Stainless Steel Chips [Archive]

IllinoisCoyoteHunter

01-14-2016, 09:58 AM

Chips like out from under a lathe? If so, I don't see why they wouldn't work, so long as they were fairly consistent in size. Coming off a tool with a nice chipbreaker would make some nice chips. Cool idea!

Babbott213

01-14-2016, 11:12 AM

I have been using them for about two weeks now. Used the pins for around 2+ years and I don't see me going back to the pins. Chips is much faster, haven't had not one to get stuck in the flash hole and with the .223 brass, the chips just slide out where the pins would get packed in and was a pain to remove. Also, with the chips the cleaning time is half that than with the pins. So far, I'm happy with them. I get them from a guy Ryan Fannin, he's in GA. His company is Southern Shine Tumblers. He's got a Facebook page but I don't think that he has a website yet.

Babbott213

01-14-2016, 11:15 AM

Here's a link to his FaceBook page. https://www.facebook.com/southernshinetumblers/

Here is a picture of the chips.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160114/31d8ac56d7b138edd4a9befe62c3c6fd.jpg

Babbott213

01-14-2016, 11:19 AM

Just thought I would see if anyone else was using them. I'm not a big time loader, but I load up a good bit when I do load and this has increased my cleaning time. Just thought I would pass the information along.

jmorris

01-14-2016, 11:55 AM

Chips is much faster,

and this has increased my cleaning time.

How long did you run pins and how long are you running the chips?

What is the price difference?

Are the chips magnetic?

mac60

01-14-2016, 12:12 PM

How long did you run pins and how long are you running the chips?

What is the price difference?

Are the chips magnetic?

jmorris - Your last question was my first. If they're not magnetic that would definitely complicate the separation of the media from the clean brass.

Babbott213

01-14-2016, 01:19 PM

They are magnetic and I ran a Batch of 50 .223 cases for a half hour just to clean them up a bit for de-capping and sizing and they were good enough for final clean. I was amazed. Never that fast with the pins. Pins I'd run for a hour plus. Price I paid was $37for 5 pound and that was shipping included.

Babbott213

01-14-2016, 02:50 PM

I just cleaned 60 pcs of .45acp brass for approx. 45 minutes. Here is some before and after photos just to show the end results.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160114/3b952f00a3a902b277e09517c26ecce2.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160114/31f2305ba9bc2fcbe46907ae523d961a.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160114/a27bd3ec850a0e7d2eb11276af04b8b4.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160114/5a6493cf5f35272a9dc429308fa683f2.jpg

dudel

01-14-2016, 03:45 PM

I just cleaned 60 pcs of .45acp brass for approx. 45 minutes. Here is some before and after photos just to show the end results.

I get pretty much the same results with 15 minutes in a citric acid bath (see sticky in the cast Boolits section) and I don't use pins or chips or tumbler.

Walter Laich

01-15-2016, 10:32 PM

I've got a STM tumbler and I wonder if these would damage the rubber pad between the drum and the top?

Babbott213

01-15-2016, 11:11 PM

I doubt it would. I've been running them in a rubber container that came with my tumbler from harbor freight and I can't tell that it's doing anything to the container myself.

lightman

01-16-2016, 11:22 AM

I use a carbide blade on my chop saw, and those look a lot like the chips that it produces. I may have to scrounge a piece of scrap stainless and make a few pounds of chips to try.

zomby woof

01-17-2016, 11:52 AM

Did you have to call the SS chip guy? I can't see a way to order.

bosterr

01-17-2016, 11:58 AM

Click the link in post #5 above. I sent him a PM yesterday through Facebook and he answered almost immediately.

zomby woof

01-17-2016, 12:04 PM

Click the link in post #5 above. I sent him a PM yesterday through Facebook and he answered almost immediately. OK. Do you have to call him to place an order. I see no way of placing an order on the FB page. Or, I'm blind.

Babbott213

01-17-2016, 02:49 PM

He'll contact you and you tell him what you want and where to ship it to and then he will get you a price with shipping back to you. Then you can go to PayPal and send the payment to him then.

Walter Laich

02-01-2016, 12:29 PM

OK, gave them a try with MIXED results

They seem to be a good substitute for the pins. Not sure if they' quicker as I ran them for same length of time as pins.

BIG problem is the cutting (?) oil that was all over mine. I had to run the brass through corn cob media to remove it.

today I tried to get the oil off with gasoline, 3 times with fresh each time. Topped it off with a trip through acetone then a bath in Dawn dishwashing as Dawn is known to cut oil, at least on ducks and geese.

