Wet tumbled for the first time

jmccracken1214

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HOLY CRAP!

Should have started this a long time ago. 30 min in the tumbler, brass came out looking freaking new!

I bought a salad spinner for $10 at Walmart that separates all the pins from the brass in just a few spins, then got a mesh baking sheet and a small fan. Blew the brass off with the air compressor, put em on the sheet, and fan had then dry in a few hours. The 3lbs tumbler held 1lb of pins and 50 pieces of 6.5CM brass.

Totally worth it!

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For precision, wet tumbling gets the inside of the case and the primer pockets clean, and for me......I got tired of all the dust with corn cob or walnut media. I'm going to sell my rotary tumblers whenever I go back up in the attic.
 
Cool. Thanks.
I have always considered wet tumbling as a tool for muddy nasty range pickups but overkill for just being fired.
Have you ever tried just corn cob and a little polish? Mine comes out beautiful.
Cool. Thanks.
I have always considered wet tumbling as a tool for muddy nasty range pickups but overkill for just being fired.
Have you ever tried just corn cob and a little polish? Mine comes out beautiful.

I used walnut media before. 4-6 hours to get them looking like this does in 30 minutes. And the primer pockets didnt need to be touched, like I had to go back and clean when I did the walnut.

30 minutes in the tumbler, rinsed, seperated pins, blew off with air compressor, put in that baking sheet with a small fan, and dry 2-3 hours after initial start, ready to be loaded.
 
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I used walnut media before. 4-6 hours to get them looking like this does in 30 minutes. And the primer pockets didnt need to be touched, like I had to go back and clean when I did the walnut.

30 minutes in the tumbler, rinsed, seperated pins, blew off with air compressor, put in that baking sheet with a small fan, and dry 2-3 hours after initial start, ready to be loaded.


In the summer, just leave em out in the sun after shaking them out and they dry quickly
 
Crap so what, NOW I have to get a wet tumbler. With all the drones and reloadin ill be poor

The harbor freight one is fine, with a 20% coupon, it was $38 OTD i believe. The main issue people have with them, are the belts breaking, some do, some dont. mine came with 5 spares, but when one breaks, theres plenty of links to people using O rings that work great for cheap, thats what ill replace it with. And 1lb of pins was less than $14 on amazon
 
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The harbor freight one is fine, with a 20% coupon, it was $38 OTD i believe. The main issue people have with them, are the belts breaking, some do, some dont. mine came with 5 spares, but when one breaks, theres plenty of links to people using O rings that work great for cheap, thats what ill replace it with. And 1lb of pins was less than $14 on amazon
My HF tumbler is almost 5 years old with the original belt. Use it at least twice a month. Its been absolutely fine.
I also use a HF dehydrator to dry with. After coupon, $20ish out the door. It too has been fin
 
My HF tumbler is almost 5 years old with the original belt. Use it at least twice a month. Its been absolutely fine.
I also use a HF dehydrator to dry with. After coupon, $20ish out the door. It too has been fin

I didnt know they had a dehydrator! I didnt want to spend $35 on one at amazon or walmart, so I just bought the $14 fan. dang!
 
In the summer time, you can make a screen rack that sits on top of the outside AC unit - dry in no time. Leave in the sun on a hot dry day works, too. I've even used the shoe rack in the clothes dryer before, but that uses a lot of power. During the really cold spell we had recently, I put the brass in front of the fireplace insert with the hot air blowing on them. Most often, though, I use a screen rack in front of the box fan in my shop.

One disadvantage with wet tumbling is that the brass can stick on the expander (straight wall pistol). The residue left over from dry tumbling acts as a lube of sorts, but the perfectly clean brass will stick to an expander, like a Chinese finger lock. It will sometimes leave streaks of brass on the expander. When I switched from Dawn to Armorall wash-n-wax, the problem mostly went away. The thin film of carnuba wax acts as a lube of sorts. I have also seen this problem - though much worse - with brand new Starline 44mag brass. I finally had to use some One-Shot lube, sprayed down into the case mouths, so I could prep the brass for loading.
 
While pretty, many benchrest shooters have found that brass that is as "clean as new" does not shoot as accurately as brass that has a slightly dirty (inside) neck. The friction encountered as the bullet releases from the neck is more consistent when there is something (residual carbon) there.
 
I didnt know they had a dehydrator! I didnt want to spend $35 on one at amazon or walmart, so I just bought the $14 fan. dang!
I bought one based on @Mike Overlay's advice...but haven't used it.

I do need to grab a salad spinner, though. I used the FART and got most of the pins out that way. Used the Frankford magnet to grab the rest.
 
