SONIC 'tumblers'

[ken stiles, 0526V]

anyone used one of those new sonic cleaning 'tumblers'? for henry/carbine tubes?

which ones would you recommend?

wanting to do my part to help this sucky economy.. so since i can't log onto healthcare.gov..... figured i'd go to a web site that can handle thousands of transactions daily securely and effectively

[Lou Lou Lou]

You might consider a Thumlers tumbler with stainless steel media. Cleans brass like magic

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I agree with Lou. Here are the videos: http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/tutorials/ I honestly can't tell if its brand new or used when it comes out of the tumbler. It's wet, and the media is small, but it works well. I don't miss dirty primer pockets or picking corn cob out of them one bit. I do use the Lemon Shine too.

[pastore]

Ultrasonic cleaners are great for cleaning cartridge brass and many other things. What they won't do is make the brass shiny. I also use mine for cleaning my revolver cylinder. I just put the dirty cylinder, with the nipples installed, and leave it for about 10 minutes. I take it out, blow it off with air and spray with WD40. It is not neccessary to use a brush or patch at all. Midway has a nice cleaner on sale now ( #992-327 ).

[Rob FreemanWBR]

Stainless Steel Media (SSM) with Lemon Shine is the only way to go!

I have a RCBS rotating tumbler with a sealed mouth, so I didn't have to buy the advertised tumbler associated w/SSM.

Was more than happy to pass along the crushed walnut polishing media to a fellow skirmisher. But as others have already attested to, you WILL NOT be disappointed with investing in 5lbs of SSM.

[Scooby]

How long does it take to get fired brass usefully clean with each method, sonic vs. stainless? Don't care about cosmetics, but running a tumbler with walnut shells for three hours kind of kills the day. Three hundred bucks for a Thumblers Tumbler is also a turnoff, but if it's worth it I'm willing.

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I like to think I'm frugal, but my wife says I'm cheap. I bought a used Thumblers Tumbler on E-Bay. If you do that, make sure you get the high-speed motor.

[Lou Lou Lou]

Scooby/John

i tumbled my Smith brass for 10 years before using pins. I only tumbled them with a squirt of soap for 20 minutes. If you want them bright and clean you have to go a little longer.

[Ron/The Old Reb]

You can get the Thumlers Tumbler with the hight speed motor from Midway for around $175.00 bucks.

[Bob Lintner]

I use the Thumlers Tumbler with the high speed motor also. I deprime the brass with a Lee hand press and universal depriming die first. I usually (not always) pre wash the brass in an old plastic jug with Ivory dish soap and hot water. At home I use the Thumlers with SS pins and a squirt of Ivory dish soap and Lemishine Powder (1 teaspoon). I let it run for about 2 hours, rinse with hot water and let the brass dry on paper towels. It looks better than new, primer pockets too! Never used anything else.

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

That stainless steel media will clean anything, but if you want to reduce your tumbling time, throw your brass into soapy water right after you shoot it at the range. I usually grab a discarded water bottle, squirt some solvent into it, add some water and dump my spent cartridges into it.

If I'm shooting a lot of Henry rounds, I bring along a home-made de-capper made out of a pair of pliers, and de-cap all the cartridges before I toss them in the bottle.

[ken stiles, 0526V]

for the info.... cabela's has the tumbler and lyman media separator on sale and free shipping and amazon has the stainless media on sale & free shipping.

God I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!

Merry Christmas

[ken stiles, 0526V]

super cleaning... that's for sure. in about 90 minutes the tubes looked brand new!

it worked great with about 50 maynard tubes in the tumbler [when i had more, the tumbler would stop --- i think more makes it too heavy to rotate] ---- does anyone have other insight?

do you wash the tubes and air dry to make sure all the soapy water is gone?

thanks for the help and Merry Christmas

[ms3635v]

Ken,

I soak my Maynard cases in white vinegar for about twenty minutes, it dissolves powder residue and lube. I then rinse with hot water, let them dry, then throw them in my tumbler. This does the job for me. Been using the same Maynard cases for more than twenty years. Also, diluted Simple Green works great.. does the same job as white vinegar.

[Rob FreemanWBR]

Al,

After I tumble my brass (Maynard & 44-40 - never together) w/some "Lemie Shine" & splash of Dawn detergent, I just dump everything out into a shallow plastic 10 x 12 tub/pan that I can rest in the sink under the faucet. There I rinse them out by hand (swishing them around under the faucet) making sure none of the SS media is still inside the cases (haven't broken down and bought a separator yet...).

After that I just place them on a towel and leave them to dry for 3 - 4 days in the basement and then stow them away in their respective plastic coffee jug until it's time for reloading.

I have read on other threads that some folks pop their cleaned brass into the oven for a short time, on low to expedite the drying process.

[John Holland]

If you have a gas oven you don't have to turn it on, the pilot light alone produces plenty of heat to dry the cases just fine.
JDH

[Yancey von Yeast, 8073]

If you have a gas oven you don't have to turn it on, the pilot light alone produces plenty of heat to dry the cases just fine.
JDH

I'm sure Jackie loves that operation!

[John Holland]

Yancey, since you and I have other hobbies of like interest....you can imagine very well some of the surprises Jackie has discovered in the oven over the years!

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

Yancey's wife lets him do whatever he wants. My wife complained the very first time I put my stainless steel Remington Revolver in the dish washer.