Use a grain mill to make your own tumbling media.

[orkan]

Go wet, stainless jewelers pins, drop of Dawn some Limey Shine.
No need to buy a grain crusher, takes less time to clean. Takes green/black buried in the dirt for years brass to looking like new in under an hour.

I would politely ask that this thread not turn into previous threads where everyone is saying their preferred method. I've done the wet tumbling thing, did not like it, and moved on... as have others. It's a well documented process, and I was one of the first to document it... but it is documented and there are countless threads dedicated to it. This thread has a VERY specific topic, and I would like to stay on that topic. I don't think that is an unreasonable request, if I might beg your (and others) consideration and understanding.

Orkan, have you tried the rice in a tumbler as opposed to a vibratory cleaner?

I have, and in my limited testing I found the vibratory models to work a bit better. However, it was indeed limited testing... and the outcome suited me, because its much easier dealing with the Thumlers UV-18 than it is any of my rotary tumblers. I also like to keep my rotary tumblers freed up to deal with severely soiled or tarnished brass.

Also, have you compared the cleaning efficiency of the ground/cut rice vs. whole rice at equal cleaning time for a particular case size?

As it stands presently, there does not seem to be a large difference between them. Its much easier dealing with whole rice than the milled rice... so I only use the milled rice for small calibers presently. Perhaps I'll do a blind test when my other UV-18's arrive. I have a couple more on back order presently.

 

[Muddyboots]

I will give the rice a try, at least easy to get if food hoarding is over!

 

[JTComfort]

This is excellent, useful advice!!!! Thank you!!! I'm due for new media and have a Kitchen Aid grain mill. And rice is definitely inexpensive at the Asian markets in the area.

 

[PddPdd]

Orkan,

I see that the Thumler UV-18 has an industrial & standard version vibratory tumbler. Which one are you using and have you compared the industrial version's performance to the standard version UV-18 or other vibratory tumblers in a brass cleaning application? or perhaps you use the industrial version due to other purposes/cleaning needs?

 

[Alibiiv]

Go wet, stainless jewelers pins, drop of Dawn some Limey Shine.
No need to buy a grain crusher, takes less time to clean. Takes green/black buried in the dirt for years brass to looking like new in under an hour.

I use the dry tumbler process, this information is helpful, always up for learning new ideas. What would you recommend for a wet tumbler, something that won't break the bank. Was looking at the Frankford arsenal Platinum series. Have been tossing this idea around for a while now.

 

[PddPdd]

I use the dry tumbler process, this information is helpful, always up for learning new ideas. What would you recommend for a wet tumbler, something that won't break the bank. Was looking at the Frankford arsenal Platinum series. Have been tossing this idea around for a while now.

Please read post #29

 

[orkan]

I will give the rice a try, at least easy to get if food hoarding is over!

One of my favorite things about this method is that we keep this special nishiki rice around in bulk quantities as part of our emergency rations anyway... and we just make sure to buy the right stuff in bulk, so it's sized correctly to not get stuck in flash holes. I use a little of the oldest packages every so often to refresh my tumbling rice... and we buy fresh stuff for food reserves. It's a great system.

Orkan,

I see that the Thumler UV-18 has an industrial & standard version vibratory tumbler. Which one are you using and have you compared the industrial version's performance to the standard version UV-18 or other vibratory tumblers in a brass cleaning application? or perhaps you use the industrial version due to other purposes/cleaning needs?

The UV-18 Industrial has a stronger heavy duty motor, thicker basin, and 3/8" rod as opposed to the 1/4" rod which is in the regular model. Once upon a time I asked Thumlers directly whether I needed the heavy duty model and they advised against it for brass. They stated that brass doesn't put much wear on the machines, as they are designed for used with very heavy rocks and media. That suits me fine as the Industrial models are significantly more expensive, where as the regular UV-18 can be found for $250'ish most times. They are presently experiencing a shortage due to not having a reliable supply of motors. With how light the rice is, even with a full bowl of brass, I can't see a reason to need the industrial model. Rather than an expensive industrial model, I opted for 3 regular UV-18's so I could keep more throughput.

 

[Riceguy]

Some of you may know that I've been using rice to tumble my brass with fantastic success for many years. The article on that is found here: http://www.primalrights.com/library/articles/clean-brass-with-rice

The only issue I've run into is that the rice is often too large and gets stuck in .17 and .20 caliber case necks. The cases pack with rice but it's ultra-difficult to get out.

I've solved this problem by getting a grain mill and running a coarse grinding op on a batch of rice. This single batch of ground rice will be good for many thousands of cases! You could use this same process to make your own custom media out of nearly anything compatible with your grain mill.

As a Rice Farmer I have used the Hull that comes off the rice kernel, you have to be careful as the hull is very abrasive. Never thought about using ground Rice. All rice is brown after you remove the Hull during the milling process. Then they polish the kernel that removes the bran, and then it is called white rice. The bran actually has the most nutrition value. There is your Rice 101 learning class for today.

 

[PddPdd]

Has anybody tried testing white vs. brown rice in a vibratory tumbler?

 

[orkan]

As a Rice Farmer I have used the Hull that comes off the rice kernel, you have to be careful as the hull is very abrasive. Never thought about using ground Rice. All rice is brown after you remove the Hull during the milling process. Then they polish the kernel that removes the bran, and then it is called white rice. The bran actually has the most nutrition value. There is your Rice 101 learning class for today.

Well there ya go... just opened up a whole new vertical market for you. If you ever want me to do some testing for you... just let me know.

 

[skipglo]

I actually add standard walnut media 50/50 to the pet store reptile media which then results in a really nice turn over flow in my vibratory cleaner. I will try some rice and maybe a fabric softener to catch some of the crap that builds up in the media.

Fabric sheets make a difference for sure. Been using them for several years

 

[TRexF16]

Fabric sheets make a difference for sure. Been using them for several years

[Forgive me, Orkan - Great thread but I have a question that is not specifically about rice]
Do you just put a whole sheet in and doesn't that interfere with the smooth movement of the brass through then media? Can you cut up the sheet into smaller pieces and get the same effect with smoother movement?
Thanks,
Rex

 

[orkan]

[Forgive me, Orkan - Great thread but I have a question that is not specifically about rice]
Do you just put a whole sheet in and doesn't that interfere with the smooth movement of the brass through then media? Can you cut up the sheet into smaller pieces and get the same effect with smoother movement?
Thanks,
Rex

No harm... I've tossed some fabric sheets in with the rice before. It doesn't help much. I'd consider it a necessity when dealing with anything other than rice. I'd recommend cutting the fabric sheet up into 2" squares or slightly smaller, for best results. Whole sheets often interfere with the movement of things.

 

[hunter0528]

If you wife is willing to allow you to use her Kitchen Aid mixer they make a milling attachment.