1st attempt at wet tumbling

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

I was pretty slow being convinced to try wet tumbling but since my last lead level was 17.9 I thought I’d give it a try. I decided on the Frankford Arsenal Platinum 7L. It has a 3 hour timer and Bass Pro Shop had them on sale for $149.98 and free shipping.   I ran my first batch of .38 special and didn’t deprime, too much extra work to me. I just used water and the cleaning solution sample that came with the kit. From the results I think that’s what I’ll continue to use. I ran this batch for 2 hours and I’m extremely happy with the results. I guess I’m hooked now!

 

Randy

 

[Warden Callaway]

Toad-yha. 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

I use a 9mm case of Lemishine and a good healthy squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid.   About 90 minutes does a good job.   I have abandoned the lizard litter tumbling mess.   

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Rinse twice when the cases come out of the tumble.

Dry in oven, if you can. 

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

38 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Rinse twice when the cases come out of the tumble.

Dry in oven, if you can. 

I did rinse quite a bit, the Bunkhouse Boss vetoed the plan to dry it in the oven.

[Eyesa Horg]

Food dehydrators work well for drying. Keep an eye out at yard sales.

[Tucker McNeely]

Frankford has a screen kit that I like to use.  I know, there's always more to the original kit.  Something worth looking into.  Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Sifting Caps Pack of 2 | SCHEELS.com

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

I use whatever is the  cheapest auto wash and wax from wally world + ¼ teaspoon of Lemi-Shine

 

leaves a thin coating that keeps the shells from tarnishing--some over 3 years old still bright and shiny

 

remember you can get the primers corroded in the primer pockets if you let them in there too long--this is why I deprime first--but totally understand the 'too much work' part of your post

 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

I'm not allowed to cook brass in the kitchen oven either.  I just put them on a towel on a Tupperware tote lid and put them out in the sun.  They mostly dry in a couple of hours.  I then leave them on my workbench for a couple of days to finish drying before I put them in the appropriate tub.   I'm not normally in a rush to reload them anyway.  I have lots of brass.  

[Chief Rick]

An old food dehydrator for drying, takes about two hours at max temp.

 

This is what I use to clean.

[TN Mongo, SASS #61450]

Good job Randy!  You just need a cheap, or used, food dehydrator to dry the brass quickly.  Below is a link to one from WalMart.

 

Btwd 5 Tray Food Dehydrator in Black with Auto Shut Off - Walmart.com

[OldguyZ]

For drying, food dehydrators are a great tool.

[Texas Jack Black]

2 hours ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

I did rinse quite a bit, the Bunkhouse Boss vetoed the plan to dry it in the oven.

 Take the roast out first and she may change her mind.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

14 hours ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

I did rinse quite a bit, the Bunkhouse Boss vetoed the plan to dry it in the oven.

You ... told her?  What is wrong with you, man??  She may be the Boss but there are some things a man needs to keep to himself.

[Eyesa Horg]

And after all, they are clean brass.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

I STOLE one of the Boss's lingerie washing/drying fine mesh bags and I hang the knotted bag inside the door of the clothes dryer set to hot dry.  I shake off the excess water in a towel before putting it into her delicates bag, give the bag a shake once or twice while drying and it is bone dry in a half hour to 45 minutes.

[Snakebite]

Glad you are pleased with the results. I switched to wet tumbling a few years back after 40+ years of vibrating my brass. There is no comparison. I choose to use the SS media. After several threads on the subject with a number of guys claiming that this or that is just as good, I tried them all. They all worked plenty good enough for reloading... but NOTHING works as well as the SS media IMO. It just depends upon whether you are showing your brass at the local Drive in Car Show or showing it at the Concours d'Elegance. I prefer the latter. As for drying, I put it into a Throw style aluminum Turkey pan and put them into the oven at 200 degrees. 

[Tennessee williams]

I don't dry mine in the oven neither. That's where I hide my money. Safest place in the house. Right along with the bottom of the laundry basket. My wife'll never find it in either place.

[Silver Creek Jack]

Dehydrator, only way to go for me!

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

4 hours ago, Tucker McNeely said:

Frankford has a screen kit that I like to use.  I know, there's always more to the original kit.  Something worth looking into.  Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Sifting Caps Pack of 2 | SCHEELS.com

Not exactly like those but my kit came with caps to drain the water and contain the cases.

 

Randy

[Badlands Bob #61228]

If you decide to use the pins, the best way to get them out of your cases is using water and your media separator.  Just run the hose over the media separator into a large tub or bucket.  The pins will all end up in the bottom of the tub.  If you can totally submerge the brass in water while inside your media separator, it will work even better.  You can  the pins dry and then pick them up with a magnetic transfer tool.  

 

Using the SS pins will make the inside as shiny as the outside.

[Captain Bill Burt]

11 hours ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

I'm not allowed to cook brass in the kitchen oven either.  I just put them on a towel on a Tupperware tote lid and put them out in the sun.  They mostly dry in a couple of hours.  I then leave them on my workbench for a couple of days to finish drying before I put them in the appropriate tub.   I'm not normally in a rush to reload them anyway.  I have lots of brass.  

