Clean Brass

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Griff
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Clean Brass

Post by Griff »

Over on the SASS Forum they've been touting wet tumbling for some time. I've not really looked at it closely and frankly, thought the claims of "new" looking brass to be just so much hype! Okay, shameless exaggerating actually! Well last month Midway had the Frankfort Arsenal wet tumbling kits on sale. I figured that, why not... if it cleans like claimed it would be a big improvement over dry tumbling. I'd done a couple of small batches of the .32-40 brass after shooting both smokeless and a BP sub out 'em. Pretty neat. So today I did a much bigger batch, running the tumbler for 2 hours.
DSCN1447.JPG
I don't know if the picture does it justice, but... that's a mix of .30-30, .32-40, .44-40 & Cowboy45Special from the last month & half of shooting. I can't tell which cases were shot with smokeless or which were with APP. I decapped everything before it goes in the tumbler... and frankly, I've never had cleaner primer pockets! I used the stainless pins that came with the kit, a few squirts of Dawn dishwashing detergent and nothing else! Click on the picture and you can easily see down inside the cases, as bright and shiny as the outside!

The 5 .30-30 cases in there are truly 30 year old new, "once-fired" brass. The nickel .32-40 brass is twice-fired Winchester John Wayne Commemorative brass. The brass .32-40 is stuff that Sixgun sent me several year back and is a mix of a few W-W and R-P cases that've been fired untold times. The C45S is several years old, and is part of my original 1,000 cases I got from Adirondak Jack shortly after he announced their availabilty. The short nickel cases are 45 Colt that were cut down by another shooter and I bought when he decided he couldn't shoot anymore. Out of the approximately 180 rounds of C45S, I had 2 splits, one in a C45S case and one in a cut down 45 Colt, so I know this brass had been reloaded at least 10 or times!
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GunnyMack
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by GunnyMack »

The results look good although before and after would be a better gauge of the effectiveness :D.
I've been seeing/ reading about wet tumbling vs dry, I just don't do large enough to justify another tumbler.
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Sixgun
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Sixgun »

I personally believe that wet tumbling is a solution to a non existent problem......I haven't cleaned primer pockets in 50 years except for some long range match ammo in the 223 and 308 and then, it's only to eliminate variables to a superstitious mind.

I use corn cob media and after it gets black I dump it in a 5 gallon bucket and add Tide and hot water....swish it around and rinse it over an old screen from a window....dry it out and it's brand new....

The trick is to clean the brass every time after shooting. Sometimes I'll throw some Brasso in the media...

When we get old we are set in our ways and it's hard to convince an old timer what's best, especially if it calls for money to be spent......But this is America where we are free to choose what we want to do so Griff, they look nice..... :D

Well done! ------006
Last edited by Sixgun on Fri Jan 27, 2023 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Griff
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Griff »

GunnyMack wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 5:53 pmThe results look good although before and after would be a better gauge of the effectiveness :D.
I've been seeing/ reading about wet tumbling vs dry, I just don't do large enough to justify another tumbler.
The "before" was all in my range bags and not very photogenic! :P
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Griff
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Re: Clean Brass

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Sixgun wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 6:10 pmI personally believe that wet tumbling is a solution to a non existent problem......I haven't cleaned primer pockets in 50 years except for some long range match ammo in the 223 and 308 and then, it's only to eliminate variables to a superstitious mind.
I use corn cob media and after it gets black I dump it in a 5 gallon bucket and add Tide and hot water....swish it around and rinse it over an old screen from a window....dry it out and it's brand new....
The trick is to clean the brass every time after shooting. Sometimes I'll throw some Brasso in the media...
When we get old we are set in our ways and it's hard to convince an old timer what's best, especially if it calls for money to be spent......But this is America where we are free to choose what we want to do so Griff, they look nice..... :D
Well done! ------006
The non-existent problem is lead contamination. Truly, once decapped it's "hands-off". I, too was "set-in-my-ways" with dry tumbling, and although my blood lead levels have never been real concern, as I get older, I figured I'd just cut out one more source. I figure when I get as old as you, I'd spend more time casting! :P
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Shasta
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Shasta »

