So I've decided to undertake a rather epic project. I have some damaged cases that I'm not too worried about, so I have been testing different kinds of non-standard media for SHTF / end of the world / worst case scenario type of situations. You know... the kind of stuff you might find around the house. This list will be updated as needed.
Test 1 Media: Cat Litter Result: Rejected. Cases covered in powdery clay.
Test 2 Media: Quaker Oats Result: Rejected. No practical application.
Test 3 Media: Play Sand Result: Acceptable. Cleans cases proficiently.
Test 4: Media: Grape Nuts Cereal Result: Rejected. Not resilient enough.
Test 5 Media: Laundry Bag & Washing Machine Result: Acceptable. Cleans cases. Pb/Hg contamination concerns.
I know lyman sells crushed walnut shells. I wonder if pecan will work or are they too hard. With the holidays coming there should be some avaliable. You could sit on the couch watch tv and eat say three or four pounds of pecans to get enough shells and give it a try.
pecan shells do work. At least they have worked for me.
Just take them as you have them on hand (all different sizes). I do not feel a need to further crush them as the tumbling will produce some smaller sizes.
You could sit on the couch watch tv and eat say three or four pounds of pecans to get enough shells and give it a try.
Yes, and by the time you'd eaten enough to clean all your cases, you could build yourself an attachment on the reloading bench with a semi-spheroidal recess for you to sit in! I know I would...
No experience with it, but being here in the Old South - I would expect ground peanut hulls should work about like corn media - softer than walnut or pecan.
Coarse ground grits may work too - dry, not cooked!
Up north here I suppose butternut shells would work. They're very woody and you could use a hammer to get them down to the right size. It's the nutshells I'm talking about, not the green outer hulls that are (comparatively) soft and the size of a golf ball. I think the outer hulls of chestnusts might be about the right hardness too.
Test #5 is the way I went till I could swing a tumbler. If it has not already been said, 'any dusty material will be removed in tumbler by adding small cuts of dryer sheets'. Really does help by grabbing all the very small particles. Thanks for your results and time tho. When I first got into reloading I cut a old pant leg off and sewed up one end and tied the other. Sent it threw the washing machine. Was ok, just had to make sure dry before using.
End of the world as we know it almost would almost certainly include the loss of electrical power. We would suddenly be pushed back to living a late 1800s existance BUT without all of that day's technology that made life possible before electrical power became common. We would be screwed in ways few can even envision if that happens!
Cleaning cases in that event would almost certainly be limited to washing them in the contaminated water a lucky few could scoop up from a local river and hand carry to an unheated home in 5 gal paint pails. ??
I would just visit the spring down the road for water. Here in Amish country there is a big hardware store that sells all kinds of stuff for non-electric users. Google Lehman's in Kidron, Ohio and you will be amazed at what you might find. They sold tons of stuff over the internet in the time leading up to the last SHTF panic -- Y2K. Gas powered refrigerators and lamps are just the start of it. No gas? Put a lid on that manure tank or septic tank and capture the methane.
What about something simple like scouring powder for cleaning your cases? Wet or dry, it should work. For a tumbler with no power, it would be fairly simple to rig something to run from a bicycle drive system or maybe a treadmill.
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" Here in Amish country there is a big hardware store that sells all kinds of stuff for non-electric users."
Water I could get, but up stream is a cattle farm, the water is likely to be more tasty than I prefer. And, sad to say, that hardware store is some 400 miles away!
I've read of people tumbling cases in media in rock tumblers. Surely we, clever as we are, could rig up some sort of hand-cranked tumbler! If nothing else, you could line a bingo ball tumbler with a couple of layers of aluminum foil and use that.
I've read of people tumbling cases in media in rock tumblers. Surely we, clever as we are, could rig up some sort of hand-cranked tumbler! If nothing else, you could line a bingo ball tumbler with a couple of layers of aluminum foil and use that.
we could use the tin foil from our hats! we won't need it after the shtf anyway!
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I've read of people tumbling cases in media in rock tumblers. Surely we, clever as we are, could rig up some sort of hand-cranked tumbler! If nothing else, you could line a bingo ball tumbler with a couple of layers of aluminum foil and use that.
I tumble my brass in a $20 rock tumbler using play sand before tossing the casings in a ziplock with a little gun oil. I let them dry on a towel afterward. The process works rather well, especially in my stiff new .380
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SHTF survival would occupy so much time I doubt that any of us who might still be reloading would be much concerned about shiney brass.
A careful wipe with a bit of dampened cloth will do a fine job of cleaning cases. In fact, men have been reloading brass cases since the late 1800s and all most of us had until the last 25 or so years was the wipe.
Ain't no way I'd tumble my cases with abrasives like sand, filings, etc. A few tiny bits sticking to an inner wall and being blown out when fired would soon destroy the bore for accuracy.
I don't think in a real SHTF scenerio you'd bother tumbling brass. I think the reasoning is "use something different 'cause I'm a hard core tinkerer will try just about anything and cheap too" is a better theme for this posting. I've tried some of the items listed above plus dried used coffee grounds (rejected), Dryzit (oil dry, rejected) and sawdust (rejected). I've settled on plane old lizzard litter (walnut shells) in my tumbler (not a vibrator), with no additives.
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I know I would...
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