Help support WeTheArmed.com by visiting our sponsors.

Author Topic: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media  (Read 5429 times)

StevenTing

  • WTA Staff
  • Senior Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 4651

  • Offline
Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
« on: November 12, 2013, 04:18:21 pm »
Anyone ever use it?  I was looking at the website and the brass looks clean.  I believe I get the same results with my Walnut media as well.  My guess is that I can't use the stainless media in my media tumbler as the site seems to show a rotary tumbler.  $45 seems steep for 5 pounds, but if you never have to buy new stuff, could be worth it.

http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/
Utah

WeTheArmed.com

  • Advertisement
  • ***

    JesseL

    • Gun Mangler
    • WTA Staff
    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 12451

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #1 on: November 12, 2013, 05:11:32 pm »
    It seems like an effective way to go, but you have to use a wet rotary tumbler with water and dish soap.

    There's enough extra work and waiting (for brass to dry) that I'd rather just stick with walnut in a vibratory tumbler.
    Arizona

    Brandon

    • Member
    • **
    • Posts: 132

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #2 on: November 12, 2013, 06:58:19 pm »
    I use a wet rotary tumbler with stainless steel pins and it gets my brass very shiny it does take some time to separate the brass from the pins but I do not have any problems with lead dust. Also Midwayusa.com sells stainless steel pins.
    http://www.midwayusa.com/product/635839/pellets-brass-cleaning-media-stainless-steel-pins-5-lb-bag
    Washington

    only1asterisk

    • Just some guy, you know?
    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 2408

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #3 on: November 13, 2013, 09:25:21 am »
    I'm a fairly recent convert to stainless media.  I've never been able to get brass this clean by any other means.

    The upside: Very clean brass, relative quiet (my design), no dust, replacement media rarely required (although you will eventually need to placed pins that are lost).

    The downside: High upfront cost, need to dry brass.

    Drying time really isn't an issue as I clean huge batches and dry it overnight.  I can run a dry media tumbler if I need to clean a small run of brass right away.

    Brandon

    • Member
    • **
    • Posts: 132

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #4 on: November 13, 2013, 09:03:22 pm »
    the nice thing about the stainless steel pins is that you will probbley never have to replace them unlike corn cob or walnut shells. separating the pins from the brass can be time consuming. but it does get the brass very shiny and if you deprime before you tumble the brass the primer pocket gets cleaned out.

    here is a video of the tumbler and pins in action

    Washington

    seanp

    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 4977
    • Redneck Canadian

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #5 on: November 14, 2013, 05:13:02 pm »
    Hmm.  I've never used it to clean brass per se, but used it for jewellery applications to burnish brass, which makes it harder.  I'd be wondering about reduced brass life because of that.
    "Nobody wants to be here and nobody wants to leave."
    The Road - Cormac McCarthy

    only1asterisk

    • Just some guy, you know?
    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 2408

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #6 on: November 15, 2013, 11:09:56 am »
    Hmm.  I've never used it to clean brass per se, but used it for jewellery applications to burnish brass, which makes it harder.  I'd be wondering about reduced brass life because of that.

    Burnishing really only effects the surface hardness.  There has been enough experimentation to fully convince me that there is no loss of service life.

    FlyerTom

    • Junior Member
    • *
    • Posts: 18

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #7 on: November 18, 2013, 05:45:42 pm »
    I've used a buzz bucket for many years, but last year switched to Thumler's Tumbler, and gentlemen, there is no equal.  The brass is cleaned inside and out, including the primer pockets.  The main drawback to this method is you'll need to have access to a sink to handle the water chores.  Since drying them isn't a problem for me, I won't harp on it too much.  I wash a batch one day, and reload them the next.
    A couple of tips:  Go to Home Depot and get a couple of mesh paint filters that are meant to be used on a bucket.  They have 1-gallon and 5-gallon sizes, and they're fine enough to keep the pins from running down the drain. 
    If you have one of those rotary separators to sort out the dry tumbling media you use in a buzz bucket, they'll work fine for separating the pins from the brass just as well if you fill the bottom half-full of water.
    An advantage for cleaning the inside of cases:  The shiny interior is easier to see when you're charging the cases with powder.  A glance down into the powder funnel and you can immediately tell if you've already dropped a charge into it.
    Pennsylvania

    Outbreak

    • NRA Basic Pistol Instructor, Certified Sig P-Series Armorer
    • WTA Staff
    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 11465
    • Outbreak Monkey ^

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #8 on: March 20, 2014, 02:15:36 am »
    I just ordered the new Frankford Arsenal Wet Tumbler. I had been looking at it since they announced it at SHOT. It popped up on DVOR the other night and a few beers got the credit card to come out. We'll see how it does.
    I am excited because no matter how much I separate the media, a little bit of corn cob will totally stop the case feed on my Dillon. It will be nice to eliminate that.
    TexasOutbreak

    I take my coffee black...like my rifles.

    I absolutely despise Glocks. That's why I only own two.

    I'm glad that your chains rest lightly upon you. --JesseL

    coelacanth

    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 10576
    • eccentric orbit

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #9 on: March 20, 2014, 02:50:01 am »
    You realize, of course, that a new user report is going to be required forthwith.     :cool
    Arizona" A republic, if you can keep it."

                                                   Benjamin Franklin

    Outbreak

    • NRA Basic Pistol Instructor, Certified Sig P-Series Armorer
    • WTA Staff
    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 11465
    • Outbreak Monkey ^

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #10 on: March 20, 2014, 04:34:45 am »
    I don't even have a tracking number yet, and I'm going TDY this week, so whenever I get home, and whenever it gets here, I will post pics.
    TexasOutbreak

    I take my coffee black...like my rifles.

    I absolutely despise Glocks. That's why I only own two.

    I'm glad that your chains rest lightly upon you. --JesseL

    StevenTing

    • WTA Staff
    • Senior Contributor
    • *****
    • Posts: 4651

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #11 on: March 20, 2014, 10:01:53 am »
    Oh.  So I picked up the Rebel 17 kit from my OP and used it once on some 7mm brass.  Very nice brass. The only downside right now is drying time but since I don't shoot 7mm, that's not an issue.

    I ended up trading 7 pounds of H1000 for the kit including media, tumbler, media separator, and Lemishine. I think I'll start cleaning all of my brass this way now. 
    Utah

    Cookie

    • Member
    • **
    • Posts: 335

    • Offline
    Re: Stainless Steel Tumbling Media
    « Reply #12 on: March 20, 2014, 06:32:23 pm »
    I use stainless pins on military range pickup brass (filthy stuff)...it works awesome. I use an old clothes dryer and 5-gallon pails with Gamma lids for a tumbler - take the fins out of the drum, set it on Fluff No Heat, toss the bucket inside, and go do something else for an hour. Repeat as needed. I usually dry the brass in batches on cookie sheets in the oven.
    "Bushido is all very well in its way, but it is no match for a 30-06." - Col. Jeff Cooper

    Help support WeTheArmed.com by visiting our sponsors.