Sgt. Hochbauer, SASS #64409 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 I had purchased one of the wet tumblers and found the brass for sure came out cleaner inside than using the vibratory tumbler. But my brass did not come out nice and shiny as did my friends. Although I did have a batch or two that did come out nice and also using their solution. That said I found for the most part it was more of a pain to separate the pins and get the results I was hoping for and let it sit. I am a darksider and do try to bring a jug of soapy water with me to a match or do it when I get home. Yes I did have some green crusty brass too. I deprimed a bunch of brass and tried the FA tumbler but used distilled rather than tap water and again their solution and nothing else. What an amazing difference brass almost looked brand new. The once or twice I did have good results was probably due to using the water from my dehumidifier. Its still a pain to separate the media but what a difference. Sgt H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catlow4697 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 I got one for myself for xmass and been running two batches a day . I use well water ,about 2oz of dish soap and a quarter of a teaspoon of lemon shine. Run it two hours and my brass comes out super clean inside and outside and clean primer pockets. I have been using my Dillon dry meadia separator and a garden hose , this seems to work the best for me. The ss pins fall to the bottom of the tub ..Just pour most of the water out of the tub and then pour the pins back in to the tumbler. I haven't used the Frankfort end caps since the first time ,Just to big a pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Do you pre-soak the BP brass in a water/vinegar solution? You should..... What media are you using? Do you rinse it after each use? I have used Dave Maurer's media since I started wet tumbling and never an issue. All brass comes out looking like polished gold, inside and out. https://shilohrifle.com/cleaning-supplies/ceramic-media/ OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G W Wade Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Try putting a magnet inside a plastic bag. Invert and remove bag catching the pins inside the bag by turning the bag inside out. If your using steel pins GW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 1 hour ago, G W Wade said: Try putting a magnet inside a plastic bag. Invert and remove bag catching the pins inside the bag by turning the bag inside out. If your using steel pins GW Thanks for the tip. I got Sawmill Mary a Frankford Arsenal tumbler for Christmas. But they didn't have the magnet in stock. I don't know why I didn't think of that. I have an automated saw blade grinding machine that uses oil to cool the grinding wheel. I use magnets in a Ziploc bag to pull the steel grinding dust from the oil. Would work the same but I just discard the mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D. Daily Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Make sure you remove the brass immediately after the timer times out. I made the mistake the 1st time I used mine. I stated a batch just before bedtime;so, the clean brass sat in the solution for 4 hours before I removed & rinsed for several hours. It came out clean but tarnished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Rinse the brass twice in cold water, when it comes out of the tumbler. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadshot Dan Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Do you have to deprime the brass before running it through the wet tumbler? What works best the steel pins or ceramic media. Been thinking about getting one of these for a while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 I use an RCBS media separator to separate SS pin or ceramic media from the brass. Drain off as much dirty water as I can from the tumbler drum and then dump the contents into the media separator basket. Fill the tub with just enough water to cover the brass plus 1/2 inch. Rotate the drum so that the brass rises above the water level and then tumbles back in. After 25 or so revolutions Drain off as much dirty water as possible without loosing and of the pins or ceramic media. repeat two more times or until the water no longer is soapy. Drain off as much water as possible without loosing any pins or ceramic media. Pour the media and what little water remain back into your tumbler drum for use the next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Lud Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 I run it without any media at all with just the FA solution and it comes out great. I have never used the pins and don’t plan to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Solo Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 The FA rotary media seperator is what I use, dump the brass and pins in, roll the handle for 30 seconds and that gets 99.9% of the pins out. As for the shininess, I use a dry tumbler with walnut media and a touch of turtle wax polish and just dry tumble the completed rounds. Comes out prettier and shinier than factory and still no lead to worry about in the dry tumbling. Plus the polish basically makes it so the rounds more or less are tarish proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyliefoxEsquire Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Try dish washing machine detergent. Then use an auto wash-wax combo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Mak Jack, SASS #55905 Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Thanks guys. Your post have convinced me that I do not need a wet tumbler. I just throw mine in some walnut shell media and when done dump into container. No rinsing etc etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodyMaverick Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 12 hours ago, Deadshot Dan said: Do you have to deprime the brass before running it through the wet tumbler? What works best the steel pins or ceramic media. Been thinking about getting one of these for a while now. You do not have to deprime first but if you don't you're missing out on one of the advantages of wet tumbling. Both types of media work very well but being able to pick up some stray media with a magnet can very handy at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Sawmill Mary just opened her FA tumbler and read the directions (It's a woman thing - real men don't need to read direction or maps. ). What I'm hoping to gain is cleaner brass without the dust of the vibration cleaner. I pre-soak in water, soap and Lemi Shine anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Culpepper 32827 Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 28 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said: Sawmill Mary just opened her FA tumbler and read the directions (It's a woman thing - real men don't need to read direction or maps. ). What I'm hoping to gain is cleaner brass without the dust of the vibration cleaner. I pre-soak in water, soap and Lemi Shine anyway. you are