Wet stainless pin tumbling

[zuke]

I paper patch.
I deprime, tumble then go thru the step's to reload it.
When I use my LEE collet dies with PP boolit's there is no difference.

[mold maker]

The Peening is caused by the brass, loaded with wet SS pins, striking each other without the cob, or walnut media to cushion it, It's not a big deal if your gonna expand the mouth. What it amounts to is a micro roll crimp.

[mdi]

And an added feature of super shiny, clean inside-and-out cases is they shrink your groups by .01%!

[Springfield]

So if we are a long range shooter that doesn't resize the brass before reloading we will care about the peening, but if we are like most of use here and use a 2-3 die set to reload we won't care? OK, then I don't care. I don't paper patch either. I usually use my walnut vibrating cleaner but if the primer pockets start to get too dirty or I just want clean insides then I use the SS rotary tumbler. Or if I just get a batch of very dirty cases I use the SS. I doubt my 45 Colt pistols or my 44-40 rifles will really care, but clean brass is nicer to work with. It would have been nice if John Boy would have told us why we should care about the peening instead of just criticizing the guys who use it.

[zuke]

Here's 4000 word's worth of pic's.
Let me know if more pic's are required.

[skeet1]

So if we are a long range shooter that doesn't resize the brass before reloading we will care about the peening, but if we are like most of use here and use a 2-3 die set to reload we won't care? OK, then I don't care. I don't paper patch either. I usually use my walnut vibrating cleaner but if the primer pockets start to get too dirty or I just want clean insides then I use the SS rotary tumbler. Or if I just get a batch of very dirty cases I use the SS. I doubt my 45 Colt pistols or my 44-40 rifles will really care, but clean brass is nicer to work with. It would have been nice if John Boy would have told us why we should care about the peening instead of just criticizing the guys who use it.

Springfield,
Thanks for saying what you did. It says it better than I did. I guess I must have pushed someones sensitivity button.

Ken

[mdi]

I've been working with metals all my life and I'm having trouble seeing how small diameter pins, in a liquid, tumbling with brass cases could cause "peening". No offence to the "peening author", but there must be other factors involved...

[dbosman]

In my opinion, peening is caused by other brass banging the pins into the mouth of the case.
I've not wet tumbled long enough to roll the edge over, but I do see cases with very tiny serrations where the rim has been bent in and out. I've not seen that with just dry media.

[Bayou52]

I've been SS wet tumbling for 2 years, and have been continually amazed at the results.

I have never seen this "peening" that I've read others mention. Not to say others haven't seen it, but in my experience, I have not. Admittedly, I have not examined the case mouth edges under a microscope or even a strong glass. But if that's what it takes to see it , then for me, "peening" is a complete non-issue.

Moreover, even if some small measure of case mouth "peening" did occur, the "peens" would be completely removed by the sizing die, deburring tool and/or chamfering tool.

Nothing compares to spectacularly bright, yellow brass. That level of brilliance may indeed be just my own personal preference given the satisfaction of the results.

Then again, isn't that the precise reason why we handloaders choose to do what we do?

Bayou52

[M Hicks]

I have been using SS pins to clean brass for close to four years. The results I get are similar to the pictures zuke posted which I feel are worth more than the 4000 words he advertised. I haven't noticed peening on cases that have been tumbled for an hour or the ones that I accidentally tumbled for eight hours. If it is there, it hasn't affected loading or accuracy on calibers from 9mm to 300 win mag.

Skeet1, that individuals "sensitivity button" is frequently pushed. Some don't say anything if they don't have anything nice to say. Others get excited when they can attempt to stir the pot and cause tension.

I dry mine by running them through a vibratory tumbler with lizard litter in it for about 15 minutes. It works for me.

[Bayou52]

I dry mine by running them through a vibratory tumbler with lizard litter in it for about 15 minutes. It works for me.

That's an interesting method of drying your brass after wet tumbling. Sounds effective, too.

My personal method of drying the brass is simple, but effective, too. I use a manual rotary media separator. After the water is drained, I put a large dry towel in the basket with the wet brass. After tumbling, 90+ % of the remaining water is absorbed by the towel. So little dampness is left in the cases that setting them out on a plastic tray for an hour or so completely dries them out - no dryers, heaters, dehydrators, ovens, heat lamps, etc., etc., etc. - ever.

