Rotary Stainless Steel Pin Tumbling Question

[Petrol & Powder]

I use the dry method with a vibratory tumbler.

I have no doubts about the results of wet tumbling cases, but the necessary drying seems to be an extra step compared to the dry media method. My goal is reasonably clean cases, not pristine mirror like cases.

I think if I was starting from scratch, I might go down the path of stainless-steel pins and water. While the amount of equipment needed for wet tumbling isn’t huge, it is different gear from the dry method.

 

[RBHarter]

Jerry Mik(something I can't spell or force my tongue around reading it) uses wet tumbling in a 1/3 yd cement mixer ...... But he's doing like a 1/2 million rounds a yr . I'm happy just to let mine rattle in Walnut shell sold as California approved blasting media at HF .

 

[L Ross]

I really like SS pins in a Lyman Cyclone with just a couple of drops of Dawn and 1/2 tsp. of Lemi-Shine. Shortly after I started shooting BPCR I used ceramic media in a Thumbler's Model B. The pins do and even better job and really clean the primer pocket. I use an old dehydrator to dry my brass, and I keep a couple of cow magnets on hand for the inevitable dropped pins. All of the SS media I have used will stick to a magnet. You can easily choose the degree of polish you like by varying the duration of the rotation. Just want them clean, give them an hour, want them looking like new brass? Give them 3 hours. Dusty speaks from experience, the Cyclone is noisy. It rotates at a much higher rpm than a Thumbler's Model B. I either close the door to the furnace room or run the tumbler out in the casting shack.

 

[Snakeoil]

I have a rubber rotary tumbler container that I have had for years and have no idea where it came from. It is just the round drum with a lid. I used to put it in my lathe and put the lathe on the back gears and let it turn slowly to clean brass when I first started reloading. It worked well, but does not hold a lot. I may try it again. The Dillon vibro-tumbler I have has perforations thru the bowl to attached it to the springs. They are rubber sealed, but not sure they are meant to hold water. Might have to call Dillon. But I suspect that in a vibro tumbler, the pins will go to the bottom and the cases will ride on top of them. Maybe not. The cases mix well with the walnut shells.

I may try depriming first to see how well the walnut shell cleans the primer pockets. I currently use a tool I made in an electric screwdriver to clean the pockets. If I find that they continue to plug a lot of flash holes, that technique will end... again.

 

[462]

I may try depriming first to see how well the walnut shell cleans the primer pockets. I currently use a tool I made in an electric screwdriver to clean the pockets. If I find that they continue to plug a lot of flash holes, that technique will end... again.

Never used walnut shells so I don't know if itty-bitty pieces of them would get into primer pockets, but do know that corncob will and is the reason why my first brass processing step is to clean it.

 

[JonB]

It's good to know that cases are in no way damaged. However, it seems the only advantage of using a rotary tumbler, water, Lemi-Shine, Dawn, and pins, over my current vibratory tumbler, corncob media, and Nu-Finish car polish is shiny case interiors. Now, I have to decide if shiny case interiors is worth the extra effort of draining, separating the pins from the brass, and drying the brass, versus just removing brass from the tumbler.

Yep, I'll stick with corncob [by frankfort arsenal brand], treated with thinned automotive rubbing compound and thinned liquid car wax.
That's for pistol cases and.
Typically, I hand clean rifle cases that I've shot cast loads from.

 

[Michael]

Sorry, forgot to mention that ceramic media is also an option, some prefer it over SS pins. Can get both in various sizes.

 

[RBHarter]

Never used walnut shells so I don't know if itty-bitty pieces of them would get into primer pockets, but do know that corncob will and is the reason why my first brass processing step is to clean it.

The walnut comes in 60 and 90 grit I believe. It'll almost pour through the flash holes with the 60 . I can't say it scrubs the pockets clean . I can say it'll take the Sharpie out of the HS marks .

I have a Naval 20mm case that had laid out in the desert on the edge of a clay flat for probably 30 years maybe more , I'd guess it's run 60-70 hr from new media and a recent 50% refill . It's shiny all over and has clean brass over 20% of the case . It doesn't cut blistering verdris (sp) but will clean up most of the stains .

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Walnut sticks too...

