Stainless Pin Tumbling, A Curious Observation

[JohnH]

In the fall I bought the Frankford Arsenal Stainless Pin Tumbler for case cleaning. These days I typically shoot every weekend and run my cases through the system weekly. I have 44 Magnum cases I've been shooting over a couple years now. Granted, it's only been in the last year that I've been shooting them every weekend, and I mostly use loads in the 800-1000 fps range, but the rate of attrition has fallen notably since I've been using the wet pin tumbling. I'm rotating about 250 cases, shooting 100-150 rounds each weekend. I would normally attribute this the the case being heavier built and lightly loaded but I'm seeing the same phenomenon with 45 Colt and 45 ACP brass. I'm just curious if anyone else is seeing this too.

If it matters I started out using Dawn and Lemi-shine. I've since moved on to car wash and wax with carnauba, first used the Kit brand and am now using Mothers California Gold brand. Both leave and very shiny finish, clean the cases like crazy and leave a wax coat which makes a notable difference in how smoothly the cases run through sizing and neck expanding. I also wonder if the wax finish reduces the stresses the cases go through in resizing and plays some role in the longer case life.

[Wally]

IMHO the SS pin cleaning remove small burnish marks that lead to "seeding" body & neck splits. I cannot tell if my brass attrition rate has been reduced yet by using them.

[w5pv]

I cannot tell any difference in my brass.What I load has been around the block a couple of times and I don't discard until the brass splits at the neck or the primers get loose.I have new brass but haven't loaded any of that except for hunting rounds.

[44man]

I use the regular walnut media and am still shooting .44 brass shot over 40 times. I don't care how shiny brass is. Cleaning brass is to keep dies clean. Not for looks.

[runfiverun]

umm.
the citric acid passivates the brass..

[Blackwater]

I guess I'm a real knuckle dragging troglodite. I am unconvinced that the SS pins are the best way to clean cases. I have a buddy who swears by it and loves the way the cases come out looking. He's using the Lemi-shine, too. But I know in my mind that the SS pins are much harder than my brass cases, and I just can't get my mind wrapped around its NOT wearing the brass more rapidly. I still use walnut hulls with a little jeweler's rouge in it, and I'm satisfied. Don't use any chemical brass shiners, either, since they can leech out the zinc from the brass, weakening it over time and accelerating the rate of split and cracked cases.

I know full well I may be wrong about it, and I know I'm pretty obviously making too much of it, but I've got some '06 cases that have probably been reloaded 50 times, all with full loads. They've been neck annealed when indications were they needed it, and dies were adjusted so they fit snugly in the chamber. I know that's an awful lot of rounds for a single case, but that's what I've gotten out of them. I finally retired them, but can't bring myself to throw them out yet, eihter. "Waste not, want not." I guess I may be the cheapest rascal here? Pistol cases? I never toss them unless and until they split.

I think that with good care, and proper die adjustment (provided you only have one rifle per die set, so you can adjust them just for that rifle), case life CAN exceed our wildest expectations, if it's annealed when it's necessary. I anneal when trimming makes the excess roll off in "chips" rather than curls. It's been working for me for decades, and "if it ain't broke, I ain't fixin' it." But I DO watch you guys who are using the technique. I'm an old dog, and learning new tricks isn't my long suit, but I CAN learn once in a while IF it seems a worthy pursuit. I'm just slow to adopt this particular technique. With time being such a factor for so many now, I can understand the advantages, but I'm not sure I want a wax coating on my brass. I want my brass to be clean and dry, so it "sticks" to the sidewalls of the chamber when fired, thus reducing bolt thrust. Yeah, I'm a ticky old phart, but I came by it honestly. And it does cost me something now and then, but not very often. With all the "marketing" out there claiming stuff is "the greatest," I just have to take an agnostic point of view unless and until it's proven out over time. I'm sure there are things that CAN improve our lots, but I'm unconvinced so far that this one's it.

[17nut]

And i bet you were young when it was dangerous to fly but safe to have sex!

