Reloading dirty brass. - Page 2

4runnerman · January 1, 2011, 01:15 PM

I guess there are those that don't and those that do. I am one that does
Tumblers are cheap
media is cheap
no pysical labor,other than to turn it on
Brass is clean
no damage to dies (those that say it does not damage are just fooling themselfs)
easire to work with,
Shows a level of respect for what you are doing. Those are pro's to doing it.

It's no different than those that don't clean primer pockets or flash holes or measure case length. I don't want to go so far as to say it's a better bullet,but it just shows that little extra pride in what you are doing.

Lee-Enfield · January 1, 2011, 01:32 PM

I run all my brass though a tumbler after firing for the next reload. I'm fairly meticulous when it comes to brass prep (check thicknesses, concentricity, weight). But I shoot bolt or lever action rifle so I don't have a huge amount to reload and don't mind taking the extra steps. It's just part of the hobby for me. Almost therapeutic actually. Chillout at my gun bench, listening to audiobooks, and reload ammo.

I've watched a rifle reloading video by David Tubb and he recommends not tumbling brass unless it really needs it. His thought was that polished brass will not grip the camber walls and puts extra stress on the bolt face. I don't know how much this matters - most of my loads are reduced for target shooting anyway, and I like shiny brass :-)

jake556 · January 16, 2011, 10:44 PM

You want to take care of your dies. i am one of those people that get the brass new looking its just how I am. I take alot of pride in my reloads. Cleanliness is next to Godliness!

Dr. Strangelove · January 18, 2011, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLARK

My brass is passed through an Asian Palm Civet.

Can't afford a Palm Civet, I've just been using my regular cat. He already doesn't like the coffee beans, how did you get him to eat brass?

(By the way Clark, I had to clean my monitor after reading your post...)

MW surveyor · January 18, 2011, 06:46 AM

No asian palm civits here but do have opposums! Does this count?

All my brass gets cleaned before it goes in the dies. Used to use a rag but that only lasted for about 1 month. Discovered the joy of a tumbler and walnut media from the pet store.

Rifleman1776 · January 18, 2011, 09:23 AM

Reloading requires care at all steps.
Finished loads reflect the care and skill of the reloader.
Dirty loaded rounds indicate a sloppy and careless person did the reloading. I wouldn't want to use that ammo or even stand next to the person shooting it.
For practical reasons, I inspect my brass at every step. It is hard, sometimes impossible, to spot defective brass when dirty.

Incognito · January 18, 2011, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by demigod

Yeah. If you go wet, adding lemishizzle makes those suckers pretty. I've done some lemishine in my ultrasonic.... and that BRASS looks GOOD!!

serf 'rett · January 18, 2011, 12:32 PM

I was cleaning primer pockets last night and noticed that as my left hand fingers got progressively dirtier, that there was much higher friction resistance between my fingers when I rubbed them together. Even a day later, after washing my hands numerous times with soap and industrial hand cleaner, my left fingers do not slide across each other as smoothly as those of my right hand.

From an engineering stand point, I suspect the soot left on a case has a higher coefficient of friction than clean brass. I wondered about the seizing and popping of your press. Perhaps if enough soot was deposited inside the sizing die, then the cases were seizing inside the die?

Xfire68 · January 18, 2011, 12:37 PM

maillemaker, when I first started using Stainless Steel media and water I tried a few batches with the primers still in and when I went to reload them a week or so later there was a noticeable amount of water dripping off the press!

I decap them all now not only for that reason but also to clean the primer pockets.

The best thing about wet media is that it takes about the same amount of time to get the brass nice clean/shinny/polished as it does for corncob to just get the brass clean enough to run through the dies! Love this stuff!

serf 'rett · January 18, 2011, 12:43 PM

Personal preference is to de-prime the brass then wet tumble with stainless steel media, Lemishine and dish washing soap.

700cdl · January 20, 2011, 01:43 AM

I load mostly full magnum loads for most all my firearms, and have found it much easier to spot wear issues when I make them pretty. Brass that I have only tumbled to the point of clean, is harder to spot early case head separation, and other common signs of worn out brass for high pressure loads. But in general, simply clean is all that is needed for the average pressure loads. I tumble fired just fired brass in corncob media to clean it, resize it, and then tumble it in nut shell and inspect it closely. I don't actually polish my brass though, unless tumbling in nut shell media untill the finished product looks almost new is considered polishing?