I still had a coating of oil on my hands!!! not pleased (you can tell by the 3 exclamation points)

For you tool and die or metal workers out there: any idea what type it might be and more importantly what can I use to remove it?

thanks

Outer Rondacker

02-01-2016, 12:49 PM

I run a thumbler's tumbler. I used to use pins. Had a friend who go into reloading and I gave him my pins as a gift. He wanted them so bad. For a few years now I have been running a shot of lemon juice from Aldi's. A dash of dawn dish soap and hot water. Five mins in the spin and then hit up a hot water rinse. For small batches like 25 223 or 75 9mm I use an empty one pound powder jug with the same method only I do it by hand. One min let it sit five then one more mins of what mos would call the powder coat swirl. Rinse and so on. You tell me how do they look. The pins you posted up look sharp to me and I do not want anything sharp rubbing on my brass. They also look like they might not sure but might get stuck in the primer pockets.

country gent

02-01-2016, 12:52 PM

It may be a form of black sulfar oil or some synthetic type like lead looking at oil is an imposible way tell what it actually is. A synthetic type can be a pain to clean. Black Sulfar kerosene usually works good. You might try one of the water souluables meant for parts cleaners. Purple power or the like. Mix according to directions and put chips and mix in tumbler for 5-10 minutes drain and rinse repeat several times it should get lighter each time. Final clean with dawn dish soap. Another trick is to boil in dish soap water soap loosens heat softens and waters boiling floats it to the top of the water. Skim off when cool and gentle pour water off. Again this may take 2- 3 times to remove all the oil. Oils and greases can be hard to remove as the may disolve but thats the reason disloved is just a thinner coating left on the pieces parts. With these chips with out agitating only yhe surface and a small distance in is getting cleaned the rest are holding the oil in suspension between chips sealing out water and cleaners. Boiling heats thinning oil and agitates the roll of the boil. Oil floats on water so as its loosened it rises aboce the chips away from them

Walter Laich

02-01-2016, 04:07 PM

CG

Thanks for the input. Going and and tackle it again. You are correct that the coating is less each time. My have to just clean the brass and run them through the corn cob until it's gone that way.

Also waiting to hear back from the guy on facebook

I love life's challenges--let's me know I'm still alive

Walter Laich

02-02-2016, 06:06 PM

Got a reply for the seller. He said to run them through the tumbler with some Simple Green or Purple ?? I found the Purple ?? at wally-world and tried it.

They seem cleaner and now will try them in my normal routine. Will report back

Walter Laich

02-08-2016, 10:35 PM

OK, a bit late but an update:

ran the chips through 2 batches with the Purple stuff. Each time I could see a dark oil-like substance in the water. A little less each time.
went with my normal 1/8 teaspoon of lemonshine and 3 capfuls of armor all clean and shine.

I was back to my bright and shiny brass.

In fact the chips seemed to stay in the bottom better when I poured the water off.

I am pleased will will be using them for a while to give me some long data.

zomby woof

03-08-2016, 05:52 PM

I ran my chips in two batches of hot water and dawn for one hour each to clean them. The second batch of water was clean. First batch was nasty. Brass comes out clean in less time. I like them so far.

M-Tecs

03-08-2016, 05:55 PM

Sounds like I will have to give them a try.

dave 45-90

03-08-2016, 06:52 PM

Pins For Me. Don't like the idea of sharp edges or the cutting fluid
Any of you run a lathe know how the tiny chips will in bed in your fingers
Good way to find them in run a 9 volt battery over your finger
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/reloading/brass-cleaning-with-stainless-media/

StuBach

03-08-2016, 07:57 PM

Been using the chips for a couple of weeks with an HF double drum rock tumbler. Used Simple Green and put them in a container that I placed in my ultrasonic to clean and came back a while later poured off the fluid, did it a second time and everything was great.

Using just the LemiShine has done wonders for nice bright shiny brass and I have seen no indication that the sharp edges are an issue.

Definitely a thumbs up for me. Plus the tumbler is very quiet compared to a standard brass cleaner with media and can't beat the time, only 15 minutes to bright shiny brass.

Beaver Scout

03-09-2016, 04:23 AM

Walter Laich

03-09-2016, 11:49 PM

to keep the shine for more than a week or so I use Armor-All Wash and Wax (3 capfulls), 1/4 tsp LemiShine and a gallon of water.

I ran last batch for 4 hours (missed the correct button on timer) and they could have been brand new brass. Might keep doing this time as I don't have to sit there watching it and the brass is soooo pretty!

2011redrider

03-11-2016, 02:37 AM

I paid $23 for 5#'s and just ran mine about half an hour with some concentrated Gain brand dish soap. It cleaned out my red rouge from the Model B tumbler and pins where shiny. I ran some 45ACP for half an hour and they are almost clean. I do like them but my major complaint is they stick to the sides and top of my Model B and have to be careful so I don't drop them on the floor. I'm going to test them in about 2 weeks to see how they do with lanolin lubed cases.

