Tumbling - What Media???

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by noylj

Me, 30 minutes in 20/40 corn is all I need...

James -

What does the '20/40' stand for???

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

Rochester?

David -

I haven't received the flyer in the mail yet, but historically the ESACA has it's first Rochester show in the first weekend in January...They do have one listed in the NYSRPA newsletter on 25 -26 Jan in Albany...

Originally Posted by mrerick

The case in the middle should work fine... Marc

Marc -

All three of these work fine. I'd just like them to look better. Here's a stripper clip full from 20+ years ago I keep for display. I could spin-clean them with Nevr-Dull and then use automotive paste wax to preserve the shine...I'm just looking for a better way to tumble them and get an acceptable 'matte' finish...An LGS some distance away has some that look like I want (done by a local reloader) but he won't tell me how (or who)...

Removing the tarnish is what my goal is. All three medias I have on hand work well to remove dirt/grime/powder residue, I'd just like some glitter...

[DavidJayUden]

Couple of thoughts.
Avoid using anything to lubricate, wax, or preserve the finish on your brass. A very important function of brass is its ability to expand and "grip" the walls of the chamber on firing. If you lubricate the cases of a centerfire bolt action rifle and fire it, all fo the recoil goes directly into the face of the bolt and its locking lugs, sometimes making raising the bolt handle difficult, the same symptom as high pressure. In short, lubed cases are really hard on guns, probably including old Lugers.
I'm no machinist, but I suspect that a high degree of polish is not part of reaming a chamber.
As far as Brass-O being harmful to brass, that's news to me. I've been adding a few drops to media for a long time, and have never had any reason to suspect the results. In fact, I've recently had reason (new gun) to start once again start shooting up some .223 reloads, which I just realized were last reloaded by me in 1990.
But then my goal in polishing and reloading brass is for function, not looks.
dju

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by DavidJayUden

I'm no machinist, but I suspect that a high degree of polish is not part of reaming a chamber.

It is, for the reason you mentioned - The brass expands on firing. You don't want it 'sticking' when you're trying to extract it. I have used emery cloth to polish up a chamber on occasion, but the reamers I use leave a nice smooth surface finish [Clymer reamers].

I know the 'sticking' you're talking about on some bolt action rifles - I've seen an extractor pull chunks out of rims because the case 'stuck'. But it was a rough chamber, not a smooth cartridge...

I don't believe that a 'lubed' case is hard on actions. If it was, Winchester/Remington/etc wouldn't offer nickel plated cartridges...

[ithacaartist]

How does the lube/no lube question reconcile with the advice to apply a couple of drops of oil or lube to a loaded mag?

[DavidJayUden]

Good question David.
Brownell's sells a special magazine lube, which I have somewhere around here, that smells more like starter fluid than it smells like oil. Sort of a dry-lube.
I'm not shy about lightly lubing the mag. follower, but again I do avoid excessive lube that would get into the chamber.
And regarding nickel cased rounds, please note the last time you saw 30-06 ammo. for sale in nickel plated steel cases.
dju

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by DavidJayUden

And regarding nickel cased rounds, please note the last time you saw 30-06 ammo. for sale in nickel plated steel cases.
dju

Nine of the .223 cases I bought yesterday are Winchester nickle plated commercial cases. The cases are nickle plated brass. I've never seen a nickle plated steel case.

But I don't fault your practice of using unlubed cartridges. Whatever your preferences are, are fine with me.

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

James -

What does the '20/40' stand for??

That stands for the size of the corncob particles. Corncob is used in abrasive blasting of various surfaces, and the size has to match the nozzles/expected results.

In reloading, this size works very well because it does not get stuck in the flash holes(a lot of reloaders remove the spent primers before they clean the cases). If you do not remove the primes first then you can use a smaller size corncob particle as the decapping pin would remove any stuck corncob when it removes the spent primer.

[sheepherder]

I don't know what the corn cob is (been in a bucket for years) but the crushed walnut shells is '24 Grit Fine Soft Abrasive' according to the box...I used it a couple times for blasting, but it wasn't as good as the glass beads [for blasting]...IIRC, the glass beads were expensive...

Edit: I was curious as to whether cutting/resizing/bottlenecking would flake the plating off...It didn't...

[Sergio Natali]

I've been using the SmartReloader Case Tumbler for years now, that gets filled with Lyman turbo tumbler media made by
a mixture of corncob green (about 80%) and sort of crushed nutshell (about 20%)
While I'm writing, my "yellow pumpkin" (that's what I usually call my tumbler) is cleaning the 40 S&W cases that I shot last saturday afternoon.

[Leif Thoreson]

I just started reloading. I have a rock tumbler I bought from harbor freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-dr...ler-67632.html
I use a 2lb stainless steel media "refresh" kit I bought from http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com. Works like a charm. Though it's a wet tumble. Not sure your tumbler would handle wet media. I have to say the stainless media plus a little dish soap and vinegar works great.

[sheepherder]

Back when I worked in the aerospace industry, we 'tumbled' all our stringer clips [aluminum] to break the sharp edges...It left a distinctive finish...The media was small triangular-rounded gray stones...IIRC, it was a dry tumble...

I can't describe the look of the finish because I don't know the words...And the 38 Special reloads I bought with that distinctive finish have all been shot off or otherwise disposed of...So I can't take a picture...

I'll have to try a lapidary supply house and see if they carry the stones/media...