January 1, 2011, 01:15 PM	#26
4runnerman Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,577	I guess there are those that don't and those that do. I am one that does Tumblers are cheap media is cheap no pysical labor,other than to turn it on Brass is clean no damage to dies (those that say it does not damage are just fooling themselfs) easire to work with, Shows a level of respect for what you are doing. Those are pro's to doing it. It's no different than those that don't clean primer pockets or flash holes or measure case length. I don't want to go so far as to say it's a better bullet,but it just shows that little extra pride in what you are doing. __________________ NRA Certified RSO NwCP- Performance Isn't Optional

January 18, 2011, 12:32 PM	#33
serf 'rett Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2009 Location: Stuttgart, AR Posts: 1,569	The needed higher press pressure makes sense. I was cleaning primer pockets last night and noticed that as my left hand fingers got progressively dirtier, that there was much higher friction resistance between my fingers when I rubbed them together. Even a day later, after washing my hands numerous times with soap and industrial hand cleaner, my left fingers do not slide across each other as smoothly as those of my right hand. From an engineering stand point, I suspect the soot left on a case has a higher coefficient of friction than clean brass. I wondered about the seizing and popping of your press. Perhaps if enough soot was deposited inside the sizing die, then the cases were seizing inside the die? __________________ A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part.

January 18, 2011, 12:37 PM	#34
Xfire68 Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2010 Location: Communist State of IL. Posts: 1,562	maillemaker, when I first started using Stainless Steel media and water I tried a few batches with the primers still in and when I went to reload them a week or so later there was a noticeable amount of water dripping off the press! I decap them all now not only for that reason but also to clean the primer pockets. The best thing about wet media is that it takes about the same amount of time to get the brass nice clean/shinny/polished as it does for corncob to just get the brass clean enough to run through the dies! Love this stuff! __________________ NRA Life Member, SAF Member

January 18, 2011, 12:43 PM	#35
serf 'rett Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2009 Location: Stuttgart, AR Posts: 1,569	Personal preference is to de-prime the brass then wet tumble with stainless steel media, Lemishine and dish washing soap. __________________ A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part.

January 1, 2011, 01:32 PM	#27
Lee-Enfield Member Join Date: November 29, 2007 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 29	I run all my brass though a tumbler after firing for the next reload. I'm fairly meticulous when it comes to brass prep (check thicknesses, concentricity, weight). But I shoot bolt or lever action rifle so I don't have a huge amount to reload and don't mind taking the extra steps. It's just part of the hobby for me. Almost therapeutic actually. Chillout at my gun bench, listening to audiobooks, and reload ammo. I've watched a rifle reloading video by David Tubb and he recommends not tumbling brass unless it really needs it. His thought was that polished brass will not grip the camber walls and puts extra stress on the bolt face. I don't know how much this matters - most of my loads are reduced for target shooting anyway, and I like shiny brass :-)

January 16, 2011, 10:44 PM	#28
jake556 Member Join Date: November 12, 2010 Posts: 25	You want to take care of your dies. i am one of those people that get the brass new looking its just how I am. I take alot of pride in my reloads. Cleanliness is next to Godliness!

January 18, 2011, 06:46 AM	#30
MW surveyor Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2010 Posts: 212	No asian palm civits here but do have opposums! Does this count? All my brass gets cleaned before it goes in the dies. Used to use a rag but that only lasted for about 1 month. Discovered the joy of a tumbler and walnut media from the pet store.

January 18, 2011, 09:23 AM	#31
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 3,309	Reloading requires care at all steps. Finished loads reflect the care and skill of the reloader. Dirty loaded rounds indicate a sloppy and careless person did the reloading. I wouldn't want to use that ammo or even stand next to the person shooting it. For practical reasons, I inspect my brass at every step. It is hard, sometimes impossible, to spot defective brass when dirty.

January 20, 2011, 01:43 AM	#36
700cdl Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2010 Posts: 216	I load mostly full magnum loads for most all my firearms, and have found it much easier to spot wear issues when I make them pretty. Brass that I have only tumbled to the point of clean, is harder to spot early case head separation, and other common signs of worn out brass for high pressure loads. But in general, simply clean is all that is needed for the average pressure loads. I tumble fired just fired brass in corncob media to clean it, resize it, and then tumble it in nut shell and inspect it closely. I don't actually polish my brass though, unless tumbling in nut shell media untill the finished product looks almost new is considered polishing?