I like walnut for a fine polish. Corn Cob for tough clean.

But wet really does just as good a job as either W/O pins for a clean. But doesn't leave that luster that dry gets ya.

But the biggest advantage is NO HAZ PARTICLES in the air and mo MESSY DUST over the entire area after dry tumbling!!

I still yse dry. Mostly ta remove lube. Wet works well here too but ya gotta wait for brass ta dry.

Speaking if such. A case dryer works WONDERFULLY here!! I have a Lyman unit and its awesome!

CW

 

[Snakeoil]

To dry cases, I first rinse them in denatured alcohol. I have jug I use over and over as it is only to absorb the water. Then I put them in a mesh bag that my wife gave to me. It is for washing delicates. I hang the bag under the the register in the heating system duct in the basement. They are bone dry the next day. They are probably bone dry in a few minutes if the heat is on. But I'm never in a rush so I don't check them until a day or two later, normally when I hit my head on the bag while walking under the duct.

 

[dannyd]

I switched to Wet Tumbling about 4 years ago, after using a Dillion 500 and Lyman corn cob for about 30 years.

The new system works well and I have no complaints.

 

[fiver]

i dry mine in my dry tumbler... one of them anyway... LOL
i'm not looking for sparkling eye blinding cases with the wet system, i just want those grungy cases clean enough to sort through.
so straight from the wet into the walnut media they go.

if i get the pistol cases too clean they try to stick to the dillon powder funnel.
most of the rifle cases are all gonna get covered in lube and run through another tumbler to get it all off anyway.

i'd rather spend my time running the press handle than the tumbler so i monitor what and how much i clean them in.
quite often the rifle cases don't get cleaned at all, just neck sized and re-filled, then about every 4-5 loads they get annealed shined full length sized and set back into rotation.

 

[todd]

i've been doing this for 8 years now.

 

[462]

Okay, okay, I can't take it any more . . . I gave in to all the talk of the inside of my cases being dirty and ordered a wet tumbler. No pins, though.

If my guns' accuracy don't increase I'm going to remove all you guys from my Christmas card list. I mean, if they shoot as accurately as they do with the cases' insides being dirty, should not accuracy improvements be a given?

 

[todd]

 

[JustJim]

Best thing since canned beer and sex for cleaning BPCR cases when shot with BP.

Am I the only one struggling to decide if I want to know how canned beer and sex clean cases fired with black powder?

 

[dannyd]

Okay, okay, I can't take it any more . . . I gave in to all the talk of the inside of my cases being dirty and ordered a wet tumbler. No pins, though.

If my guns' accuracy don't increase I'm going to remove all you guys from my Christmas card list. I mean, if they shoot as accurately as they do with the cases' insides being dirty, should not accuracy improvements be a given?

Well if you ordered Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler,
Don't forget to order a Fart Wrench from Amazom.

 

[462]

Well if you ordered Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler,
Don't forget to order a Fart Wrench from Amazom.

It's the Frankford Arsenal Lite model. Decided I didn't need all that the other one included.
I do have a Wheeler FAT wrench.
I don't know the connection, though.

 

[Brad]

I was on the fence about wet tumbling for a while as well. Once I decided to go with it I was shocked at the amount of gunk in the water. The fact some of that ended up in the dust in my reloading room? Yikes.

I use mine for all pistol brass now. Get a few thousand 9mm deprimed and give them a good wash in the tumbler. Rinse and dry on the truck tailgate in the sun for a few hours.

Keeps all that primer crap out of the primer slide area of my 550B as well.

 

[Tomme boy]

I sold off my wet tumbling stuff. Way too messy and noisy. I got a bunch of 357 and 38 brass in a trade. The guy used his wet tumbler. I had to inside chamfer all 3000 cases because they were peened over. They would smash the mouths and stick in my powder dies. The pins also made my brass shorter because of the chamfers on the mouths being flattened or rolled. I ended up doing 3x the work on my cases because of this. And I also had to throw the cases back into my dry tumblers to get them dirty again to just be able to seat a bullet. They would cold weld a bullet to the necks as you seated them. I had all kinds of accuracy issues when I was wet tumbling. It all stopped when I went back to dry tumbling.