For You Wet Tumblers: How Do You Handle Rifle Cases?

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otisrush

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I'm switching from dry to wet tumbling/cleaning. I don't have any illusions that this will make my ammo better. It just sounds fun and I'd like to have shiny brass. I'm doing it purely for aesthetic reasons.

I'm curious how folks handle (the steps) they go through for rifle cases. Up until now I've done a 1st dry tumble when they're fresh from the range, I lube/size/decap, then I dry tumble them again to get the lube off.

I'll now be using a Lee Universal Decapping die. So my plan is to decap the dirty cases, wet tumble, then lube/size. Do folks then tumble again to get the lube off? I was considering just wiping the lube off with a rag, but I know there will also be remnant lube inside the neck.

Thoughts / best practices?

Thanks.

OR
 
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I tumble all my cases, rifle and pistol both, in a solution of hot water and Dawn dishwashing detergent. I tumble them before I size them as I don't want to run the dirt and grit through my dies. I use Imperial sizing lube for the calibers that I don't have carbide dies for and the Dawn removes that very well. I've used hot water and dishwashing liquid in my Thumbler's Tumbler for probably 40 years now for at least the first cleaning before sizing.

If I want them shinier than the Dawn gets them, I tumble them in crushed walnut with some Dillon's polish or Thumbler's rouge.

There are far more modern products available now but I am too old and cheap to try them.
 
Thread is false advertising. Came expecting wet tumblers, found a discussion on reloading, left disappointed.
 
otisrush said:
I'll now be using a Lee Universal Decapping die. So my plan is to decap the dirty cases, wet tumble, then lube/size. Do folks then tumble again to get the lube off? I was considering just wiping the lube off with a rag, but I know there will also be remnant lube inside the neck.



OR
Click to expand...

That's how I do it, yes I tumble to remove lube but this time in the vibratory tumbler with corncob and a little polish.
 
My .223, .308 and .30-06 dies are all RCBS. Hornaday made a replacement stem that held the decapping pin and the expander button that would fit the RCBS dies. The expander button was carbide, so I never lubed the insides of the necks of the cases I had them for. Less neck stretch and stress, I figured and no lube cleanup.
 
otisrush said:
I'm switching from dry to wet tumbling/cleaning. I don't have any illusions that this will make my ammo better. It just sounds fun and I'd like to have shiny brass. I'm doing it purely for aesthetic reasons.

I'm curious how folks handle (the steps) they go through for rifle cases. Up until now I've done a 1st dry tumble when they're fresh from the range, I lube/size/decap, then I dry tumble them again to get the lube off.

I'll now be using a Lee Universal Decapping die. So my plan is to decap the dirty cases, wet tumble, then lube/size. Do folks then tumble again to get the lube off? I was considering just wiping the lube off with a rag, but I know there will also be remnant lube inside the neck.

Thoughts / best practices?

Thanks.

OR
Click to expand...

I switched to a Frankfort Arsenal rotary/wet tumbler a few years ago for my handgun brass and couldn't be happier! I use the Lee Universal Decapping die to deprime before tumbling-everything comes out shiny, sparkling clean including the primer pockets :D I usually use 1/4 teaspoon of Lemi-Shine and a good squirt of Dawn per load with warm tap water.

Once fired brass will be clean in 60-90 minutes, very dirty range brass I let tumble for 3 hours. With the timer on the unit, you just set and forget until it shuts off. It's a little more effort, but well worth the results, IMO. :)

I still use my Lyman 3200 tumbler for my rifle rounds, they don't have to be as clean, and honestly, I'm not sure how much of a pain it would be to get the pins out of 223 rifle brass. I don't load a lot of rifle ammo-just 223 and 308. After cleaning, I lube/resize, I started using Hornady Unique sizing lube and it works fantastic! Used to use RCBS for years, the Unique makes sizing so easy and I just wipe off with a clean cotton rag/towel. I think you can use it on the inside of the neck as well without worry of contamination; right now I'm finishing up a tube of the Lee sizing lube for that purpose-it too won't contaminate powder.

