Tumbling for Dummies?

[NinnJinn]

I have googled and have searched on here but not finding answers to my quesions.

1. I have a tumbler, what part media, part brass, part space do you use?

2. How long do you tumble? minutes? hours? over night?

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I read Linkpimp's So you want to reload but you don’t know where to begin (??)

All it says is when tumbling, you are at a higher risk for lead. How do I reduce this risk? what do I do to be safe?
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[redneckmedic]

I pack the tumbler full, just get the lid on, tumble (which shakes the lid down more) and retighten. I don't worry about brass to media ratio, as long as there is more area occupied by the media color than the brass color

I have tumbled for as little as 4hrs, usually turn it on, go to sleep turn it off.

All it says is when tumbling, you are at a higher risk for lead. How do I reduce this risk? what do I do to be safe?

don't breath the dust, wear EMS style gloves if you are worries about it... I am not worried about it, IMO

HTH
RNM

 

[top hat 45]

kinda depends on how broke down the media is. i very seldom tumble them for more than 1 1/2 hrs. also depends how dirty the brass is. if your set up is new, try it for an hour or so and check it, nobody can tell you how long to tumble it because it depends what YOU want it to look like when done. tumble till you're happy....daryll

 

[jblomenberg16]

What you'll find is that the longer you tumble, the cleaner and brighter the brass is. And you'll find you'll suddenly have OCD about clean and shiney brass. I usually tumble a minimum of 1 hour to clean up rifle cases before sizing, and then for 4 or more hours after sizing to clean of sizing wax.

Pistol cases usually get 4+ hours before going throught he dies. With both rifle and pistol brass I have tumbled for 12 or more hours just by putting them in and letting them go for a while.

 

[Fullmag]

Why tumble the brass anyway? Have been thinking of asking this question before.

 

[NinnJinn]

By tumbling you are getting the brass clean and IMO would be less crud going into your magazines.

Plus If they are clean, you don't have to mess with dirty casings if you are reloading....


I'm sure someone with more brains and logic than I, will come along soon and have a better explanation..

 

[uncmrkhd]

tumbling

I'm new here too and been asking bout tumbling also. I get its more for the auto action guns appose to the wheel guns. meaning chambering actions of autos. If I'm reloading my own once fired it might not be as critical as doing range brass that I dont know history of . Is it necessary before de-priming is a question I got

 

[jblomenberg16]

Why tumble the brass anyway? Have been thinking of asking this question before.

NinnJinn is right on:

1) Dirty magazines are one of the top reason for malfuctions in modern autoloading firearms. Clean brass means less crud in the mags.

2) Dirty brass means dirt and crud in the dies. Most pistol caliber dies are carbide and can handle it, but as the dirt builds up you can get cases stuck, especially in necked rifle calibers.

3) Dirty brass is more likely to get stuck in the chamber and or not properly chamber to begin with.

4) But the best reason to do it (IMHO) is that it is easier to detect case defects on clean brass than it is on dirty brass. Small cracks and splits can sometimes be hard to see on dirty brass, but are usually visible on clean brass as they are typically dark lines that contrast well against the shine of the brass.

 

[ckcollins2003]

4) But the best reason to do it (IMHO) is that it is easier to detect case defects on clean brass than it is on dirty brass. Small cracks and splits can sometimes be hard to see on dirty brass, but are usually visible on clean brass as they are typically dark lines that contrast well against the shine of the brass.

This is the reason I tumble mine. I tumble them until they are clean before they ever go into my dies. This makes them easy to detect cracks, splits, or other defects that may make the cartridge unusable. It also helps keep your dies clean and in my opinion makes them run through the dies smoother. After loading the clean brass into live rounds I tumble for however long it takes to get the shine that I want before putting them into the box.

As for how much media, fill your tumbler about 3/4 of the way full. This will keep the media flowing easily. You'd be surprised on how much brass you can fit into a tumbler. As mentioned before, just make sure there is more media than brass color. As to what kind of media, that is up to you. I think that walnut hull is best to use for cleaning dirty brass, while corn cob is best for polishing. During my polishing stage I use actual polish in the tumbler, so I just stick with walnut hull.