[JRPVT]

I have used Tumble Peen to relieve stress in small parts in my last profession. It continues as part of the process today. I held off on getting a wet tumbler until the pin size got figured out. Now I am one happy fellow. Cleans and stress relieves and lubes in one operation. Win, Win, Win! Dave

[Pee Wee]

I too wash in SS pins. I shoot competitively in a couple of steel disciplines. The brass that I use has been reloaded hundreds of times. I can't remember the last time I had a split case. This is all pistol brass. I do the same for rifle brass except it is annealed in the reloading process. I have not thrown any of that brass away either. I like to pin wash as it cleans out the inside much better than tumbling in media. It makes the brass look like new inside and out. I use 1 Teaspoon of dish soap from the dollar tree and a tablespoon of lemi shine. I have 5 lbs of pins in a rebel 17 tumbler. I fill it up 3/4 of the way with the brass and just cover with water and tumble for 1 hr. I get the same result every time.

[casac47]

Only problem I have with tumbling is getting all the pins separated. It's a PITA but worth it. I can't see reloading if the brass isn't in top shape. Thanks for the tip on the car wash. I'm going to try that one out right away.

[DerekP Houston]

Only problem I have with tumbling is getting all the pins separated. It's a PITA but worth it. I can't see reloading if the brass isn't in top shape. Thanks for the tip on the car wash. I'm going to try that one out right away.

Lol that is my same issue. I actually use both methods now....I only use the ss pins for an hour, then rinse and dry in hot water/towel. Once dry I run them for a bit in the walnut media to remove any remaining cleaner or residue. Sparkling clean brass so far....I don't really keep track of my brass that much as it is primarily pistol rounds. I've not seen any difference in wear and tear yet, but not to say there won't be some.

[Walter Laich]

I use the Lemishine and Armor All car wash/wax. Agree it does leave a wax coating that keeps the brass shiny. Have some that are 18 months since cleaned and they have darken a bit but still shiny.

I did convert from pins to SS chips. Cheaper and the pointed ends seem to do a better job in primer pockets--in any event takes less time to get equal results compared to pins https://www.facebook.com/southernshinetumblers/

NOTE: to remove either pins or chips I drain drum into my RCBS media separator. Then run hose water over the cage as I turn it over. I stop mid clean, couple of minutes at most and pour off water in plastic tub and fill with water again for rinse. Turn the cage with the brass in it till I'm sure all the pins have dropped into the tub and then do a few more for the Big Ranger in the Sky.
Always gets all the pins out of the brass and I can put brass right into a towel to get most water off then onto another towel and sit out in Texas sun--doesn't take long these days to have dry brass.

[runfiverun]

jewelers rouge will wear out a rifles throat quickly.

[gwpercle]

Attrition: "the action of gradually reducing the strength of , wearing away or wearing down"
Does this mean the SS pins are wearing the cases down or weakening them ? These $20.00 words sometimes throw me as to what exactly the meaning is.

[25ring]

After separating the pins from the brass in a media tumbler get some 5gal paint strainer bags to pour the pins into.The mesh is fine enough that the pins won't fall through.Makes it easy to rinse them out and the pins will dry out quicker. Mike.

[DerekP Houston]

After separating the pins from the brass in a media tumbler get some 5gal paint strainer bags to pour the pins into.The mesh is fine enough that the pins won't fall through.Makes it easy to rinse them out and the pins will dry out quicker. Mike.

Hadn't thought of that, great idea! I got a 2nd media seperator and just fill it with water half way. Couple of spins gets all the pins loose and I rinse them in clean water again. Just uses a lot of water for the rinsing and filling cycle. I pour it on the back yard so at least it gets to the foundation or grass.

[GRUMPA]

When I rinse mine off I use the large Dillon media separator. I just dump my brass in the strainer, give it about 10 SLOW turns, open it up and using my 2gal watering can rinse. I do that a couple of times to remove any and all soap and whatever and then dry with a towel, and set them out to dry in the sun. Cheap.....effective....and SWMBO doesn't get upset...

[6622729]

[QUOTE=JohnH;3705476]In the fall I bought the Frankford Arsenal Stainless Pin Tumbler for case cleaning. These days I typically shoot every weekend and run my cases through the system weekly. I have 44 Magnum cases I've been shooting over a couple years now. Granted, it's only been in the last year that I've been shooting them every weekend, and I mostly use loads in the 800-1000 (tel:800-1000) fps range, but the rate of attrition has fallen notably since I've been using the wet pin tumbling. I'm rotating about 250 cases, shooting 100-150 rounds each weekend. I would normally attribute this the the case being heavier built and lightly loaded but I'm seeing the same phenomenon with 45 Colt and 45 ACP brass. I'm just curious if anyone else is seeing this too.