I shoot both smokeless and black powder loads and have been a big fan of wet tumbling for some years. I don't tumble mixed calibers as I had trouble with smaller caliber cases getting stuck inside the larger ones and they failed to get clean.
Another problem I had was my black powder brass would come out clean but not shiny. Some of it even took on an olive drab color that was very difficult to remove. I discovered that if I de-primed the brass and soak it in vinegar for about 10 minutes, then give it a good water rinse before tumbling, the off color problem went away. Probably something to do with acids in the black powder residue. It's all worth the trouble to me as I like my brass to be shiny and new looking.

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Re: Clean Brass

Post by JimT »

For many many years .. up into the 1990's ... all I did was deprime the brass and then toss it into a large can, pour in some gasoline and shake it vigorously (outdoors of course) .. then pour off the gas and lay the brass on a nice clean section of tin in the sunlight. In the summertime in Arizona they were clean and dry in minutes! Of course after being reloaded 20 or 30 times they looked dingy but hey, they shot just fine. In the middle 90's I bought an RCBS vibrating cleaner and have used it ever since. Since I was so late coming to the party I won't be changing anytime soon and most likely not at all. It works for me. The brass comes out looking a whole lot better than it did when washing it in gasoline so I am happy. :lol:
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Sixgun »

Hey Griff...TWO AGAINST ONE!!! Good ole Jim T says the tumbling/vibrating way is fine.....and if it's fine with Jimbo, it's fine with me!!!! Gasoline? That's the generation before me...

On a serious note, making the primer pocket clean makes you feel better even though there's no scientific proof that the ammo shoots better. I have a sonic cleaner and while I've used it for brass, I find it messy and use the sonic cleaner for small parts, like tang sights where there lots of nooks and crannies......but even for that, a toothbrush, dish detergent like Dawn and hot water works just as well...

I have five vibrators and a Thumblers Tumbler.......and as much as I shoot anymore I might as well throw em in the trash.....

I understand with the bp cases...nasty.....a 1/8 cup of simple green and water in the sonic cleaner makes em like new.

Heck, if your rich just buy new brass and throw the old away.....it's only money that your kids will use to go to the islands with.
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OldWin
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by OldWin »

I think the wet tumbling does a great job. The biggest draw for me it the primer pockets. However, I just can't justify buying new stuff when my 20 year old Dillon keeps right on chugging along. And, if it breaks, they'll most likely send me a new one.
If I were just starting out, I'd probably go the wet tumble route. But I have to save my money to buy primers. :D
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by 1894cfan »

Griff, you having any problems with the lid seals? There's several reviews on Midway that complain about leaking seals.
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Griff
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Griff »

