Walnut tumbling media is terrible!
- Thread starter Machineguntony
- Start date
MarkGlazer
New member
Looking at the Harbor Freight web site, they have two types of walnut defined by their abrasiveness. Both have a fundamental description that reads as follows:
This walnut shell blasting media is great for rust- free paint removal from sheet metal and for cleaning engines and transmissions.
As some of the posts state, different media for different purposes. Personally, I've only used Zilla since I began loading and have never had an issue.
Change your brand and try again.
Be well.
This walnut shell blasting media is great for rust- free paint removal from sheet metal and for cleaning engines and transmissions.
As some of the posts state, different media for different purposes. Personally, I've only used Zilla since I began loading and have never had an issue.
Change your brand and try again.
Be well.
shootbrownelk
New member
Just go to PetSmart and get a bag of "Lizard litter" (fine walnut shells) fill your vibrator tumbler with it, add strips of used clothes drier sheets to the media (it removes all the dust) add your unprimed brass and let her rip. Been doing it this way for years, I blow out all the cases with compressed air before resizing and loading.
Average Joe
New member
I see your problem clearly, " Harbor Freight " says it all.....
chris in va
New member
No problems at all with Harbor Freight walnut. Quite a few bags the past few years.
I rigged a separator using a 3 gallon bucket, with a 2 gallon nested inside. I drilled about 30 holes in the bottom, roughly 1/4". Toss everything in, let the media drain a bit then shake the SNOT out of the cases for about a minute until I don't see any walnut come out the bottom.
Works great.
I rigged a separator using a 3 gallon bucket, with a 2 gallon nested inside. I drilled about 30 holes in the bottom, roughly 1/4". Toss everything in, let the media drain a bit then shake the SNOT out of the cases for about a minute until I don't see any walnut come out the bottom.
Works great.
I've tumbled thru 1\2 of a bag of Harbor Freight walnut media and have had no problems to date. (I've got 3 more bags\boxes in the shed leftover from a shell I was working on)
I tumble the brass and then poor it into a plastic colander I picked up at a thrift shop. I drilled the bottom holes out a bit so the media would pass thru it easier and like above I hold the colander over a bucket and shake the snot out of it to clear all the media out of the brass.
No problems at all but I do tumble the brass before decapping.
I tumble the brass and then poor it into a plastic colander I picked up at a thrift shop. I drilled the bottom holes out a bit so the media would pass thru it easier and like above I hold the colander over a bucket and shake the snot out of it to clear all the media out of the brass.
No problems at all but I do tumble the brass before decapping.
Personally, I believe tumbling brass with walnut or corn cob media is obsolete... The new wet tumblers with the stainless steel pins, like Frankford Arsenal sells, does a much better job in less time, eliminates the dust problems and potential breathing in of carcinogens, and the brass comes out looking like new, including the inside of the case and primer pockets. The other benefit, is that there is no longer a need to clean primer pockets after tumbling.
I'm not sure why anyone still tumbles with walnut or corn cob media anymore. Maybe it's just a matter of not replacing what is working, albeit poorly.
I'm not sure why anyone still tumbles with walnut or corn cob media anymore. Maybe it's just a matter of not replacing what is working, albeit poorly.
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
I agree.
At one time I had a 25lb box of it that its walnut shell was covered in jewelers red rouge and acetone. It was happily dis-guarded after 3 attempts at cleaning my rifles yellow brass. Waxy rouge packed into every small brass's crevasse. Especially at the base of the cartridge wall where it meets the cartridge rim. True. A small area. Even so I had to manually brush that area clean of red rouge as the cartridges heat build would melt the jeweler's rouge and transfer it to the rifles extractor. In time I suppose there could be enough build up to cause a ejection malfunctioning. (ruger 243) Turned to using corn cob. Been pleased with its cleaning. No problems what-so-ever incurred.
At one time I had a 25lb box of it that its walnut shell was covered in jewelers red rouge and acetone. It was happily dis-guarded after 3 attempts at cleaning my rifles yellow brass. Waxy rouge packed into every small brass's crevasse. Especially at the base of the cartridge wall where it meets the cartridge rim. True. A small area. Even so I had to manually brush that area clean of red rouge as the cartridges heat build would melt the jeweler's rouge and transfer it to the rifles extractor. In time I suppose there could be enough build up to cause a ejection malfunctioning. (ruger 243) Turned to using corn cob. Been pleased with its cleaning. No problems what-so-ever incurred.
The new wet tumblers with the stainless steel pins,
I like Wall nut and will never use pins and water . I load my tumbler and let it run over night . The next morning dump out the brass and load it .
Cleaning my brass takes about 3/5 min max .
No mess no wet brass and no dents in my brass .
I like Wall nut and will never use pins and water . I load my tumbler and let it run over night . The next morning dump out the brass and load it .
Cleaning my brass takes about 3/5 min max .
No mess no wet brass and no dents in my brass .
No offence intended, but I think this is a case of "progressive press syndrome". "Don't inspect anything, just dump a bunch of empties in a hopper." Same with primer pockets, small vs. large. Or when a .380 case gets dumped in a batch of 9mm. Blaming walnut media for not cleaning, or checking the machine or not inspecting the brass and living with a problem for three months? Gotta be kidding...
