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Advice: Wet Tumbling - Pros & Cons


Buckshot Bear

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G'day pards,

 

I'm after some advice on wet tumbling, I'm thinking of moving on from dry tumbling and corn and walnut media.

 

For those who have, are you glad that you did?

 

What are the pros and cons?

 

What hints can you give?

 

I'm thinking of buying the Lyman Cyclone Rotary Tumbler - What do you use?

 

I'm also looking at buying the Lyman electric case dryer (looks like a food dehydrator) - What do you use?

 

Will get one of the media separators (never owned one of them before) that you turn the handle - Any recommendations?

 

Will get a Frankfurt Arsenal magnet pin grabber.

 

Any advice or suggestions appreciated, thanks pards and hope that one and all had a good Christmas. 

 

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Buckshot : Just started to wet tumble. I use a Frankford Arsenal , Platinum rotary tumbler, their Brass dryer. To clean the cases I use Brass Juice case wash no s.s. pins. Cases come out clean and shiny, I also deprime before. So far very happy with the outcome.

                   

Willie

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I use a Frankfurt Arsenal wet Tumbler, use the oven to dry but looking for a food dehydrator, made a screen reinforced to pour the brass and pins on makes it easier to rinse both.

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I also use the Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler.  A very small sprinkle of "Lemi Shine" with a squirt of Dawn dishwashing detergent.  Make sure that you rinse the brass with clean water after tumbling.  I dry the brass on an elevated screen that has a towel across it.  Roll the brass back and forth on the towel to get the drippers off of the brass.

Quick and simple.

 

Good luck,

BS

 

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Have been using a Thumler tumbler for years, it was a gift. 
stainless tumbling media.com pins and separator. Old Nesco food dehydrator.
deprime first, water  a little dish soap, they come out like new. Mine has a rubber insert so it’s quieter than the vibrator, no dust, don’t have to pick media out of the primer pockets.  Pins are probably a one time purchase unlike media. 
cons, overall process takes a little longer. Mine doesn’t  hold as much brass as the vibrator. Initial cost is more if you want all the equipment. 
LF.  

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13 minutes ago, Barry Sloe said:

I also use the Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler.  A very small sprinkle of "Lemi Shine" with a squirt of Dawn dishwashing detergent.  Make sure that you rinse the brass with clean water after tumbling.  I dry the brass on an elevated screen that has a towel across it.  Roll the brass back and forth on the towel to get the drippers off of the brass.

Quick and simple.

 

Good luck,

BS

 

Lemi Shine is a dishwashing additive whose active ingredients are "real fruit acids and natural citrus oils."

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1 minute ago, Buckshot Bear said:

Which one would you choose?

This one. Rebel 17.

584385F9-6891-4F6C-B0FF-C86C824ABEFE.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Buckshot Bear said:

 

I'm a Prime member so its free shipping.....I'll read up on the reviews.

 


 I have one and love it.
 

Only issue I have had is not getting all the pins out of the gasket area before screwing the lids on. 

 

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:ph34r:  After 18 years with a Dillon vibrating  cleaner and walnut/corncob media I got a Lyman on sale and couldn't be happier.  Got the routine down now so it's easy.  NO PINS!  Don't need 'em.....   Fill tumbler 3/4 with cases, distilled water 2" above case level, 1 second squirt of Dawn blue dishwashing liquid and a little less than a 1/4 teaspoon of Lemme Shine.  Set timer 3 hours.  

I have a batch of screened baskets.  The ones that come with the Lyman are very good, but not enough surface area.  Last Sunday I processed a batch of .32 S&W Long brass.  After rinsing I spin them in my RCBS media separator to get most water out, then lay them out on screened surfaces to dry using Ol' Sol.

We had a moderate breeze which also helped.  I shake and rotate ocassionally to speed drying.  Get lots of other things done while giving 15 minute sessions to the process.  All in all it's quicker for me and the end product looks like new brass.

I like the lack of dust and breathable pollutants.  I have a large outdoor industrial sink and dual faucets with large drain adjacent (my building was once a mortuary......) and it centralizes operation and minimizes any mess.

