tumbling brass in rice

[locust]

herd some talk about it . thought i'd try it in the shaker .it moves around, but not as good a corn cob or walnut . defiantly makes more noise .
i'm not a nut about super shiny brass . after running the shaker i tried the rock tumbler .after running the rice & brass in the rock tumbler for many hours one thing did happen . the inside of the brass was much cleaner than corncob or walnut has ever done . all it did for primer pockets was to plug up the holes . that was something i was expecting. ok so what! super clean brass really only is pleasing to the eye .takes time to get . if i really wanted shiny brass, using a LEE case holder and a drill motor a rag and brass polish gets it the shiniest it can get .

[orerancher]

I've always just used Ground Walnut...A Few years ago I started puttin a "Used" Dryer Sheet in with It....Does a Good Job of keepin the Walnut Cleaner...

[O-mega]

I don't see why not, it's just scrubbing the cases inside and out.  I found that walnut worked better than cob, but they both broke down over time and a bunch of dust would be generated after even one use.  After many years of putting up with the noise, dust, and stuck media in the brass I switched to wet tumbling.  And while I never cared if the brass came out shiny or not, it is much easier to see any carbon deposits in a clean shiny case.  The cycle is a bit shorter, and the noise is also lower  Now, stuck media, yes the pins can also remain in the case, got chips now but haven't used them yet, but they are easier to find than the walnut/cob particles.

The bunch on the left were with walnut, the bunch on the right wet tumbled.  The center cases are the opposite, two dry on the right, and one wet on the left.

[locust]

I don't see why not, it's just scrubbing the cases inside and out.  I found that walnut worked better than cob, but they both broke down over time and a bunch of dust would be generated after even one use.  After many years of putting up with the noise, dust, and stuck media in the brass I switched to wet tumbling.  And while I never cared if the brass came out shiny or not, it is much easier to see any carbon deposits in a clean shiny case.  The cycle is a bit shorter, and the noise is also lower  Now, stuck media, yes the pins can also remain in the case, got chips now but haven't used them yet, but they are easier to find than the walnut/cob particles.

The bunch on the left were with walnut, the bunch on the right wet tumbled.  The center cases are the opposite, two dry on the right, and one wet on the left.

have you tired drying that clean shiny brass with rice ?

[Lloyd Smale]

i tried rice once. Seem to need to be changed out more then walnut. But if you have a bunch of free rice it will work.

[Dee]

Seemed to stick in the flash hole worse

[O-mega]

I don't see why not, it's just scrubbing the cases inside and out.  I found that walnut worked better than cob, but they both broke down over time and a bunch of dust would be generated after even one use.  After many years of putting up with the noise, dust, and stuck media in the brass I switched to wet tumbling.  And while I never cared if the brass came out shiny or not, it is much easier to see any carbon deposits in a clean shiny case.  The cycle is a bit shorter, and the noise is also lower  Now, stuck media, yes the pins can also remain in the case, got chips now but haven't used them yet, but they are easier to find than the walnut/cob particles.

The bunch on the left were with walnut, the bunch on the right wet tumbled.  The center cases are the opposite, two dry on the right, and one wet on the left.

have you tired drying that clean shiny brass with rice ?

LOL, no, but I bet it would take forever.  I just let them air dry, but I do have a spare dehydrator I can use if I need the brass faster.  Right now I do have a negative on having too clean of brass, my annealeez is having trouble gripping the brass to rotate it.  Having to find a way to make the rubber layer more tacky, but seems the ping-pong guys may have the answer, they use either sunflower or olive oil to give their paddles more grip, who knew.

[Lloyd Smale]

to me it didnt plug up flasholes as much as walnut. Espeically older walnut. but it seemed to get gummy for lack of better words. I think some dust is good in a media because it collects the greasy powder residue and the case lube. Rice doesnt have much and gets filthy fast.

Seemed to stick in the flash hole worse

[Ranger99]

Wouldn't use it myself except in a
case of desperation. I would imagine
it disintegrates pretty easily and makes
too much of a powdery mess.
The walnut hull I use still works just
fine even though people ridicule me
for still using it and not spending the
money to convert over to the pins

[oldandslow]

Walnut is my choice. It is tougher and lasts longer then corn cob. I haven't tried rice and won't. I just want my brass clean and it certainly doesn't need to be new looking. Wet stainless pins just look like a lot of fiddling around for no gain.

If my brass isn't really dirty I clean it chemically. I only do small batches any more and a plastic jar, hot water to start with, lemon juice concentrate and a little dish soap to cut any oily residue. Put everything in the jar, screw the lid on, and shake vigorously and let it sit for a while. I usually leave it soaking with a shake now and then for 4-5 hours. Then I rinse in a mesh basket, dump the brass into a heavy steel pan, and sit it on my outside worktable and let the sun dry it. One whirlwind convinced me to to use a steel instead of aluminum pan. Time invested might be 20 minutes but probably less.

[Graybeard]

I use both corn cob and walnut media. I have two tumblers.

[locust]

the brief testing that i have done i used a brown rice ,a medium long . i have yet to see any dust ,i am using a closed sealed lid. brass is 708 Remington. i imagine 223 would be a pain to get out of the brass     

[Lloyd Smale]

the brief testing that i have done i used a brown rice ,a medium long . i have yet to see any dust ,i am using a closed sealed lid. brass is 708 Remington. i imagine 223 would be a pain to get out of the brass   

my 4 tumblers are in the garage part of the barn so dust isnt a concern. I dont get anal about brass being pretty. My buddy who has forgot more then i know about guns and loading switched to liquid. He swears by it but i just cant see buying new equiptment and starting a new process just to have brass that looks like new. I tumble once when i pick brass off the ground and bring it home for a couple hours to makes sure its clean  enough for the dies and for pistol thats it. For rifle i do tumble a second time after sizing and priming to remove the case lube. But i dont need perfect looking brass or primer pockets that shine. Honestly I havent cleaned a primer pocket in over 30 years. Never seen where it does a thing. Ive tried about all the medias. Corn and walnut both have there advantages but settled on walnut with a shot of nu finish car wax in it to keep the dust down some and it does clean them faster with it. When i have real dirty brass i throw it in the big dillion which i have hooked to a timer and set if for as long as i want and come back the next day. No need to fix something that isnt broke.

[Buckskin]

I rarely tumble brass anymore aside from pistol or 223, basically stuff I run through fast or pick up brass.  My precision/hunting loads get closely individually inspected so I use a piece of white scothbrite and polish the outside while inspecting, cleaning pocket, chamfering and once in and out with nylon neck brush.  I do not want to remove the layer of powder residue from the neck as it's the perfect dry lube.