I've played with everything from dried coffee grounds to beach sand, to wood chunks to ceramic media, including walnut and corn cob bast media for tumbling/cleaning my brass, and have never been successful in blaming the media for my faux pas...
I've played with everything from dried coffee grounds to beach sand, to wood chunks to ceramic media, including walnut and corn cob bast media for tumbling/cleaning my brass, and have never been successful in blaming the media for my faux pas...
Machineguntony
New member
Wow! I didn't realize there was so much passion when it comes to tumbling media. Lol.
So I guess that I should clarify...
I reload and shoot about 50,000 rounds year. I take friends and family shooting all the time, spreading the joy.
I reload for speed. I am not looking for the most accurate round, the prettiest or shiniest round, and I'm not picky. I just want my presses to work, I want as few jams as possible, and I want to do very little work when it comes to reloading.
I work 60-80 hours a week, and I have no desire to throughly and individually examine 10,000 pieces of brass. If reloading becomes work, I'd rather just buy pallets of 9mm, 223, and 308.
I have 1050s for each major caliber I shoot. I tumble the brass, spin the brass to get rid of the media, dump in the brass, dump in the bullets, feed the primers, push a button, watch the press, gather the ammo.
In this process, some amount of walnut media is always left over in the cases, and since its inflexible, it will gunk up the press. With corn, I have none of these problems.
There are many ways to reload, but that's just the way I reload.
So I guess that I should clarify...
I reload and shoot about 50,000 rounds year. I take friends and family shooting all the time, spreading the joy.
I reload for speed. I am not looking for the most accurate round, the prettiest or shiniest round, and I'm not picky. I just want my presses to work, I want as few jams as possible, and I want to do very little work when it comes to reloading.
I work 60-80 hours a week, and I have no desire to throughly and individually examine 10,000 pieces of brass. If reloading becomes work, I'd rather just buy pallets of 9mm, 223, and 308.
I have 1050s for each major caliber I shoot. I tumble the brass, spin the brass to get rid of the media, dump in the brass, dump in the bullets, feed the primers, push a button, watch the press, gather the ammo.
In this process, some amount of walnut media is always left over in the cases, and since its inflexible, it will gunk up the press. With corn, I have none of these problems.
There are many ways to reload, but that's just the way I reload.
turtlehead
New member
I FARTed.
It's great.
It's great.
With the volume you need perhaps a small cement mixer with a wet media? Vigorous shaking after dry tumbling is pretty good at loosening stuck media. I have a wire mesh trash basket that I will shake 'em up in after tumbling which gets 99% of the stuck grains of media out of the cases. (Sounds like you reload more in a month than I shoot in 6! )
)Stats Shooter
New member
I personally use the stainless steel pins, a squirt of dawn dish soap, and teaspoon of lemmeshine in distilled water. My tumbler will do about 500 556x45 cases, about 300, .300 win mag, or about 1000 40 S&W. As others have said, the brass is cleaned inside and out as well as the flash hole.
Cleanup is a bit of a mess, I use a steel mesh strainer and then run water down the flash holes which pushes out any remaining pins. Then, when they are dry, I shake each one as I inspect it to make sure or I push my little (but strong) pin magnet down the neck.
It is quiet, it makes no dust, I never have to replace media, and the cases are clean in about 3 hours.....but still cleanup is a bit of a pain.
Cleanup is a bit of a mess, I use a steel mesh strainer and then run water down the flash holes which pushes out any remaining pins. Then, when they are dry, I shake each one as I inspect it to make sure or I push my little (but strong) pin magnet down the neck.
It is quiet, it makes no dust, I never have to replace media, and the cases are clean in about 3 hours.....but still cleanup is a bit of a pain.
m&p45acp10+1
New member
I have been using the HF media for years. I have cleaned well over a million cases with it. It is almost all I have ever used. It is fine as far as size goes. It will not clog flash holes provided you let any polish run until the clumps break up before putting brass in.
If you are getting media into your progressive loader after tumbling you should do a few things before blaming the media.
1. If you put any liquid polish in the media let it run until the clumps break up. For me this is about a half hour or so.
2. Get a better separator. You have to get the media out of the case, and with the fine walnut if you do not have a good separator you are going to have to dump out each case. With large media like corn cob with small necked rounds like .223 Rem it can get stuck inside. T
The only walnut media I have ever had stick in a flash hole is Lyman Tuff Nut.It is larger, and more coarse. I only use it to clean up real bad cruddy brass.
If that is more than you care for I can suggest you skip the tumbling with media. A simple wash, and shake in a sealable container followed by a fresh water rinse will do what you need. Just let the brass dry all the way before running it.
If you are getting media into your progressive loader after tumbling you should do a few things before blaming the media.
1. If you put any liquid polish in the media let it run until the clumps break up. For me this is about a half hour or so.
2. Get a better separator. You have to get the media out of the case, and with the fine walnut if you do not have a good separator you are going to have to dump out each case. With large media like corn cob with small necked rounds like .223 Rem it can get stuck inside. T
The only walnut media I have ever had stick in a flash hole is Lyman Tuff Nut.It is larger, and more coarse. I only use it to clean up real bad cruddy brass.
If that is more than you care for I can suggest you skip the tumbling with media. A simple wash, and shake in a sealable container followed by a fresh water rinse will do what you need. Just let the brass dry all the way before running it.