I haven't noticed a difference so far. I am sold on the stainless pin wet tumbling though. I was dry tumbling walnuts shell/corn cob with mineral spirits and NuFinish and getting good results on the exterior of the cases. Wet gets inside and out. It does it faster and with less electric (We're on solar). I'm using the two container Harbor Freight tumbler and Dawn.

[DerekP Houston]

Indeed, the interior of the cases is much cleaner with the wet tumble method. I don't see any actual performance difference between my old method and the new method though when I shoot. My main concern was to keep the progressive press as clean as possible to prevent malfunctions.

[Nueces]

You can get good results from several tumbling methods, if starting with fairly clean fired cases. For really raunchy brass, such as those fired several times with black powder, only a pin or ceramic medium will get all the grunge off, not just polish it some.

Years ago, I found a bunch of old 45 Colt cases, of balloon and 'solid head' vintage. I tried tumbling in dry media, which only brightened the crust, then parked them in the shop for 40 years, until I began using SS pins, Dawn and LemiShine. They quickly assumed a bright, clean appearance, inside and out.

If you are tempted to think of tumbling with steel or ceramic as too rough a process for soft brass, consider: in all tumbling processes, case to case impacts are much stronger than pin to case impacts, yet no case damage, peening or work hardening is observed. Think of pouring a handful of cases from one open palm to the other. Then consider that, in SS tumbling, that pour takes place under water. The pins are not being shot at the cases. There is no danger of case damage whatever.

[therealhitman]

I shake my cases in a big towel after wet tumbling and then put them into my Harbor Freight Brass Dryer for about a half an hour. Dry and toasty warm!

[dudel]

I guess I'm a real knuckle dragging troglodite. I am unconvinced that the SS pins are the best way to clean cases. I have a buddy who swears by it and loves the way the cases come out looking. He's using the Lemi-shine, too. But I know in my mind that the SS pins are much harder than my brass cases, and I just can't get my mind wrapped around its NOT wearing the brass more rapidly.

You may have a point. I've recently started to use SS pins to clean brass. The brass does come out looking almost like new brass. It's amazing. Haven't noticed an increase in brass life yet though.

However, I have noticed a very fine gold colored dust among the pins. I drain the water off of the pins with a gold pan type affair. The riffles keep the pins from pouring out, while the bulk of the water is dumped. Then the pins get dried and stored. I know it's not gold; so it must be bits of brass coming off the cases. Doesn't seem like a lot, considering the amount of brass being cleaned; but it does appear to be taking brass off of the cases.

[murf205]

How many 44 mag cases will the Harbor Freight single tumbler clean at a time? Is the 2 drum model worth trying-any drawbacks? How much ss media will I need for either one and where is the best place to get ss pins? My old Lyman turbo has NEVER cleaned dirty brass like the pics I've seen here. I got to try this!

[dudel]

How many 44 mag cases will the Harbor Freight single tumbler clean at a time? Is the 2 drum model worth trying-any drawbacks? How much ss media will I need for either one and where is the best place to get ss pins? My old Lyman turbo has NEVER cleaned dirty brass like the pics I've seen here. I got to try this!

Don't know about 44Mag, but I can easily get about 100+ 45Long Colt cases in a drum. So I'm guessing about 300 using both HF drums. I'd go with about a pound of pins per drum. You can get 2# of pins from STM (vendor above) See: http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/reloading-products/media/stainless-tumbling-media-refresh.html

If you decide you like pin tumbling, the best deal I found on a FART was from Frankford Arsenal direct (it comes with pins). http://www.btibrands.com/product/platinum-series-rotary-tumbler-7l/

If using the HF, then a simple colander and bowl will work well to separate the pins from the brass. If you move up to a FART, then a media separator is VERY useful. I have a Dillon; but it has metal parts. I picked up an RCBS unit, that is all plastic. Pins seem to separate best when the cases are fully submerged.

