Tumble or soak?

[alphabrace]

Hello,
Just getting started reloading 9mm. Seems I read somewhere that you can use a cleaner to soak the brass if you don't have a tumbler? I think the cleaner was the orange citrus type stuff. I don't have a tumbler and I am hoping that I can soak. Any thoughts?

 

[Wee Hooker]

You can reload several times without tumbling. (I've gone as high as 5 x with 38 specials.) I tried soaking/washing in my earlier reloading days with mixed results. Seems no matter how hard I tried, I'd get some cases that were always wet inside. I did have some success with tumbling in a double bagged, padded, 1gal plastic jug in the wife's drier. ( Hint: Do it when she's not home!
Whatever you do, don't use anything with ammonia as it will brittle the case.

 

[sureshotbob]

I do beleave that Midway sell's a cleaner you can soak brass in but I've never used it. As for tumblers I have Midway's big vibrating one and it's much faster than the old barrel type I use to have.

 

[acl864]

Cleaning is not required for straight walled pistol casings. As long as there is nothing stuck on the case inside or out and the primer will seat properly you're good to go. Of course they look alot better if you clean them...

 

[btruman]

I'm another one who seldom tumbles brass, usually wiping it off with an old towel to make sure there is no grit. Like has been noted though they sure do look better when tumbled and are bright and shiny.

 

[imashooter2]

Wet cleaning works fine but is an enormous PITA compared to tumbling. If you use an acid based cleaner, make sure you rinse well and get the primer pockets dry. If not, the acid can attack the primer cup and when you decap, the top comes off and leaves a ring of brass in the pocket which ruins the case.

 

[OKFC05]

Aw c'mon, give in a buy a vibratory tumbler like all the rest of us. It works better and is a BUNCH easier than hand polishing!
If you load more than a few boxes a year, it is just a matter of time before you get one anyway.
Reloading - Shop Reloading Tools & Supplies at MidwayUSA

 

[Kid Sopris]

Vibrate ....from Dillon Precision! Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

 

[Dale53]

If you want a REAL (as in large capacity) try the Dillon CV-2001.
It does require a fair amount of room (it is BIG) but that kind of goes with being of large capacity:

Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

I also highly recommend the Media Separator:

Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

I have used both since they hit the market many years ago. They do a WONDERFUL job. I bought a large supply of corn cob media (specially prepared stuff from Gil Hebard that lasts much longer than "feed store" ground cobs) and have been totally satisfied with my selection.

I have had my Dillon tumbler a LOT of years (at least fifteen and probably over 20 years) and tens of thousands of both pistol and rifle cases. Finally, after all of that use, the bolt that holds the lid on failed (the threads wore out). A quick phone call to Dillon and one, complete with a new knob, was in the mail AT NO COST! The electrics are only covered for one year but the rest of the machine is covered by warranty forever...

I have no connection with Dillon, just a happy customer.

Keep in mind that you need to start thinking about Christmas - this would make a very nice Christmas present to yourself...

FWIW
Dale53

 

[mkk41]

Midway sells their Frankford Arsenal brand of vibratory cleaners for $49.99 , sometimes less with their frequent (E-Blast) sales. It'll handle a few hundred 38s or 45s and in less than an hour with walnut media , you'll have nice clean cases , ready to go

 

[2152hq]

The only cases I soak to clean are those I shoot with BP or BP substitute.
A necessary step for those type of loads.

The dry media cleaner is so much easier & efficient for smokeless fired cases.

If you do decide to clean them by soaking,,,add a bit of lead shot to the mix,,(any convenient size will do but #8 or #9 seem to work best for me).
I just use water and laundry detergent but the newer organic cleaners get high praise lately and keep the greeny weenys happy.

Agitage the mess in a plastic container for a few minutes and the shot will knock off any hard to remove dirt, carbon, etc that a normal soaking won't.
Remove the cases, strain the shot out and reuse the next time.

Cases won't be shiney bright like a tumbler, but will be clean inside and out.

Yes drying them can be a pain,,especially in the winter months.
I start with deprimed cases to allow them to drain & dry easier. Plus it allows the cleaning process to get at the primer pockets too.
Deprime in a larger cal die to avoid scaring your good one.

You can see why it's alot of work and the only reason I do it is for the BP type loads!

Vibratory or tumbler cleaner is really the way to go if you're going to do much volume.

