A little shaky, but it's bound to be when you only have 2 hands. The "make it yourself" media separator is great! Thanks for the idea. I'm currently trying to find a good sonic cleaner recipe. I 've found one that cleans the brass 100%, but it leaves the brass tarnished, and I don't want to have to tumble and use the sonic cleaner...
I like to add 2 ounces of mineral spirits and used 2x2" cut up dryer sheets. The sheets gather-up fine dust and powder fouling. The spirits keep dust down and make the media "heavy".
Very nice. You showed how to do a job that if done on purpose built machines and media bought from a shooters supply would cost a ton of money. I'm so cheap I even made my tumbler lol.
Thanks for the videos! Just bought a giant bag of very finely ground reptile bedding from Petsmart. Was concerned that it might be too fine but will experiment by adding corn cob and rice (have NEVER done this before). Love the media separator but I'm an 'old idiot' and could benefit from a video on exactly how to make it. I would gladly donate for the costs of creating that video. Good stuff!
I used corn cob to clean some 223 brass and it worked good but it filled a lot of the brass with corn cob. It took me forever to get it out. I think it would be easier to deprime the cases before cleaning. That way I could use my air compressor to blow the corn cob out using the primer hole.
Not sure why you're going to all the trouble to make a separator when you already have one. That green slotted top between the tumbler and your timer is a media separator. Replace the solid lid with the slotted one, fasten it down, invert the tumbler over a bucket, and turn it on. The vibrator will sift the media into the bucket, leaving the clean brass in the bowl. No muss, no cranking, no drilling holes.
I was wondering the same thing. I use the sifter on my Lyman tumbler and it works great and is faster than messing with the the home made separator. Just my opinion....
I use a similar recipe. Crushed Walnut shells, Rice, Nu Finish, and 2"x2" pieces of used dryer sheets. The dryer sheets pick up the dust from the media. You throw those away after a few times and add "new" ones. Keeps dust from forming in media and makes same last much longer. I don't use the Corn.
Spent primers remain in during cleaning. I de-prime in the press (stage 1) and re-prime all in the same stage. Never had an issue. But I have had better primer seating with softer primers like federal and CCI, Remington primers have never failed either but I noticed that they are a little hard material and thus harder to seat properly. That said- do what's best for your setup and makes you feel comfortable.
A suggestion. Since you seem pretty handy, how about construction a 5 gallon bucket tumbler to tumble mass quantities of brass. The trick is to get that bucket to turn 60 rpms as would a cement mixer
Jam (wedge) the 5 gallon bucket into the mouth of the electric cement mixer with styrofoam packing & you have yourself a case tumbler for mass quantities of cases (10,000 at a time). It's better tho to wet tumble them with stainless steel pins media water and lemi - shine (citric acid) and a cap full of nu-finish! Also de-prime all the cases first, and you will have the insides and primer pockets and flash holes all clean like new. I do like the media separator tho. 10 outta 10 for that one.
Thanks for the vid! Just a question, do you de-prime before putting the brass into the media? if not do you clean the primer pocket and flash hole manually afterwards?
Liked your video and the homemade media separator. Especially on how to get the buckets on the cheap. Really you should avoid products that contain Ammonia cause it effects powder and primers. A real bummer to go through all the work only to have your rounds become useless. If you want shiny brass, you could use what I use, a squirt of Nu-Finish automobile wax. gets the brass shiny and smooth.
Target Time Not sure about 'Blitz' polish... was more concerned with 'Brasso' polish as it does contain the aforementioned ammonia. I got the Nu-Finish wax when it was on sale back in 2011 and I'm still using it. Thanks for the info on Blitz, have more info when this bottle of wax gets empty.
I see my walmart has a bottle or nu finish for 8$ if that does no damage I'll go ahead and use that. You got several yrs out of it and still like it. Whenever you're in the market for it just search walmart.com or app for metal polish it's a silver bottle and says good for brass tumbling and reloading then if you search on ebay you find it a few $ cheaper but it's in a black bottle as a "green" formula. Searching various websites and their own for descriptions and many are word for word the same it just doesn't say "great for tumblers" on the front
I think they call it a drain grommet, usually found near the spill pans for hot water heaters, or you can get a male and female PVC and "pinch" the bottom of the bucket
Sorry for getting you so mad, I was only joking around. I actually enjoyed you're video. It was informative. I should've been a little more descriptive in my comment relaying that my intention was sarcasm. Again, my apologies as there wasn't any maliciousness from my end. And I agree that I was being disrespectful to you for that, I would take time to enjoy more of your videos which are quite informative to my lack of knowledge in reloading the .223 round.
