Inland Shooters

[ocabj]

Most reloaders clean their brass using a vibratory cleaner. As opposed to a traditional tumbler that actually tumbles brass in a rotary motion, vibratory cleaners are stationary tubs that shake very rapidly using a motor with an offbalance weight or other mechanism to induce a rapid shaking.

Many new reloaders tend to buy speciality case cleaning media from their local gunshops, such as Lyman Tufnut or pre-packaged walnut shell sold as "tumbler media". Such media tends to run a bit expensive, often between $10-$20 just for as little as 1 lb. Also, the pre-packaged case cleaning media tends to be pre-treated. More often than not, the treated media ends up resulting in a huge mess for the reloaders, causing wax build-up in the vibratory cleaner bowl and on the cases.

While I have only been reloading for about 4 years, I have developed my own technique and procedures for cleaning brass. I have told others some of the techniques I use in cleaning brass and many people have adopted some of those ideas for their own regiment and are very happy with the method(s).

First off, don't waste money on that bag or container of corn cob or walnut shell at your local gunshop that is packaged as "tumbler media". $10 for even 3 lbs of media is not a deal. Go to a pet supply store. Avoid the chain stores like Petsmart or Petco. While those two national chains are good pet stores, most don't carry the media in large quantites. What you want to look for is a bird or reptile supply store. These places tend to carry lots of media types, including crushed walnut shell and corn cob, and in large quanities. A local store in my area sells 25lb bags of crushed walnut shell for less than $10 after tax.

If Petsmart or Petco is absolutely all you have access to in your area, you should be able to obtain at least a 5lb of crushed walnut shell for around $10-$12 (sold as "reptile bedding"). Note: Some Petsmart or Petco stores have been known to carry larger 10lb or 20lb bags of corn cob or walnut shell, but are not the norm.

Secondly, adding 'treatment' to the bare media is unnecessary. Crushed walnut shell does an excellent job by itself in a vibratory cleaner. Adding liquid treatment to the media only helps to make the brass shiny. But if you have the urge to get shiny brass, you don't need to order special liquid additives from Dillon Precision or Midway. Go to the nearest auto parts or department store and get yourself a bottle of Nu-Finish car polish (look for an orange plastic bottle). While this stuff has to be the worst polish to use on cars, it is excellent for cleaning brass. It has no ammonia (which weakens brass), is inexpensive, is easy to come by, and it works. I use about a tablespoon (one or two capfuls) per load of brass in the vibratory cleaner.

Note: The best way to add treatment to any media is to load media into the vibratory cleaner, add the treatment, and run the cleaner without brass for about 15 minutes to disperse the treatment throughout the bowl of media. Then add the brass to be cleaned.

Another additive I use in each load is mineral spirits. I add a small amount of mineral spirits (a couple of tablespoons worth) into the load of media along with the Nu-Finish. This thins out the Nu-Finish and helps to 'freshen' up the walnut shell media.

I also like to put half or one full dryer sheet into the vibratory cleaner with the brass being cleaned. These anti-static dryer sheets are excellent in keeping the static low (since the bowl is often made of plastic) and it keeps the dust down (the media and fouling dust sticks to the sheet).

In summary, whenever I run a load of brass to be cleaned in the vibratory cleaner, I:

1. Load crushed walnut into the bowl.
2. Add a tablespoon of Nu-Finish.
3. Add a tablespoon or two of mineral spirits.
4. Run the vibratory cleaner for about 15 minutes.
5. Put in the brass to be cleaned along with an anti-static dryer sheet.
6. Run the vibratory cleaner for a couple hours.

Voila.