Thinking of changing over to rotary tumbling

[hundy]

Hello, I have been using various corn and walnut media in vibratory tumbling machines for years. I have been thinking about changing over to rotary tumbling. I have been impressed with how clean the whole case gets. I have read a lot online and watched many videos.

The two questions I have that I have not really noticed anyone cover in their reviews is:

Do you ever have any issues with steel pins staying in the case after drying and tumbling?

The electric brass dryers I have seen where you lay the brass flat and run for a period of time; have you had any issues, where the brass still has water or moisture inside it after?

Thank you,

Jay

['ol shooter]

I use the bigger pins that member Stilly sold, the small pins tend to stick in the primer pockets. The way I dry my brass is to first roll them back and forth a few times in a bath towel, then lay flat on baking sheets in the kitchen oven at the lowest setting, mine is 170 degrees, and let them bake for two hours. They come out nice and dry.

[Capybara]

I concur, I don't have any issues with pins in the cases.

We live in California boys, I just put em on a towel and set them on my patio for an hour. Some people like buying more and more machines to do everything, why? Just set 'em in the hot sun for an hour or two.

[Revoman]

Capybara has it right.
No need for an extra piece of kit, just dry in the sun. I sometimes don't even use the sun and simply let them sit overnight on a towel in my non-conditioned garage. Next day give em another shake as 'ol shooter described in a towel, and they're good to go.

[golfish]

I use a combo of pins and chips. I feel the chips do a better job cleaning ...

[RickD427]

I've been wet tumbling for a few years now.

It has some pros and some cons compared to dry tumbling, but as a whole, I prefer wet tumbling.

Yes, I have experienced some cases with the pins remaining in the cases. But I've found the following process to work well (addressed primarily to bottleneck rifle rounds):

1) After wet tumbling, I put the cases into a drain pan with a 3" sidewall. I rinse several times, pouring the rinse water into a catch bucket. Plan on some of the pins going into the bucket.

2) I then remove each case from the pan, give it a shake, or smash the mouth against the side of the pan to remove the pins and then put it on the dryer tray. That gets most of the pins, but some are going to remain in place due to the surface tension of the water.

3) I then use a dryer to dry the brass. I always find a few pins that fall loose from the dry brass.

It's kinda time-consuming, but for my benchrest rifle rounds, I'm very particular about the brass preparation. Some folks have noted that benchrest shooters tend to be a little fussy about things.

For my "High Volume" reloading of handgun cartridges, I'll use a media separator to remove the pins. It seems to work a lot better on straight sided casings. Bottleneck cases and media separators don't seem to work very well together.

[hambam105]

Until I started reforming brass cases. And I learned about using water-soluble case lube.

After working with a Reloader much more experienced that me, I was totally surprised to see him start the brass
cleaning process using a dishpan full of hot soapy water.

He didn't go to a rotary tumbler but he did use a uncovered vibrator machine in conjunction with using sunlight.
And when the sun went down he used the kitchen oven.

Your reloading purposes, your time and your techniques will influence you as to how far down this financial rabbit
hole you intend to go.

[mikeyr]

i am thinking of trying without pins, others here have said it worked just as good as with pins. And less hassle.

[CptDan]

I wet tumble without pins, using Amorall Car wash and a 45 acp shell with lemishine. I do decap before tumbling and then size the clean dry brass. My dies like that. Then I prime.

[drkphibr]

Originally Posted by mikeyr

i am thinking of trying without pins, others here have said it worked just as good as with pins. And less hassle.

If you search for “tumbling media jeweler’s mix” on the rain forest you’ll find a number of alternatives to the challenge with certain SS pin sizes. Easier on the cleanup/magnet side, IMO, than the tiny/thin pins.

[Tripplet918]

I use a food dehydrator to dry. No issues. I have also set them on tarps and they dry out in 2 days.

[divingin]

Originally Posted by RickD427

Yes, I have experienced some cases with the pins remaining in the cases. But I've found the following process to work well (addressed primarily to bottleneck rifle rounds):

1) After wet tumbling, I put the cases into a drain pan with a 3" sidewall. I rinse several times, pouring the rinse water into a catch bucket. Plan on some of the pins going into the bucket.

I used to do things pretty much like you do, but then got an FA media separator (5 gal bucket with a rotating basket.) Much faster, and I rarely saw pins remaining in the brass.

That said, I've largely gone back to dry tumbling for pistol brass. Rifle brass [for a bolt gun] gets steel wooled on the neck and that's about it.

[broadside]

I wet tumble in a FA rotary setup. Some wash-n-wax and citric acid for canning added to the water. Use SS pins.

Empty into an FA separator and rinse a couple times.

Dump onto a 2ft x 4ft box with heavy screen on the underside, sitting on sawhorses. Hand toss/move the brass around a bit. If inside the garage, set fan on top blowing across.

Once dry, move the brass around a bunch again to get rid of any pins that may have been stuck from surface tension.

Use magnet to pick up any pins from the ground.

[67Cuda]

For separating the pins, I used an RBCS media separator. A few turns and everything is separated.

[NeilMo]

I don't use SS pins either. A cap full of car wash/wax and a pinch of citric acid in just enough water to cover the brass. Tumble for 30 minutes, rinse and drain, then toss in a few small rags and tumble another 10 minutes. Dump them on a towel and run the heat gun over them for about 2 minutes and once they cool they're ready to reload.

[krypto99]

I have not had an issue with pins sticking in the cases. I rinse my brass with fresh water in the media separator after tumbling.
I put brass out side on a towel if it is a sunny day. If it's a cloudy/rainy day I put brass on a towel in the garage and point a fan at it. I do not think a dehydrator is needed where I live.

I'm selling a wet tumbler package with everything you need to get started. Send me PM if you are interested.

https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/....php?t=1792701

[Dirtlaw]

I'm pretty much fixed on ultrasonic / chemical. Easy and the job is well done.

[hundy]

Originally Posted by krypto99

I'm selling a wet tumbler package with everything you need to get started. Send me PM if you are interested.

https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/....php?t=1792701

I did send a PM to you explaining my current situation. Thank you.

[hundy]

I really appreciate all of the feedback on rotary tumbling. One thing I have defiantly learned here is that part of living in California is that I do not need an actual dryer. One actual advantage to living in Southern California.

I do have a case media separator from Midsouth, it's very similar to the RCBS model. So, I am not as worried about the pins as I initially was in the beginning.

I have plenty of time to continue reading reviews and watching videos, as I am on a budget and just bought a rollsizer. That set me back, so I have to wait till mid March. As of right now I am leaning towards a Franklin Arsenal Platinum series, but I am still checking sites and reading reviews and watching videos.

Thank you again,

Jay

[golfish]

Originally Posted by hundy

As of right now I am leaning towards a Franklin Arsenal Platinum series, but I am still checking sites and reading reviews and watching videos.

Thank you again,

Jay

Hey Jay, that's what I use. Along with some SS pins and chips and the FA cleaning solution works really well.

FWIW, I do a final rinse with RO/DI water (equal too or cleaner then distilled water) this cleans off any of the hard water that might be left from out tap water here in Rancho. Then I just dry on an old towel.