3 hrs in the oven or just leave them sit overnight. They'll dry on their own at room temp if you shake em around in a towel first.

I never need brass that clean really fast since I just do batches and store em ready to load. Wet tumbled, resized and trimmed, wet tumbled again, then dried.
 
3 hrs in the oven or just leave them sit overnight.

I set the oven at 225 (for the obvious reason) and mistakenly left the brass in for 3 hours once and it lost its luster. I think the Lemishine reacted with the brass under the heat and oxidized it, but the color was wrong. It was still clean and shot fine, but if nice sparkly brass is the goal, and if you are wet tumbing it is, be careful with how much Lemishine you use and how long you apply heat. I now run the oven at 175.

I have not tried dehydrator drying, though I am certain that would be much better, but were I to go that way, I would need a bigger bench. If I am going to build another bench, I am going to build one that is much larger than required for the hydrator. Then I will have more space to fill one less restriction on why I should not.

Then you need a larger house; then comes the divorce attorney that I can't affors unless they will take ammo in trade, and then comes rehab and a 12 step program.

No I will pass on the dehydrator.
 
The harbor freight one is fine, with a 20% coupon, it was $38 OTD i believe. The main issue people have with them, are the belts breaking, some do, some dont. mine came with 5 spares, but when one breaks, theres plenty of links to people using O rings that work great for cheap, thats what ill replace it with. And 1lb of pins was less than $14 on amazon

I've used mine for 3 yrs and still on Belt 1.0
 
I put tumble my brass for no more than a hour. I want to keep some carbon in the necks for seating bullets. This is for precision rifle only.
 
I don't see how the salad spinner gets pins out of the brass? Seems to me you would either have to dump them manually or shake them - a lot.
 
I set the oven at 225 (for the obvious reason) and mistakenly left the brass in for 3 hours once and it lost its luster. I think the Lemishine reacted with the brass under the heat and oxidized it, but the color was wrong. It was still clean and shot fine, but if nice sparkly brass is the goal, and if you are wet tumbing it is, be careful with how much Lemishine you use and how long you apply heat. I now run the oven at 175.

I have not tried dehydrator drying, though I am certain that would be much better, but were I to go that way, I would need a bigger bench. If I am going to build another bench, I am going to build one that is much larger than required for the hydrator. Then I will have more space to fill one less restriction on why I should not.

Then you need a larger house; then comes the divorce attorney that I can't affors unless they will take ammo in trade, and then comes rehab and a 12 step program.

No I will pass on the dehydrator.

I use a toaster oven at about the same temp, and never have a lost of luster. One trick to keep brass shiny is to use Armor-All wash and wax. Keeps the brass and citric acid from oxidation.
 
I don't see how the salad spinner gets pins out of the brass? Seems to me you would either have to dump them manually or shake them - a lot.
I've switched to a dif style pin. It gets all the pins and brass separated except for the few that remain inside, I always pick them up and shake em a tad anyways to make sure.
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I've switched to a dif style pin. It gets all the pins and brass separated except for the few that remain inside, I always pick them up and shake em a tad anyways to make sure.
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jewelry mix. I've seen mixes with 3 kinds of media in it but pins work well for me. I use a magnet to separate pins so usually never have to handle the brass much
 
Is this the wet tumbler yall are talking about?
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I had the same reaction the first time I wet tumbled. I was hooked and tumbled every piece of brass I had haha.
 
When I switched from Dawn to Armorall wash-n-wax, the problem mostly went away.

Good tip. I will try that one. I hate having to lube the case necks to expand them and then put them back in the vibratory tumbler to remove the lube. This sounds like the ticket out that He**.
 
Can also tumble without pins if the brass is relatively clean. Comes out just as clean.

The belts last a long time as long as they stay relatively warm. Mine fail when trying to use cold belts. I store my tumbler in the attic.
 
I tried it once. Loved it. Then I tried to figure out what to do with the water afterward. I am on a septic system. I really don't want to dump the leftover nasty water down the drain. Do any of you do anything to dispose of it or is it right into the sewer or septic?
 
I put mine into the septic system, its just water, Dawn, and Lemishine. The carbon is not much compared to the burnt offerings my wife serves on occasion!!!!
What about the lead, arsenic, and other nasties in the primer/primer/bullet? If it isn't a concern, that would be great, but I'd like to know what's in it. I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't lick my fingers after handling fired brass...
 
What about the lead, arsenic, and other nasties in the primer/primer/bullet? If it isn't a concern, that would be great, but I'd like to know what's in it. I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't lick my fingers after handling fired brass...
I bet you’d lick your finger after touching a once fired piece of brass before you’d lick a turd.
 
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