School me on how you are doing the SS pin method. I was considering a tumbler from HF, but where is everyone getting their pins? Is one brand better than the other? Are you using a cheap dehydrator for drying brass or sticking them in a warm oven? I've got a vibrating tumbler and walnut, but I'd like to get them shiny(er).
They say everything happens for a reason. For me that reason is usually because I've made some bad decisions that I need to pay for.
When I tumble my brass I take them out from the water, i swish the brass in the water to get the pins out, then I set the brass upright with the head up on a towel up against a wall and then I use my wife's hair dryer to dry them, I go back and forth over the brass, they will be dry in a few minutes, and I can check for any pins left in the brass.
i use a baby bottle drying rack that you can reference....tomy boon grass countertop drying rack it will hold your brass upside down and allow it to dry...i put mine over the heat register and let it dry over night
Treated Lyman corncob in a vibratory tumbler cleans and shines just fine and lasts for many many batches. When it's used up I use it for oil dry in the garage.
Never saw the need to bother myself with the extra expense of a wet cleaning system and waiting for the damn things to dry off.
I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children may live in peace. ~~ Thomas Paine
i use a HF Dual Rock Tumbler with a 4" piece of PCV and about 1/8 to 1/4 of lb of SS pins (.047" diameter, .255" length). the SS pins are from Amazon or Lowes or whatever home improvement store. a drop or two of Dawn dish soap (you can use other liquid soaps) and a 9mm case of Lemi-shine in warm to hot water. i will let it turn for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. then i'll pour water, brass and ss pins into 5 gallon bucket paint strainer that is in the laundry tub. i put on the water and i'll rinse the brass off and i'll make sure of ss pins is out. then i will put the brass on a towel and i'll let the brass sit for nite or two and then i will load them up. i have a dehydrator, but i never use it to dry brass. i only do 50 - 60 rifle cases at a time, but i figure there is more space to do 100 cases.
i forgot, get a bag of HF Tumbler replacement drive belts. i figure the belt will last only about 1 year before it breaks. i have been doing HF tumbler for about 8 years.
i have a brand new VEVOR Jewelry Polisher Tumbler in my closet in case the HF fails. i have 1/2" PVC that are about 2" long and cut in half.
I use the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART), that came with the SS pins and use Lemishine and Dawn. I make a point to use distilled water in both the operation and rinsing. A lot of people don’t seem to think it matters, but I do it anyways. I use a media separator that rotates with a hand crank and it gets most of the water out. I use old 9mm and 45acp factory ammo (plastic) holders that come in the cardboard box to hold the cases vertical, just like steveredd1. The bottom is not solid so they allow air and water to escape. I set them outside for a day or so and since I’m in the desert, they dry just fine. I don’t need to rush the drying because there usually is plenty to do on other reloading activities while they’re out.
okay I use a tumblers b model tumbler. use as hot water as you can get when you start and I use like a 1/8 of a teaspoon of lema shine and two tablespoons of Dawn soap.
. I tumble them for at least 4 to 6 hours. and I'm accidentally left stuff on and forgot it for a couple days with no ill side effects.
dump the nasty water out all I can directly from the tumbler then dump the entire contents into a 5 quart bucket. take that bucket rinse and flush everything good with cold water.
then pour everything into a Frankfort arsenal wet / dry media separator. separate pins from brass. dump pins back in the tumbler seal up for storage. (yes I do that wet I have never dried the pins and I've had zero issues)
I then place my brass in a Frankfort arsenal brass dryer. which is kind of a turbocharged food dehydrator except it has a thermostat and fan they dry quite well and quickly in this. before I had the brass dryer I would place them on an old cookie sheet and place them in the oven at 220 for an hour and a half or so make sure they were good and dry inside and out. going just above the boiling point makes things dry out much faster and more thoroughly. some will say it's too hot and it will anneal on the brass head and stuff which has some truth to it if you left them in there for a week. no real problem at all.
as for the pins I did research heavily when I bought them and I believe it was a .152 but that number may not be correct I encourage you to Google up and you will find it. but they are the right size to pass through flash holes but not let two pins get started and get stuck in the flash hole. buy quality pens that are truly stainless and you will have no issues with rust. my plans have actually set damp / in water for up to a couple months at a time with zero issues. I've had the same Tumbler and pins s for several years. at the time they were about $10 a pound I bought 5 lb of them for the B model Tumbler.
some guys do not like this procedure because it's a little messy and time consuming I like it because the flash holes are clean the outside is perfectly clean the inside looks like new. a lot of people don't realize it's the inside of stuff getting carboned up that can make capacities a little inconsistent maybe my new but it is there. I've also had carbon build up with my cases so bad that the next actually sized out to be too big before I started this. but then again I set up my dies before I actually may get up to 10-12 loads from a single piece of brass.. that was before I started annealing them.
