Wet Tumbler

[Dnk9444]

I've only ever had a dry tumbler for my brass. I hate the dirty primer pockets and inside cars. So I've been contemplating trying a wet tumbler or sonic cleaner. I don't clean large batches. I just want the brass clean. What do you guys use?

 

[Axl]

Vibratory w/ walnut. Ultrasonic removes the carbon from the necks. You want the carbon in the necks.

 

[Dnk9444]

I use walnut in my tumbler. And I brush out the neck the necks. It gets the outsides shiny. I've saw it said that you want to leave the neck but I don't understand why. I use dry lube when bullet seating.

 

[budlight]

People who use walnut/media tumblers and sonic cleaners are oblivious. to new and modern technology. The same people that repeat 50 year old wives tails about car performance.

Smarter people buy wet steel media tumblers and throw the old crap away.

I have a Thumblers tumbler. squirt of dish soap and lemon shine and they are new looking inside and out. Summer sun dry and winter I use a food processing dehumidifier,

I've never understood the leaving something in the case neck. For my real precision target rounds I inside and outside turn my case. typical mass loading I just inside chamfer the trimmed to length brass. I never lube the pills.

 

[Vol1975]

I've done dry and wet over the 30 years reloading. Personally i scrub the necks real good with a brass brush and some type of cleaner for the first two firing. After that it time to anneal on my third firing. ill wet tumble After annealing. This is the stage I trim to length and do any type of case work. its all about being consistent shooting distance For me.
with that being said I've know people who never tumbled of any type. All they do is brush the neck.

I guess it's what you comfortable with on cleaning but bullet bite and how it pinches a bullet in my opinion is extremely important.

 

[Dosh]

I like the SS pin wet tumbler. Cleans inside, primer pockets and outside. Some tumble too long in the wet tumbler. If you want very shiny brass, tumble in walnut after wet tumbling. Just a matter of preference.

 

[LoneTraveler]

I started loading shells in 1959 or 60. For years cleaned the outside of case and inside neck with 0000 steel wool .
About 30 years ago I started using a vibrating tumbler with walnut shells and Midways pour in polish. About 1994 I Got a Lyman Ultrasonic Cleaner and Lyman Brass Cleaner. About this time I bought a Large and Small RCBS De-Priming dies. Sure cleaned cases better inside and out.

I like the way the Ultrasonic cleaner/Brass cleaner removes the carbon from the inside case and primer pockets, But adds a drying cycle to the case preparation. I like the clean cases to size, trim to length and chamfer inside and outside case. Then a 30 minute run in the walnut shell media for outside case shine. I always worried about the carbon in the cases collecting moisture from the air and contaminating the powder after loading. In damp weather I would put cases on cookie sheet in oven at 200 degrees for an hour or so and let cool to room temperature, Before loading. I can skip the oven drying with the case cleaned of carbon inside now.

It seems I get more consistant loads and tighter groups with the Ultrasonic cleaned cases.

 

[Axl]

People who use walnut/media tumblers and sonic cleaners are oblivious. to new and modern technology. The same people that repeat 50 year old wife's tails about car performance.

Smarter people buy wet steel media tumblers and throw the old crap away.

I have a Thumblers tumbler. squirt of dish soap and lemon shine and they are new looking inside and out.

I've never understood the leaving something in the case neck. For my real precision target rounds I inside and outside turn my case. typical mass loading I just inside chamfer the trimmed to length brass. I never lube the pills.

Just because you never understood it doesn't mean it isn't better.
Don't know where you shoot " real precision target" but carbon in the neck with a nylon brush run through it will shoot better than bare brass every time.
And fun fact "smarter people" know that the plural of wife is not wife's . But if it works for you then no need to change.

 

[muledeer01]

Reloading for me these days is a slow relaxing hobby, I wet tumble, I love how clean my cases come out, like I said I'm in no hurry these day's as I tumble I also throw in my jags and mops they come very clean also.

 

[budlight]

This is what I understand. looking at the carbon on the outside of the case neck after firing. This is what some other posters said.

Tony Boyer's book, The Book of Rifle Accuracy(which I read to learn from), page 149, describes how to read various shapes/forms of carbon deposits on the necks of 3-5 times fired cases to help determine if the case neck is too thick. On page 149, figure "1" shows a carbon ring all around the entire case neck (about one-third of the way down from the case mouth to the case shoulder-neck junction) which Tony indicates means the case neck is too thick (has not been turned enough). On this same page, figure "2" shows a drawing of a case showing carbon coming down from the case mouth to the case shoulder-neck junction on only part of the case (not all around the circumference of the case); I am not sure what Tony is saying here in this figure "2" - I do not understand what this drawing is trying to show and tell us. Anyone know?

Also, this section of the book addresses such carbon deposits only as a way to determine if the neck is too thick.

What I believe Tony is referring to in his book is a sine wave looking carbon line on the neck of the brass. What that shows is that you have enough clearance between the neck and the chamber. What the sine wave shows us is that some of the gases escape into the chamber before the neck actually expands completely, sealing the chamber. This proves that you are getting a good bullet release.

I would agree it should be applicable to any cartridge.
In my experience with a ppc with a 262 neck I started out looking for .001 total clearance. I thought the closer the fir the better and a lot of guys are successful with that approach. With my cases fitted this way the carbon ring was a solid line all the way around the neck just a few thousands back from the edge of the neck.
After watching Jack Neary talk about brass prep for a ppc. I tried his approach looking for .0015 clearance on both sides of the neck or .003 total clearance. This approach for me has improved my over all group aggs. It also shows the wave type carbon pattern on the necks.
I would think in a SAMMI chambered barrel and in my experience with a no turn 6br in a sammi chamber there is quite a bit more clearance around the neck than .003 I use in the ppc. My 6 BR shows a solid carbon line around the necks down closer to the shoulder

 

[budlight]

Instead of adding to the cleaned case neck. I jumped on the bullet coating wagon 30+ years ago.

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Moly coated .243 using 308 cases necked down and turned to fit in my 26 inch 243

 

[misterc01]

I dry tumblel my decapped brass using walnut media from the pet shop and little Nufinish. Then I resieze, trim etc, and into the ultra sonic to get any lube, etc off and ensure clean primer pockets. Brush the case neck and dry neck lube. It gets the job done, I am happy, and I don't worry about buying the newest latest "whatever" that just cost me more money to do the same job.

 

[Dnk9444]

I was just looking for a simple way to get my brass cleaner. Especially the necks and primer pockets of my magnums. I use dry lube when seating bullets. I don't turn necks or anything. But If wet tumbling would change the way they shoot then I may stick with what I do.

 

[mikemo4032]

I've only ever had a dry tumbler for my brass. I hate the dirty primer pockets and inside cars. So I've been contemplating trying a wet tumbler or sonic cleaner. I don't clean large batches. I just want the brass clean. What do you guys use?

There is no free lunch. I dry tumbled for years trying different media types and always thought there must be a better way to avoid the dust and mess. I bought and still have the SS wet tumbler. Now there is no dust, just loose, errant pins that get loose or stick in cases. They both do the job, pick your poison.