I have both the HF and the FART. The Fart will handle big loads, the HF works will if I only have a hundred or so to clean. It helps to sort brass by case mouth. I use the FART and load 380ACP, 38Spl, 9mm and 357Sig or 45GAP, 45ACP and 45 Long Colt. As with dry media, you don't get good results if a 9mm case is in a .40 case.

[DerekP Houston]

I use the "FART" as well. It came with a package of pins and that's all I've used. I've done at most 500 cases of 38 specials, and that was a bit too much ;).

[Blackwater]

OK, OK! So 17nut's right! Now you guys have me intrigued with these statements of stress relieving the brass. Can you tell me more? I haven't taken any of the glossy mags now in years. Just got tired of paying for a bunch of ads and Pollyana reviews. But that's also meant I've forsaken a lot of good and valid info and newer discoveries. This thing about stress relieving via tumbling has me intrigued, and it's new to me. Can you tell me how that works? I have some metalurgical knowledge for a guy who's never done it occupationally, other than some time in a chemistry lab at a cast/malleable iron foundry, and I know about work hardening and stress relieving, but not about how SS pins do that to brass. Can anyone educate me on this? I may be a knuckle dragger, but I DO like to learn!

[DerekP Houston]

OK, OK! So 17nut's right! Now you guys have me intrigued with these statements of stress relieving the brass. Can you tell me more? I haven't taken any of the glossy mags now in years. Just got tired of paying for a bunch of ads and Pollyana reviews. But that's also meant I've forsaken a lot of good and valid info and newer discoveries. This thing about stress relieving via tumbling has me intrigued, and it's new to me. Can you tell me how that works? I have some metalurgical knowledge for a guy who's never done it occupationally, other than some time in a chemistry lab at a cast/malleable iron foundry, and I know about work hardening and stress relieving, but not about how SS pins do that to brass. Can anyone educate me on this? I may be a knuckle dragger, but I DO like to learn!

Mail me some brass and i'll clean it up with my method and send it back. I don't know what tests you want to run but I'd be happy to run a batch through for ya. I use 1 cap of wash/wax car wash No rinse formula, 1 tsp lemi shine, squirt of dawn, and hot water.

[Nueces]

I've seen 'gold dust' after pin tumbling brass. I think it comes from micro-burs in places like case mouths. After loading and tumbling several times, the dust stops appearing, so I do not think the pins are digging out chunks of brass. Really, this process is much too mild to expect any sort of brass removal.

In manufacturing, tumbling with hard media, such as ceramic shapes, is used to debur parts fresh from machining, so the appearance of metal dust is to be expected if burs are present.

[rondog]

My take is - cases are worth what, a nickle apiece? Just how many times do you really need to reload a case to get your nickle's worth? That's why I can't understand the fanaticism some folks have for "once fired" brass. The way I see it, I'm certainly getting my money's worth of use from every piece of brass.....

[Blackwater]

Thanks, Derek, but a friend has it and has been trying to get me to use his for some time now. I've watched him do his own brass, and it surely comes out very clean and shiny.

And we used to use a Wheelabrator with tiny round steel balls to do our deburring at the cast iron foundry. It left a sort of peened finish on it, and produced a bit of a sheen as well to raw castings. It got all the sand out of the recesses, too, and it was separated from the steel beads down another line.

I know from my training in criminal justice that there's a theory in crime scene investigation and science, that whenever two objects meet, there are always traces of each left on the other. Going by that, which is all the training and knowledge I have to base my own actions, I've shied away from the SS pin thing, even after seeing the great results my friend has. I still wonder about the stress relief thing. That really intrigues me. How does it work, exactly? Is it the repeated mild impacts that does it? Or what?

[JohnH]

My take is - cases are worth what, a nickle apiece? Just how many times do you really need to reload a case to get your nickle's worth? That's why I can't understand the fanaticism some folks have for "once fired" brass. The way I see it, I'm certainly getting my money's worth of use from every piece of brass..... When was the last time you bought cases? https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/000038780/45-colt-unprimed-pistol-brass-100-count

[JohnH]

Thanks, Derek, but a friend has it and has been trying to get me to use his for some time now. I've watched him do his own brass, and it surely comes out very clean and shiny.

