Wet tumbling(Not me)

[jcelect]

I was inspecting the 327 Fed Mag brass I had bought(reasonably) at a show and found the SS tumbling pins wedged in the bottom of about 40-50 brass. There was at least 2 pins in each of these brass and in one there was 5 pins stuck at the bottom! ALL were wedged in the center of the case and probably would have bent or broke the decapping pin on my depriming die!
I don't think I will be switching to wet tumbling. My corn cob w/Nu Shine car wax leaves the brass much shinier and very "slippery" which means they go thru the dies much easier! Now I need to go thru the rest of the 500+ 32 cal brass I bought for the same guy!
jcelect

 

[SMSgt]

I, too, will pass on the wet stuff. Ground walnut shells and tumbling does all I ask of it.

 

[CH4]

Yeah, corn cob and or walnut for me.

 

[gwpercle]

I've tried it both ways ... I prefer dry Treated Walnut shell media for polishing .
I Do Not like the water mess and the total drying that must be completely done before reloading those cases ... any moisture is a No-No .
Gary

 

[glenwolde]

That's probably because the seller wasn't willing to spend the time to be sure the pins were removed. I used dry tumblers for decades and regret not going to wet sooner.

I've not had the problem you encountered. I have found dry media stuck in cases.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Never did "Wet" but I did receive some wet "Used" cases that looked like brand new stuff, that was never fired.

Of course it might have been because I usually use cases that have been fired 4-10 times , that lost their new shine look, a long time ago.

 

[roundgun]

When I wet tumble I don’t add the pins unless the brass is super crispy. In that case I’ll decapp before running pins.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HorizontalMike]

Clearing Stuck Media From Brass

I use both walnut and corn in my Vibrator, and I do get this media stuck in my brass occasionally.

THE FIX:
After extracting brass from media, pour media in separate bowl by itself and the separated brass goes back into the vibrator ALONE. And less than 60sec of vibrating brass without the media, removes any and all "stuck" media in the brass.

 

[GB]

I have done it both ways. Both have advantages. I finally settled on wet tumble, LESS THE PINS, as the way that works the best for me. Doesn't get the primer pockets polished bright but other than that, it does a fine job on the cases. Sold my pins and magnet several years ago and haven't missed them at all!

 

[mikld]

I can appreciate those that prefer pristine cases, with glossy shiny interiors and primer pockets, but I have no use for wet tumbling as my corn cob blast media gets my brass clean and shiny on the outside, with less mess. I did try wet tumbling a few times, but didn't care for it. The cases came out bare metal and tarnished quickly. Might have been able to add something to the solution, but I like K.I.S.S and don't need a "formula" for a cleaning solution. In all my reloading of 12 calibers over a few decades I have never had a misfire from a "dirty" primer pocket (they seem to be "self cleaning"). I have never seen a problem from "blackened" case interiors, and I try to shoot alone so I don't care if the guy in the lane next to me sees or thinks about my clean and somewhat shiny handloads. When I tried wet tumbling I had to lube my 44 Magnum and 45 ACP brass to resize (the 44 Magnum brass was so clean it chattered when resizing!).

But like 75% of reloading methods and techniques it's mainly personal choice. Wet tumbling is a good way to get factory new looking handloads, which is great. If one likes the looks of their handloads, they will shoot better!

As a matter of fact I reloaded for 12 years before I got a tumbler and two of the best marksmen I met used brown handloads...

 

[Roofuss]

Corn cob, and crushed walnut shells work best for me .

 

[tominboise]

Like others, I went to wet tumbling and wish I had done it sooner then I did. Cases come out like new, for sure.

One issue with dry tumbling, is build up on the interior of bottleneck cases, reducing the internal capacity and potentially raising pressures. The wet tumbling knocks any of the build up off. That being said, I typically only tumble my pistol cartridges and not my bottleneck cases unless they get really, really grungy.

 

[kbm6893]

I wet tumble. I’m debating now using pins due to the separation issue but it’s not that big of a deal. The cases come out super clean. I will dry tumble them for an hour after they’re dry because the cars are so squeaky clean they stick in the die.

What can I say? I like clean brass. Something very satisfying in looking at gleaming cases.

 

[VikingDude]

I only use wet tumbling and I have different sized pins according to what I am going to be cleaning. Smaller pins for 9mm and larger for .30 cal. I have so far never experienced a pin being stuck.

 

[mikerjf]

Are you guys that “dry tumble” using the same kind of rotating-drum setup as the wet tumbling?

I currently have nothing but would like a minimal setup for occasional cleaning. Dry sounds like less work.

 

[glenwolde]

Are you guys that “dry tumble” using the same kind of rotating-drum setup as the wet tumbling?

I currently have nothing but would like a minimal setup for occasional cleaning. Dry sounds like less work.

I guess you could use a rotary drum but most dry tumblers are vibratory. I find them to be loud dust generators.

The wet is quieter and you need less run time but the seperation is a bit more clumsy and then there's the drying time.

For low volume the Harbor Freight tumbler is inexpensive.

 

[Ray1970]

I like the results I get from wet tumbling. The process is a pain but if you like squeaky clean brass then wet is the way to go. I’ve taken really old range pick ups that were pretty rough and corroded and when they’re done they look like new.

I dry tumbled for 25+ years without issue but I do prefer to wet tumble nowadays.

If I’m lazy or in a hurry I’ll skip the pins and the results are still very good compared to dry tumbling.

Usually dry my brass in the oven but have been thinking about purchasing a dehydrator specifically for drying.

 

[Airfouler]

I've been using a Harbor Freight rock tumbler for a few years to wet tumble...Decap, then into the rubber tumbler bins with a half cap full of auto wash and wax and a splash of simple green added to the water.

Tumble for a hour and brass and pockets are like new and stay that way...seems the wax helps in that regard.

Sift the pins out of the brass and wait for a day to reload...works for me.

 

[Racer X]

I was inspecting the 327 Fed Mag brass I had bought(reasonably) at a show and found the SS tumbling pins wedged in the bottom of about 40-50 brass. There was at least 2 pins in each of these brass and in one there was 5 pins stuck at the bottom! ALL were wedged in the center of the case and probably would have bent or broke the decapping pin on my depriming die!
I don't think I will be switching to wet tumbling. My corn cob w/Nu Shine car wax leaves the brass much shinier and very "slippery" which means they go thru the dies much easier! Now I need to go thru the rest of the 500+ 32 cal brass I bought for the same guy!
jcelect

The pins are too big. You can get small pins of just the right size that can't get stuck in primer pockets, or in a flash hole, and certainly can't jam sideways in any cartridge, except maybe a 25acp.

 

[Mike0251]

Wet tumbling (no pins) all the way here! 2 hours, rinse, put in the dehydrator at 115F set timer for 8 hours and forget. After, a light misting of Dillon lube or equivalent and process. Bottlenecks get more lube obviously then get rinsed in isopropyl to remove lube and dry.