Armory Sponsor
Posted: 9/24/2010 10:20:02 AM EDT
|
I normally add wax and a few other things to my fine walnut media to help with cleaning polishing. My results have always been pretty good.
My wife tumbles stones and she also adds plastic 6mm airsoft BB's to her media to help take up space and to help her media work better. I was needing to replace the walnut media because of a mishap. I didn't have enough to completely cover the batch of brass I was working on so I decided to add the same plastic airsoft BB's like my wife does for her tumbling needs. I have never tried adding the BB's to the walnut media before but I figured I would give it a try. I ran some 223 cases then some 45 ACP cases. I let both batches run for about the same time that I normally would but this time I was greeted with very bright and very smooth brass. Brighter and more polished than when I use actual polish in the media. Doing it with the plastic BB's even seemed to clean the inside of 45 ACP cases better than walnut media alone. They came out comparable to polishing in corn cob media. This can either result in quicker polishing or better than just using walnut media. Not really sure why the plastic BB's work but they definitely do or at least they did for me. Dolomite |
|
Just some clear green plastic 6mm airsoft BB's. Not sure I mentioned it before but the results were without any type of wax or any other additive. Just fine walnut media and the plastic. I am in the process of doing another batch to confirm the results.
The only problem I see is with brass in the .243 to probably .270 range (depending on media size) getting the BB's lodged inside the cases. With 223 they would sit on the case mouth but were easily pulled lose. To give you an idea they are getting as clean as using Lemishine. Dolomite |
|
Quoted:
I'd like to try. Only problem I see is not coming out of my media separator. I have a Lyman 1200 tumbler and the BB's drop thru the screened lid with the rest of the media. Not sure what kind of separator you have but if the holes are bigger then 6mm/.24 then you should be fine. Dolomite |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I'd like to try. Only problem I see is not coming out of my media separator. I have a Lyman 1200 tumbler and the BB's drop thru the screened lid with the rest of the media. Not sure what kind of separator you have but if the holes are bigger then 6mm/.24 then you should be fine. Dolomite I use a 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom. For lemie-shine soak and media seperator. Price was right. |
|
Quoted:
killin me over here, who's got some pics? ETA - are these BBs something that can be purchased at walmart? Yeah, BB's for airsoft guns. I think my son bought a 5K pail for around $10. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=airsoft+bb's&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=4687715648283014507&ei=15GpTMzbFcX7lwfokLDGDQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CC8Q8gIwAw# Dolomite |
|
I bought a 18K BB(red BB's) jug of Swiss Arms BB's the other day and added some to some new corn cob that I didn't have enough of and it had no polish added yet and the results where very good, going to add some to my walnut tumbler and see if it helps there also.
I got the 6mm .12g BB's but wounder if the 6mm .20g BB's would work better since they are a little harder and smoother(they are for longer range shooting with Air Soft rifles)? |
|
Quoted:
The only problem I see is with brass in the .243 to probably .270 range (depending on media size) getting the BB's lodged inside the cases. With 223 they would sit on the case mouth but were easily pulled lose. -do the BBs break down or get smaller in diameter over time? I would not want one to get loodged inside a 223 case - which can't happen at a full 6mm diameter (they would have to wear down to at least 5.56MM) |
|
I doubt they will wear down any, they may get very smooth but I doubt the loose any real diameter to speak of.
The harder heavier .20g BB's would probably work best, I got a sample pack with my jug of .12g BB's and the heavier one still tumble very well but don't just ride the top of the media when they surface they kinda work back down into the media on there way back down kinda like the brass does and when I done a drop check on them they only bounce half as high and half as long as the lighter .12g BB did, not sure what that means except it's heavier but I think it's also made of a harder materiel, I will get a small 1-2K bottle of them to try in one of my tumblers and see if I can tell a difference between the two as far as cleaning the brass. |
|
Quoted:
Sounds like this works but does anyone have any theory as to why? I think that maybe the extra weight of the bb pushes or grinds the media into the brass harder than just the media itself. This helps with the cleaning action while at the same time the plastic smooths over the microscopic "working" of the brass. As I said it is amazing that it comes out smoother than just media alone, not sure why it works but it does. I have since done at least 500 more pieces of 45 brass and all come out better than media alone. I might give it a try with some of my usual additives to see what happens but I am going to wait until I buy more media. Luckily my local pet store has some very fine walnut media. It is almost as fine as sand and actually falls thru the flash hole. It is also very cheap at about $12 for 10 pounds. Dolomite |
|
Food for thought. It's about time to replace my corncob media, and I've considered various options. Not only is my existing corncob dirty, but some of the particles are big enough that they lodge in the flash holes. This means I must either go through my brass & poke an unfolded paper clip through each hole, or else take the chance of occasionally breaking a decapping pin.
Shinier would be better, for sure. Steel media is an option, but a rather expensive one, and I am concerned that it would eventually wear through my plastic tumbler tub. I'll have to check out local pet stores for ground walnut. Airsoft "ammo" is cheap so it seems worth a try as well. |
|
Quoted:
Food for thought. It's about time to replace my corncob media, and I've considered various options. Not only is my existing corncob dirty, but some of the particles are big enough that they lodge in the flash holes. This means I must either go through my brass & poke an unfolded paper clip through each hole, or else take the chance of occasionally breaking a decapping pin. Shinier would be better, for sure. Steel media is an option, but a rather expensive one, and I am concerned that it would eventually wear through my plastic tumbler tub. I'll have to check out local pet stores for ground walnut. Airsoft "ammo" is cheap so it seems worth a try as well. The finest, as in size, walnut media I have found is Zilla Lizard Litter Desert Blend. Here is a list of online sellers that carry it. I bought mine locally at Pet Supplies Plus. A 10 pound bag lasts forever as well. Dolomite |
Armory Sponsor
Join the Community
Your next conversation starts here.
Create your free account to join discussions, share your experience, save topics, and connect with the AR15.COM community.
- Join discussions
- Follow topics and replies
- Connect with fellow enthusiasts
Already a member? Sign in
Stay informed by subscribing to our Newsletter