How many pounds SS tumbling media is right amount?

[Tenbender]

I have a Frankford and use 2lb or maybe 2.5. Cleans perfect for me.

[ulav8r]

Based on replies to several threads, you are probably using too much Dawn.

[RogerDat]

I have a Frankford and use 2lb or maybe 2.5. Cleans perfect for me.

is that brass weight or pin weight?

Based on replies to several threads, you are probably using too much Dawn

Not sure who or which post you are referencing. Personally I was doing brass from the 30's and 40's that had sat around in a brass bucket for who knows how long. Brass itself is getting close to 90 years old.

I'm mostly wondering if more pins are better and if too many is just wasted weight. An extra pound of pins is about the same weight as 100 38 special cases so if the extra pound of pins doesn't help it clean better it is reducing the capacity or making motor work harder to no gain.

On really dirty stuff I too change the water. Although I also just soak in a bucket with some citric acid and dawn for 20 minutes before I start, then drain and rinse. Figure that cuts through some of the worst of the grunge. I would do that when I was using a vibrating tumbler and dry media too.

[OzzieDoc]

I've done a lot of experimenting with different pin/brass ratios.

I've concluded that about 1.2:1 pins/brass works best for me. This is similar to what others have reported.

Keeping in mind the FART's recommended maximum load of 30lb (including the drum) that works out to 10lbs pins and 8lbs brass.

[ulav8r]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...mbler-formulas post #7 "What you CAN use too much of is detergent. I think SSTM recommended 1/4 teaspoon Lemi-Shine and two TABLESPOONS Dawn concentrated dishwashing liquid, which is enough to do about 200 sinkfulls of dishes and foams to buggary in the tumbler. I use a teaspoon or maybe a little more Lemi-Shine (measured Justin Wilson style) and a "squirt" of Dawn or Lemon Joy amounting to about half a teaspoon. The object is to have just a few suds visible when you open the tumbler back up, the purpose is to be a surfacant and adding more is pointless and makes rinsing a pain." Post #44 from same thread "I have a frankford arsenal rotary,i use a teaspoon of lemi shine I use warm water the lemi dissolves better in warm water, on the dawn soap use a couple of drops per gal of water. the first time I ran a load I used about table spoon of dawn it was way to much had to really rinse them for ever. on the citric acid I used to clean brass by soaking it in it. I used to make it by dissolving it in hot water it didn't dissolve well in cold water. after it was made up it would work well cold or hot. "

[SlowBurn]

I've done a lot of experimenting with different pin/brass ratios.

I've concluded that about 1.2:1 pins/brass works best for me. This is similar to what others have reported.

Keeping in mind the FART's recommended maximum load of 30lb (including the drum) that works out to 10lbs pins and 8lbs brass.

I aim for a similar ratio: 7 lbs brass with 10 lbs pins in a 2 gallon drum with 1/2 tsp lemishine and 1 tbsp dawn in hot water for 3 hours
with large rifle brass, I think I should reduce the amount of brass to 6 lbs
with pistol brass, I think I could up the ratio

I think we want to aim for a mix of brass coated by a slurry of pins

g'luck!

[Grmps]

I made a 2-gallon tumbler, use 7.5 pounds pins, 1 tsp lemi shine and 3 squirts of dawn.

rinse, soak in carwash/wax-- water solution, rinse lightly, towel dry then dry in a food dehydrator.


Works for me

[RogerDat]

Well I have deprimed 1000 of the 38 specials. 500 more to go. I normally just do a squirt of dawn. Maybe a seconds worth. About like doing a sink full of dishes in the bad old days before automatic dishwashers. I estimated that as around the amount that would fit in a regular table service spoon. Like you would use to take cough syrup. I think a measuring spoon might be bigger. I have some suds but not a whole lot. After a couple of fills and dumping of fresh water pretty much the end of suds when rinsing. I have to use some measure more accurate than "a squirt" in order to keep that variable consistent.

When I bought this used there where a few dish washing "pods" in the box. I tried one. Seemed to work ok but nothing special. No suds and easy rinse were the pods strong points. Just seemed like too much soap to me. Supposed to do a whole dishwasher worth in that little tumbler.

grmps - Is that a Harbor Freight dehydrator? How do you like it? I roll through a towel to remove some water and spread on another towel in front of a fan to dry. I'm thinking there might be room for improvement in that process. If I can find room to stash more gear on a shelf that is. So how long does the dehydrator take to dry brass?

[D Crockett]

as some of you know I like to make things. I got a paper folder from a print shop and made a tumbler out of it. it has a speed control and a on / off switch. I have been doing 22lr brass in it and I use about 2.5 lbs of pins and let it run for 2 hr. they come out like new brass. I have done 223 brass same amount of time and pins same results it looks like new brass. my drum is made of a piece of 4inch pvc pipe with a end cap and on the other end it has a screw in cap. I fill the drum about 3/4 full of brass add lemon shine and dawn dish soap works great D Crockett

[Drew P]

Nobody else skips the pins except me huh? Strange. It’s so nice to not have to worry about pins in your loads.

[OzzieDoc]

Nobody else skips the pins except me huh? Strange. It’s so nice to not have to worry about pins in your loads.

It's nicer not to have to deal with residual lead and carbon products in the primer pockets.

[Outer Rondacker]

Guess Ill share. I run a thumler's tumbler set up. Think its the original one. I run it 1/3 (rifle) to 1/2 full (pistol) with what ever brass I am looking to clean. 3 drops dawn sometimes 4. It has to be dawn. A spoon full of lemon shine or a splash of lemon juice 100%. I fill half way with warm water. Run for 20 mins rinse and run again with clean water for 5 mins. I have tried the car wash polish and all the other stuff on the rinse cycle and found it does leave a wax feeling. But I mostly skip it. My brass come out looking new.

