The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Getting into reloading, one step at a time

Misssissippi Dave · December 25, 2012, 09:58 AM

As to some of your other question from the OP, I use Dillon equipment. It is made to process pretty large amounts of brass and ammo. I don't think the Dillon vibrating tumble is right for everyone. Both sizes they sell may be more than the average reloader might need. When you are processing a lot of cases of a single caliber they are hard to beat. They are on the expensive side as well. It seems you will pay more to do more in less time for most every step in reloading.

For pistol brass I normally use a little One Shot case lube on pistol brass. Not every piece of brass gets lubed. When I start feeling more resistance I give the next group of brass to be loaded a bit of lube. Carbide dies are the only ones I will use to load pistol ammo.

Dial calipers are the most durable. Better ones like starlett will normally last a life time. You can get by with ones from Harbor Freight. Don't expect those to last forever. Digital calipers are the easiest to use. Most of them do have problems working well in very cold temperatures. If you are working in heated area during the winter you should be fine with digital. The mechanical dial types don't have temp. problems for the most part. The same can be said of scales. Digital are the fastest and easiest to use. Most have problems with temperatures if they only work with batteries. Mechanical have fewer limitations but are much slower and sometimes harder to use.

I do have a suggestion about cleaning brass in a vibrating tumbler. Most of them do seal pretty well while they are doing the cleaning. When you go to pour out the contents, do it outside with the wind to your back. You don't really want to be breathing in any dust from this stuff. Dryer sheet at the bottom of the bowl will reduce the amount of dust produced and also make your media stay cleaner longer. I got a box of Bounce dryer sheets just for my tumbler and use them. I don't cut them up. I just poke a hole in them and place it over the shaft for the lid to the bottom of the tumbler. I can clean several thousand cases prior to replacing the media. I got a 40 pound bag of corncob media from Grainger (20/40) and it has lasted a long time. Read that as a few years.

Cleaning brass in a vibrating tumbler seems to work best and the quickest when you are close to max capacity for the tumbler. This is one reason to get one that is the closer to the size needed to clean the batch sizes you plan to do. If I only put 100 .357 cases in my tumbler to clean it takes at least two to three times longer (possibly more) to clean them compared to cleaning about 1000 9 mm cases.

December 25, 2012, 09:58 AM	#16
Misssissippi Dave Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2009 Posts: 1,411	As to some of your other question from the OP, I use Dillon equipment. It is made to process pretty large amounts of brass and ammo. I don't think the Dillon vibrating tumble is right for everyone. Both sizes they sell may be more than the average reloader might need. When you are processing a lot of cases of a single caliber they are hard to beat. They are on the expensive side as well. It seems you will pay more to do more in less time for most every step in reloading. For pistol brass I normally use a little One Shot case lube on pistol brass. Not every piece of brass gets lubed. When I start feeling more resistance I give the next group of brass to be loaded a bit of lube. Carbide dies are the only ones I will use to load pistol ammo. Dial calipers are the most durable. Better ones like starlett will normally last a life time. You can get by with ones from Harbor Freight. Don't expect those to last forever. Digital calipers are the easiest to use. Most of them do have problems working well in very cold temperatures. If you are working in heated area during the winter you should be fine with digital. The mechanical dial types don't have temp. problems for the most part. The same can be said of scales. Digital are the fastest and easiest to use. Most have problems with temperatures if they only work with batteries. Mechanical have fewer limitations but are much slower and sometimes harder to use. I do have a suggestion about cleaning brass in a vibrating tumbler. Most of them do seal pretty well while they are doing the cleaning. When you go to pour out the contents, do it outside with the wind to your back. You don't really want to be breathing in any dust from this stuff. Dryer sheet at the bottom of the bowl will reduce the amount of dust produced and also make your media stay cleaner longer. I got a box of Bounce dryer sheets just for my tumbler and use them. I don't cut them up. I just poke a hole in them and place it over the shaft for the lid to the bottom of the tumbler. I can clean several thousand cases prior to replacing the media. I got a 40 pound bag of corncob media from Grainger (20/40) and it has lasted a long time. Read that as a few years. Cleaning brass in a vibrating tumbler seems to work best and the quickest when you are close to max capacity for the tumbler. This is one reason to get one that is the closer to the size needed to clean the batch sizes you plan to do. If I only put 100 .357 cases in my tumbler to clean it takes at least two to three times longer (possibly more) to clean them compared to cleaning about 1000 9 mm cases.