The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old October 2, 2013, 11:57 PM   #1
hbhobby
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 14, 2013
Location: Payson Az
Posts: 169
Why tumble brass

Other than making it look pretty why tumble brass? Granted i am new at this and have only been loading 20 years and i have never tumbled rifle brass. Was just curious if there is another reason besides cosmetic.
hbhobby is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 12:21 AM   #2
jcwit
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 28, 2007
Location: Upper Indiana
Posts: 609
Makes it easier to see flaws in the cases IMO.

Otherwise, Why wash & wax your car?
__________________
U.S. Army Veteran
NRA Certified Range Officer
jcwit is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 12:34 AM   #3
oldreloader
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 31, 2009
Location: Magnolia, Arkansas
Posts: 251
yep! I agree with jc. As my eyes get older the cleaned brass makes it easier to inspect.
oldreloader is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 01:20 AM   #4
JustSomeGuy
Member
 
Join Date: October 2, 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 49
Actually, I think the best reason to tumble brass is to get it clean enough so that it will not foul up your reloading dies. Dirt and grit are the enemies of smooth operation of your reloading press, and dirt in the dies can scratch them and leave marks that will impress themselves into your brass and may cause problems down the line.
__________________
I, Procrastitron will destroy evil.... eventually.
JustSomeGuy is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 01:23 AM   #5
NWPilgrim
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 29, 2008
Location: Oregon
Posts: 2,340
Mostly cosmetic. Agree with the others it can make it easier to see defects i the brass. My "shiny standards" have gradually risen over the years.

I went 18 years with just a cheap vibratory tumbler and as long as the worst of the range dirt and tarnish were removed I was happy. then I started tumbling longer, keeping a "dirty" bag of media for initial cleaning and a "nice" bag of media only used for polishing after sizing. Then I tried ultrasonic cleaning. And now I have finally moved into stainless steel media wet tumbling.

I have to keep reminding myself it is not really functional reasons and i am doing it just to make it look pretty. After putting in so much research, testing and careful assembly of my ammo, to me it is worth the effort and expense to also have it look great.
__________________
"The ultimate authority ... resides in the people alone. ... The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition."
- James Madison
NWPilgrim is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 01:23 AM   #6
hcShooter
Junior Member
 
Join Date: October 1, 2013
Posts: 5
Press Gunk

So it's pretty obvious after you clean brass, just how discolored the cleaning media can get, which means it's taking out a ton of dirt and other gunk from your brass. So either you can get it cleaned and have it wind up in the media, or have an excessive a mount end up in your press. A lot of presses don't like getting overly dirty, and uncleaned brass will make a press get dirty VERY quickly.

My favorite is that I accidentally left the tumbler on overnight and fell asleep. Wow, a 10 hour tumble makes for some SUPER SUPER clean brass (and I just recharged the corn cob media with polish too)
hcShooter is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:07 AM   #7
4runnerman
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 16, 2010
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 3,577
Agree with others here. Press works much smoother when the brass is clean. Flaws are very easy to see. Just all around easier to work with. I guess the main thing is---You throw it i tumbler walk away for a few hrs. Total work on you - 0%. Why not tumble.
__________________
NRA Certified RSO
NwCP- Performance Isn't Optional
4runnerman is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:21 AM   #8
dahermit
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 28, 2006
Location: South Central Michigan...near
Posts: 6,501
Before I could afford (or they were commonly available), I was loading some 9MM shot from my German WWII P38. At some point, I discovered that a grain of sand had scored the sizing die, leaving a scratch on each case sized thereafter. I polished out the die and saved it, but was more thorough with about cleaning cases thereafter. After years of using liquids (flammable, Yikes!!!), I settled on tumbling as the safest, effective, and most importantly for someone like me who is lazy as a pet 'coon, passive...the tumbler does all the work. That is why I tumble...it is risky (stupid) not to clean, and the tumbler does it for you.
dahermit is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:25 AM   #9
dahermit
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 28, 2006
Location: South Central Michigan...near
Posts: 6,501
Quote:
I guess the main thing is---You throw it i tumbler walk away for a few hrs. Total work on you - 0%. Why not tumble.
Exactly! The high volume shooting, and considering the modest price of tumblers and media, its a "no brainer".
dahermit is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:38 AM   #10
iraiam
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2012
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 1,057
Tumbling brass does not necessarily mean polishing for cosmetic reasons.

