What press do you have. All of my dies are Lee except on set (RCBS). Most of my equipment is Lee with a few RCBS items.

Tumbler media...I use corncob finely ground. Media is rather cheap. And you can help to keep it clean by adding a square of sheet paper towel that has been cut into four pieces. Just toss one piece in with the cases...

Have you purchased a loading manual yet? I can not stress this enough. In fact you should have at least two for comparison and more would be even better.

A paper towel cut into 4 sections? I have not heard of this before; please elaborate. As far as dies go I am a Hornady guy for the most part. But I have LEE and RCBS and one Redding set. I am OK with RCBS for rifle cartridges but not for handgun rounds. I do not like the way the crimp is set with RCBS. But there are a ALOT of guys who use them with out any problems. As far as a tumbler goes we used to not have one until about 3 years ago when I bought one in Des Moines at a show. I am now using Lyman ToughNut which is a walnut shell media. It does the job very well. I however do things a bit different. I put fired brass in the tumbler and really do not mess with it for maybe 24 or more hours. Then I get it out and resize with the single stage press and I use RCBS spray on lube, be careful not to use too much lube as that can cause cases to dent and or also get stuck. Then after I decap/resize then I throw them back in the tumbler again for the same amount of time. And the cases are very bright. A trick I picked up on another forum is to take static cling sheets and rub them over tools that will hold powder and it usually works. And I would pretty much agree with what evryone else says. Oh and if you get a tumbler thern you will need a sifter of some sort. I use my wife's old pasta strainer that I took a drill bit to so I could open the holes a bit, and I use old plastic bowels from the thrift shops around town for catching the media. And sorting the brass.

You cut the paper towel into 4 equal pieces and put one or two of the pieces in the tumbler with the cases. When the paper towel turns color you pull them out and discard the paper towel with the dust in them...Helps to keep the media clean of dust and allows it to last longer...

24 hours (twice) is a bit long IM(not so)HO. I have never had the cases in the tumbler past 4 hours at any given time. 20 minutes to clean the grit off the cases before runing them through my resizing/decapping die. 1 to 2 hours before reloading or storing.

I use the RCBS lube pad for all my rifle cases.

Never did like fiddlefartin' with a tumbler, for case cleaning.....

Never could like runnin' unclean brass through my dies or rifle chamber either....

Iosso Cleaner makes dirty and tarnished brass clean and shiney inside and out, in seconds, less a whole bunch of screwing around like getting tumber media outta the case and flash hole, undue dustitude, and certainly without needing any paper towel squares....



The Hornady One Shot lube spray imaged here is THE answer to lubing cases, dries to the touch in one minute and does absolutely nothing to powder or primers, nor risks any case deformation due to over lubing. I've also, with One Shot, put away my neck lubing brush.......

As you can also see, I'm pretty hip on certain brands of bullets and dies......

And I hate wet brass and One Shot.. ..The media that I use passes through the flash hole like sand through a hour glass. It is some times hard to insure that brass is absolutely dry after you get it wet inside. The inside really does not need to be that clean (nobody sees the inside of a freshly loaded case). In my case IOSSO is just too much of a bother. But to each his own.

Pretty simple to stand cases up and let them dry a day or two in a loading block.

Never been in a big enough hurry to need 'em before they dry.....if I was, a quick dunk in rubbing alcohol and a shot of air would be a whole lot less bother than tumbling....

Since I'd feel obligated to visually inspect tumbled cases after tumbling for any deposits of media caked on the case interior anyway, which is a bother in itself, and hit 'em with air just to make certain....the PITA factor increases with a tumbler, no matter what media is used. You must use some pretty small media to get it to flow through a flashole.......

My reasons for cleaning cases go way beyond the "purtyiness" of it.......

Giving up on the RCBS lube pad and that sticky goo they call case lube was the best thing I'd ever done. One Shot doesn't even need to be cleaned off, is very thin in application and I think I mentioned it doesn't harm primers or powder...unlike the sticky goo.

I prefer using a tumbler to clean my brass, before and after resizing. Then, if I feel like it, I can load them right away or put them away for later use. RCBS case slick spray is what I use for lube when resizing.

Oh by the way..........., I also use the paper towel method to aid with cleaning dust from the tumbler media.

1895zz...Aren't you glad you and I have already made our decission on this...Now Bigdeano88 gets to make his own determination how he wants to do all of this...

I like my Lyman 1200 Turbo Tumbler (because it has the word "Turbo" in it of course) and I like my Lee presses (Single stage and turret). I like my RCBS case trimmer and I like my Lee Auto Prime II. I even like my RCBS Powder Pro electronic scale and my 5-0-5 ballance beam scale too...

Aaa phooey...Got too much stuff to list here. (forgot my Starett dial calipers)...Yes...I know...Every thing on this list is the wrong tools for the job...

Bushmaster wrote:

1895zz...Aren't you glad you and I have already made our decission on this...Now Bigdeano88 gets to make his own determination how he wants to do all of this...

Yep there's just to much pressure to make a decision now..............

Bushmaster wrote:

...Yes...I know...Every thing on this list is the wrong tools for the job...

Yes I know how you feel. My rcbs rockchucker press and varies rcbs and lyman and lee dies and other rcbs and lyman reloading equipment are all wrong as well but I do the best I can with what I've got and have done so for the last 25 - 30 years of reloading. Funny though that none of my rifles and the hundreds or maybe thousands of game animals taken, haven't noticed. Oh by the way my lyman turbo tumbler has also tumbled and tumbled and I forget the name of my electronic digital calipers.

haha, i get it i get it, there's really no where you can go too wrong when it comes to the tools... but as with any tools you can never have too many! Now it's just decision time for me so I gotta get to looking and buying and I'll let ya'll know what I end up with!

