Brass Polish

[SuperDuty]

Jim, this is crazy!  That is exactly how I do it too!  Same tumbler, bought at about the same time, and I always weigh the brass and media!

So glad to know there's another one out there.   

[Jim Fleming]

Dev, you're quite right about seriously Reloading. I cast, I swage, I reload, I shoot. Then I start over. Simple.

Those springy kitchen scales you have will work fine for weighing brass and media.

Dev, it's really simple, don't read a lot into what I'm writing. I'm no neat freak. I just have established a method that allows me to not need another tumbler because I beat up my old one.

[Jim Fleming]

S. D. Great minds think alike lol!

Super, where y'all from?

[Devereaux]

OK. Next question.

Since I have an OLD smaller Dillon tumbler, ?would I cut down the measurements that you have. ?Any idea how much, or just eyeball it. ?Or look at what seems about right in the tumbler and then do the same for brass.

Seriously, that fan trick is neat! I am sure keeping the motor cool will make it last longer also.

[Jim Fleming]

Dev, Do you recall how many cases your tumbler is supposed to hold?

 I could look it up, But I'm at work and don't have access to a computer connected to the internet. Of off the top of my head, I would suggest about 75 percent what a standard tumbler holds. Weigh about seventy five cases and add about the same weight of media.

[Devereaux]

Well, looking on the Dillon website, it says 500 pieces of .45 ACP. THAT sounds way too much to me. Maybe if you filled it to the brim with nothing by brass....

I just went out and bought a cheap scale to put downstairs. I though perhaps I would first weigh what I am currently using for media, since it appears to be about 2/3 full. From that perhaps I might get a guess on what it needs?

[Jim Fleming]

Dev, I'm going to geek you out with some math...

Let's assume fired .45 ACP brass weighs about 100 grains each case...

100 grains
x 500 cases
--------------
= 50,000 grains

to convert grains into pounds you simply divide the answer by 7,000

50,000 grs. / 7000 grs (in a pound) = that would equal about 7.143 pounds (about a tad over 7 1/8 lbs or easier still 7 lbs and 2 oz.)

If you were to add equivalent amount (by weight) of media, the total result, (using my recipe) would be about 14.25 lbs or easier 14 lbs 4 oz.

I do realize my numbers are WAAAAY too high, incidentally. I just pulled some easy to use numbers out of my hat...

Give that method a try, Dev... Just be sure and cut back about 10% of the advertised info from Dillon... (I'm saying if Dillon says you can tumble 500 cases, cut it back to 450 cases and use the same amount of media, by weight.)

simple easy math.

Also as I think I said earlier, your scales that you bought will be fine... It beats counting bullets and brass all to jiminy...

J.

[Devereaux]

Honestly, Jim, I don't think I can FIT 14# into my tumbler. I put enough media in to about 2/3 fill the tumbler, and it weighs just about what you said - 2.75#. I added my last batch of cases, and they only weighed about 2.2#, but that's what was left of the dirty cases - previous loads were bigger. I would guess they were about 3# or so, just from the looks.

I'll try the weighing bit with the next calibre that I clean. I am on a bit of a roll, so I may go try to tumble my .357 Sig brass, just to clean that. Unfortunately I am leaving for work in a day or two, so there isn't much time this time around.

[Jim Fleming]

Yer a wikked man Mr. Devereaux... You're very likely right... you probably can't stuff 14 lbs of anything in a 6 lb tumbler... ya rascal!

From the sound of things, it would appear that you've got a pretty good handle on what all has been said about how SuperDuty and I tumble our brass... As has been stated several times... It's not an arcane secret, nor is it rocket science... We just want our brass clean, and we want our tumblers to last as long as possible.

I would recommend staying under the six (6) pound benchmark, if it were my equipment...

Keep us posted, Dev, when you get the tumbler going again, let us know your results...

J.

Honestly, Jim, I don't think I can FIT 14# into my tumbler. I put enough media in to about 2/3 fill the tumbler, and it weighs just about what you said - 2.75#. I added my last batch of cases, and they only weighed about 2.2#, but that's what was left of the dirty cases - previous loads were bigger. I would guess they were about 3# or so, just from the looks.

I'll try the weighing bit with the next calibre that I clean. I am on a bit of a roll, so I may go try to tumble my .357 Sig brass, just to clean that. Unfortunately I am leaving for work in a day or two, so there isn't much time this time around.

[SuperDuty]

S. D. Great minds think alike lol!

Super, where y'all from?

I live just outside of Kansas City.

My Lyman 1200 instructions say 2 lbs of media, and 350 .38 specials or 125 30.06's.  I don't count brass either, just toss some into a kitchen scale until I hit the 2 lb. mark.  Plug it in with a lamp timer set to run for 3 hours.

[Jim Fleming]

SuperDuty, at least you still have your instructions. Mine got lost years ago during some marital issues.

Dev, do you see where the recipe came from? I must've altered it slightly to suit myself, or I simply forgot it. Either way, NEVER more six pounds of "load" in the tumbler.

J.

[Devereaux]

OK. I'm getting some of this, but I have the feeling that 2# is way too little. I don't have the giant tumbler that Dillon makes, but just about 3# of media fits well inside the one I have, with room for cases. I would have suspected that the Lyman is larger, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

[BikerRN]

What's this weighing powder stuff?

I just fill the case almost full with powder and hammer a bullet down on top of it.

Biker

[Devereaux]

LMAO!

I presume you don't even look at WHICH powder you happen to have grabbed.

Those were the old days, Biker - when you could have any powder you wanted, as long as it was black. (Although even back then there was coarse and fine stuff. Coarse you loaded into cannon, and fine in the primer holes. What little I know about boats.)

[Jim Fleming]

Dev, 2.75 (or if you prefer 2 3/4) lbs of media, and 2.75 lbs of brass equal up to about 5.5 lbs... Just under that magic number... 6lbs...

Yes you're quite correct, sir, 2.75 is going to be just under 3 lbs... So is 2.75 lbs of brass just under 3 lbs...

I looked up my tumbler, here is a link to Lyman Products on that page just to the right of the prices... On the instruction .PDF file that you'll get it has an exact chart for the 1200 Tumbler, it'll hold about 350 .38 Special cases, (weigh a few on your powder scale, (perhaps about 10 or so) multiply the weight of 10 cases x 35 to get 350 cases in weight in grains, (roughly) and then convert that to pounds by dividing by 7000 grains to get the weight in pounds... Just trust me it works... Or if you prefer 125 .30-06 cases in weight...

ALSO, here is another link to the FAQ from Lyman Products that will effectively answer your questions... I also looked up your tumbler, it's about the same capacity as the Lyman Classic 1200, the instructions you'll find on those two separate pages will answer any and all questions about brass polishing

OK. I'm getting some of this, but I have the feeling that 2# is way too little. I don't have the giant tumbler that Dillon makes, but just about 3# of media fits well inside the one I have, with room for cases. I would have suspected that the Lyman is larger, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

[BikerRN]

LMAO!

I presume you don't even look at WHICH powder you happen to have grabbed.

Those were the old days, Biker - when you could have any powder you wanted, as long as it was black. (Although even back then there was coarse and fine stuff. Coarse you loaded into cannon, and fine in the primer holes. What little I know about boats.)

Just don't grab the FFG when you want the FFFG.