I tumble to clean brass first, if I decide it needs to be polished, I do that after it's sized, de-primed, and trimmed. just before it gets reloaded. Cleaning and polishing are 2 separate operations that I use different tumble media for.
__________________
NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason
iraiam is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:44 AM   #11
Bart B.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 15, 2009
Posts: 8,927
If you want your sizing dies to get scratched by hard grit on fired cases, then by all means, do not clean your cases before sizing them. Or, use carbide sizing dies; they're very, very expensive for bottleneck cases.
Bart B. is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 09:15 AM   #12
kln4
Member
 
Join Date: August 13, 2013
Posts: 82
tumbling is the easiest and cheapest part of reloading. I have one of those big tumblers from HF, and the walnut is from the pet store. I use a couple of dryer sheets to keep the dust down and a couple of capfulls "very fine grit" rubbing compound. The brass I ran 3yrs ago are clean and shiny as were when I first did them. If there are any problems with the cases I see it right away.
kln4 is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 09:54 AM   #13
David Bachelder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 23, 2011
Location: Trinity, Texas
Posts: 636
+ on JustSomeGuy

I believe he is right.
__________________
David Bachelder
Trinity, Texas
I load, 9mm Luger, 38 and 40 S&W, 38 Special, 357Magnum, 45ACP, 45 Colt, 223, 300 AAC, 243 and 30-06
David Bachelder is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 10:08 AM   #14
rclark
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 12, 2009
Location: Butte, MT
Posts: 2,614
If my brass was hitting the ground all the time, then I'd tumble every time. But since mine go from gun back into box, there is no need. So I tumble when I think they need it. I haven't noticed it 'fouling' the dies so much over the many years of reloading. I do wipe each case with a paper towel before resizing.
__________________
A clinger and deplorable, MAGA, and life NRA member. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Single Action .45 Colt (Sometimes colloquially referred to by its alias as the .45 'Long' Colt or .45LC). Don't leave home without it. That said, the .44Spec is right up their too... but the .45 Colt is still the king.
rclark is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 10:26 AM   #15
madmo44mag
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 29, 2008
Location: Ft.Worth, Texas
Posts: 1,522
Quote:
Justsomeguy - Actually, I think the best reason to tumble brass is to get it clean enough so that it will not foul up your reloading dies. Dirt and grit are the enemies of smooth operation of your reloading press, and dirt in the dies can scratch them and leave marks that will impress themselves into your brass and may cause problems down the line.
This is what I was taught and firmly believe.
It just makes sense.
__________________
Texas - Not just a state but an attitude!
For monthly shooting events in DFW visit http://www.meetup.com/TexasGunOwner-DFW
madmo44mag is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 12:51 PM   #16
Sevens
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 28, 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 11,755
I have the benefit of seeing the "why tumble" issue from both sides because I went years on a shoe string budget where I couldn't convince myself to appropriate the funds for a tumbler.

Keeping filth out of your loading dies is the most obvious.
Being able to -MUCH- better inspect cases is up there, also.

Ones that don't get mentioned nearly as often but are equally as important:

1) Far cleaner handling in every single facet of the operation. Your ammo boxes, the magazines of your handguns (or rifles), the different bowls or bins that you keep or handle brass in, e v e r y t h i n g is far less FILTHY and keep in mind that we are talking about a level of filth and dirt here that isn't simply annoying, much of this stuff is just plain unhealthy. Sure, the associated risks aren't ridiculous, but certain other behaviors can & do exacerbate these risks -- including occasional eating, drinking, smoking, eye-rubbing, nose picking, ear diddling, maybe an open cut (especially on the hands) but the big one is your children or grand children, especially if they wish to spend a little quality time in the midst or on the perimeter of your hobby. Children's risks from exposure to this particular kind of filthy is -far- more dangerous than it is to adults.