I know the video was shaky, but to the person that asked why don't I just use the lid on the rcbs tumbler, it just doesn't work efficiently. I tried, it took 3 times as long and still had media to take care of, to make the tumbler watch both videos, and use some scrap pvc with the free buckets and some creativity, even if it doesn't work perfectly it still cheaper and better than the bought stuff. and what does that mean? less money on support material. more money where it counts.
Would have been nice to see a little more detail in how the tumbler was made, hard to see with the hand-held camera :) Tripods improve videos by a whole lot.
Great idea but stop using Brasso, it contains ammonia and will attack the brass over time. I use Hornady One Shot Metal Polish, a couple bucks more but really adds the shine and after all, you only use it when you change your media.
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The homemade tumbler is ingenious, enjoyed the video thankyou..
Thank you for sharing this with all of us like that you mixed the different types of media and brought up the polish.👍
Very nice. Ingenuity at it's best. Thanks for sharing!
I like your method. Thanks for the video
Great video...Seems like you nailed it for what you were covering. Learned a few things. Thanks Man!!!!!!
A little shaky, but it's bound to be when you only have 2 hands. The "make it yourself" media separator is great! Thanks for the idea.
I'm currently trying to find a good sonic cleaner recipe. I 've found one that cleans the brass 100%, but it leaves the brass tarnished, and I don't want to have to tumble and use the sonic cleaner...
I like to add 2 ounces of mineral spirits and used 2x2" cut up dryer sheets.
The sheets gather-up fine dust and powder fouling.
The spirits keep dust down and make the media "heavy".
Very nice. You showed how to do a job that if done on purpose built machines and media bought from a shooters supply would cost a ton of money. I'm so cheap I even made my tumbler lol.
Thanks for the videos! Just bought a giant bag of very finely ground reptile bedding from Petsmart. Was concerned that it might be too fine but will experiment by adding corn cob and rice (have NEVER done this before). Love the media separator but I'm an 'old idiot' and could benefit from a video on exactly how to make it. I would gladly donate for the costs of creating that video. Good stuff!
I used corn cob to clean some 223 brass and it worked good but it filled a lot of the brass with corn cob. It took me forever to get it out.
I think it would be easier to deprime the cases before cleaning. That way I could use my air compressor to blow the corn cob out using the primer hole.
Not sure why you're going to all the trouble to make a separator when you already have one. That green slotted top between the tumbler and your timer is a media separator. Replace the solid lid with the slotted one, fasten it down, invert the tumbler over a bucket, and turn it on. The vibrator will sift the media into the bucket, leaving the clean brass in the bowl. No muss, no cranking, no drilling holes.
+Steven Finnegan lol...yeah, i saw that also and wondered the same?
I was wondering the same thing. I use the sifter on my Lyman tumbler and it works great and is faster than messing with the the home made separator. Just my opinion....
GREAT VIDEO...
Genius idea 💡
I use a similar recipe. Crushed Walnut shells, Rice, Nu Finish, and 2"x2" pieces of used dryer sheets. The dryer sheets pick up the dust from the media. You throw those away after a few times and add "new" ones. Keeps dust from forming in media and makes same last much longer. I don't use the Corn.
Go to walmart and buy some nufinish car wax in a orange bottle. Put in one cap full per 500 PC brass. Works like a champ. Cleanest brass ever!
I use the wire cover from an old fan to separate brass and media. Just hold it over a box and twist it. Easy and much faster.
That's looks like a pain in the ass but it's the hobbies and if that's how you like to do it that's what matters, good video my man.
Good deal
T(e best way to do it is what works best for you. They came out as you like and it can help others as well.thanks for the informative videos..
Nice job
Nice👍
nice job. i put some "one shot" in mine also
Spent primers remain in during cleaning. I de-prime in the press (stage 1) and re-prime all in the same stage. Never had an issue. But I have had better primer seating with softer primers like federal and CCI, Remington primers have never failed either but I noticed that they are a little hard material and thus harder to seat properly.
