My old Lyman tumbler has seen better days, been thinking about going with wet tumbling my brass.
Pro's, Con's, Brand of tumbler??
Any info would be appreciated.
Pro's, Con's, Brand of tumbler??
Any info would be appreciated.
Anyone Wet Tumble?
- Thread starter TurboLuver
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I do, Thumler's Model B and 5 pounds of pins. I had a big Lyman 3200, man that thing cleaned a lot of brass for me. Motor finally started popping circuit breakers more and more often.
Off the top of my head:
Downsides,
1. if you leave it run too long it will batter the case mouths and round off case head edges. I got myself a cheap $10 time off of Amazon so I don't have to watch the clock. I found that 3 hours, a recommendation I've often heard, is too much.
2. A errant steel pin in a reloaded case can do more damage to a gun then a bit of corn cob or walnut.
3. It's wet. But, you can use whatever media separator you're using now.
Upsides,
1. QUIETER!!!!
2. Faster.
3. Don't have to replace worn-out media. Just add a little to replace lost pins occasionally.
4. Cleaner primer pockets faster... if you deprime first.
Off the top of my head:
Downsides,
1. if you leave it run too long it will batter the case mouths and round off case head edges. I got myself a cheap $10 time off of Amazon so I don't have to watch the clock. I found that 3 hours, a recommendation I've often heard, is too much.
2. A errant steel pin in a reloaded case can do more damage to a gun then a bit of corn cob or walnut.
3. It's wet. But, you can use whatever media separator you're using now.
Upsides,
1. QUIETER!!!!
2. Faster.
3. Don't have to replace worn-out media. Just add a little to replace lost pins occasionally.
4. Cleaner primer pockets faster... if you deprime first.
I really only like wet tumbling for the noise and if I want to be super OCD about the cases. You WILL have to examine each case to make sure there aren't any pins inside the case.
They do come out ultra shiny, but the minute you put your oily hands on them they'll tarnish anyway
They do come out ultra shiny, but the minute you put your oily hands on them they'll tarnish anyway
I wasn't sure if I'd like reloading, so I built myself a small wet tumbler for cheap. Uses a Motts apple sauce jar with 2.5lbs of stainless pin media. It rolls on two pairs of shafts on bearings, with one shaft powered with a small gear motor I had laying around. I've only tumbled this way, but I'm very happy with how clean they come out, and the lack of any kind of dust. I've only tumbled 9mm and 10mm brass, I can fit about a couple hundred in the little jar, which is enough for me.
It's pretty easy to see if there's any pins leftover inside a straight walled pistol case, I could see it being a little tougher with a necked cartridge.
I use a tiny bit of citric acid (I found that less is more - I put too much once and the brass came out dark, although still usable) and a a small squirt of dish detergent. I recently switched to some Turtle Wax wash/wax liquid, it supposedly leaves a film on the brass to prevent tarnishing (not an issue I had).
It's pretty easy to see if there's any pins leftover inside a straight walled pistol case, I could see it being a little tougher with a necked cartridge.
I use a tiny bit of citric acid (I found that less is more - I put too much once and the brass came out dark, although still usable) and a a small squirt of dish detergent. I recently switched to some Turtle Wax wash/wax liquid, it supposedly leaves a film on the brass to prevent tarnishing (not an issue I had).
Originally Posted by HangFire
Downsides,
1. if you leave it run too long it will batter the case mouths and round off case head edges.
My Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler has a black rubber layer on the inside of the barrel, so it won't damage the brass.
I use water, dish detergent, and a surfactant (that goes in the dishwasher). All brass is de-capped before tumbling. This makes the cleanest brass I've ever seen, even the primer pockets are completely devoid of anything.
Downsides,
1. if you leave it run too long it will batter the case mouths and round off case head edges.
My Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler has a black rubber layer on the inside of the barrel, so it won't damage the brass.
I use water, dish detergent, and a surfactant (that goes in the dishwasher). All brass is de-capped before tumbling. This makes the cleanest brass I've ever seen, even the primer pockets are completely devoid of anything.
The Thumbler is rubber lined too.
Should have mentioned dust!
Should have mentioned dust!
I've been wet tumbling for a few years. I built my own tumbler using a 6" diameter PVC pipe. It holds a gallon of brass. I tumble for 2 hours, using ArmorAll wash and wax and a 1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine. The ArmorAll works even better than the Dawn dish detergent I was using previously. After tumbling and rinsing, mseparate th pins from the bass in a rotary media separator them spread it out on a towel to dry over night. About 2X a year I deprive the brass and tumble for 3 hours and the primer pockets come out clean and shiny as new.