And we used to use a Wheelabrator with tiny round steel balls to do our deburring at the cast iron foundry. It left a sort of peened finish on it, and produced a bit of a sheen as well to raw castings. It got all the sand out of the recesses, too, and it was separated from the steel beads down another line.

I know from my training in criminal justice that there's a theory in crime scene investigation and science, that whenever two objects meet, there are always traces of each left on the other. Going by that, which is all the training and knowledge I have to base my own actions, I've shied away from the SS pin thing, even after seeing the great results my friend has. I still wonder about the stress relief thing. That really intrigues me. How does it work, exactly? Is it the repeated mild impacts that does it? Or what?

I don't know that there is a stress relieving thing going on. I do know from thirty + years of reloading that I should be loosing more cases than I am since I started using the wet tumbling system. I do know that peening some metals does produce a small level of stress relief. But I also notice that the cases run smoother through the sizing die, requiring less effort to resize them. This suggest to me that there is less stress being introduced into the case to begin with. Fears of the pins impact having some negative effect on the brass are nonsensical, as the brass is actually lasting longer. Prior to the wet tumbling method I was losing an average of two cases per firing/sizing cycle. Over the last six months I've not lost ten cases out of some 250 and I fire/size cycle them every other week at minimum, some cases get cycled every week. My standard load for 44 Magnum is 6.5 grains of Red Dot or 6 grains of Tite Group and a 217 grain bullet. My standard load for 45 Colt is 7 grains of Red Dot and a 200 grain bullet. Both these loads are circa 850-900 FPS loads. I could understand the 44 Mag brass lasting longer using these loads as it is heavier brass but the 45 Colt is a rather light construction case and I'm seeing the same increased case life with both. I certainly ain't complaining.

[JRPVT]

The stress relief " package" from what I can figure out is a combination of smoothing all the edges where burrs were, radiusing all the edges which makes them less prone to cracks, smoothing out imperfections so the brass will " flow" better under pressure, and the mild peening of the brass which makes it more resilient to pressure. I hope this helps, reading about all the technical stuff still gives me headaches. Translating it into something that applies to brass cases? I hope its good enough. Dave

[dudel]

I've seen 'gold dust' after pin tumbling brass. I think it comes from micro-burs in places like case mouths. After loading and tumbling several times, the dust stops appearing, so I do not think the pins are digging out chunks of brass. Really, this process is much too mild to expect any sort of brass removal.

In manufacturing, tumbling with hard media, such as ceramic shapes, is used to debur parts fresh from machining, so the appearance of metal dust is to be expected if burs are present.

I think that's reasonable. Not many of my cases have been in for a second round of pin washing; but I'll make sure to check if the "gold dust" decreases.

[dudel]

When was the last time you bought cases? https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/000038780/45-colt-unprimed-pistol-brass-100-count

+1

The other benefit to once fired, is that you have some idea of the pedigree of the case. You know it wasn't exposed to over pressure loads.

Some people complain about having to remove the crimp; not me. To me it's an indicator that I could be dealing with once fired brass!

[browntown]

357 mag is about 15-25c a piece new locally. I'm not crying over a few throwaways, but if a batch of 200 becomes problematic after a couple reloads -- I'd be upset. Rifle brass is where things go nuts. Especially if you buy premium brass (nosler, norma, lapua, weatherby, etc) which can run well over a dollar and sometimes close to $2 a piece. Or if you really like obscure calibers and safari cartridges they can go past $5 a piece.

I'm holding on to about 30 pieces of 308 norma. I had planned on barreling a project for it, and then changed my mind. But I keep the brass just in case, because it is about $1.50 a piece new. :shock:

Back to this batchannel. I am in the process of building a rotary tumbler based on the bigdawg design:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/344986_How_i_built_my_own_rotary_tumbler.html

I understand all the arguments, lemi-shine will passivate, stainless steel is harder and would wear brass. I've come to the conclusion that I probably don't shoot enough to see any difference. But I'm subscribed to see more conversation from people smarter and more experienced.

[35remington]

Given that pistol brass loaded to your levels lasts virtually forever anyway, and given that 45 Colt brass is not near as thin as you suggest, I will suggest that you really haven't done enough shooting to figure it out yet.