 

[oldRoger]

I don't insist on shinny brass, I do like it clean, perhaps a holdover from the days of steel resize dies.
If you shoot and recover brass outside from the dirt and gravel you may have a problem with dirt, mud and sand.
Shooting lead, results in a certain amount of bullet lube and greasy smoke on brass.

So I wash them first in the washing machine, hot water, either regular laundry soap or simple green HD cycle. This is not noisy in most washers.
I then put them in my brass separator and tumble them to get rid of some of the internal water. If the sun is shining lay them out in the sun, I use an old screen door on concrete blocks.

The only time I tried the Clothes Drier I caught hell, I do not recommend it for that reason.

However a couple of baking sheets in the oven at 250F will dry them fast if the sun is not shining.

If you want to shine them after cleaning either tumbler or vibrator will do a quick job.

 

[canoe on the yukon]

I'm with Old Roger.I'm old fashioned in many ways and this is one of them.If cases get really bad,I'll wash them by stirring around in a pan with hot water and dish soap and keeping the water hot,I'll let it soak for a few minutes.Afterwards,I'll rinse with hot water and then lay them out to air dry.

If cases land in the dirt,etc,they get wiped off and so that is a non issue.This has worked for me for many years..I don't care about the cosmetic appearance of cases.

 

[perrazi]

cosmetic issues aside, clean cases are easier on your dies, even the no lube type. if you are shooting an auto, it also aids in feeding from the magazine. just my opinion,of course.

 

[canoe on the yukon]

cosmetic issues aside, clean cases are easier on your dies, even the no lube type. if you are shooting an auto, it also aids in feeding from the magazine. just my opinion,of course.

I have been in competition and fired a great many rounds from the 1911 45 in past years.It has never made a difference.I have never detected any damage to any of my dies or chambers and this is under magnification. If one is picking up range brass (which I don't)one will get very dirty brass.

I have no quarrel with anyone who uses a tumbler but I object if someone say's my practice is inferior.

Another rationale is to say that scatches and splits that are beginning are not visable unless tumbled.I have not found that to be true.

 

[gwalchmai]

Soak your brass in a 50% vinegar/water solution for 15 - 30 minutes, rinse with clean water. Dry in the sun on a towel or newspaper. If you dry indoors it may take a day or two depending on humidity.

 

[kennyb]

Aw c'mon, give in a buy a vibratory tumbler like all the rest of us. It works better and is a BUNCH easier than hand polishing!
If you load more than a few boxes a year, it is just a matter of time before you get one anyway.
Reloading - Shop Reloading Tools & Supplies at MidwayUSA

+1...go ahead and buy a tumbler....easier than trying some hand wash

 

[Engineer1911]

Harbor Freight sells a tough tumbler on sale for $29.95. Mine has lasted 5 years with 4 drops of oil on the armature for maintenance. It looks like a Midway clone.

 

[Marksman]

Here's my take on tumbling, I have both a tumbler (an RCBS Sidewinder) and a vibratory unit (Midway/Frankfort Arsenal) I like to use the Sidewinder with rouge impregnated walnut hull, the vibratory unit uses corn to which I add a couple of pea sized lumps of Mother's Mag Wheel Polish. The Sidewinder has a built in timer which I usually set for two hours. I built a timer for the vibratory unit, it uses a spring wound timer switch. I keep my tumbler/vibratory unit in the garage, two reasons for this the first being that when I get home from the range the brass goes immediately into the tumbler. Second reason is that some tumblers have been know to have motors that overheat and pose a fire hazzard. I place my tumbler on the bare concrete garage floor fo that reason, the timer eliminates forgetting the tumbler adn the possibility of overheating and a fire. Takes care of the noise issue too. My media comes from the local sand blast supply company, a 50# bag is very economical when split amoungst several reloading buddies. Take a sample of the media you are using when visiting the sandblast supply company as they have ther own system for identifying media size and can get you what you need if shown a sample.

 

[EMT Edu]

I found this in a similar thread some time back. I've tried and it works well.

"Here's a recipe I got from a 1957 NRA article.

1 Pint water
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dish detergent

Deprime cases first, wash in this solution for about 10 min. Rinse 10 minutes. Dry well in sun, oven etc. This works well, I used it for years until I bought a tumbler. If you ever go over to the dark side and load black powder it works well for cleaning cases used with it too."