OK I get it now with the paper towel squares. I was kind of thinking that might be the possible use. And to each his own I like what I have and some stuff I have I absolutely hate. My calipers are the good ones Mitutoyo. About $250 US brand new. Aqquired from a friend who knew I wanted a set. And for the record: I know nothing more than what I have s stated, HA HA!!

As far as the tumbler being a pain, all processes are a pain but in the end think I have a more troughly cleaned piece of brass than someone who does not. I have also checked my brass after a few hours of running and it is not bright and clear so I have found that if I leave them in for a day or so they come out looking just like new. I work second shift, so throwing them in after work and leaving them in for a day or two is no big deal (1:30PM to 10:00PM) And Cathy has gotten used to the sound of the tumbler running so when she is not in the hospital she is immune to it. Although Adrian likes to throw in his toys and pennies and other things as
well. Maybe it is because you are running a "turbo" charged model and it gets more vibrations per minute than my standard Frankford Arsenal does.
What are you usingfg for media that might also make a big difference. I have also in the past put in baking soda to act as a mild abrassive. IF you cruise around you will find something will fit the bill appropriately for your needs. One tool that you will not be unhappy about is a flash hole deburring tool. These are not that exspensive but the results will be well worth the cost. Most of all have fun with this and keep your head clear when you do it. IF you get a funny feeling pull the cartridge and check it. All you loose is time and components, not firearms and body parts and possibly lives.

Seems there's a couple three guru members here who can't like having their toes stepped on...even if only outta their own doing.

There's lottsa ways to do things and lottsa ways to spend hard earned money on reloading gear. Most of it works, just some of it works better.....

'Tis an ignorant man who can't see past his own "expertise" to gain an edge over fiddlefartin' and doin' it the hard way...

Coulda said to begin with that the tirty tirty is ballistically a huge waste of time, but if the man wants to get into reloading via that door...then who is anyone to say different. Hard to screw up on that chambering.........

I've learned lottsa lessons the hard way and spent lottsa money on the wrong means in many things guns and reloading, and can't like revisiting those evils.

I tend to lean heavy on results and the quickness by which they are obtained, as I thouroughly relish in the fact I have more Outdoor Time not wasted at the bench.

The result of reloading to me is accurate quality ammo, not how well bits of paper towl keep the dust down.

It do only take a couple of rounds to zero a rifle...but ya gotta know how.

It is possible to compile the best load possible for a rifle in under 20 rounds total....but ya gotta know how.

It takes only minutes to clean a baddly fouled bore, but ya gotta know how.

And, much reloading time can be better spent elsewhere....but ya gotta know how.

bigdeano88. Just make sure you have a manual like Lyman 48th Edition, Sierra V, ABC's of Reloading or any other manual that has instructions on reloading. They will help you figure out what equipment YOU want. And give you a good basics of reloading knowhow. After you read one, buy at least one more...And read it too.

Bushmaster...

My very first comment on this thread......

Quote::

For starters, I would aquire as many current reloading manuals as I could stand to buy, Nosler, Barnes, Hornady, ect.....Hodgdon puts out good info as well.

The man's been told that a blue million times already, by most everybody.

Your idea's on gear aint the only ones out there, and I do believe he was soliciting different views.

Mine was one of them.....

Get over yourself.

Hey Wildswalker,

I must be missing something here?

I have also pretty much done the same things as you seem to have done. Although when I was cleaning brass with a solution it was Brasso diluted per instructions. So I cannot speak to how the solution you use will work or does work. I have also been around the reloading bench a few years, just around 28 years for a W.A.G. You may have more time, even better for you. It would seem you have found a process that works great for you in your situation and I am happy for you, really I am. I am not being anything other than sincere here. You are right: it is about getting out there(shooting) and having confidence in your abilities and loads to get the job done. As I said EVERY process has it's pro's and con's. The difference is that more folks would seem to think as I do when it comes to cleaning brass for ease of a new reloader. If you do not agree with that FINE by me. Oh and by the way do you check the HAZMAT warnings on that solution by chance? Making sure you have the appropriate PPE and first aid response handy in case you should happen to get a muscle spasm and squirt some past the PPE or have a splash in the holding tank with it getting past the PPE and into in the eye to lessen the chance of a permanent injury? How about what you should do if a youngun' gets ahold of it when you turn your head and swallows some of it? I do not really have to worry about something like that with walnut media. And with a three year old running around sometimes "helping" me with the lever I do not want to take that chance and HATE myself later. And I wonder have you, or anyone else for that matter, ever seen a firearm come apart from a bad load? Not many have I did and it was my load and .45 Blackhawk in my uncle's hands so the reiteration of the manuals IS valid unto useless repetition. AND Since you seem to have brought it up. As far as someone growing up and "getting over" themself; I think maybe we ALL can do that once in awhile. Would YOU not agree? By the way I kind of think Bushy was just being a "smarty pants" about it, not really trying to make it a big deal. But then again in my short time here I can see him starting something just to rile up the thread and make it more interesting. I would also address your comments back to you, do not be so quick to think YOUR toes are being stepped on. OK? I have spoken my peace on this thread and will shut up now. 7-3's