As for being safe, don't breathe the dust, and always wash your hands before eating or putting something into your mouth and you'll be fine. You have to remember that there is primer residue on the media, which is toxic.

To sum it up, fill it with whatever media you want, and tumble until you are happy with the results. 3, 4, 8, however many hours you want. It will not damage your brass.

 

[G_Stines]

I only tumble brass which goes into a magazine. For my revolvers, my lever actions, and my single shot rifles, I don't usually. The only reason I would, is if I cooked up a new load that happened to come out "dirty." Then I would consider it junk anyhow. The reason is that I shoot hand cast out of them and since you can't push lead as hot as Jacketed, I don't really have to worry about stressing the brass. I have brass set aside specifically for the cast bullets, and several of them have seen upwards of two dozen reloads or more. That's inherited brass and knowledge from grandpa, and I honestly don't even know how many times some of that brass was loaded before he gave some of it to me. All of my semi auto brass gets tumbled for the exact reasons that NinnJinn, jblomenberg16, and CK pointed out.

 

[Coaster]

Am I reading ckcollins2003 correctly? Are you tumbling live ammo? My understanding is that this should never be done. Please let me know if anyone is really doing this.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Am I reading ckcollins2003 correctly? Are you tumbling live ammo? My understanding is that this should never be done. Please let me know if anyone is really doing this.

I've tumbled live rounds before, if only to clean them up a bit if they've gotted some corrosion on them or otherwise aren't clean.

I'm sure the tumbler manufactures advise against it for liability reasons, but it really would take a very extreme set of conditions in a tumbler to cause a round to go off.

It still is safer to not tumble live rounds, but I wouldn't get too worked up about doing it.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I only tumble for 30-40 minutes. It cleans the brass well enough. I do not wear gloves or a mask and have had no issues. I just make sure I was my hands before I eat or touch my face. When you add brass to the media, just make sure there is enough media to cover all the brass.

 

[ckcollins2003]

Am I reading ckcollins2003 correctly? Are you tumbling live ammo? My understanding is that this should never be done. Please let me know if anyone is really doing this.

What's there to worry about? There is not enough pressure within the tumbler to detonate a primer, nor does it change the powder in any way (most people's main concern).

There's been plenty of tests done to show this. I'll try to find the link to where someone tumbled live rounds, then pulled the bullet and inspected the powder for the physical make-up of the powder which would cause a difference in powder burn. The guy actually tumbled it for much longer than I ever would, just to show that there is no difference.

Edit: Here it is, sir.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/303242_.html

 

[Coaster]

Thanks for the reply. To be honest, I hadn't even thought of damage to the powder. I was more concerned with live rounds banging against each other and maybe creating a loud boom. Several people have commented that they do this without incident so just my misconception. I'm old but not too old to learn. Thanks again for the info.

 

[spitfire51]

Is it necessary before de-priming is a question I got

The one time I tried tumbling after de-priming, I had the pleasure of taking each piece of brass and picking tumbling media out of the primer pocket. Something that's easily avoided if you tumble beforehand.

 

[ckcollins2003]

Thanks for the reply. To be honest, I hadn't even thought of damage to the powder. I was more concerned with live rounds banging against each other and maybe creating a loud boom. Several people have commented that they do this without incident so just my misconception. I'm old but not too old to learn. Thanks again for the info.

I'm not going to sit here and say that there is absolutely no way that a round could go off while tumbling. Anything is possible, but the chances of it detonating are about the same as being struck by lightning while driving underground.

I've seen ammo thrown around in ammo cans, off of moving vehicles going 40+ mph, dropped from planes to soldiers on the ground. My theory before ever knowing about damage to the powder while tumbling, was that if all of this isn't enough to get a round to detonate, vibrating in a tumbler won't do it either.

Glad I could help clear it up for you. If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to PM me. While I haven't been reloading for years, I'll help if I can.