Wet tumbling never thought

this was in a Peterson .260 Rem case with the Palma style SR primer and the .055 flash hole. The pins are just the right length to lodge sideways in .264 neck also but I am used to finding one or two stuck there every 100 cases or so. I am surprised the primer did not blow the pin out of the flash hole and ignite the powder but it definitely fired and did not move the pin. I am sure anyone who uses the pins has probably fired a pin down the barrel without knowing so. There was one benchrester a year or so back on another forum that found one stuck in a patch when he was cleaning his rifle. It had to have gotten stuck in one of the grooves, he said the barrel kept shooting fine.
 
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One question Do I need 5 pounds of pins or more/less no idea never bought any before ,
I have the Thumler model B tumbler .
 
KEYBEAR wrote:
I have a lot of old 44 Mag brass and the primer pockets need a good cleaning .
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Why?

In 40+ years of reloading (2 years using an original Lee Loader, 38+ years using a press), I have never found the need to clean out a primer pocket; particularly not pistol brass. Other than aesthetic considerations, why do you need to clean the primer pockets?
 
I'm sure everyone does it differently, but I go about 3 to 1 in weight.
Pound of pins per 3 pounds of brass.
Or about 1/3 container (volume) per 2/3 brass.

Let me rephrase that, 1/4 pins, 1/2 brass, 1/4 airspace so everything can move around.
 
I'm sure there have been pins go down barrels before, I've never personally seen any damage from it.

The powder checker finds a pin every once in a while. I didn't think Dillon powder checker would be sensitive enough, but it will find pins in pistol & small rifle brass.

As for cleaning primer pockets, *I Think* I want my primers to seat fully.
I remove crimps & burrs, check for size, it's just natural progression to have the pocket clean.
I'm not sure general blasting ammo needs to be spotless, but if I'm spending the time to hand load, it just isn't that hard to remove another vairable.
 
I have recently purchased the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler. For way dirty brass I start by running it with dish soap and water. No pins for 15 minutes. I drain, rinse, then put in the pins. I add two teaspoons of Lemishine, and one tablespoon of RainX spot free car wash. (Helps to keep cases from spotting from hard water here.)

With the soap and water start the water will come out.gray, to black. Though the end result is super clean brass. I do it that way as the water when I dump the pins seems to be less brackish when I dump it after the pins. Note I rinse 3 times while separating the pins. They come out easier if coaxed with a bit of water.

The pins themselves I strain the water out with an old pillow case. I hang it up where the water can drain off as it and the pins dry.

For depriming I use the Frankford Arsenal Hand Deprime. It works well as I can sit down while I deprime the brass. It is not as fast as standing up with a rhythm going at the bench. It does allow me take a load off of my feet.
 
Don't know how big the Frankfort is, but that sounds like a LOT of Lemi-Shine!
I only use a table spoon for a cement mixer, about 3k 5.56 cases at a time.
Doesn't take much and it can discolor brass and be hard to remove, corroding the cases, particularly if the primers are still in.

Low sudsing detergent, I use bulk hand cleaner, low suds, good grease & grime cutting, it seems to be a lot more concentrated than Dawn.
The dishwasher soap makes less suds also if the brass isn't really dirty. Usually works for everything but filthy range brass.
 
The FA drum will hold 1k .223 cases. Plus 5 pounds of pins. On a guess I estimate about 3 gallons of water. The water here is extra hard as it contains high amounts of minerals and lime.(Artesian spring water that has passed through 200 miles of limestone.) I used a pool PH test kit to check PH of the solution. Brass comes out shiney, and does not lose lustre once dried.


The best stuff I have used is the package of FA cleaner that came with the tumbler. Next time I go to Cabela's I will pick up a bottle of it.
 
False dichotomy. Trust me. I bought the food dehydrator and my wife's attitude remains unreformed.
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Ahh, but you don't know what would have happened if you had started using the oven and the pans do you?

Think of it as an air bag, it may save your life but you don't know until you trigger it!

I have always referred to it as maintaining the high moral ground. You don't want to find out what its like down in the swamp!

As for the cleaning, idea is great, just would not work out for my setup and am fine with my Vibratory unit.
 
Tumbler B tumbler an 5 pounds of stainless steel pins , two table spoons of dish detergent ,1/4 teaspoon of LemiShine if you have it , it's not a must an your ready to go . I use Sun detergent wife says it works better then Dawn . Brass comes out squeaky clean and shiny even pockets .
 
