Wet tumbling problem; answers anyone?

[DizzyJ]

There is a residual wax on the brass from the car wash.

This of course is no substitute for properly lubing for sizing. When I run pistol brass, there is a smoother stroke when flaring and crimping/tapering in the dies.

Wait, are we talking rifle or pistol brass here?

That would make sense if sizing pistol brass in carbide dies without lube.

I was thinking rifle brass. Perhaps that was not the case.

 

[JadeFox]

Just have to jump in here cuz I am a big fan of stainless steel pin tumbling. I vibrate tumble all my brass for two hours when I come back from a range session. Dust 'em off, resize and de-prime. I do all my case prep from there....trimming, etc. all that handling and with rifle brass, lubing, gets brass dirty. When all that is left is to re-prime, it goes in the drink. I use a half-dollar size squirt of Dawn and a nickle size dose of Lemishine, and tumble 4 hours! It always comes out bright and new. When I head to the shop to pull the brass, I set the stove to pre-heat to 265. After I rinse and shake off the water, I put the brass on a cookie sheet, turn off the oven, and put brass in there for about an hour. It comes out great.

 

[Member 5605]

Wait, are we talking rifle or pistol brass here?

That would make sense if sizing pistol brass in carbide dies without lube.

I was thinking rifle brass. Perhaps that was not the case.

A mixed bag...

Rifle brass does run smooth too.

 

[Crohnos01]

I should have clarified; my issue was with straight wall pistol brass in carbide dies.

I still run my bottle neck rifle brass on a single stage just because I tend to get a little anal about load accuracy on my rifles.

 

[DizzyJ]

I should have clarified; my issue was with straight wall pistol brass in carbide dies.

I still run my bottle neck rifle brass on a single stage just because I tend to get a little anal about load accuracy on my rifles.

Ok. That makes sense. I don't use wet tumbling for my pistol brass. It's mostly run and gun fodder.

All the larger caliber stuff I've reloaded was years prior to wet tumbling being a thing! I'll still just continue to use the walnut and vibratory tumbler on pistol brass.

 

[Crohnos01]

Ok. That makes sense. I don't use wet tumbling for my pistol brass. It's mostly run and gun fodder.

All the larger caliber stuff I've reloaded was years prior to wet tumbling being a thing! I'll still just continue to use the walnut and vibratory tumbler on pistol brass.

Really, I like the wet tumbling because it makes spotting flaws in the brass so much easier.... It sucks when your peepers just ain't what they used to be

 

[DizzyJ]

Really, I like the wet tumbling because it makes spotting flaws in the brass so much easier.... It sucks when your peepers just ain't what they used to be

Too many steps for me for pistol brass. Tumble for a few hours, then load em up!

 

[Tilos]

One advantage to wet tumbling that I haven't read in this thread, is the ability to see/check the powder level in a case when the inside is as shiny as the outside .
It sure beats looking into a black hole .
just sayin'

 

[DizzyJ]

One advantage to wet tumbling that I haven't read in this thread, is the ability to see/check the powder level in a case when the inside is as shiny as the outside .
It sure beats looking into a black hole .
just sayin'

Press mounted light.
Just sayin'

 

[Tilos]

Press mounted light.
Just sayin'

Still black, same as the powder, though
see what I said there
Yes, a light, and a mirror too


troll on,

 

[DizzyJ]

Still black, same as the powder, though
see what I said there
troll on,

Different shades, easily distinguishable.
No trolling, just solutions.

 

[Tilos]

Different shades, easily distinguishable.
No trolling, just solutions.

Solutions to what...eye strain
Ok, now we're down to shades of black/gray...
So yes you are right as always
I'm done here
Take your last shot, give it some thought, so it's not as lame as "Different shades"...

 

[DizzyJ]

Solutions to what...eye strain
Ok, now we're down to shades of black/gray...
So yes you are right as always
I'm done here
Take your last shot, give it some thought, so it's not as lame as "Different shades"...

How about, I have no issues seeing the powder level in a walnut tumbled pistol case, especially with a press mounted light?

 

[Crohnos01]

How about, I have no issues seeing the powder level in a walnut tumbled pistol case, especially with a press mounted light?

Show off... I too fight the "black hole" syndrome without cleaning up the brass... And yup, I have count them, TWO lights. Ah......I miss the days of youthful eyesight.
...

 

[Papercidal]

I have found that the Frankford arsenal ultrasonic solution works far better than the dawn lemishine combo.

I am probably a bit insane but I run 9mm through the tumbler for about 45min I then run it through the 650 with a Dillon sizer in station 1 followed by a lee sizer (does a much better job and reduces case gauge failures by a lot but is less forgiving of brass not perfectly aligned in station 1) and a Lyman m die. I then sort by headstamp as some just don't play well with heavy long lead projectiles.I then tumble again to remove the one shot lube. I do about 7500- 10000 at a time and am usually good for almost a year of loading.

I case gauge every round so there is no difference between match and practice ammo and once I started loading a heavy cast bullet I was having a unacceptably high reject percentage but now other than a occasional flipped primer I am down to less than 1 per 100 that fails case gauge now.

 

[HighlandLofts]

Do you guys add anything to the walnut hulls, i throw in the dryer sheet to help out a little on the dust.

For lube i use ten parts of the red plastic car dry gas HEET to one part LIQUID LANOLIN.

Way cheaper the the Hornady One Shot spray.

 

[DizzyJ]

Do you guys add anything to the walnut hulls, i throw in the dryer sheet to help out a little on the dust.

For lube i use ten parts of the red plastic car dry gas HEET to one part LIQUID LANOLIN.

Way cheaper the the Hornady One Shot spray.

A capful of mineral spirits really keeps the dust at bay.

 

[AMT]

When I first started questioning/looking at wet tumbling, someone said (posted?) to clean the steel pins every so often, or when you start to notice that the brass isn't coming out shiny. I guess the steel pins get dirty and have to be cleaned themselves? I haven't gotten to that point (yet) but I am keeping an eye out for un-shiny brass.

 

[HighlandLofts]

So would it be a good idea to run the steel pins through a sonic cleaner?

Just a thought.
What little I used my wet tumbler I kust rinsed the pins a little while under hot water then dried them

 

[AMT]

So would it be a good idea to run the steel pins through a sonic cleaner?

Just a thought.
What little I used my wet tumbler I kust rinsed the pins a little while under hot water then dried them

I have no clue, but I imagine it couldn't hurt. I do as you do, once I am done tumbling I rinse well. I pour the brass and pins into an old colander and initial rinse with the sprayer. (I set the colander on an old cookie sheet so the pins don't go through the colander holes and down my drain). Then I let the water run (just past trickle) while I pull all the brass out, and ensure there are no pins inside the brass, and quick rinse each.

Once I have all the brass and pins separated I rinse the pins off. I then put the pins in a Tupperware type container, add Dawn dish soap and fill with water just above the pins. That is what I store the pins in. I don't want them drying "funny" and start to rust. I do notice that the water will be grey'ish after about the 3rd or 4th batch of brass cleaning. I will run water in the container, add dish soap every once in a while, and thoroughly mix the pins until the water remains clear. Then I add dish soap and let set.

After every batch of brass run in the tumbler, I clean the tumbler too. Leave one of the end-caps on, add Dawn, and lightly run an old scrubber pad/sponge (combo) over the inside surfaces of the tumbler. Rinse and repeat until the water in the tumbler comes out clean.

I know, I know..... I need a brass/pin separator.