I really doubt that pins "peen" brass as it's not an impact but rather sliding friction that does the work. If it was an impact one might also suggest undesirable work hardening is being done......but I don't buy that either.

[dudel]

I really doubt that pins "peen" brass as it's not an impact but rather sliding friction that does the work. If it was an impact one might also suggest undesirable work hardening is being done......but I don't buy that either.

I would tend to agree. The surface polish does not look like a peened finish. Just way too much shine.

[Blackwater]

Thanks for the explanation. I guess I'll keep my eye on this, and keep watching my buddy do his brass, but I've always tended to be an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" type, and will probably stick with the walnut hulls with a little jeweler's rouge. Cheaper, and sure does a great job. The sheen on cases done with the pins and the walnut hulls/jeweler's rouge is slightly different, but not by much. And I always give my fired brass a good bath with some soap and detergent in very hot tap water before tumbling. This keeps grit and stuff out of the walnut media, and helps it and the cases last longer. I let the cases dry overnight and tumble the next day. But I generally do 200+ rifle and 500+ pistol at a time, so that helps too. Way back when I was in college, I never did anything but wash in hot water with detergent, and let dry overnight, but that was usually in lots of 50-100 at a time, rifle and pistol both.

This post has intrigued me enough that I have to say thanks to all of you. Not taking the glossy mags has kept me out of touch with much that's been going on, and I've been "left behind" in a few things. Not enough to warrant resubscribing, but it helps maintain my backwardness. Lots of ways to do these things, and I'm always open to something better, but am not overly anxious to change anything either. It's what us curmudgeons do.

[murf205]

Don't know about 44Mag, but I can easily get about 100+ 45Long Colt cases in a drum. So I'm guessing about 300 using both HF drums. I'd go with about a pound of pins per drum. You can get 2# of pins from STM (vendor above) See: http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/reloading-products/media/stainless-tumbling-media-refresh.html

If you decide you like pin tumbling, the best deal I found on a FART was from Frankford Arsenal direct (it comes with pins). http://www.btibrands.com/product/platinum-series-rotary-tumbler-7l/

If using the HF, then a simple colander and bowl will work well to separate the pins from the brass. If you move up to a FART, then a media separator is VERY useful. I have a Dillon; but it has metal parts. I picked up an RCBS unit, that is all plastic. Pins seem to separate best when the cases are fully submerged.

I have both the HF and the FART. The Fart will handle big loads, the HF works will if I only have a hundred or so to clean. It helps to sort brass by case mouth. I use the FART and load 380ACP, 38Spl, 9mm and 357Sig or 45GAP, 45ACP and 45 Long Colt. As with dry media, you don't get good results if a 9mm case is in a .40 case.

Thanks for the info. How much Dawn+Lemishine do you put in your HF drum with the 100 45 cases?

[dudel]

Thanks for the info. How much Dawn+Lemishine do you put in your HF drum with the 100 45 cases?

I don't use Dawn, but I do add a capful of Blue Coral car wash/wax and 1/4 tsp of Lemishine (maybe even a bit less for one drum). Don't need much Lemishine.

[DerekP Houston]

I don't use Dawn, but I do add a capful of Blue Coral car wash/wax and 1/4 tsp of Lemishine (maybe even a bit less for one drum). Don't need much Lemishine.

I just add a "squirt" of dawn to the same mixture. If I don't get a good sudsy bubbly look while running I usually end up with some of the dirty residue on the brass still. Our water is pretty rough here though so I attribute it to that.

[murf205]

Thanks, our water where I live has a lot of lime in it and I guess you could say it is hard too. I had to clean out my water heater 2 times a yr to get the hardened lime pellets out.

[Wally]

I did an experiment...I used a Lee Loader to size a number of 9mm Brass cases then put into my Thumbler Tumbler; 300 of them w/ SS pins/Dawn/& Lemi-shine. The Lee Loader really scuffs them up badly and I did lube them. After the cleaning the scuff marks had vanished. Same deal on rifle brass...