Try some Woolite instead of the dawn to remove the lanolin lube. Found it on Calguns in this post, http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1141017
I usually just dry tumble with corn cob for about 20-30 minutes. These stainless chips seem to be half the price of the pins I was getting ready to order from Bullseye Reloading.

Walter Laich

03-11-2016, 10:07 AM

chips are a lot less than the pins though you only have to buy them once.

big seller for me is the chips don't slide out of the tumbler like the pins. They stay in place much better allowing me to get more water removed

Not to say I wouldn't go back to pins if chips disappeared for some reason

StuBach

03-13-2016, 11:09 PM

Pictures have been done but here's a great example of what 30 minutes in a tumbler with chips and LemiShine can do.

Left to right: New, fired then cleaned in ultra sonic and left in open air for 6-12 mos, Tumbled in chips.

All are from same case of ammo I received as part of the big recall a few years ago.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160314/74189270af0576f4540d303f1189de51.jpg

My recommendation, use Facebook (shivers with hatred for having had to do so) and contact Southern Shine Tumblers, you won't regret it, I know I'm thrilled with results.

Mauser48

03-14-2016, 01:33 AM

So is the general opinion that the chips are better? I want to get the dual tumbler from harbor freight soon.

StuBach

03-14-2016, 05:31 AM

So is the general opinion that the chips are better? I want to get the dual tumbler from harbor freight soon.

I have the dual barrel from HF and it has worked well for me for the last 3-4 weeks but that's as long as I've been doing it.

If you have neither chips nor pins I would recommend trying one or the other for yourself. I've had amazing luck with the chips but never tried the pins. Cost wise, the 5 pounds of chips that you get for a small order from Southern Shine is more than enough for the double barrel. For about the same price as 5lbs of chips you can get 3lbs of pins on Amazon but probably has faster shipping and easier ordering.

Best recommendation pick one and try it, from what I understand both work. Personal experience is best.

One last thought, if you deprime prior to tumbling, I've read the pins can get stuck in flash holes. I've also read elsewhere that the pins can become lodged in some necked cases like 223 but no experience to prove/disprove either. Chips have done neither for me yet.

Walter Laich

03-14-2016, 08:18 AM

when I used pins I never had pins stick in primer holes. Doing both Large and Small Pistol primer cases.

not saying it can't happen, just hasn't to me.

Outer Rondacker

03-14-2016, 09:03 AM

With a good tumbler you do not even need pins or chips. If it is your brass that is. Range junk pins always help. I have never had any pins stick anyplace they should not. I have heard of chips sticking in primer pockets and fingers. Under nails. Its pins for me. I have not tried the chips. If the chip dealer wants to send me some for a review I will give them a try. But for my money its pins.

One more thing. Why does the guy not clean his product before he sends them? That is just wrong.

Bayou52

03-14-2016, 10:07 AM

When I first started SS wet tumbling about 4 years ago, my kit came with 5 pounds of pins. These pins had a diameter of 0.041". With pins of this diameter, I discovered that about 5% of tumbled cases had pins stuck side-by-side in flash holes.

To remedy this, I pitched those pins and replaced them with SS pins of a diameter of 0,047". The diameter of these pins is too large for two pins to get stuck in flash holes. Result: never any stuck pins in flash holes.

These SS pins deliver spectacular tumbled brass. The brasses appear to have been sent to a jeweler since the finish is that brilliant.

The chips may likewise deliver impressive tumbling results, but for me, I don't see how my tumbled brass could be improved upon..........no reason to change..........

Happy Tumbling -

Bayou52

DocSavage

12-09-2017, 10:26 PM

I was going to suggest Simple Green or Greased Lightning to clean the residue from the SS chips.IIRC the kit I got from STM said if the pins get dirty clean them with Simple Green.

country gent

12-09-2017, 10:56 PM

A block of stainless, mill and end mill should make the proper chips quick and easy. Convetional mill at the depth you want the chips width and step over the thickness you want them. A fly cutter or carbide face mill might do well also. Another that might make really nice chips is the good ol Shaper. But remember these chips are sharp coming of the machine.

zomby woof

12-10-2017, 09:52 AM

I got rid of my chips after while. I keep my cleaned brass in a plastic container. I started noticing chips at the bottom of the container. Now I use a media separator and tumble out the steel. My thought is some of the chips are getting stuck in the primer pocket when the primer is still in it. I also now pre-dry my brass in a bath towel. I through in a magnet to catch any strays.

I'm back to pins. Not sure the chips were really any better.

Walter Laich

12-10-2017, 01:10 PM