Let me know how things work out, if you decide to wet tumble your rifle brass; maybe I'll give it a try at some point ;)
 
I use a 40 year old Thumler with stainless steel pins
1. Universal deprime,
2. add 50-100 rifle brass, cold water to 2" below full, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Lemi-Shine, 2 tbsp Dawn; you want enough Dawn to have suds when you open the barrel after tumbling.
3. tumble 1 to 3 hrs.
4. dump tumbler barrel contents into brass/media separator (I never use the top half of the gray part), crank to shake pins out of brass.
5. rinse brass in hot water.
6. dump onto folded towel, spread brass flat, fold towel over for a minute or two.
7. pour dirty water out of separator, dump ss media back into tumbler barrel, wash SS media if you desire.
8. open towel back flat.
9. check for SS pins stuck in primer flash holes, (rare, but it happens, usually two) pull the very few pins that are there with small needle nose pliers.
10. let air dry overnight.
11. store or load brass next day. I usually load brass in the tumbler about dinner time, let tumble, come back after dinner and finish the process.

If you're in a hurry, you can accelerate drying with an air nozzle or a heat gun/hair drier.
I really like the SS media method, much more than the dirty media tumbling. No red residue, primer pockets are immaculate, case insides immaculate, sharp edges from chamfering are softened, and the media lasts forever.
 
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Thumbler's Tumbler with water, ceramic media, dish soap, and one level spoon of cream of Tarter for my Black Powder Cartridge Rifle brass.
 
Been using the FART for a couple of years now on a commercial basis. Here is what I do:

1. Deprime brass using a Universal Decapping die.
2. Fill cannister with 8# of the large size pins.
3. Fill cannister no higher than the cannister neck with brass.
4. Add slightly less than 1 gallon of water.
5. Add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Lemi-Shine, 1 tbsp Dawn.
6. Tumble for 2 to 3 hrs depending upon how bad the brass is.
7. Dump tumbler cannister contents into a 5 gallon bucket using the sieve on the one end of the cannister to prevent the brass from being dumped.
8. Rinse the brass that remains in the cannister with COLD water, shake it, and then dump that water and any remaining pins into a 5 gallon bucket.
9. Repeat step 8.
10. Mount your brass/media separator on top of the 5 gallon bucket and rinse with COLD water while rotating the separator.
11. Dump brass from brass/media separator onto a unfolded towel, pick up corners of towel and roll brass around inside the towel so as to absorb some of the water off the brass.
12. Dump contents of towel into a aluminum turkey basting pan and place in the oven set at the lowest possible setting where the oven comes on.
13. Leave in oven for 30 minutes, remove and let cool.

This is actually more work to describe it than it is to actually do it. Oh, and yes, you will still use your dry tumbler to remove the lube, especially if you are working with hundreds of cases like I was and using a spray on lube. Hope that helps.

Don
 
I guess I'm the odd man out here. I have resized "dirty" cases for years and have yet to wear out or ruin a sizing die. I size and decap and throw them into the tumbler. They come out clean and ready to load.
 
USSR said:
Been using the FART for a couple of years now on a commercial basis. Here is what I do:

1. Deprime brass using a Universal Decapping die.
2. Fill cannister with 8# of the large size pins.
3. Fill cannister no higher than the cannister neck with brass.
4. Add slightly less than 1 gallon of water.
5. Add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Lemi-Shine, 1 tbsp Dawn.
6. Tumble for 2 to 3 hrs depending upon how bad the brass is.
7. Dump tumbler cannister contents into a 5 gallon bucket using the sieve on the one end of the cannister to prevent the brass from being dumped.
8. Rinse the brass that remains in the cannister with COLD water, shake it, and then dump that water and any remaining pins into a 5 gallon bucket.
9. Repeat step 8.
10. Mount your brass/media separator on top of the 5 gallon bucket and rinse with COLD water while rotating the separator.
11. Dump brass from brass/media separator onto a unfolded towel, pick up corners of towel and roll brass around inside the towel so as to absorb some of the water off the brass.
12. Dump contents of towel into a aluminum turkey basting pan and place in the oven set at the lowest possible setting where the oven comes on.
13. Leave in oven for 30 minutes, remove and let cool.

This is actually more work to describe it than it is to actually do it. Oh, and yes, you will still use your dry tumbler to remove the lube, especially if you are working with hundreds of cases like I was and using a spray on lube. Hope that helps.