[MOA]

Sorry guys, whenever I hear or read stuff about cleaning brass with the SS pins I always get this image in my head so I just can't help sharing it, I know, I'm guilty of just wanting to look at my pictures again. Ha, ha.
All of the 45acp have sat in a box for 25 years hiding in the closet, so you can imagine my delight when I got them out of the SS tumbler an saw what they looked like. I had a smile that lasted for at least an hour on my face.

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Hand%20loading/20150214_080214_zpsvl5ngkr1.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Hand%20loading/20150214_080214_zpsvl5ngkr1.jpg.html)



http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Hand%20loading/20150214_080220_zpsecjfk7ql.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Hand%20loading/20150214_080220_zpsecjfk7ql.jpg.html)

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_152342_zpsrwxfbpt6.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_152342_zpsrwxfbpt6.jpg.html)



http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Hand%20loading/20150214_152310_zpslfa5kyjj.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Hand%20loading/20150214_152310_zpslfa5kyjj.jpg.html)

[DerekP Houston]

Those pictures above are what convinced me to buy one. If my brass is just a little dirty from the range I'll toss it in my regular tumbler with corncob and call it good enough. Sometimes I get some nasty brass for one reason or another (scavenging) and the SS pins really do clean it up better.

[crowbuster]

I've seen 'gold dust' after pin tumbling brass. I think it comes from micro-burs in places like case mouths. After loading and tumbling several times, the dust stops appearing, so I do not think the pins are digging out chunks of brass. Really, this process is much too mild to expect any sort of brass removal.

In manufacturing, tumbling with hard media, such as ceramic shapes, is used to debur parts fresh from machining, so the appearance of metal dust is to be expected if burs are present.

When loading new brass I always uniform flash holes and debur. If you have never done this you will be amazed the chunks of "gold" you get from when they punch the flash hole. This is my guess, and why it stops after a few cleanings. nothing to get alarmed about.

[25ring]

I think one of the best features of using SS or ceramic media is the fact that the brass is much easier on your reloading dies.Tumbling in corn cob or walnut always left a certain amount of residual dust on the cases and I always seemed to get more scratches from a piece grit in the die.

[Walter Laich]

Thanks for the info. How much Dawn+Lemishine do you put in your HF drum with the 100 45 cases?
I do 250 cases per batch so let's see: 1 oz of Armor-All Utra Wash/wax, 1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine.
Guess you could cut that in half to 100 cases.

Like mentioned above I just love the way they look when the come out of the tumbler. Since my shooting isn't top notch I want my brass to look top notch

[murf205]

I cannot find any good reason not to make my handloads look as good as possible. I know that stained brass handloads might shoot as well as purty ones but there is a pride factor involved, not to mention the reduced wear and tear on sizing dies. I have a set of 9mm dies that I bought for cheap and the sizer scratches cased horribly. I polish it every so often with clover compound and one day I might get all the scratches out, but every time I think about dirty rounds, this die is the first thing I think of.

[TXGunNut]

Good thread! Reminded me I had some BP-fired 45-90 cases in my range bag from last Tuesday. Just punched out the primers and put them in a juice jug with just a little dab of dishwashing soap and some hot water for an initial shake & soak session. Then a good rinse and into an ultrasonic cleaner for an hour or so. Then another rinse and they get to dry in this hot Texas sun. If I want them a bit more shiny they spend a bit of time in the walnut shells with some Hornady One-Shot brass polish. Yes, I like shiny brass. No, I can't replace this brass for 15 cents.

[NyFirefighter357]

I use a Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler. It works great. I have found the smaller rifle cases hold water. I de-prime my cases first, this prevents water from holding in the brass & allows cleaning of the primer pocket. I use Dawn & Lemi Shine. When clean I drain the water & pins into a 3 gal. bucket, fill it again & add a strong magnet, this catches any stray pins, tumble for a few minutes to rinse. Drain again and "dry" tumble for a minute with a couple of strips of chamois cloth drying towel, tumble for a few minutes and it removes most of the water from the brass. Then I air dry on a towel with the ceiling fan on. I lube the cases for sizing or protection from tarnish in storage by adding synthetic wire pulling lube. It's water based and won't effect the powder. This is done after the "dry" tumble, before air drying. Then store in sealed bags. I then pour off most of the water in the bucket and either leave the pins wet or remove them with the Frankford magnet and place them in a container for storage & let the dry naturally.