Need a good set up to clean my brass . Help please

[Maina]

I have 400- 300 ultra mag brass to do and 400 300 weatherby brass to shine up

 

[Rick Richard]

I purchased a vibratory case tumbler from Harbor Freight and it it does a great job.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Get a big sonic cleaner, Hornady One-Shot brass cleaning solution, a Frankford Arsenal brass dryer, and a big tumbler with #2 corncob media and brass polish.

Also, decap all the brass before you do anything. Get the old primers out before anything else. Use a universal decapping die.

RCBS Heavy Duty Depriming Decapping Die (27 thru 45 Cal)

If you're cleaning that many cases, buying those 4 items (decap die, sonic cleaner, brass dryer, tumbler) will make the job 10x faster and easier.

 

[Maina]

Thanks !

 

[Dosh]

M, got a stainless pin wet tumbler a few months ago, now all my brass looks like new unfired. Even the inside of the cases and primer pockets like new. I can get 120 magnum cases in it. Buy once cry once.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I have them all. Use them all.

Wet tumbler with stainless steel media is the cleanest. I feel the Frankford Arsenal runs too fast and beats up the case mouths. Or maybe I need more media.

Sonic cleaners do a reasonable job and there is no media separation challenge. It's not a big one.

With both of the above the Frankfor Arsenal dryer is a great great addition. It's a relabeled food dehydrator. If you already have a food dehydrator, maybe get some trays just for drying cases. They can dry lots and lots of cases fast.

The Harbor Freight tumbler is one of my go to tumblers.

At the moment my routine is

Decap/deprime
Wet clean (SS tumble or Sonic)
Dry
Anneal
Size, neck or FL. I have started leaving the expander ball out and running a Sinclair neck expander in a separate step. A bit more consistent and less stress on me and my press so must be less stress on the brass.

If I FL sized I tumble in dry media to get the lube off.

Trim
Chamfer
Debur
Prime
Load

 

[WildRose]

M, got a stainless pin wet tumbler a few months ago, now all my brass looks like new unfired. Even the inside of the cases and primer pockets like new. I can get 120 magnum cases in it. Buy once cry once.

Yep, I bought the large Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler and steel pin polishing media and the difference between it and the old fashioned vibratory tumblers is night and day bot in the quality of work it does and the speed with which it is done.

I used dry corncob and walnut media for decades and resisted the change but I couldn't be happier with the results.

 

[Gord0]

Agreed with the above. The one I done use is stainless pins.
Decap
Sonic
Dry
Corn cob
Size
I have small stuff at home and if I want to do a lot of brass my ultrasonic and tumbler at work are huge, as in holds close to 100# of corncob media

 

[Buckskinner]

I rarely tumble brass anymore, I used to do every round that I loaded... I don't really see the point unless it is range brass or really dirty/ugly. I steel wool inside and outside of necks after chamfering with steel wool and if I want my brass to sparkle I just run the steel wool over the outside of the case as well, or a dab of Flitz on a rag does the trick as well.

I still do tumble with the old fashioned walnut media once in a while...

The SS pins would concern me with the possibility of getting pins stuck in case and loading on top of it.

 

[Dosh]

I rarely tumble brass anymore, I used to do every round that I loaded... I don't really see the point unless it is range brass or really dirty/ugly. I steel wool inside and outside of necks after chamfering with steel wool and if I want my brass to sparkle I just run the steel wool over the outside of the case as well, or a dab of Flitz on a rag does the trick as well.

I still do tumble with the old fashioned walnut media once in a while...

The SS pins would concern me with the possibility of getting pins stuck in case and loading on top of it.

The pins have stuck in the necks of certain calibers, but for the majority I've had no problem. A quick look when drying will find them. I use the air hose to blow off cases and the Az sun to bake dry. The Frankfort Arsenal magnet is quite worth the $15-16.

 

[Reno1]

I have 400- 300 ultra mag brass to do and 400 300 weatherby brass to shine up

This works great for my .270 cases along with .38 and .357. Also purchased 1 .lb of stainless steel media online.

Dual Drum Rotary Rock Tumbler

 

[Deleted member 46119]

Yep, I bought the large Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler and steel pin polishing media and the difference between it and the old fashioned vibratory tumblers is night and day bot in the quality of work it does and the speed with which it is done.

I used dry corncob and walnut media for decades and resisted the change but I couldn't be happier with the results.

What order do you clean/size etc..

 

[adrexco]

I use Lyman's Turbo case pre cleaner and then just a vibratory tumbler with corn cob and walnut shell mix. The Turbo case cleaner drastically speeds up the tumbling, plus a bottle lasts a very long time.

 

[WildRose]

I rarely tumble brass anymore, I used to do every round that I loaded... I don't really see the point unless it is range brass or really dirty/ugly. I steel wool inside and outside of necks after chamfering with steel wool and if I want my brass to sparkle I just run the steel wool over the outside of the case as well, or a dab of Flitz on a rag does the trick as well.

I still do tumble with the old fashioned walnut media once in a while...

The SS pins would concern me with the possibility of getting pins stuck in case and loading on top of it.

I shared your concern about flash holes but have not seen it yet with the steel pins. I did see a lot of it with both corncob and walnut media which was one of the reasons I changed.

The only downside I can find to the wet tumbling with steel pins is that separating the media from the brass can be a chore if you're doing it by hand instead of using a rotary media separator.