kbm6893
SWCA Member
I might get into wet tumbling but seperating the line from the brass looks to be a bit of a pain. Would stainless BB’s work? Seems to me they would separate easier and would be easier to spot if one was still in the brass.
Steel BB’s Instead of Pins for Wet Tumbling?
- Thread starter kbm6893
- Start date
Yup... too big I’m afraid ... I use an old spaghetti strainer inside a larger bucket. Fill up the bucket, drop in strainer filled with brass, and swish away with my hand. Most all pins fall out just fine ... I’ve never seen a pin in a straight walled case. For 223 cases I’ll give them a quick shake or two to confirm all the pins are out.
Sold !
I couldn’t afford one of those bad boys so I went with the cheap harbor freight model ... 3 years and it’s still chugging along. I typically shoot 200 to 300 per trip ... the single drum will handle that in two runs ... about 90 min per run.
MyDads38
Member
I'd spend the money and get the FA rotary tumbler! Got mine a few years ago as a Christmas present and it makes quick and easy cleaning of a LOT of brass at one time! Get the magnet to help sort pins from brass. It's amazing how clean it gets brass-inside, outside and primer pockets!
I also tried tumbling without the ss pins, outside just as clean; inside and primer pockets not as clean. But makes quick work of cleaning brass without having to separate the pins! Still cleaner than dry tumbling.
I also tried tumbling without the ss pins, outside just as clean; inside and primer pockets not as clean. But makes quick work of cleaning brass without having to separate the pins! Still cleaner than dry tumbling.
Hasbeen1945
Absent Comrade
Lyman makes a couple of separator pans. They work real well along with the Frankford Arsenal magnet.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
8 years ago I bought the kit from Thumbler's Tumblers. It contains a rotary tumbler in the 1.5 gallon size, 5 pounds of SS pins and a media (pin) separator!
I had several old 45-70's (50+) that had been stained by Black Powder for over 30 years. They had been vibratory tumbled with Corn Cob or Walnut shell, with and without cleaners, jewelers rouge, Nu-shine, & even Comet. Nothing cleaned the Black Powder fouling colors from the brass. First pass through the wet pin they shined like new. (I tumbled them for 3 hours! Since then everything else has been 1.5 to 2 hours)
The equipment I use came with instructions:
4 Quarts Hot Water
5 pounds SS pins
1 table spoon dish detergent (I use Lemon Ajax)
1/4 teaspoon Lem-a-shine (citric Acid)
2 pounds brass. (I size and deprime first, so as to clean case lube off too.)
This equals 15 pounds, the weight limit for the motor! If you want more brass per batch, buy a bigger system! (I usually am short 1 Cup of water , so the air space is a little bigger- a hint from the internet!)
After a 90 minute tumble the water is dark grey to jet black. I pour of as much water without loosing pins. Then dump everything into the separator 15 seconds of spinning and rinse and repeat brass and pins separately.
I've done handgun, rifle, and all brass shotgun cases, all come out looking new.
If you are assembling a system fro parts you find on the internet or Harbor Freight, there are many pin sizes. Measured metric or standard! you want a pin size that is in the .040" by .250" (+/- .003") size range so they don't get stuck inside the case or flash holes. I have use these on almost every cartridge from 32 ACP to 450 3 1/4 N.E., straight wall and bottle beck (Never tried 25 ACP or 17 or 20 caliber reloading.)
Try it you won't go back to the dust makers!
Ivan
I had several old 45-70's (50+) that had been stained by Black Powder for over 30 years. They had been vibratory tumbled with Corn Cob or Walnut shell, with and without cleaners, jewelers rouge, Nu-shine, & even Comet. Nothing cleaned the Black Powder fouling colors from the brass. First pass through the wet pin they shined like new. (I tumbled them for 3 hours! Since then everything else has been 1.5 to 2 hours)
The equipment I use came with instructions:
4 Quarts Hot Water
5 pounds SS pins
1 table spoon dish detergent (I use Lemon Ajax)
1/4 teaspoon Lem-a-shine (citric Acid)
2 pounds brass. (I size and deprime first, so as to clean case lube off too.)
This equals 15 pounds, the weight limit for the motor! If you want more brass per batch, buy a bigger system! (I usually am short 1 Cup of water , so the air space is a little bigger- a hint from the internet!)
After a 90 minute tumble the water is dark grey to jet black. I pour of as much water without loosing pins. Then dump everything into the separator 15 seconds of spinning and rinse and repeat brass and pins separately.
I've done handgun, rifle, and all brass shotgun cases, all come out looking new.
If you are assembling a system fro parts you find on the internet or Harbor Freight, there are many pin sizes. Measured metric or standard! you want a pin size that is in the .040" by .250" (+/- .003") size range so they don't get stuck inside the case or flash holes. I have use these on almost every cartridge from 32 ACP to 450 3 1/4 N.E., straight wall and bottle beck (Never tried 25 ACP or 17 or 20 caliber reloading.)
Try it you won't go back to the dust makers!
Ivan
muddocktor
Member
For separating my pins from the brass when I wet tumble in my FA wet tumbler I use the Dillon CM-500 media separator I bought 20+ years ago for separating dry media from my cases. I actually use it with both wet and dry tumbling. After wet tumbling, I pour the FA container into the basket, fill the tub with water and then rotate the basket a while to spit the pins out. I then dump that water out, refill with water and spin the basket around a bit more and then do a final rinse of the brass to clean any residual soap off the cases and dry them. It works very well for me and the tub makes getting your pins back out easy to save them until the next wet tumbling job comes up.
As for a magnet, I use the rare earth magnet I stripped out of an old hard drive. That little booger has some great magnetic power.
As for a magnet, I use the rare earth magnet I stripped out of an old hard drive. That little booger has some great magnetic power.
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Boogsawaste
Member
I started by using the steel pins and an RCBS media separator. I fill the bottom bucket of the separator with water and spin the brass a little to rinse and remove the pins. Thousands of rounds like that with no problems...
Until one day I found 2 pins wedged into a primer pocket. I’m sure it was a freak accident but I just stopped using the pins together. Not because of that, but because I can stick more brass in the tumbler without them!
Until one day I found 2 pins wedged into a primer pocket. I’m sure it was a freak accident but I just stopped using the pins together. Not because of that, but because I can stick more brass in the tumbler without them!
Yes, BBs will work, but won't get the primer pockets polished. When I experimented with wet tumbling I had on hand quite a bit of stainless steel fasteners, from #4 machine screws, nuts and washers to 1/16" cotter pins up to some 10-24 hardware (salt water boat owner), and the brass came out just as shiny as if I used pins. I even started with plain water and later move on to one or two of the "formula" (plain water shined/cleaned quite well). My experiments showed me though, wet tumbling is not worth the mess to me (I have no need for shiny primer pockets)...
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AManWearingAHat
Member
I cannot say enough good things about the FA wet tumbler. It’s really an awesome machine.
Don’t cheap out and skip the separator magnet. It’s a god send.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don’t cheap out and skip the separator magnet. It’s a god send.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
