The Firing Line Forums

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

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 24, 2009, 04:08 PM   #1
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
What 1st, tumble or size?

I recently got an RCBS vibratory case cleaner so I'm new to this step and just used to wipe the cases with a rag. Should I deprime/resize 1st to let the cleaner help clean the primer pocket or clean cases first to help protect my dies from potential grit? Thanks.
__________________
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
wyobohunter is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 04:23 PM   #2
JD 500
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 15, 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 110
Tumble First.

Some tumble after as well to clean primer pockets, I don't. I find if you tumble after sizing, you find tumbling media stuck in flash hole.

I do clean primer pockets every time, with a primer pocket brush that doesn't inadvertantly change the size of the pocket.

Good luck.
JD 500 is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 04:25 PM   #3
FlyFish
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 20, 2009
Location: Overlooking the Baker River Valley
Posts: 1,723
I like to clean cases first, for the reason you mention. My experience has been that the primer pockets don't really get very clean anyway, and I don't care about clean primer pockets for any of my pistol ammo and most of my rifle ammo.

ETA: I do tumble rifle ammo after sizing to remove the sizing lubricant. The media will get stuck in the flash holes, so I use a universal decapping die in the first station of my LnL progressive press to remove it.
FlyFish is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 05:03 PM   #4
firewrench044
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 9, 2007
Location: Fort Pierce, Florida
Posts: 381
What I do

Tumble ( to clean case so they do not damage dies )
Clean inside of case neck with a bronse brush in a drill
Size & deprime, inspect for defects
Any and all case work ( clean primer pockets, deburr flash holes
( a deburred flash hole very seldome holds cleaning media )
Remove primer crimp ( if needed )
Trim case and deburr case mouth as needed
Final tumble ( smooths case mouths, removes any case lub used,
cleans and polishes cases ( I prefer a shinny case )
All cases are checked in a case gage
Stored for future use
firewrench044 is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 07:15 PM   #5
Randy 1911
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 7, 2009
Location: Western Arkansas
Posts: 273
The way I use to do it was to deprime with a universal depriming die. Then tumble. When I resize the case the depriming pin would knock out any corn cob that got stuck in the flash hole. I finally realized that the primer pockets were not really getting any cleaner so I just started tumbling first and then size/deprime.
__________________
Been Reloading 27 Years
NRA Member
Member Old Fort Gun Club www.ofgc.org
Randy 1911 is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 07:26 PM   #6
devilfrog
Member
 
Join Date: November 28, 2008
Location: Clearwater, FL
Posts: 30
Deprime using universal deprimer, lube & resize, back to the tumbler with polishing media, and then check flash holes as I prime the case. They then are stored until I get around to loading them.
devilfrog is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 07:37 PM   #7
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
what about...

Especially dirty cases? Do you rinse/dry them before tumbling? For example, I just got done shooting my 1911 for the first time. Cases were landing in some pretty dirty snow. Would you rinse them off or just throw em' into the tumbler?

Because I'm too impatient to wait for responses I'll rinse em' off this time... even if I find out it was a waste of time from you fellas.
__________________
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
wyobohunter is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 07:48 PM   #8
Gary Wells
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2009
Posts: 180
I would just throw them in the tumbler.
Gary Wells is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 07:51 PM   #9
SwampYankee
Registration in progress
 
Join Date: November 1, 2008
Location: I can be found on a number of other forums.
Posts: 1,333
Landing in dirty snow is not really dirty. Laying around in the elements for 2-3 years or sitting in a bag for 30 years in a wet basement will get you to dirty. 12 hours in a tumbler with brass polish should take care of that level of dirt.
SwampYankee is offline  
Old December 24, 2009, 08:17 PM   #10
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
Too late

Already rinsed the cases. Do I need to wait for them to dry now or just throw them in after I've shaken most of the water off? FYI, I'm using Lyman Turbo Tumblar Media. Thanks for the quick replies!
__________________
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
wyobohunter is offline  
Old December 25, 2009, 10:07 AM   #11
hornady
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 6, 2009
Location: SWPA
Posts: 428
Dry the cases. I have a 2x4 with finishing nails sticking out. I drape wet cases over the nails a couple days. If not you will be digging Media out of the cases. Or worse. Contaminating powder. I always Tumble first. Years ago most guys did not even Tumble Pistol cases. The only real advantage to tumbling. Is Inspecting cases. Even Rifle cases. As long as not dirty. Its not mandatory to tumble. Some say its hard on the Dies. Some say not. I know guys will Discard this . But for years I never tumbled a case. And never had a Problem. Even with the old Steel pistol Dies. Back when you lubed everything.
hornady is offline  
Old December 25, 2009, 10:58 AM   #12
Uncle Buck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 21, 2009
Location: West Central Missouri
Posts: 2,592
Toss the wet brass into the oven on a cookie sheet. If I need to wash brass, I put it in the oven for an hour or so on 180 degrees. (Not that I would ever do this, but be careful, I have been told the brass gets warm enough to burn your fingers! )

The only time I wash brass is when it is very dirty.
__________________
Inside Every Bright Idea Is The 50% Probability Of A Disaster Waiting To Happen.
Uncle Buck 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 09:19 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 0.07842 seconds with 8 queries