Don
Click to expand...

Curious, why cold water, and why do you emphasise it?
 
I will deprime then wet tumble with Lemi-shine, hot water and a squirt of liquid dish soap. Tumble for about two hours, then dry the cases. Beware of the dreaded two SS pins in the primer flash hole.

Since I do not have a semi auto, I have gone to collet neck sizing all my brass and do not have case lube issues, or have carbide dies for the pistol ammo. I wash after depriming and have not damaged a die yet, but then again I make sure the heavy dirt and grit is off the cases befoe the go into the die.
 
I have used an RCBS Sidewinder for the last 20 to 25 years. I use the sidewinder case cleaner concentrate mixed as per directions on the bottle. I also add a couple of drops of whatever dish detergent my wife has on the kitchen sink to the tumbler before starting a cleaning cycle. For rifle cases my routine is as follows:

1. Deprime fired cases and clean primer pockets.
2. Wash cases for around 2 hours.
3. Sun dry for around 4 hours until absolutely dry.
4. Lube, size (RCBS X-Die) and deburr inside case mouths.
5. Rewash cases for about 45 minutes.
6. Sun dry for about 4 hours until absolutely dry.
7. Prime, load and shoot.

I have also recently started annealing my rifle cases every third firing (between steps 3 and 4).
 
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I first run my rifle cases in my dry tumbler for an hour or 2 and then resize and deprime, After that, I throw them into my Frankford Arsenal tumbler and wet clean them with SS pins, Dawn and a little Lemishine and run them for 90 minutes or so. I rinse them out and then dry them in my oven at 200 degrees until they are dry and ready for loading.
 
My SS pins arrived today........

I think I'm concluding the Lemishine is pretty important. Is that the case?

I say this because I ran a batch with just dish soap for about 2 hours and they did no come out looking like the multitude of pics I've seen on the internet. I haven't gotten around to getting the Lemishine - so I'm hoping that makes the difference.

OR
 
The Lemi-shine is citric acid, it helps a lot!

I read all the steps that everybody does and agree that they all will work. My brass has never come home muddy enough to pre wash or pre tumble it. I switched to a water based case lube by RCBS for rifle and non-carbide sized cases. I swage military primer crimps after cleaning, I noticed an improvement in effort.

I prefer hot tap water, after tumbling cases for 1-3 hours, in a drafty old farm house the water was always still warm and the cases were rinsed warm two times in hot tap water to remove soap and such they dry much faster. Even with Lemi-shine, I preferred Lemon based dish soap.

The only batches that really needed a second run through, were batches of 45-70 and all brass shot shells that were loaded with black powder and not cared for properly afterwards. Some of them has black staining that was 20 years old. The insides and primer pockets were like new also.

I have used steel pins on 22 Hornet, 218 Bee, 221 fireball, as well as thousands of 223, the only pins that ever got stuck were in new batches of pins and they were bent from the factory or shipping. I never tried any 17 Caliber cleaning, but a friend with rifles in 17 Squirrel & 17 Chipmunk ( both shortened 22 Hornet cases) never has a pin problem.

I did notice that straight walled cases tumbled wet with pins were so clean that on a progressive press the casemouth flaring and powder dropping stage; the flaring stem would stick a small amount and add more resistance to the up stroke. (No big deal, once you got use to it!) I had loaded 75,000 to 100,000 straight walled pistol cases with corn cobb or walnut media and never had that happen.

I have been using wet pins for almost 6 years now and the only thing I miss about the dry media is: Worn out walnut shells make a great filler for shooting bags!

Ivan
 
I'm pretty frugal. I use short pieces (3/4" to 1" ) of #12 copper wire to wet tumble my pistol brass. Dawn and lemmy shine, of course. These work very well. I've had folks say the copper wire will scratch and damage the brass. I haven't seen evidence of this, and the cases come out sparkling clean.

Thought I would try these for some 223 brass.........

Maybe SS media is works different, but the copper wire got hopelessly jammed in the small bottle neck cartridge. Took forever to get it out, and some I couldn't get out....

It's walnut shell media for me when bottle neck cases need tumbled.

Just sayin'
 
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