Sixgun wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 8:39 pmHey Griff...TWO AGAINST ONE!!! Good ole Jim T says the tumbling/vibrating way is fine.....and if it's fine with Jimbo, it's fine with me!!!! Gasoline? That's the generation before me...
On a serious note, making the primer pocket clean makes you feel better even though there's no scientific proof that the ammo shoots better. I have a sonic cleaner and while I've used it for brass, I find it messy and use the sonic cleaner for small parts, like tang sights where there lots of nooks and crannies......but even for that, a toothbrush, dish detergent like Dawn and hot water works just as well...
I have five vibrators and a Thumblers Tumbler.......and as much as I shoot anymore I might as well throw em in the trash.....
I understand with the bp cases...nasty.....a 1/8 cup of simple green and water in the sonic cleaner makes em like new.
Heck, if your rich just buy new brass and throw the old away.....it's only money that your kids will use to go to the islands with.
I haven't tossed either of my vibratory tumblers. I never said they don't clean brass well. Nor have I scrapped my sonic cleaner. But yes, the clean primer pockets is important to me... whether there is scientific proof or not, it's a confidence thing. I have always gotten better groups when clean primer pockets then not having cleaned them. The "tale of the tape" is scientific enough for me!
OldWin wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 8:44 pmI think the wet tumbling does a great job. The biggest draw for me it the primer pockets. However, I just can't justify buying new stuff when my 20 year old Dillon keeps right on chugging along. And, if it breaks, they'll most likely send me a new one.
If I were just starting out, I'd probably go the wet tumble route. But I have to save my money to buy primers. :D
If you have the 2000 model and either they or you have a record of its sale, they'll honor that model's warranty, (No BS), but... the 2001 doesn't have the same warranty. In fact, after they put a new motor in my 2000, when it was returned they stated the No BS warranty no longer applied as they no longer had access to those motors.
1894cfan wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 9:05 pmGriff, you having any problems with the lid seals? There's several reviews on Midway that complain about leaking seals.
Only when I didn't tighten them enough. But... fair warning, when you think they're tight enough, tighten them a little more! Channel your inner "Guido"... you know, the trained gorilla that tightens the lever screws at the Uberti factory! :P
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by marlinman93 »

I switched to a wet tumbler a decade ago with my Lortone. A great tumbler, and gave me nice clean brass. But when Midway was discontinuing their Northern brand tumblers with a large 1000 .223 case capacity for $49 I bought a 2nd tumbler just for the extra volume.
One of the best pieces of reloading equipment I ever bought are my two wet tumblers. The Northern is not only larger, but has a timer so I set it and forget it.
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by OldWin »

Yeah Griff, I have the 2000.
About 10 years ago, lightning fried the AC plug on my Dillon Determinator digital scale. I called them just to see if I could get a new cord. I told them the scale still worked on battery power and that I suspected it was lightning.
The guy asked for the model number, and he laughed when I told him. He said that was the very first model they made and it must be very old. He said he would look and see if they had any of the cords around, but that they were out of production. He also said that if they didn't have one he would send me a new, current model. They ended up finding one and I had it in a few days. I'm still using that scale.
I can't say enough good about Dillon Precision.
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by JB »

A friend of mine has a wet thumber and I thought about buying one, but my dry tumbler seems to work well enough. Truthfully, I seldom clean my brass, although perhaps I should do it a little more often.
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Griff »

OldWin wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 6:17 pmI can't say enough good about Dillon Precision.
Neither can I. In 2021 my 550B that I bought in 1987 gave up the ghost. The main ram wobbled and the whole thing twisted whenever you seated a primer... I called Dillon and they laughed, said to take everything off of it and send it to 'em. 10 days later I had a new 550C!
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by OldWin »

Griff wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 10:43 pm
OldWin wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 6:17 pmI can't say enough good about Dillon Precision.
Neither can I. In 2021 my 550B that I bought in 1987 gave up the ghost. The main ram wobbled and the whole thing twisted whenever you seated a primer... I called Dillon and they laughed, said to take everything off of it and send it to 'em. 10 days later I had a new 550C!
Haha! My 550 doesn't even have the "B" on it. It has some serious miles on it, but still cranks em out.
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Bill in Oregon »

I went to a Thumler's big red and SS pins several years ago. The system is not without issues -- occasional pins stuck in flash holes and the problem of smaller cases lodging in larger ones. But the brass really does come out brand shiny new.
I used to run two of the Midway vibratory tumblers -- one for coarse clean and one for polish. The wet system works a lot better, at least for me.
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by marlinman93 »

I use small ceramic pins in both of my wet tumblers, and they're a bit larger than SS pins, so never get caught in flash holes. But still small enough to get in and clean primer pockets.
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Griff »

The SS pins that came with Frankford Arsenal kit are longer than a large primer pocket is wide, and skinny enough that it would quite a few to get stuck in a flash hole. And yeah the timer on it is great!
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Re: Clean Brass

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Vall, I have a small tub pf ceramic media. Just haven't swapped it out for the SS pins yet.
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