I’ve found a few hours in a cardboard box sitting in the sun works fine. 
 

I have never used any tumbling media, just Lemi Shine and Armor All wash and wax. 

[Buffalo Bill Mathewson, 37826]

I dry in the oven. Set time bake for an hour at 250. You do want to remove brass before resetting temp to 450 to bake a pizza. Just incase of a live round making its way into the wet tumble.

[Mister Badly]

14 hours ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

I did rinse quite a bit, the Bunkhouse Boss vetoed the plan to dry it in the oven.

I use the pins. After I tumble and rinse I use the media separator to collect the pins. The brass then goes in a large bag made from a thick bath or beach towel and gets shaken for a few minutes then dumped on a towel on my bench. I push them flat so they don't hold water and turn a fan on to blow across them. I deprime before tumbling. If it's warm and sunny I bake them in the sun. The pins get the inside shiny so I can verify my powder drops. I use a Lee 4 hole turret press so I check the charge as I set the bullet on the case.

[Sedalia Dave]

When using the pins or ceramic media and a media separator, Do not put more than 200 to 300 or so pieces  of brass in it at a time.  Keeps all the pins from falling out.

 

For drying I use inexpensive cookie sheets. Buy the three pack at the dollar store. Spread the brass on them so that all the cases are laying flat and sit in the sun. They'll dry in a couple of hours. In the winter I bring them inside and lay them where a small fan can blow across them.

 

The cooking sheets work great for other things. I use them to sort out 357 brass from the 38 specials. I use them when reloading, fill a sheet with all laying flat and give them a light coat of Hornady One Shot. Because the trays are stackable they take up very little space when not in use. 

 

[Choctaw Jack]

I use toaster ovens from the 2nd hand store.

They can usually be bought for very little money, and most have at least one shelf, so they capacity isn't too bad.

I also bought a couple of baskets from a store that specializes in kitchen gadgets .They are made of a type of expanded metal mesh and they fit in the ovens really well.

I set the timer on the ovens for a couple of hours and the temperature between 150-200 degrees.

Does a great job.

[Deuce Stevens SASS#55996]

No de-deprrime. Brass juice. Lyman cyclone dryer. So easy. Way too much black magic induced in this procedure. 

[Texas Maverick]

16 hours ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

I did rinse quite a bit, the Bunkhouse Boss vetoed the plan to dry it in the oven.

Find a dehydrator and use it. Takes up very little room and does a great job or if here in Texas I just lay them out on a cookie sheet on the tailgate of my truck and the sun does the rest.

 

 

TM

[TN Mongo, SASS #61450]

In another lifetime, I used to wash my practice golf balls in the washing machine.  I was on the wife's S**t list for quite a while after that mistake.

[Eyesa Horg]

How do they (the wives) feel about cap guns in the dishwasher? Not our fault we see the utility in kitchen appliances. They're not just for women anymore.

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

23 hours ago, Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L said:

I use whatever is the  cheapest auto wash and wax from wally world + ¼ teaspoon of Lemi-Shine

 

leaves a thin coating that keeps the shells from tarnishing--some over 3 years old still bright and shiny

 

remember you can get the primers corroded in the primer pockets if you let them in there too long--this is why I deprime first--but totally understand the 'too much work' part of your post

 

I got out all the water I could then spread them on an old towel on the garage floor with a fan blowing across them for several hours. I loaded 100 rounds today after checking inside each case to verify they were dry.  They loaded easy and seemed like less resistance than loading dry tumbled brass. I think I’m sold on the wet tumbling.

 

Randy

[Krazy Kajun]

I use the Frankford Arsenal one you have and it works very well.  I used the pins ONE TIME, still finding them little devils on my basement floor every now and then.  Them little boogers are good at bending a decapping pin when you don't find them too. Brass that is shiny on the inside doesn't shoot any faster or more accurately than brass shiny only on the outside. 

 

Like others I use a squirt of Dawn dish soap and a 9mm case of Lemishine...it works very well.  I bought this food dehydrator and ordered these extra trays.  I have a total of 11 trays and I can dry 1000 pieces of 38sp brass at a time.  I use this inexpensive lamp timer and dry for about 5 hours on high.  I clean brass about twice a year.....whenever my 3 gallon bucket is full. 

 

As always YMMV.  TW tells me if you hang a chicken foot nearby it might make your rounds a little more accurate too. 

 

Kajun

[Mayhem Mae]

I picked up a salad spinner at a thrift store for $5. Gets almost all the water and stubborn pins out. 

[Anvil Al #59168]

Like you. I have been slow to the wet tumble. 

 

Still not there. But plan to when the old tumbler goes out.

But the thing just keeps on working. lol  

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

45 minutes ago, Anvil Al #59168 said:

Like you. I have been slow to the wet tumble. 

 

Still not there. But plan to when the old tumbler goes out.

But the thing just keeps on working. lol  

I have 2 dry tumblers that still work fine but with a 17.9 lead level I thought maybe I should try something else.

 

Randy