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I’ve got the cyclone also, the trays come in very handy.  This is what I use YMMV:

 

I stopped using pins and started using this: Strat-O-Sheen (you may be able to find a supplier down there); hot water; car wash with wax; ⅛ teaspoon of Lemishine.  

De-prime brass first, drop everything in the cyclone for a couple of hours. When done rinse with cool water, set out in the sun for a day.  On cold/cloudy days I spread them on a moving blanket and put them on the shop floor until dry (usually 24 hours). 

 

Using the Strat-O-Sheen has saved me a lot of work, I don’t have to use a magnet to get all the pins out, never get a pin stuck in the primer hole, never break a de-priming pin.  It only takes about ¾ of a cup for a full load so one box will probably last me years. 

 

For brass SG shells I do all of the above and then I’ll throw them in the vibrator with corn cob to put a final shine.  I go the extra step on these just to make them extra shiny and new looking, I try to make it easier for the brass pickers to see so I get them all back ;)  

 

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I have been using a wet tumbler for a long, long, time, maybe 10+ years, pretty much since we started shooting black powder.  Been using a Thumler's Tumbler, steel pins and a concoction of chemicals derived from a recipe based on the work of John Boy which is posted on the wire somewhere.  Although I must admit that I would have bought the Extreme Rebel 17 if they had been available at the time.  While the plastic roller bearings of the Tumblr have held up, they are the weak link in the design for sure.

 

https://rocktumbler.com/thumlers/model-b.shtml

 

Basically, its Strato-Sheen, that I buy from Rio Grande, Scrubbing Bubbles shower cleaner that you can get lots of places, and a couple of squirts of Dawn Dishwashing detergent, and a secret ingredient.  I separate the pins from the brass with an old fine mesh kitchen sieve, and yes I do have to check the primer pockets for pins, but I am inspecting them anyway so it's not a big deal as they push out with an old dental pick.  Biggest problem is that I am almost out of the secret ingredient, Unicorn Pee, and that stuff is getting harder and harder to find!

 

  https://www.riogrande.com/product/Strat-O-Sheen-Powder-Burnishing-Compound-5-lbs/3390175

 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scrubbing-Bubbles-34-oz-Automatic-Shower-Cleaner-Refill-with-Refreshing-Spa-2-Pack-Case-of-3-70224/301620057

 

As with cleaning BP guns, there are a hundred ways and a thousand special formulas.  Find what works for you, and stick with it, at least until you run out of the secret ingredient!

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, Long Fingers, SASS#56813 said:

Have been using a Thumler tumbler for years, it was a gift. 
stainless tumbling media.com pins and separator. Old Nesco food dehydrator.
deprime first, water  a little dish soap, they come out like new. Mine has a rubber insert so it’s quieter than the vibrator, no dust, don’t have to pick media out of the primer pockets.  Pins are probably a one time purchase unlike media. 
cons, overall process takes a little longer. Mine doesn’t  hold as much brass as the vibrator. Initial cost is more if you want all the equipment. 
LF.  

Use the same make tumbler in the low speed version with ceramic media.

Cases come out looking like polished gold.

Clean primer pockets and spotless inside and out. 

OLG 

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10 hours ago, Buckshot Bear said:

I'm also looking at buying the Lyman electric case dryer (looks like a food dehydrator) - What do you use?

 

 

I made a wood frame out of scrap lumber.  Covered the frame with window insect screen.  Suspend the frame between two chairs.  Put the wet brass on the frame and let air dry. 

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Frankfort Arsenal tumbler

Strat O Sheen burnishing compound

Combo car wash/wax

 

Wash/rinse/repeat (if necessary)

 

Nice desert climate here so I just spread clean brass out on a beach towel and come back a few hours later. 

 

This process couldn't be easier thanks to Yul Lose turning me onto Strat O Sheen.  No need for pins.  No, the inside of the cases don't get quite as shiny as the outside but, so what?  The insides get perfectly clean and the outside look like brand new, that's all I care about.

