What did you do in the reloading room recently?

bigblue said:
Question for you guys: Who uses steel pins to tumble brass?

What’s the advantage? Do you use a normal tumbler? Still throw a little polish in there? Thoughts?
Click to expand...
If you want the inside of the case and primer pocket to be spotless then use the pins
Just wet tumbling with Lemishine and Dawn will get cases clean enough on the inside and sparkling on the outside.

For me separating the pins is not worth the extra effot to get clean primer pockets
 
Another thought on wet tumbling. From my point of view this does get into the Ford or Chevy land, i.e. it is personal preference. Although I do seem to remember a post years ago that may have seen a difference in accuracy or velocity tied to how clean the brass gets in wet tumbling. I think it was pointing out a lower accuracy on wet tumbled brass. I'm simply not that good of a shot to see it.

I prefer wet tumbling for lots of the reasons above and one more. No dust. You could argue it is a pain in the @$$ to deal with the water but I just dump everything into 5 gallon buckets and walk it out of the basement when I can. My brother in law on the other hand can't stand dealing with the water and tells me i'm nuts and he only dry tumbles. AND yes.... he drives a Chevy and I drive a Ford
 
MassHunter32 said:
Another thought on wet tumbling. From my point of view this does get into the Ford or Chevy land, i.e. it is personal preference. Although I do seem to remember a post years ago that may have seen a difference in accuracy or velocity tied to how clean the brass gets in wet tumbling. I think it was pointing out a lower accuracy on wet tumbled brass. I'm simply not that good of a shot to see it.

I prefer wet tumbling for lots of the reasons above and one more. No dust. You could argue it is a pain in the @$$ to deal with the water but I just dump everything into 5 gallon buckets and walk it out of the basement when I can. My brother in law on the other hand can't stand dealing with the water and tells me i'm nuts and he only dry tumbles. AND yes.... he drives a Chevy and I drive a Ford
Click to expand...
Well then u must be doing it wrong if you drive a Ford. 😂 I’ve gone back and forth on adding a wet tumbler many times. The brass looks sexy but that’s about the only positive i see besides lack of dust but it adds steps and time. Leaving some carbon in the neck also helps in seating consistency and because I use a mandrel to set neck tension I don’t worry about lube the inside of the necks.
 
Mudflap621 said:
Well then u must be doing it wrong if you drive a Ford. 😂 I’ve gone back and forth on adding a wet tumbler many times. The brass looks sexy but that’s about the only positive i see besides lack of dust but it adds steps and time. Leaving some carbon in the neck also helps in seating consistency and because I use a mandrel to set neck tension I don’t worry about lube the inside of the necks.
Click to expand...
See... preference. I enjoy driving my F150 and find it wonderful that is lets me search other forums to find ways of addressing it little quirks. What fun is driving a truck that never has challenges?
 
MassHunter32 said:
I prefer wet tumbling for lots of the reasons above and one more. No dust.
Click to expand...

I'm not at all concerned with pristine brass. I get water spots and splotchy tarnishing over time with my wet tumbled brass because I'll be damned if I rinse with anything but tap water. Like most people, I have my little tinges of OCD here and there, but I'm not that far gone. Wet tumbling is fast and sequesters whatever is in the dust. Standard primer compound contains lead styphnate. If anybody is concerned about getting the brass "too clean", just don't use the pins. You'll have a light carbon deposits left inside the case. However if you want your finished reloads to look factory-new, I'd recommend dry tumbling for that. Certainly would not recommend wet tumbling loaded cartridges. :)
 
Last edited:
pastera said:
And I thought I was the redneck solutions supplier around here...
Click to expand...
That's nothing. To venture off topic for a minute, here's my ice auger...needed something to stop it from falling through the hole and found my chainsaw before finding a frizbee.

The tumbler works surprisingly well and can run on slow for an hour per charge. It's not even centered. Think that helps it move the brass around. It does leak, but what ever. Using crushed up pistachio shells I bashed with a hammer. I are a bunch of them and threw the shells into a bucket since I burn them in my wood stove.
20210113_145413.jpg
 
allen-1 said:
I took apart my container of "kill/fix" rounds the other day, (posted here regarding salvaged primers).
The box of bullets has been sitting on my bench, I just couldn't throw it away yet.

I found out what to do with them:

View attachment 449424
Click to expand...
Don't throw bullets away - be kind and recycle.
If you don't cast, give them to someone who does
 
Tallahassee said:
I see people using media tumblers and the steel pins. Anyone clean their brass with a sonic cleaner? Waste of time or what? This would only be for small rifle batches. Currently, I use a tumbler for everything.
Click to expand...
FWIW, my ultrasonic (branded by Hornady) only removes the range dust and a fraction of the carbon deposits. I've seen reports of ultrasonic cleaners delivering new-looking brass with the right cleaning solution, but I haven't been able to duplicate those results with my equipment.
 

Similar threads

show us your reloading room
Replies
3
Views
250
peterk123
P
reloading 8.15x46r
Replies
20
Views
420
Stee
S
Shotgun reloading classes
Replies
7
Views
294
EddieCoyle
EddieCoyle
12ga Reloading for hunting.
Replies
9
Views
352
DW357
DW357
Bullets to keep cost down on reloading 223?
Replies
18
Views
637
EddieCoyle
EddieCoyle
Back
Top Bottom