I started this a few years ago with a cheap Harbor Freight dual drum rock tumbler. It was easy. Thing has a six pound limit, three pounds per drum. A pound of cases, a pound of pins, a pound of water, a shot of Dawn, half teaspoon of lemi-shine per drum. Run about four hours.

Running .40 cases works out to about 300 cases if I recall.The quantity suits my needs.

Cases do look like new. EVERYTHING gets clean.

All the Best,
D. White
 
A pound of cases, a pound of pins, a pound of water
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Me too dwhite. I originally bought the harbor freight little tumbler thingy (not the dual one) to test the process for minimal investment to see if it was right for me.

It was.

In no time, I bought a FART and never looked back. No regrets whatsoever.
 
I never got too anal about ratios, if I get too much detergent in in makes it just makes them a pain to rinse, but if I get too little the suds are gone in a hour. We buy the xtra large jug of detergent Costco style and transfer to a small squirt bottle. I just do a one potato two potato thing and call it good. For pins I do a couple of handfuls, whatever seems right. Don't think I can do too many pins with 100 or so rifle cases. Lemon Shine appx 1/2 tsp using the mark I mod I eyeball and palm of the hand measuring combination. If I run out of Lemi Shine I just use a squirt of lemon or lime juice or a splash of white vinegar or nothing at all. They still shoot the same
 
I have a Lyman Ultrasonic that cleans brass very good and no pins to mess with I can also clean gun parts and are rings and a lot of things. You need to check one out.
 
I got a good deal on a Lyman tumbler and use stainless media. I prefer Franklin polishing fluid. When I run a batch of outdoor range brass, I add a scoop of baking powder and the juice of one lemon for additional citric acid and one small drop of dawn for dishes.

For the longest time I tumbled primers in and reamed out the pockets as I feared loose primers if they weren't there. Having gone through thousands of primer outs loads now, I only tumble primers out shells now. I always sort by caliber before tumbling to prevent nesting shells.

WARNING!!! - don't forget and let a wet tumble sit as all the floating GSR will evenly coat the brass and you can start over.

My lyman came with screens which takes out most of the stainless pins but never all of them. I dump the wet brass sans bulk pins onto a an old bath towel, bunch this up and shake the daylights out of it. Then I pick up the loose pins remaining with a salvaged hard-drive magnet. Repeat as needed. Then I let the shells airdry for a bit.

Storage is with a handful of silicon storage packs which I salvage from shoe boxes, medication bottles, new luggage, etc. What little fluid remained isn't a problem in my experience. I sort by caliber and head stamp and I use the plastic tuppers my dog's treats come in.

Franklin advertises you can reuse their polish fluid, but I've had no success with that and always make new batches. I've heard of a number of different polishing fluid recipes but haven't used anything else myself.
 
My wife bought me a bottle of the RCBS cleaner for rotary tumblers and sonic cleaners. It does not have to be rinsed off. It works as advertised. Just do not re-use it in a rotary. Brass comes out clean looking. Though it will leave black film on your hands from handling the brass.
 
Storage is with a handful of silicon storage packs which I salvage from shoe boxes
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a cheap and convenient desiccant is plain uncooked rice. Put a handful in a old sock. To refresh it just put it in the oven at 200 degrees F for about a half hour
 
hounddawg said:
a cheap and convenient desiccant is plain uncooked rice. Put a handful in a old sock. To refresh it just put it in the oven at 200 degrees F for about a half hour
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I don't know which is cheaper, but I use cat litter (granulated kind, not the sandy kind) and it works great. If you get it from a fresh bag, just use it as-is. If the bag has been open, as you say a trip through the over will shape it right up. I've used it to store deliquescent chemicals and it's worked a treat.
 
I don't know which is cheaper, but I use cat litter (granulated kind, not the sandy kind) and it works great. If you get it from a fresh bag, just use it as-is. If the bag has been open, as you say a trip through the over will shape it right up. I've used it to store deliquescent chemicals and it's worked a treat.
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great tip , thanks
 
I also use the Harbor Freight one drum for short runs 50 cases , 1 lb. of pins ,1 tablespoon of Sun liquid dish detergent , a pinch of LemiShine , run for two hours , pockets , cases inside an out like new. Let them drain & dry upside down in those plastic cases that comes with store bought ammo.
 
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