Adventures in wet tumbling. There's no going back!!!

[Jerryboy]

I had always felt there had to be a better way to clean brass. Well I was poking around on YouTube and came across a video where a guy was using a ice cream maker from wallyworld and lemishine. Well I was looking into trying that and came across a guy using the double drum rock tumbler from harbor freit. ($40) so I went that route. After experimenting here and there using the right ss. pins. I found that the pins are not really necessary. The lemi-shine and a drop of dawn is working wonders. Here are some 9mm wet tumbled for 20 minutes using only lemi-shine and dawn and water.

 

[Bfish]

I may have to give this a go. I just dropped a couple hundred rounds in some corncob but by the time I add some polish I could go the wet route I think. On top of that with all of the rain we got here in Terre Haute all of my brass was wet and so I dried it before I dropped it in the tumbler anyhow. Have you tried rifle brass with great success? My suppressed stuff is always super dirty!

 

[ru44mag]

 

[Jerryboy]

I may have to give this a go. I just dropped a couple hundred rounds in some corncob but by the time I add some polish I could go the wet route I think. On top of that with all of the rain we got here in Terre Haute all of my brass was wet and so I dried it before I dropped it in the tumbler anyhow. Have you tried rifle brass with great success? My suppressed stuff is always super dirty!

Iv been thinking of a way to seal the brass as brass in the raw tarnishes quickly. I'm thinking nufinish car wax as its water soluble. I'll have to experiment with a sealer as I might try to dip and let dry. I'm thinking car wax is the answer I seek there.

 

[Bfish]

Looks good! Care to post a link to exactly what you bought from Harbor Freight? I may run up and grab one.

 

[Jerryboy]

Looks good! Care to post a link to exactly what you bought from Harbor Freight? I may run up and grab one.

Dual Drum Rotary Rock Tumbler IRSllts not $60. It should be 45-47 here in the and with a flier coupon it should be the going rate. $45 lol

 

[Bfish]

Cool, how many rounds can you do per tumble?

 

[Jerryboy]

I may have to give this a go. I just dropped a couple hundred rounds in some corncob but by the time I add some polish I could go the wet route I think. On top of that with all of the rain we got here in Terre Haute all of my brass was wet and so I dried it before I dropped it in the tumbler anyhow. Have you tried rifle brass with great success? My suppressed stuff is always super dirty!

Things I don't miss about vibratory tumbling: lead particles in the air from dust with or without a lid. Waiting hours for the media(no matter what it was) to not clean the brass very well. Inspecting flash holes is a thing of the past. Its still a good idea but its a waste of time. Digging caked up media out of 223 casings is unnecessary as there are no solids in the water. I noticed right away that the brass was insanely clean inside and out and several steps were completely eliminated. Big big difference.

 

[Jerryboy]

Cool, how many rounds can you do per tumble?

Iv done 200 9mm per drum with just lemi-shine and a drop of dawn and ran them for an hour and they were awesome. But I ran 100 for 20 min and they were chemically cleaned as well.

 

[Bfish]

Iv done 200 9mm per drum with just lemi-shine and a drop of dawn and ran them for an hour and they were awesome. But I ran 100 for 20 min and they were chemically cleaned as well.

Good to know! I think I would really like this for brass that's extra dirty or I'm worried about getting the inside or primer pockets and junk. Really any necked rifle brass too... I'm sure I'll pick one up here before too long or the next time I get a good flyer. I'm glad you posted this. Thanks!

 

[Jerryboy]

What is good about the dual rotary tumbler is: if you want more capacity, it will gladly accept a large Folger's container. Or a Sam's club giant pickle jar. It is only limited by its motor strength. I haven't maxed out the lil tumbler yet.

 

[OHOIAN]

This is with pins, lem shine, and Armor All Wash n Wax for 2 hrs.

 

[padawan]

Dang thats some nice looking brass. Will have to give it a try.

Which Lemishine are you using? There seems to be 3 flavors.

Thanks for the post.

 

[straight-shooter]

As for drying the brass, I picked up a 5 tier food dehydrator at a garage sale for cheap. I put the wet brass in it for 20 minutes at 160 degrees and it's dry as a bone ready to load.

 

[corngrower]

How much noise do you get with these

 

[OHOIAN]

I use a Rebel and it is quieter than a vibratory tumbler. Other manufactures may differ, I don’t know.

 

[Ericpwp]

I have a bag of ss pins on the way.

 

[padawan]

Just a heads up gents... There is a double drum tumbler in Fishers on CL if anyone is looking.

 

[padawan]

Jerryboy... Picked up the dual drum tumbler at HF yesterday... What is your cleaning formula mix ie- X oz of Lemishine? + Y oz of Dawn?. I'm using soft water. No ss pins, right?

 

[Jerryboy]

Jerryboy... Picked up the dual drum tumbler at HF yesterday... What is your cleaning formula mix ie- X oz of Lemishine? + Y oz of Dawn?. I'm using soft water. No ss pins, right?

Hi. I fill the tubs about half way and add a 9mm casing of lemishine.and only 1-2 drops of dawn. I have the pins but noticed I didn't really need them. My harbor freight tumbler came with 5 extra belts. I'm still on the first one. Good deal.let us know how you like it. Too much lemishine will give your brass a pink Hugh. Enjoy