That said- do what's best for your setup and makes you feel comfortable.
A suggestion. Since you seem pretty handy, how about construction a 5 gallon bucket tumbler to tumble mass quantities of brass. The trick is to get that bucket to turn 60 rpms as would a cement mixer
Jam (wedge) the 5 gallon bucket into the mouth of the electric cement mixer with styrofoam packing & you have yourself a case tumbler for mass quantities of cases (10,000 at a time). It's better tho to wet tumble them with stainless steel pins media water and lemi - shine (citric acid) and a cap full of nu-finish!
Also de-prime all the cases first, and you will have the insides and primer pockets and flash holes all clean like new.
I do like the media separator tho. 10 outta 10 for that one.
Very similar to what my dad has for extracting honey from hive cones :)
Thanks for the vid!
Just a question, do you de-prime before putting the brass into the media? if not do you clean the primer pocket and flash hole manually afterwards?
Liked your video and the homemade media separator. Especially on how to get the buckets on the cheap. Really you should avoid products that contain Ammonia cause it effects powder and primers. A real bummer to go through all the work only to have your rounds become useless. If you want shiny brass, you could use what I use, a squirt of Nu-Finish automobile wax. gets the brass shiny and smooth.
Would you suggest nufinish over flitz metal polish? They have a 3 Oz for $8 and a 7 Oz for 15$ no ammonia it's a liquid though
Target Time Not sure about 'Blitz' polish... was more concerned with 'Brasso' polish as it does contain the aforementioned ammonia. I got the Nu-Finish wax when it was on sale back in 2011 and I'm still using it. Thanks for the info on Blitz, have more info when this bottle of wax gets empty.
I see my walmart has a bottle or nu finish for 8$ if that does no damage I'll go ahead and use that. You got several yrs out of it and still like it.
Whenever you're in the market for it just search walmart.com or app for metal polish it's a silver bottle and says good for brass tumbling and reloading then if you search on ebay you find it a few $ cheaper but it's in a black bottle as a "green" formula. Searching various websites and their own for descriptions and many are word for word the same it just doesn't say "great for tumblers" on the front
Thanks for the tips. Could you explain how you secured the PVC pipe to the smaller bucket?
I think they call it a drain grommet, usually found near the spill pans for hot water heaters, or you can get a male and female PVC and "pinch" the bottom of the bucket
did you know that the other top to the tumbler will se[rate media and brass.
You might want to de-prime first. Primer pockets are grungy .
Hey, your doing just fine...
Great informative videos. The entire thing could've easily been done in 1 10- minute video.
Sorry for getting you so mad, I was only joking around. I actually enjoyed you're video. It was informative. I should've been a little more descriptive in my comment relaying that my intention was sarcasm. Again, my apologies as there wasn't any maliciousness from my end. And I agree that I was being disrespectful to you for that, I would take time to enjoy more of your videos which are quite informative to my lack of knowledge in reloading the .223 round.
I know the video was shaky, but to the person that asked why don't I just use the lid on the rcbs tumbler, it just doesn't work efficiently.
I tried, it took 3 times as long and still had media to take care of,
to make the tumbler watch both videos, and use some scrap pvc with the free buckets and some creativity, even if it doesn't work perfectly it still cheaper and better than the bought stuff. and what does that mean? less money on support material. more money where it counts.
Using the lid is a pain in the butt. I use it, but its not best. Your method looks way better!
Would have been nice to see a little more detail in how the tumbler was made, hard to see with the hand-held camera :) Tripods improve videos by a whole lot.
Great idea but stop using Brasso, it contains ammonia and will attack the brass over time. I use Hornady One Shot Metal Polish, a couple bucks more but really adds the shine and after all, you only use it when you change your media.
Why not just use the separator lying on bench to separate media ?
Get a friend to assist with the camera. I love the DIY and politics! Cheers!
Try a ultrasonic cleaner you wont be disapointed.
Buy a TRIPOD so we can see.
Need more help to make the tumbler !!
get your buckets @ fire house subs for $2.00 and the money supports firefighters
Dude... if you can't buy some kind of camera holder or tripod for your phone don't film it all!! You were jerking that camera everywhere got me dizzy!