Anybody use a mesh bag for wet tumbling calibers that nest?

284guy · Feb 23, 2019

No, the mesh bag gets holes in it too easy during tumbling and the brass mixes anyway. It was a great idea on all the reloading boards until people actually tried it.

osprey · Feb 23, 2019

Well results were a mixed bag, pun intended. All brass was very clean after 2 hrs. As I mentioned most of the 223 brass escaped and I thought it was through the mesh lattice but upon really close scrutiny There is a spot with a broken mesh. I have had this piece of mesh bag for 25 or more years so I am thinking this hole was already present or was a weak area to begin with. There does not appear to be damage in other areas and the 45-70 brass stayed captive and was cleaned well. I will procure some new mesh material and soldier on with this experiment. I find the initial results encouraging. Here is a pic of some of the 45-70 bras that was in bag.

Tilos · Feb 23, 2019

Reno911 said:

Nice partition build, I'm sure it works great, thanks for posting.
Too bad the FART end caps are choked down smaller than the drum diameter, so I don't see a way to slide a partition in there.
Anyone have any ideas :s0107:

Member 34319 · Feb 23, 2019

Tilos said:
Nice partition build, I'm sure it works great, thanks for posting.
Too bad the FART end caps are chocked down smaller than the drum diameter, so I don't see a way to slide a partition in there.
Anyone have any ideas

I imagine it can be done with a little ingenuity.

Member 5605 · Feb 23, 2019

osprey said:
After close examination I determined the bag was intact with no breeches.

Now this intrigues me.

BSG 75 · Feb 24, 2019

Several types of cases with the same caliber can be tumbled together. All .30 caliber cases (.308, .30-06, .30-30, .30 M1 Carbine, 7.62x39, etc.) can be tumbled together. .38 S&W, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .380ACP, 9x18 Makarov, and 9x19 Luger can be tumbled together.
If you have a small number of cases that you don't want to run separately just keep them dirty until you have accumulated enough to make it worthwhile running a batch.
Even better, since you already have everything else you need, download the 20% off coupon from Harbor Freight Harbor Freight Tools - Online Coupon then go to Harbor Freight - there's one in Longview, WA or you can order online if that's too far from you - and get one of these for $44 with the 20% off coupon:

It's ideal for running small batches, and there are two drums so you can run two different calibers at the same time. A couple of days ago I tumbled .30-06, .308, and .30 M1 Carbine in one drum and .38 Special and 9mm Luger in the other drum at the same time. Then yesterday I tumbled .44-40 using just one drum. I use my Harbor Freight tumbler more often than I use my big Frankford Arsenal tumbler.

osprey · Feb 25, 2019

Finding this mesh material like the example I have has proven to be a bit difficult. Clipping one of those dish scrubbie things apart is as close as I have gotten so far but the bag produced would be a bit small. I will keep my eye out for the proper material. I actually did as suggested by BSG 75 and went out and dropped $50 on the harbor freight dual drum tumbler. Depending on my experience with it, I may put the FA tumbler up for sale if the smaller dual drum works as advertised.

Tilos · Feb 25, 2019

osprey said:
Finding this mesh material like the example I have has proven to be a bit difficult. Clipping one of those dish scrubbie things apart is as close as I have gotten so far but the bag produced would be a bit small. I will keep my eye out for the proper material. I actually did as suggested by BSG 75 and went out and dropped $50 on the harbor freight dual drum tumbler. Depending on my experience with it, I may put the FA tumbler up for sale if the smaller dual drum works as advertised.