I wet tumble with Stainless Steel pins. But not any of my 5.56 / .223 brass any longer. It's easier to buy it fully prepped, and ready to load. Then after it's initial firing, I just run them through my Dillon FL-2000 with corn cob media and a little Flitz Metal Polish to clean them up, and to get all the resizing lube off. Fully prepped brass is getting so cheap, and makes reloading so much faster and easier, it just doesn't pay to purchase brass any other way. Or to go through the whole wet tumbling process.
https://msprocessedbrass.com/produc...-fully-processed-brass-federalfc-2500-pc
https://msprocessedbrass.com/produc...-fully-processed-brass-federalfc-2500-pc
Originally Posted by wwillson
My Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler has a black rubber layer on the inside of the barrel, so it won't damage the brass.
I use water, dish detergent, and a surfactant (that goes in the dishwasher). All brass is de-capped before tumbling. This makes the cleanest brass I've ever seen, even the primer pockets are completely devoid of anything.
I was looking at the Frankford Arsenal tumbler, how do you like yours? Have you had it for a while?
My Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler has a black rubber layer on the inside of the barrel, so it won't damage the brass.
I use water, dish detergent, and a surfactant (that goes in the dishwasher). All brass is de-capped before tumbling. This makes the cleanest brass I've ever seen, even the primer pockets are completely devoid of anything.
I was looking at the Frankford Arsenal tumbler, how do you like yours? Have you had it for a while?
I'm surprised nobody here is using the Harbor Freight rock tumbler for wet tumbling. It also uses rubber drums for tumbling so you don't wear down the brass too quickly.
For rifle cases where trimming of the neck is required, I've found that wet tumbling is actually capable of deburring the necks so that's a nice added benefit.
For rifle cases where trimming of the neck is required, I've found that wet tumbling is actually capable of deburring the necks so that's a nice added benefit.
This is a heck of a setup for high volume wet tumbling. Albeit expensive. It's a quality unit with an 8-1/2 gallon barrel.
https://kingsleynorth.com/65t-heavy-duty-commercial-tumbler.html
https://kingsleynorth.com/65t-heavy-duty-commercial-tumbler.html
Thank's for all the info guy's....
Any particular brand of SS pins I should look at or stay away from?
Any particular brand of SS pins I should look at or stay away from?
Originally Posted by TurboLuver
Any particular brand of SS pins I should look at or stay away from?
Yes. Stay away from any and all Stainless Steel pins that are .040 in diameter. Only purchase .045 diameter pins. (Most of them are, but be sure to check). The reason is the primer flash hole in cases is .080 diameter. If you tumble with .040 pins, what will happen is 2 will lodge into the flash hole side by side. And they can be a bear to pull out. Not to mention it's a time consuming PITA. By using .045 dia. pins that can't happen. Your cases and primer pockets will be just as clean.
Any particular brand of SS pins I should look at or stay away from?
Yes. Stay away from any and all Stainless Steel pins that are .040 in diameter. Only purchase .045 diameter pins. (Most of them are, but be sure to check). The reason is the primer flash hole in cases is .080 diameter. If you tumble with .040 pins, what will happen is 2 will lodge into the flash hole side by side. And they can be a bear to pull out. Not to mention it's a time consuming PITA. By using .045 dia. pins that can't happen. Your cases and primer pockets will be just as clean.
Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by TurboLuver
Any particular brand of SS pins I should look at or stay away from?
Yes. Stay away from any and all Stainless Steel pins that are .040 in diameter. Only purchase .045 diameter pins. (Most of them are, but be sure to check). The reason is the primer flash hole in cases is .080 diameter. If you tumble with .040 pins, what will happen is 2 will lodge into the flash hole side by side. And they can be a bear to pull out. Not to mention it's a time consuming PITA. By using .045 dia. pins that can't happen. Your cases and primer pockets will be just as clean.
Really good advice there, thank you sir.
Originally Posted by TurboLuver
Any particular brand of SS pins I should look at or stay away from?
Yes. Stay away from any and all Stainless Steel pins that are .040 in diameter. Only purchase .045 diameter pins. (Most of them are, but be sure to check). The reason is the primer flash hole in cases is .080 diameter. If you tumble with .040 pins, what will happen is 2 will lodge into the flash hole side by side. And they can be a bear to pull out. Not to mention it's a time consuming PITA. By using .045 dia. pins that can't happen. Your cases and primer pockets will be just as clean.
Really good advice there, thank you sir.
I started off inexpensivly with the double Harbour Freight model. Regular price $55, but used the 20% off coupon, so $45 or so. Bought 2.5# of .045" SS pins (comes with a sample of brass cleaner) from Guntap through Amazon for $19.45.
Con: limited capacity. There are bigger better and more expensive units such as The Franklin Arms models.
Many use Lemishine and an automotive wash and wax or Dawn mixture and tumble for 2-4 hours. Rinse, separate and dry.
For more info go to the reloading forrums.
After vib tumbling for 20 some years I will wet tumble my more critical brass from now on.
Con: limited capacity. There are bigger better and more expensive units such as The Franklin Arms models.
Many use Lemishine and an automotive wash and wax or Dawn mixture and tumble for 2-4 hours. Rinse, separate and dry.
For more info go to the reloading forrums.
After vib tumbling for 20 some years I will wet tumble my more critical brass from now on.
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