2) Pride. And pride simply can go further than just having a good lookin' boxes of shootables gleaming up at you on a sunny day. A decent looking product can promote and affirm your own confidence in what you're feeding your firearms. And what does a little bit of confidence do to your shooting? The answer should be obvious. If it's not obvious, there's a chance you have some room for improvement.
__________________
Attention Brass rats and other reloaders: I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.
Sevens is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 01:35 PM   #17
maillemaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 30, 2010
Posts: 1,635
You can make perfectly functional ammo using dirty brass.

Dirty brass substantially increases the amount of physical effort to operate the reloading equipment. It therefore is also putting more wear and tear on the equipment.

Steve
maillemaker is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 02:22 PM   #18
jcwit
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 28, 2007
Location: Upper Indiana
Posts: 609
I can get from point A to point B in a rusted out Yugo.

However it is not what I drive, far from it.

I can reload dirty, blackened, corroded cases and shoot them.

However it is not what I shoot, far from it.
__________________
U.S. Army Veteran
NRA Certified Range Officer
jcwit is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 05:36 PM   #19
oldandslow
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 2, 2007
Posts: 641
hb, 10/4/13

There is a difference between cleaning and tumbling brass. You must clean the used brass in some way to get rid of the foreign material on the case wall. You can do this simply with just a paper towel or you can use more expensive methods that will also shine up your cases.

I've reloaded over 90,000 cases on my Dillon SDB and 650 using only the paper towel method. It takes 6 seconds per case to clean and inspect the case for flaws. I've had no scratched dies or missed case cracks or other horror stories that other people complain about. The ammo shoots just as well with a tarnished case as it does with a shiny case.

That being said I also bought a Stainless-Steel-pin rotary tumbling setup a couple of years ago and I do like the appearance of the shiny cases. Do they shoot any better? No. So don't let others sway you into thinking that tumbling is a necessity. It isn't. Good luck.

best wishes- oldandslow
oldandslow is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 05:37 PM   #20
Guilty
Member
 
Join Date: November 9, 2012
Posts: 54
Besides the pride of accomplishment that comes from reloading with clean and shiny brass, it easier to spot defects when the brass has been cleaned.
Guilty is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:57 PM   #21
cdoc42
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 13, 2005
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,674
I must be tumble-nuts! I tumble fired cases to clean them before resizing, then I toss them back in for another hour after resizing to get the lube off. Since I resize the shoulder back 0.002" or so, I'm not sure a layer of lube in between the case and chamber wall is a good thing.
cdoc42 is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 07:08 PM   #22
bt380
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 14, 2012
Posts: 331
I inspect my brass w/ a large lighted magnifying lens used for electronic circuit board inspections. I only sonic clean my brass.
bt380 is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 07:08 PM   #23
Nick_C_S
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 21, 2013
Location: Idaho
Posts: 5,512
Stevens, you smoke at the loading bench?

Actually, I like your post. I think these things you mention - even, and maybe especially, the intangibles about cleaning/polishing your brass.

Just to add on, it not only gives you confidence out at the range, it gives the others around you confidence in you. Perceptions are important.
__________________
Gun control laws benefit only criminals and politicians - but then, I repeat myself.
Life Member, National Rifle Association
Nick_C_S is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 10:00 PM   #24
Daggitt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 11, 2011
Posts: 321
I don't know. Why clean anything? You aren't still wasting good water bathing too are you ? It is certainly not necessary is it ?
Daggitt is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 10:30 PM   #25
serf 'rett
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 25, 2009
Location: Stuttgart, AR
Posts: 1,569
Less stress on reloading equipment and equipment operator. Easier inspection.
__________________
A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part.
serf 'rett is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.07958 seconds with 8 queries