So now we have all this clad

[Sheldius]

Go Bulldogs! I'm getting my PhD in Geology/Archaeology here at UGA. Starting my fifth and hopefully final year.

It was very hot the last week (90+), but now that I have to get a paper written it has been 70's with clouds. I'm pining away to go detecting.

Been to tours of the granite quarries up in Eleberton. Nice place.

HH.

 

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[Bodyguard]

Still being new, I didn't realize how quickly "dirty" clad builds up. Checked my sources this morning and may have access to "two" different tumblers. While talking to my one source, he told me that he used crushed walnut shells to clean/polish the brass casings on the ammo he was reloading. That got me wondering: Would walnuts work on coins? I believe I read on an earlier post that gravel was the normal medium for cleaning. I would think that you'd have to check it very regularly so as not to "wear" the coins. Walnuts, much softer than the metal should be much less abrasive. The question is would they work? thanks Bodyguard

 

[BioProfessor]

The reason they use walnut shells is because brass is so soft. The walnut shells break into small irregular shapes when processed so they have many little points to contact the surface. They are organic, non-metallic, and cheap as well. You could use them on coins but the crud and surface metal on coins is pretty hard/tough and coins would take quite awhile with walnut shells, corn cobs, and the other things that shooters use to polish their brass. For coins, you want it to work quick and you don't really care about removing some of the surface.

If you removed too much of the surface of a rifle cartridge, your day won't go so good.

Daryl

 

[Peak190]

Dirt or no dirt its money.

 

[Bodyguard]

Thanks Bioprofessor.... Appreciate the feedback. Bodyguard

 

[BobPA]

I put my clad finds in my reloading tumbler with the crushed walnut shells. After 24 hours, they came out looking about the same. I guess I need to buy a tumbler for the coins that uses gravel.
Bob

 

[BioProfessor]

Check your instruction manual or go to the company website to see if you can use other media besides walnut shell. It's not so much the tumbler as it is the medium. Tumblers that can use abrasive things usually are lined or have some way to not chew away the tumbler. Your drum may be just fine. Some people use stainless steel pellets to clean coins. They really aren't abrasive and they clean by the difference in hardness of the pellets and the coin. You may be able to use that with no problem. An email or call to the technical support people may do the trick. Better to not spend the money on a new tumbler if you don't have to.

Daryl

 

[RW]

I got a crappy tumbler at Hobby Lobby or Michaels for like $20. It works fine. Then I just eat the 8.25% service fee and dump them into the automatic coinstar machine for counting at the grocery store. This spares me the humiliation of trying to get my bank to sort them for free in their machine. I took them to the bank once and after about 30 mins they brought me back a handful that machine would not take. Oh the humanity.

 

[BioProfessor]

My point exactly. I almost want to wear a mask to the bank to turn in the coins to be counted but figured that wasn't such a good idea.

Daryl

 

[Stormtrooper154]

Get yourself a tumbler... I tumble all my clad and it all turns out nice and clean. Thats just what I do