Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading Wet Tumbling?

I use an Ultrasonic Cleaner to clean small batches of brass. Does a great job!

I have several 1000 pieces of 9mm brass that needs to be cleaned. Don't want to spent ALL day doing it.

Looking at wet tumbler that uses the stainless pins.

Any comments - pro or con?

Thanks, GB

Other than the extra effort required in stainless tumbling, there's really no downside for handgun loading. There's no real need to get brass that clean, but if you want it you can get it. You might want to check out the capacity of any wet tumbler you're considering before you buy, though. You may not think it's worth the trouble when you see the capacity limitations.

SS pins are a PITA they get stuck in the primer pockets and they'll wear out the lining of your tumbler. I tumble in hot water, Dawn dish detergent and Lemi-shine. A squirt of Dawn and a shake of Lemi-shine, doesn't take much of either to get your brass nice and clean.

The Frankford Arsenal Tumbler I am looking at comes with pins. Good to know I can get good results without using them. Thanks

Dawn or Palmolive, (Palmolive is less adhesive and washes out easier) then add vinegar with water. You can use Lemishine but vinegar works just as well and is one less ingredient to buy, also lemishine can have a bit of inhalation hazard. You can use pins but it’s not important. If the drum isn’t full, I put the brass in one of those mesh laundry bags.

I agree you will get clean brass without the pins. The pins will get the inside of the cases really clean which may be too much of a good thing. Biggest PITA is drying them afterwards.

Futura,

One of the better investments I have made was a Lyman Case Dryer. I caught one on sale 2 years ago. I can dry 500 9mm cases in an hour.

Thanks for your input.

GB

If you have an air compressor, the attachment that blows air out the end works great for drying cases.

Just checked those out. Gonna see if I can get one on a Black Friday sale. Those look big and sturdy. I’ve been using a flimsy old food dehydrator that isn’t very big.

Thanks

never stuck a pin and a primer hole ever and I've used them for years.

but then again I done my research and bought certain size pins to prevent this..

I have been wet tumbling for a few years now. Never had pins stick in the primer pockets or cases for that matter. I have been using the RCBS tumbler along with the RCBS separator. The tumbler itself will do a thousand 9 mm cases, but I broke a handle off the separator when separating out the pins with that batch.

Lay out the cases on a towel to remove most of the water, then dry in a dehydrator.

I've had pins jam up in flash holes since day one...maybe 1 in 200 cases. I have not replaced the pins with a different size because it's not that hard to get them out and it forces me to look a little closer at my brass as I process it.

One complaint I have about wet tumbling---and I never think of it when I respond to questions---is drying the brass. I've put a brass dryer on my Christmas wishlist. A rotary tumbler is a real convenience and so is the "switchable" magnet device.

I stack my washed brass leaning up against a wall with the primer pocket up, put an old towel down first and then I use a hair dryer blowing down from the top on high, only takes a little time going back and forth and they get nice and warm and dry.

a note about drying the brass, I always dried it in the oven for years. and here 6 months or a year ago when I bought a bunch of reloading stuff from an individual there was a Frankford arsenal brass dryer in it. I kind of figured it was something I just resell but the thing actually works much better than expected. it's not going anywhere.

Cool, a food dehydrator for cartridge brass.

not quite similar but not quite thermostatically controlled to where you want it and lot more fan then I've ever seen on any food dehydrator..

I didn't know that there were any different sized pins available. I use a 1/8 pellet that does okay and doesn't get stuck in anything.
I would rather use the pins but they have a tendency to bounce everywhere and are a pain to clean up.

A magnet helps with clean up.

I take as much pride in my reloads looking better than factory, as I do in their accuracy and performance.

I use a Frankford wet tumbler with pins, Dawn and Lemi Shine. I use the magnet to separate the pins. All easy to this point.

The PIA comes in the drying process. I dump them in a big bath towel first, then use the wife's blow dryer on high while rolling them around. Then they go into loading blocks, head high, and dried again. Then flipped to neck high and dried one last time. After that. I inspect every case with a flashlight for stuck pins.

I used water a long time ago cleaning cleaning cases for high power rifle comp. A friend and I used a small cement mixer with just water and some soap. Dried them on screen doors. We prepped a majority of a seasons worth of brass at once, Usually a quick run with dry media before resize/power trim then run with water and soap to get rid of lube and sorta deburr at the same time. The process changed as we updated power trim and primer pocket crimp removal methods. Jerry Miculek had a you tube vid with a similar process.

Presently I don't shoot much rifle but a fair amount of hand guns and I have no water in my shop so dry vibratory is my personal preference. Its fast, maybe not as safe but I can run mine outside or under equipment shelter. Run a fan behind you when using the separator.

Just replaced a dead vibratory I bought in the 80's with a Berry's. That unit is very nice, less noise and its very quick.

Good luck with whatever you go with.