 

A note on Lemishine:  It's probably not necessary.  Lemishine is an additive that softens water if your tap water has a lot of chemicals and thus makes any sort of soap work better.  No need if you already have halfway clean water to begin with.  Las Vegas city water is absolutely nasty but we have a whole house filter system so no need for Lemishine.  

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I have a large Lyman viberator cleaner, a ultra sonic cleaner and a Extreme Rebel 17 wet tumbler. All work, but none produce a shine like the wet tumbler both inside and out using SS pins. My used 38 brass is always very sooty on the outside because of the low pressure loads used for CAS. Any of the cleaning methodes will get the brass clean enough to reload. I just happen to like it looking like new, and it also helps me to fine split cases a little better. Some of my brass has been used many times. After a couple discussions on this wire about what to use, I ordered Strato-shine and gave it a try. It cleaned ok, but is far from being as effective as the pins in producing a like new shine. I think that my viberator case cleaner with good media did a better job than the Strato Sheen. JMO.  After a couple hours I just set the tumbling tank down on the drive way, remove the top and put in a garden hose turned on low and allow it to flow a few minutes to rinse out the tank and the cases.  I then pour off the bulk of the water, dump into my rotary separator and giive it several turns. All the pins and most of the reamianing water come right out. I don't deprime before cleaning and have never had any problem with pins in the cases. I usually use a little lemmi shine and dawn, but I have never found any detergent that does not work to cut the grime when using the wet tumbler and pins. It's just a matter of how you want your brass to look. Any of the cleaning methods will work well enough to reload. I like the wet tumbler because I don't have to deal with the dust in the viberator unit, and it produces the best final results for me. It takes a little longer.... but the fact is I spend a good part of my day looking for things to do anyway. If you are in a real hurry, and don't care what your brass looks like as long as it is clean enough to reload, then use a untra sonic cleaner. It's fast, and easy, cleans well but doesn't shine the brass. 

 

Snakebite

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10 hours ago, Buckshot Bear said:

Another question - For those on septic systems do you pour the water down the sink?

I manage wastewater systems for a living so may have an informed view on this. Yes, you can pour it down the drain. Dish soap and Lemi-shine are both organics and will be broken down. And the quantity of both is so low that the system won't notice it.

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I have the Frankford Arsenal and love it. I use Yul Lose's method and get great results. Would not go back to dry tumbling.

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14 hours ago, Pee Wee #15785 said:

I use a Frankfurt Arsenal wet Tumbler, use the oven to dry but looking for a food dehydrator, made a screen reinforced to pour the brass and pins on makes it easier to rinse both.

Any gold panning supply will have "classifiers" for segregating gravel.  They are usually round with a plastic frame, and sized to fit snugly in the top of a 5 gal bucket.  There are 4 or 5 screen sizes.  Screen is heavy guage SS, so they don't rust out and they last for years.  Most of them  cost less than $30 (edited after checking current inflation prices).  The 1/4" screen works great for initially dumping drum contents for rinsing.  I drilled 3/4" holes about halfway down one side of a plastic bucket that I use with the screen.  The holes enable a longer rinse, without over-topping the bucket.  The holes are up well off the bottom, so the SS pins don't wash out.  One side of the bucket is left undrilled for dumping out the pins.  

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Yul Lose's Strato-Sheen tip and no SS pins have worked great for me for several years.

 

A used food dehydrator works great for drying brass.  I always look for them at estate and yard sales.  I've never had to pay more than $15 for one.  I've secured food dehydrators for about half a dozen fellow cowboy shooters. 

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Franklin

First tumble with pins Cascade automatic dishwasher detergent & lemi-shine ( very hard water here)

Second no pins combo car wash -wax.

 

95% of brass (including black powder) insides as shiny as outside, wax helps keep them shiny

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Franklin with SS pins, as I like the insides to be clean also, easier to see powder level and cleans the primer pockets. Dry them on a towel and then into the vibratory with corncob with wax polish to make them easier to size.

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