I have let brass run for hours before when I had to take a call or help a friend in trouble. Does not look any better then the 20 min run. On the other side of the fence I have had some really bad on the ground for years range brass I cleaned up with two runs back to back.

I had stainless pins years ago. Many years ago and well we all have that one friend that needs what he read online. So he got my pins. I do not deprime my cases first. Some yes but most no since its all brass I have found on the ground or dumpster diving and it is nasty dirty.

On another note. If I do put not enough brass in the tumbler it does not seam to clean as well. I think it needs the weight of the other brass to make it rub on one another. Well that is what I do and works for me.

[RogerDat]

I have 250 more cases to deprime then I'll start running batches while increasing the amount of pins as I go, and keeping the dawn and lemishine the same amount. I seem to be hearing that full of water is less effective than keeping the brass and pins just barely covered on the bottom.

Any suggestions on level of water I should use in a FART?

[RogerDat]

First batch results 4# of SS pins. Water level as measured with drum standing on end was 2.5 inches to a max of 3 inches above brass and pins. I used my index finger to measure like a dipstick. Water level near knuckle of palm but not above the finger itself. When on it's side tumbling this left the brass, pins, and water as a slurry in the bottom of the drum.

The 38 special brass had all received my normal cleaning process with primers in. Before wet tumbling I de-primed while sizing already cleaned brass. For this wet tumbling I removed primers since one reason to use wet tumbling is primer pocket getting polished. The other for me is better results in less time. The 38 special brass was all Federal and all brass was already run through a dry media vibrating tumbler after a brief soak in bucket of water with a spoonful of citric acid, rinse & dry. Shine outside pretty decent, not shiny inside. Not horribly caked inside but dirty and not polished inside the case. This level of clean is certainly acceptable for reloading.

500 cases .38 special with a weight of 5 lbs. brass to 4 lbs. of pins. Brass had already had the pre-processing of wash and run through dry media. I used 1 Teaspoon of Dawn (approx. 3 second pour under light bottle squeeze) and 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine. Both measured. Run time of 1 hour. Water was black as sin when I poured it out. Of 500 cases only 11 did not appear to be shiny inside and out, with shine inside primer pocket. Suds took a bit of rinsing but not too bad.

This made me wonder if I needed a whole hour of run time, less run time would be one reason to add more pins or chemicals, I also wondered if less soap might be just as effective while easier to rinse. So I added an extra batch to test. My last 300 of this batch of Federal brass. Less brass changed the ratio of brass to pins to being more pins by weight than brass.

300 cases .38 special with a weight of 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. of pins. Brass had already had the pre-processing of wash and run through dry media. I used 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn and 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine. These I ran for only 1/2 an hour. They were clean and somewhat shiny inside the case, primer pockets were cleaner with some showing black smudges, primer pocket not shiny for the most part. Certainly much better than dry tumbel but not the full on clean and shine of inside case and primer pocket that 1 hour batch had. I think the 1/2 hour time amount would be too short for range brass or stuff that had gone through a few reloadings without being wet tumbled. It was easier to rinse when using less soap.

Next batch is going to be 500 cases of .223 with the 4# of pins and the soap reduced to the same 1/2 teaspoon for 1 hour. These are also dry tumble clean, trimmed and primer pocket uniformed so this is going to be about how clean is the inside of the case of small necked rifle cartridges.

I also found I have around 200 cases in 45 colt that are fairly grungy inside and out. And about 3 lbs. of range pick up rifle brass that I might test.

One issue with samples to test is I tend to clean brass as I get it. I like storing clean brass rather than dirty, the dust inside the case can be a source of elevating my lead levels so I wash and tumble to remove it from brass I store and handle. I also like getting it sorted and organized, or at least organized in a RogerDat loading bench sort of way, which is to say it ain't no library but the stuff is generally at least sorted by caliber.... mostly.... well ok, sometimes by rifle and pistol but a man has to prioritize his activities! Anyway that means I don't have much really awful brass to test different weights of pins effectiveness.

[RogerDat]

180 cases 45 Colt 3# brass to 4# pins. 1/2 teaspoon soap, 1/2 teaspoon Lemishine. Water 2.5 to 3 inch above contents with drum on end. Run time 1 hour. Start condition moderately clean outside, dirty inside, primer pocket dirty. Results were 6 cases that were range brass didn't come clean inside, primer pockets appeared mostly clean but not terribly shiny. Inside had a shine that was decent except for the ones that didn't clean. Color inside was a little less bright and yellow inside than some have been but still having all grunge removed and some shine.

I'm starting to wonder if I will find that time to get to a specific results will be longer with 4# of pins than it will be with 5# of pins. I am thinking that maybe more pins for the same hour of run time will do more polishing.

Next run will be the .223 then I'll add more pins and try to repeat with same recipe and times.

[RogerDat]

The 500 .223 with 5.5# of pins 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine, 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn dish soap. 1.5 hours tumble and inside of cases are shiny. The pockets had been uniformed with cutting tool so fairly clean already.

I also did 500 .38 special cases with the same 5.5# of pins 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine, 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn dish soap. One hour was sufficient but 1.5 hours results was most excellent, like new in all respects. 4 rejects due to not being clean inside.

What I have determined is ~ 5# of pins is a good amount, little more is better than a little less but don't see run time required getting much shorter with 4# of pins. Having the water a couple (2) inches above the brass and pins so that there isn't that much extra water beyond that required to tumble the brass seems to work better than having the drum full of water. Not a lot of soap is required and it is easier to rinse with less soap.