Happy tumbling-

Bayou52

[M Hicks]

Bayou52,

I use the RCBS media separator to get the pins out of the cases. Fill the bottom half with water, dump in the brass and pins and tumble it with the water hose running. It also helps to rinse off the brass. Once the water runs clear I'll lift the cage that holds the brass out and continue to rotate it. This gets rid of enough excess water that when I toss the brass into the vibratory tumbler the media doesn't become and stay a wet mess.

The walnut stuff lizard litter is made out of works much better than corn cob also. The corn cob seems to absorb and retain moisture. The walnut does not. Once I no longer see little clumps in the tumbler I know it is dry.

They both seem like effective ways, just tailored to us individuals.

[Bayou52]

Great procedure, M Hicks!

I sure enjoy that wet tumbling. And it's evident you do, too!

Happy tumblng -

Bayou52

[mtgrs737]

I just finished doing a small batch of 223 brass and I am amazed at the results! The cases look brand new even the primer pockets are clean. I use the std. mix of dawn, lemi-shine, and hot water. I make sure that the water is over the brass so that the water cushions the impact of the cases inside the drum. I am going to see about a extra large sieve at wally world to separate the pins from the nasty black water. The pins from the guy in swapping and selling work great! I have cut back on the Lemi-shine so that it does not eat the zinc out of the surface of the brass and turn them copper colored.

[Bayou52]

I have cut back on the Lemi-shine so that it does not eat the zinc out of the surface of the brass and turn them copper colored.

Good point. I use no more than 1/4 TSP of Lemi-shine per 15 pound tumbling drum for the same reason.

Bayou52

[Love Life]

Dang. All this talk of zinc leaching and stuff makes me feel bad about the 3 HEAPING eating size spoons of citric acid I dump into each drum I tumble. Odd that one...

If you look at the picture you can see the 'serrated' case mouth from the SS tumbling. The mouth has not been peened in. In testing I have found this to be a non issue for accuracy out to 500 yds, but never tested beyond that because I really didn't care.

Personally I think the peening is a non issue for most tumblers. You may get negative results from SS tumbling in a cement mixer or 5 gallon drum where the fall at the top of the revolution is longer, but from your standard drum I doubt it. Also high RPMS can also cause the peening when coupled with the long drop in a cement mixer.

Moral of the story? Don't SS tumble in a cement mixer...

After my first firing of brass I size, SS clean, trim, reload. All of my match brass gets love from the Ultrasonic and a bit of flitz.

[Bayou52]

If you look at the picture you can see the 'serrated' case mouth from the SS tumbling.

Interesting, Love Life.

As mentioned in a prior post, after SS wet tumbling, I have not had the "serrations" you've described and shown in your photo in any of my brasses. Perhaps it's attributable to the respective volumes of pins, water and brass we are using together with the speed and configuration of the respective tumblers.

Bayou52

[kbstenberg]

Has anyone had any problems when using a soap other than Dawn?. I think I'm using some cheep stuff. But my brass comes out looking good and not tarnishing later. Kevin

[alha]

I have the issue on one or 2 of my loads that Mtgrs737 mentioned, so I think I'll dial back the Lemi-shine a bit. I have a water softner, so I guess I really don't need to use much of it to get the desired results. I thought that they discolored because I was tardy on completely drying them out, now I know better. This place is truly the Bomb diggity, SO much good information that is shared!

[7of7]

I switched to simple green instead of dawn.. When I used dawn, my brass started coming out like it was coated with a thin coat of black rubber.. Simple green doesnt do that. I have a Lortone tumbler, octagon barrel interior, and I have cleaned some black sunburned brass, returning it to like new appearance. Some of that brass came out pitted..so it was tossed.. It takes roughly 3 cycles through the tumbler, and the first two times, the water comes out looking like watery chocolate.. I mainly did it to see if I could do it. Quite a while ago, I bought some fairly tarnished 45 brass.. cleaned it up as best I could with corn cob, walnut shell, but the stainless was wonderful. All of it came out looking new. I haven't noticed any peening of case mouths, so it isn't an issue for me.