Rock tumbler

[gregr266]

Anybody use a rock tumbler to polish / clean their brass and would the small plastic media that is used for lapadairy work?

[Brasspolisher]

As far as a rock tumbler, they'll do just fine if you have time, although they're usually quite small in capacity. The ones in the Harbor Freight catalog, for instance, are advertised in "lbs." capacity, but the actual size of the tumbler bowl is about the size of a highball glass.

A former reloading pal got a $5 ice cream maker from Goodwill and chopped up the stirring blades make them more "flow-through" - he would plug it in when he left for work and come home to a couple quarts of nice shiny brass, but the motor only lasted a few months. (Kind of sad when it gave up - we used to have a lot of fun calling each other "ghetto" and "rich guy" because I bought the 'extravagant' $60 tumbler from Frankford...)

He also experimented with 'non-traditional' media, but I don't think he ever beat the formula of pet store walnut/car wax/dryer sheets a lot of folks seem to like.

If you're not a fan of the vibratory tumblers, there are a lot of home-engineered tumbler designs out there - repurposed clothes dryers, cement mixers, etc. Pretty much anything with a drum and a motor will do it!

[f4tweet]

Thumlers Tumblers.

[Technical Ted]

I've heard that the Lortone rock tumblers are pretty quiet due to the container being made of heavy rubber.
http://www.lortone.com/tumblers.html

[f4tweet]

http://www.thumlerstumbler.com/vibratory.html

[gregr266]

Yeah ive got the double Lortone rock tumblers, thats why I was asking one less thing to buy for the reloading.

[Technical Ted]

Haven't read anything about using the lapidary polishing media, but walnut and corncob media are commonly used in Lortones. Because the containers seal, you can also use wet cleaning solutions.

[virulosity]

He also experimented with 'non-traditional' media, but I don't think he ever beat the formula of pet store walnut/car wax/dryer sheets a lot of folks seem to like.

Do you have a recipe for this?

[Brasspolisher]

Originally Posted by Brasspolisher
He also experimented with 'non-traditional' media, but I don't think he ever beat the formula of pet store walnut/car wax/dryer sheets a lot of folks seem to like.

Do you have a recipe for this?

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=220977

[Brasspolisher]

gregr, sorry to drift your thread. As penance :) I googled lapidary media... Is this Grits, Polish, Media > Plastic Pellets (http://www.ukge.co.uk/uk/product.asp?numRecordPosition=4&P_ID=2092&strPageHistory=&strKeywords=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=384) the stuff?

If so, I have not tried it personally but think from the shape of the pellets in the picture and the sentence of the description that ends with ..."and cushion the stones." probably means it won't clean very quickly and/or very effectively (although the end result might be jewelry-pretty, a'la corncob, if you have the patience). With walnut, it's the sharp edges on the particles that scrape the carbon off the brass -- that's how media "wears out." (When it starts taking longer and longer to get that shiny color we all love, the media particles are getting rounder.)

Please let us know what you try and how it works -- we can all always learn something!

[gregr266]

Yep those are the pellets iam asking about. Based on the way they work and the way the walnut works, the walnut will definitly be the way to go. Thanks

[dav]

I use a Thumlers Tumbler with water and ceramic media from Cabelas http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0024108215403a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=ceramic&Ntk=Products&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1
It works okay, but it is the only thing I've ever used, so I cannot compare it to a vibratory tumbler.