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Thread: Question about drying cases after tumbling wet. biggie.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Question about drying cases after tumbling wet. biggie.

    OK guys, need your advise. Best friend, just called me. He had wet tumbled 50 30-06 cases and put them in the oven to dry. Forgot to turn oven down and off, let them bake for over an hour at 350 degrees. Said they turned a darker color. Do you think they are ok or would that temp destroy the cases integrety. Wallacem inGa

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    I'm not an expert and I'm sure other will chime in, but they should be completely fine. People anneal cases at much higher temps than that. I don't think 350F is hot enough to anneal the cases and the dark color is likely from residue left over from the tumbling process. If anything I would think that it would make the cases closer to new (post-annealing) condition, but likely it hasn't done anything to them except darken them.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    Not very scientific, but use a pair of pliers to crush a dark case, a non baked case, and see if you notice a difference.

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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    I've done that.
    I just ran them in the polisher again so they'd look pretty.

    When the 2nd .45ACP stowed away in a batch I washed, and cooked off in the oven-
    All reloading activity was banned from the kitchen.
    Now days, I lay wet brass out on a towel for a day or two for them to dry.
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  5. #5
    Boolit Master hoodat's Avatar
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    I absolutely don't trust anything except for the oven to dry my cases. I go 200 degrees for an hour, and know they're dry. jd
    It seems that people who do almost nothing, often complain loudly when it's time to do it.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master Sasquatch-1's Avatar
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    If you can crush the case fairly easy with your thumb and fingers, they are probably too soft.

    As for drying, I take mine and separate the pins out and then dry tumble with lizard litter and New Finish for about an hour. Dries the cases and leave a slight protective coating.
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  7. #7
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    I don't use the oven....I prefer to stay married!
    I have a board with lots of 12d finish nails pounded in upright and I set the inverted cases on each nail. Then I turn on my dual 500 watt construction lamp and pretty quick the liquid is drained and dry. On a cold day to speed the process I air-blow the excess moisture off/out of the cases before I turn on the lamp.
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  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    Annealing temp is much higher. Go ahead and use them.
    Whatever!

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    A couple years ago I tumbled a hundred or so 223 brass, then tossed them in a toaster oven to dry quickly. I probably had it set for 250-300. I regretted it. The brass took WAY TOO MUCH effort to size. I re-lubed and tried a few of them, but decided it was not worth the gamble of breaking something. I mean these were HARD to size. In the end I chose to toss them to the scrap bucket. And yes, they were a different color. More red than usual.

    I'm thinking the problem was because I tossed them in a cold oven, then turned it on. The elements were running full bore to get the oven up to temp, and there's just no way of knowing how hot the brass got. I assume by the time the entire oven heated to 250 the brass may have been twice that. It would depend on where the heating elements were and where the temp sensor is. I still use the oven to dry brass, but I heat it up to 250 and turn it off before putting the brass in. Never had a problem doing it in that order.

  10. #10
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    To anneal brass you need to heat it to between 500 and 800 degrees F, then quench. If the brass only went to 350 degrees it might still be OK, but personally I wouldn't trust it. Generally we anneal the neck and shoulder of a case. But, if the head of a case gets soft it can lead to a catastrophic failure. With cast bullet load pressures it's hard to get into trouble, but with jacketed loads it can be a different story. If there were any possibility that these cases might get used later for jacketed bullet loads I'd toss them. It's just not worth the risk. If they will only ever be used for cast bullets, then they may be safe, but ultimately the choice to use them or not is your friend's.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master almar's Avatar
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    Same happened to me many years ago with .308 brass and I just wasn't 100 sure about them so I tossed them. They were on their final stretch anyways. I'm not saying this is a definite no go, I'm just saying that was what I chose to do at the time. The thing about ovens like that is that 350 is just an average...the brass might have been hotter for a time. I just adjust to letting them air dry now. They turn out nicer anyways.
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  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I tumble with, SS pins, simple green, lemi shine, hot water, air dry a couple days on a towel, then into the corn for an hour or so..

  13. #13
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    Mk42gunner's Avatar
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    50 .30-06 cases shouldn't be enough to break anybody replacing them, why take a chance?

    With that said they may be alright, but I wouldn't risk it.

    Robert

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by popper View Post
    Annealing temp is much higher. Go ahead and use them.
    ^^^THIS^^^
    Why I dont wet tumble my brass, drying, tumbling dry to polish, why. 2-3hrs in dry media with a bit of polish works just fine.
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  15. #15
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    350 degrees shouldn't be enough to harm the cases. Load and shoot them.
    Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!

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  16. #16
    Boolit Master

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    Makes me wonder how hot the last case out of a semi is after a mag dump or two.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master

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    Annealing of brass is not a certain temp. It is temp and time dependent. 650 degrees for a few seconds will anneal. A lower temp at a longer diration will also anneal.

    Cases subjected to 570 degrees for one hour did exhibit case head softening. https://www.ampannealing.com/article...he-microscope/

    Quenching of brass in water does nothing in regard to brass annealing except cool the brass and stop the annealling process. Does not harden or otherwise change the anneal of the case neck shoulder.
    I personally would just toss the cases, I do not subject my brass to a potential softening situation that would make them suspect.

    Just realize annealling is time and temp dependent. Leaving cases overnight in the oven (350⁰) would probably anneal them, but five seconds in a torch flame also anneals them.

    The research is out there.

  18. #18
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    I often wet tumble my cases, but then I dump them on a towel to take off the worst of the water, then put them in a food dehydrator the other half was going to get rid of.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master Half Dog's Avatar
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    I hear many “Should be” statements. However, purely guessing; I agree with them.

    Wet tumbling is a summertime sport for me. Sunshine is the perfect dryer in Texas.
    The sooner I fall behind...the more time I have to catch up with

  20. #20
    Boolit Master

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    Saw a suggestion to warm the oven up to 350, put the brass in, then turn it off. Probably not a bad idea.

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