Wet Tumbling

[lyle2231]

New to steel pin tumbling, what/how do you separate brass from pins?
How long do you wait for the brass to dry before you start reloading?
Thanks!

 

[crystalgayleguy]

I use stainless steel chips pur in five gallon bucket Pic k brass out tap on side of bucket then put brass in vibrating tumbler with small magnets

 

[just_jon]

 

[Varmint Hunter]

New to steel pin tumbling, what/how do you separate brass from pins?
How long do you wait for the brass to dry before you start reloading?
Thanks!

I only tumble about 50 cases at a time so I just pick the cases out with my hands and shake the pins out. It's easy enough for small loads.
There are many ways to dry cases. Some use the oven or toaster oven and it takes maybe 15min on 200 deg. Some use a food dehydrator with an internal fan. I'm sure that pretty quick too. I just put my cases on a towel and lay them in the sun. I usually leave them there for a few hours while I do other things but they are certainly dry much quicker. You would be surprised at how hot a brass case gets just by laying in direct sunlight.

 

[wernerpd]

I use this to dry cases and it works good and lasts a long time.

Lyman Cyclone Case Dryer

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[acourvil]

I do ~100 at a time. I shake out the pins by hand, rinse and put them in a food dehydrator.

Don't overdo the tumbling. If you make the batches too big or run it too long, you can peen the case mouths. Unless you have really overdone it, a quick chamfer takes care of this.

Apart from that, you will want to lube the inside of the necks. i use dry lube, YMMV.

 

[Willys]

I stopped wet tumbling as it messed with my neck tension sd/es. Went back to walnut shellls vibratory unit.

 

[TexSavage]

I quit cleaning the brass anything short of just wiping it down. I use to tumble with walnut, then wet tumble with brass pins. In my experience I have seen very little benefit for my purposes in the cleaning of brass. My SD & ES are well within acceptable limits with SD in the teens and ES upper single digits to mid teens. I look at it as a ROTS dilemma, Return On Time Spent. How much time does it take to do the operation and does it return benefits I can't live without based on my shooting needs. I shoot 1K and hunt. YMMV

 

[Will Gray]

I use ultrasound but still have to dry the cases: I roll the cases around in a towel and then spread them out on the towel in oven at 250. They dry pretty fast.

 

[Gar Guru]

I just started doing the wet tumbling a few months ago, and after tumbling for 1 1/2 hours have been pouring them into a wire kitchen strainer with very small mesh while rinsing the dirty water out in the sink. Then stand them upright on the concrete outside in direct sunlight for about an hour. Then tip them all over for about another hour and then they are dry. This may not work in cold and cloudy weather so I am trying to get all my brass clean this summer. They sure look good!!!

 

[jrock]

I've struggled with SST media in the Fankford Arsenal rotary tumbler. When wet, the pins stick to everything. Thus, the initial separation sucks. I do hundreds of cases at a time to make the effort to pick the SST worth while. I've found it much easier to sort once everything has dried. I either put them in the oven or air dry them on a towel. Then I give the batch a good shake and pick out the SST pins by hand. 90% of the time I tumble wet without the pins or use my ultrasonic cleaner for small batches.
I like that idea of the rotary media separator. Might be worth it for the trouble I have. For what its worth, the SST pins do a good job and don't take long to work.

 

[Franko21]

I wet tumble without pins. It doesn't get the brass as sparkly clean as using pins but it does get the crud that might damage my dies off the brass and ensures that I don't have to worry about what an errant pin might do. I then load the brass into wire baskets, put them on a baking sheet, and dry in an oven at 220F for 2 hours.

 

[vedauvoo]

I quit cleaning the brass anything short of just wiping it down. I use to tumble with walnut, then wet tumble with brass pins. In my experience I have seen very little benefit for my purposes in the cleaning of brass. My SD & ES are well within acceptable limits with SD in the teens and ES upper single digits to mid teens. I look at it as a ROTS dilemma, Return On Time Spent. How much time does it take to do the operation and does it return benefits I can't live without based on my shooting needs. I shoot 1K and hunt. YMMV

I like your concept of ROTS.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

New to steel pin tumbling, what/how do you separate brass from pins?
How long do you wait for the brass to dry before you start reloading?
Thanks!

Depends on what tumbler you are using to wet tumble. If you have the Frankford Arsenal, it comes with screens to separate the brass and SS pins. Just put in a 5 gallon bucket and wash clean at the same time. Then pick up the SS Pins with a Magnet that is also made by FA. I put the wet brass in a towel and then in a Pizza Pie Pan with holes. Either air dry or pop in the over at 200 for 10 minutes.

For cleaning just use water, some brass cleaner and Lemon Shine. Brass comes out like new inside and out.

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Frankford Arsenal Media Transfer Magnet SS Media

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