2 tumbling lessons learned the hard way :(
- Thread starter Dustyn19
- Start date
You think 9mm and 45 is bad . Try 9mm , 40 S&W and 45 man what a pain that was . Oh and don't think for a second stainless steel pin tumbling is any better 
FrankenMauser
New member
I'm a little late to the party, but... some comments:
If you really want to run a bunch of brass at the same time, but it includes cases that tend to nest, it really helps to add the cases in descending case mouth size. Largest first, then second largest, etc., etc. Let the big cases vibrate around for a minute or two, so they can fill with media. Then add the next size down. Repeat until everything is in there.
I can run .45 Auto, .40 S&W, 9mm, .380, .32 revolver (S&W/Auto/Long/H&R/Federal), .25 Auto, .22 WMR, .22 LR, and various rifle cartridges at the same time with that method; and only a handful of cases will partially nest. (Rimfire is saved for swaging .22/.24 caliber bullets.)
Nested cases packed with media are easiest to separate with a light touch and gentle manipulation. Finesse is better than brute force (you also won't screw up case mouths with pliers, if you aren't using them).
Primer pockets won't pack up with media if you don't decap first.
But, if you do... A small hand-held punch, decapping pin removed from a sizing die, or the case gauge from a Lee case trimmer, has always worked best for me. Run it through the case mouth and punch the crap out like a corn-cob primer, rather than digging at it from the case head side.
They're easier to find in the snow or dead grass. And, if I lose them, it's not a big deal.
.
If you really want to run a bunch of brass at the same time, but it includes cases that tend to nest, it really helps to add the cases in descending case mouth size. Largest first, then second largest, etc., etc. Let the big cases vibrate around for a minute or two, so they can fill with media. Then add the next size down. Repeat until everything is in there.
I can run .45 Auto, .40 S&W, 9mm, .380, .32 revolver (S&W/Auto/Long/H&R/Federal), .25 Auto, .22 WMR, .22 LR, and various rifle cartridges at the same time with that method; and only a handful of cases will partially nest. (Rimfire is saved for swaging .22/.24 caliber bullets.)
Nested cases packed with media are easiest to separate with a light touch and gentle manipulation. Finesse is better than brute force (you also won't screw up case mouths with pliers, if you aren't using them).
Primer pockets won't pack up with media if you don't decap first.
But, if you do... A small hand-held punch, decapping pin removed from a sizing die, or the case gauge from a Lee case trimmer, has always worked best for me. Run it through the case mouth and punch the crap out like a corn-cob primer, rather than digging at it from the case head side.
I call the tarnished cases, "Winter brass."9x45 said:
They're easier to find in the snow or dead grass. And, if I lose them, it's not a big deal.
.
Reloading errors.
Welcome to reloading and the bottom of the bell jar curve. YOUR LEARNING !
I tumble before resizing and de-priming so my dies stay clean, and then I clean all the primer pocket holes by hand (brush and drill)., and then de-burr all the flash holes from the inside of the case with a de-burring tool . OCD, ya bethcha !
But these are rifle brass I'm dealing with .....then I measure all the brass, and trim what needs to be trimmed and continue on !
It's a hobby , the more you put into it the better the results ! We won't even get into what an "F class shooter does with their brass".
Live and learn,
BB
Welcome to reloading and the bottom of the bell jar curve. YOUR LEARNING !
I tumble before resizing and de-priming so my dies stay clean, and then I clean all the primer pocket holes by hand (brush and drill)., and then de-burr all the flash holes from the inside of the case with a de-burring tool . OCD, ya bethcha !
But these are rifle brass I'm dealing with .....then I measure all the brass, and trim what needs to be trimmed and continue on !
It's a hobby , the more you put into it the better the results ! We won't even get into what an "F class shooter does with their brass".
Live and learn,
BB
kilimanjaro
New member
Am I the only person here who read the reloading forum before starting to reload, and have never mixed calibers when tumbling the brass?
Forewarned is forearmed, you know.
Just had to gloat, get the day started.
Forewarned is forearmed, you know.
Just had to gloat, get the day started.
Kilimanjaro:
Yep , Not only did I mix calibers right off the bat . Years later when I started SS pin tumbling I did it again
Where's that face plant symbol when you really need it . Some people never learn 
I was given the most logical advice recently . If any part of different calibers fit inside each other , don't tumble together . Mixing brass can be done you just have to use similar sizes/diameters
Yep , Not only did I mix calibers right off the bat . Years later when I started SS pin tumbling I did it again
Where's that face plant symbol when you really need it . Some people never learn I was given the most logical advice recently . If any part of different calibers fit inside each other , don't tumble together . Mixing brass can be done you just have to use similar sizes/diameters
Prof Young
New member
And my learning mistake was . . .
I tumbled some 223 in corncob media that I bought at the pet store. Huge mistake. The cases were jammed full of media and it took hours to dig it all out. That's when I switched to crushed walnut shells.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
I tumbled some 223 in corncob media that I bought at the pet store. Huge mistake. The cases were jammed full of media and it took hours to dig it all out. That's when I switched to crushed walnut shells.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
I tumble 9mm, 38, 357, and perhaps 380 together in walnut before they are deprimed in order to clean the cases. After that, I sort and deprime. Then I use corncob + a dab of polish to shine the deprimed cases. I got the walnut from Harbor Freight and the untreated corncob from Midway. And yes, I learned the hard way not to tumble nesting cases together.