper BB's - the kind that you shoot in a Red Ryder BB gun - along with walnut hulls for tumbling or vibrating the really tough to clean brass? If so - roughly what proportions do you use with your walnut shell media?

[H_Talon]

I use rice for heavy dirt/stains ...

Talon

[Cliff]

I don't think using BB's would do you much good. They are really copper plated steel balls (ie ball bearings). There is a ceramic tumbling media made for really cleaning tough cases. I do not remember the maker or who handles it but you might check with some of the outfits like Ballistic products address is www.ballisticproducts.com or Grafs, Wiedners. I don't know if a search engine search would be of help. I do believe it was talked about one time on the Cast Boolit form. It is used in the polishing industry and as I understand it also by ammunition manufacters. Doesn't take a lot but it can be costly, but lasts forever. Good Luck in your searching.

[JohndeFresno]

I found the ceramic media, metal media, corn cob and walnut husks (the latter two of which we are most familiar with) at:
http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/t ... -media.htm

It is an interesting site. But how about rice, H_Talon? It is certainly commonly available. How does it work? Does it leave a film? Do you fill the tumbler or vibrator with it, or do you mix it in with walnut or corn cob media?

And does it cook up as good after you have used it for tumbling the brass?

[Cliff]

How about Rice. It does a pretty decent job with a bit of polishing compound added. It sure doesn't taste as good after using it to clean up a bunch of dirty cases however. Of course I have only used white rice haven't tried brown rice,might make a difference. It isn't that expensive so give it a go. Good Luck.

[JohndeFresno]

How about Rice. It does a pretty decent job with a bit of polishing compound added. It sure doesn't taste as good after using it to clean up a bunch of dirty cases however. Of course I have only used white rice haven't tried brown rice,might make a difference. It isn't that expensive so give it a go. Good Luck.

I'll give it a try! I'm already using the Bounce sheets, quartered, and they seem to help, too (mentioned previously on this blog). They sure come out dirty after a short time of vibrating, so they are sucking SOMETHING up.

[Ben_Rumson]

I think in a vibratory type case cleaner BBs would tend to work harden (peening) your brass.. I've read that on certain size cases the ceramic media will roll the case mouths slightly inward, but I don't recall what type of tumbler that happened in.

[JohndeFresno]

I think in a vibratory type case cleaner BBs would tend to work harden (peening) your brass.. I've read that on certain size cases the ceramic media will roll the case mouths slightly inward, but I don't recall what type of tumbler that happened in.

Ben,
The person who told me about the ball bearings is a fellow reloader who does not use this forum; but he uses a slow rolling tumbler, not a vibrator. And apparently he puts other stuff into the mixture. Apparently his brass if super shiny; but I am more interested in cleaning it fairly thoroughly (to save my dies) without badly degrading its ability to be used many times.

I am convinced, so far, that the harder stuff (other than rice) would not be the way to go; I'll just tumble the brass a little longer and/or use the vinegar/detergent bath for extreme staining. I am reluctant even to use these chemicals, as they are still a bit caustic, after all. It makes sense to me about the BB's hardening the brass.

The next time I do a load, I'll try the rice (with my "Bounce" pad, cut into quarters and some polish) and post a report.

[Ben_Rumson]

Yep, I do the same here in my vibratory rig..Leave them in longer for the dirtier stuff.. I may after a few hours of cleaning segregate the badly stained cases out and hit them with some steel wool the chuck them back in with the rest...One thing that I found that significantly improves my vibratory case cleaner's cleaning efficiency is to run it with the cover removed.. Stronger oscillations I recon...

[JohndeFresno]

Thanks - I'll add "removing the cover" to my list of things to do.

[Buffboy]

I don't know how well it would work in a vibrating case cleaner, but in my rotating one I've taken to putting in used coffee in with the walnut media. It has to be completely dry and I'd say not more than 20% of the mixture or it will just plug up the cases. It make a huge difference in how shiny the cases come out. I've always gotten cases clean with my old homemade beast of a tumbler but never bright and shiny. A friend turned me on to it. He does a few more at a time than I do. Mine will hold a thousand 223. His homemade tumbler will do over 10k 223 at a time and he's been using the coffee in it for a couple years.

[mescalero1]

Buffboy,How big IS that thing!?

[marlinman93]

I guess I've never really cared about making the brass look like new. As long as it's clean, that's all I care about. I've used walnut shell for years, and will probably continue unless something comes around that's faster.

[Buffboy]

Buffboy,How big IS that thing!?

He works as a gravel crusher, then reloads and casts bullets any time he's not crushing. About 20 years ago he built a wood frame and used 2 old 5' rock conveyor belt rollers to hold the tumbler(s). He used a welding wire case that's about 4' around and about 1.5' deep left over from when he re-welds/builds up the crusher rollers(uses a couple of the cases of wire a week between the 3 crushers with the automatic welders so he has lots of them around). He lines the cases with old belting(again from a conveyor). He can put up to three of those cases on the frame but usually just one or two because they are pretty heavy when full so it will actually do probably 30k at a time. It uses a 1/2 horse electric motor and a big pulley to slow it down. Last time I was there he had 7 5gal buckets of 223 as well as several in various pistol calibers in his living room waiting to go in ammo boxes. He currently has 2 1050 Dillon progressives(one is set up for 223 only, the other he changes out for other calibers) as well as a few single stage and turret presses for small runs. He reloads the 223 for several law enforcement agencies as well as to sell. He still sells a lot of ammo and bullets but that has been down a bit lately the last few years. Since the election big O, I expect his business to pick up a bit like it did when Clinton got in. He smelted out a few tons of lead this summer into ingots because of the rain so he should be ready to go this winter.

[Bluehawk]

I thought that was haow you got BROWN RICE ! Byt taking the while rice out of the tumbler in a few hours
I use Corn cob and walnut media never had a problem I DO add the DOWNY tyep dryer sheets from time to time and it does help
I would stay far away from vinegar in the mix it is a strong acid and attacks brass. May cause weak spots . I used to use a mix of Windex , water and vinegar to clean cases after Black powder firing I DO NOT anymore ! Caused me some problems with the brass .