both going to love it,,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 2 hours ago, Dee Mak Jack, SASS #55905 said: Thanks guys. Your post have convinced me that I do not need a wet tumbler. I just throw mine in some walnut shell media and when done dump into container. No rinsing etc etc etc I gave up dry for wet when I had my blood tested for lead. No more lead dust floating around. Inside of cases are cleaned. No concerned about where a safe place would be to dump the contaminated tumbling media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailboss (Santa) Dave Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 We shoot a lot of BP blanks Reenacting and I picked up an FA wet tumbler, about a year ago and IMHO it is the only way to go I deprime 1st.' then I use a little Dawn dish soup and a splash of Vinegar Makes the brass look almost as good as new I do wash my pins between each batch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 15 hours ago, Deadshot Dan said: Do you have to deprime the brass before running it through the wet tumbler? What works best the steel pins or ceramic media. Been thinking about getting one of these for a while now. Yes- OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 3 hours ago, Dee Mak Jack, SASS #55905 said: Thanks guys. Your post have convinced me that I do not need a wet tumbler. I just throw mine in some walnut shell media and when done dump into container. No rinsing etc etc etc Hope you're wearing a dust mask when do'n the separating........ Lots of lead in the dust/media. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackface Charlie Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 I use a Lyman wet tumbler with a cap of their solution. Run two hours---rinse in the separator then dump into a Rockford arsenal media separator. Brass comes out looking like new. I do not de-prime first. Tried that----brass is so dirty it just made a mess of my case feeder and case feeder tube. If I had room for a second press I might run a de-prime only set up but limited on space. Every now and then I'll have a run where I might jam a half a dozen primers but that is because I find myself gripping the handle on the 650 as opposed to staying light and smooth when priming.. I'd be interested in ideas on de-priming and mitigating the dirt problems on the press? What'cha all doing for that?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbwire Benn Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Went wet - ain't going Back! Got a Black Friday deal on a F/A set up. Cleaned all my brass I had stored up in about 8-9 batches. Just... Water-Dawn-LemiShine (No Media). Looks like Santa's jolly elves cleaned all my brass by hand. As clean as this method gets the brass using Dawn dish soap, Its necessary to lube the cases prior to reloading. A good spray with "One Shot" and I'm back to the presses. Gonna try the Amor-All car wash recipe soon to see if that helps lube the brass a little I could tell from the first batch that this is a "much" cleaner way to reload, no dust and debris from the dry vibrator method and my priming station on my Dillon is much cleaner. Go Wet....you wont regret ! BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 26 minutes ago, Blackface Charlie said: I do not de-prime first. Tried that----brass is so dirty it just made a mess of my case feeder and case feeder tube. We use a tool to deprime brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackface Charlie Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 I have hand de capper but I load so much that took way to much time. I'm generally loading a few thousand rounds a month, 9, 10, 45 and now 45LC. Hand de-capping would take forever. But---you are correct---that is one way to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 16 minutes ago, Blackface Charlie said: I have hand de capper but I load so much that took way to much time. I'm generally loading a few thousand rounds a month, 9, 10, 45 and now 45LC. Hand de-capping would take forever. But---you are correct---that is one way to do it. It really don't take any time at all if you do it while you're watching a movie or waiting for supper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 I also got a Lee universal decapping die and use it in my Lee hand press. The guy in this video shows how to zip through cases quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadshot Dan Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 58 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said: We use a tool to deprime brass. Howdy Warden like the looks of the black decapper better than the frankfurt, just wandering if these are available for sale? I take it they don't do any damage to the rim of the brass. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 The one I have was custom made many years ago. The one in the picture is marketed by Shiloh Rifle. https://shilohrifle.com/cleaning-supplies/de-priming-tool/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Dry tumble your brass as you normally would do. Then wet tumble the same brass. If dry cleans your brass why is the wet water so dirty? I figure the cleaner my brass the less wear and tear on my dies. No it isn't a requirement to Deprime if you wet tumble. I Deprime unless it my SASS reloads. I use a Harvey Deprimer. https://harveydeprimer.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Drifter Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 dry tumbling gets the job done just fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 3 hours ago, Warden Callaway said: I also got a Lee universal decapping die and use it in my Lee hand press. The guy in this video shows how to zip through cases quickly. What I use. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 36 minutes ago, Hillbilly Drifter said: dry tumbling gets the job done just fine Only folks that haven't tried 'wet', say that. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Drifter Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 2 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: Only folks that haven't tried 'wet', say that. OLG Maybe but it works just fine nonetheless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadshot Dan Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 3 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: What I use. OLG Howdy Lumpy, Just saying i was going to get a lee hand press to deprime to go the wet route anyway. Would the hand press be suitable to do small batch loading for say 45-70. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 3 minutes ago, Hillbilly Drifter said: Maybe but it works just fine nonetheless Felt the same as you, till I got into BPCR loading. Went 'wet' with rotary and ceramic, will never go 'dry' again. DD-YES, would be great for that, it takes STD size dies and shell holder. I just use a universal de-caping die and change shell holder as needed. Make sure to keep the hand-press's pivot points oiled. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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