I use the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART), that came with the SS pins and use Lemishine and Dawn. I make a point to use distilled water in both the operation and rinsing. A lot of people don’t seem to think it matters, but I do it anyways. I use a media separator that rotates with a hand crank and it gets most of the water out. I use old 9mm and 45acp factory ammo (plastic) holders that come in the cardboard box to hold the cases vertical, just like steveredd1. The bottom is not solid so they allow air and water to escape. I set them outside for a day or so and since I’m in the desert, they dry just fine. I don’t need to rush the drying because there usually is plenty to do on other reloading activities while they’re out.
I do the same thing except I tumble in hot tap water. After tumbling I dump the nasty water out, then dump the brass and pins in a five gallon bucket and rinse it out with the hose real good. Then I take the brass out and put it into a pan of distilled water, then roll the brass in an old towel, then into the old food dehydrator. Comes out spotless.
I only do this for large batches of dirty brass.
If I go to the range and want to clean and reload that brass I just use my vibrating tumbler with corn cob.
i dont use the stainless pins anymore after i got a 10 pound bag of .038 stainless BB's, no more bridging or getting stuck in the flash holes, i also use them in my imperial dry neck lube
I use the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART), that came with the SS pins and use Lemishine and Dawn. I make a point to use distilled water in both the operation and rinsing. A lot of people don’t seem to think it matters, but I do it anyways. I use a media separator that rotates with a hand crank and it gets most of the water out. I use old 9mm and 45acp factory ammo (plastic) holders that come in the cardboard box to hold the cases vertical, just like steveredd1. The bottom is not solid so they allow air and water to escape. I set them outside for a day or so and since I’m in the desert, they dry just fine. I don’t need to rush the drying because there usually is plenty to do on other reloading activities while they’re out.
I do the same thing except I tumble in hot tap water. After tumbling I dump the nasty water out, then dump the brass and pins in a five gallon bucket and rinse it out with the hose real good. Then I take the brass out and put it into a pan of distilled water, then roll the brass in an old towel, then into the old food dehydrator. Comes out spotless.
I only do this for large batches of dirty brass.
If I go to the range and want to clean and reload that brass I just use my vibrating tumbler with corn cob.
I used the water out of my dehumidifier so I guess you could say i'm using distilled water, we have hard water so it water spots the brass
Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, it comes with pins. Fill it up, set the timer and let it rip. The Dawn and Lemi Shine is amazing. Add some heat to the brass for fast drying.
Drying brass- On a sunny day put the brass on a cookie sheet and set it on the dashboard of your vehicle. Or a cardboard box with short sides. That’ll keep the wife off your ass. 😁
Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, it comes with pins. Fill it up, set the timer and let it rip. The Dawn and Lemi Shine is amazing. Add some heat to the brass for fast drying.
Drying brass- On a sunny day put the brass on a cookie sheet and set it on the dashboard of your vehicle. Or a cardboard box with short sides. That’ll keep the wife off your ass. 😁
Same method here.
I like the small BB's posted here. I wouldn't mind trying that myself. Still using the pins that came with mine 5 years later.
First make sure your pins are 100% stainless, you don't want rust in this process.
Then, if you can get a pin that will not get stuck in the flash holes, you'll avoid the most frustrating part of the process. I have pins that will get 2 pins stuck in the flash hole from time to time, just have to inspect each one. The shorter time spent wet tumbling, the fewer pins get stuck in the flash hole. You can tumble overnight if you'd like, but you have more pins stuck in flash holes.
Like others here, I have the Thumblers Tumbler. It's OK, just don't overload it. I use a tiny bit of Lemi Shine and much less Dawn soap than recommended. If I still have suds when I'm done with a wet cleaning, use less dishwashing soap next time. And when I say a tiny bit of Lemi Shine - like 1/8 of a teaspoon. Too much is bad. It only takes a very small amount. I use cold water.
I had a renter leave a pizza oven when they moved out of a rental I own. Set it to 200-250 degrees for 20-30 minutes to dry the brass on one of those disposable picnic trays.
Washing cleans it, I then dry tumble to polish the brass.
Washed brass is so bare, I think it's more susceptible to corrosion if not polished.
If you don't clean the pins out of your flash holes, you'll hear them leave your barrell. Just do it.
Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, it comes with pins. Fill it up, set the timer and let it rip. The Dawn and Lemi Shine is amazing. Add some heat to the brass for fast drying.
I use this as well. I use the "pods" that Frankford Arsenal sells for the tumbler. I tumble using hot water for about 2-3 hours, depending on how dirty the brass is. I rinse the brass using a 5 gal bucket and hot water, run them through a media separator then put them in a dryer that is essentially the same as a dehydrator for about an hour. Most of my brass comes out shiny as new, even some that were picked up in the dirt at the range that had been there for years!
