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Old April 12, 2009, 11:56 AM   #1
Dan The Sig Man
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Ok clear something up please

Ok here is the question or the I dont know what I am doing...

?What is the best way to clean the brass before I put to the Press?

Should I buy a Tumbler? Should I wash them with soap and water and bake them dry? Is there a Washing device other than a Tumbler? Does a Tumbler Clean or just polish? What are your opinions, or proven ways of cleaning your Range pickups?

I know that is a lot, but I am new here, and I dont have any reloading buddies here where I live. Thank you in advance. OH yeah I am reloading 9mm and 40 S&W handgun ONLY.

Last edited by Dan The Sig Man; April 12, 2009 at 12:03 PM.
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Old April 12, 2009, 12:06 PM   #2
Dingoboyx
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IMO

You cant seriously reload without a good tumbler, I have put the grottiest dirtiest cases in mine and they come out great. Sometimes have to leave it on a long time but works +1. The only thing tumblers can't clean off is oil & bullet lube. The dust from the media just sticks to gooey stuff.

If you have bullet lube (liquid alox) on your cases, I would wash them in hot soapy water, then put them in the sun to dry.... if you have to use the oven (rainy weather) be careful not to get the cases too hot (in case you anneal them full length) low heat would be ok. Blowing the water out with a compressor first would help get rid of most sitting water. Before reloading them they have to be completely dry for obvious reasons.

Have heard of folks washing them in a pan of gasoline (be careful) because gas evaporates quickly, but some folks dont want any mineral based stuff on their cases and wont do this.
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Old April 12, 2009, 12:34 PM   #3
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For most reloading purposes a good wipe with soft clean cloth and a quick brush through the case mouth will work.

Using a tumbler for brass is a relatively new practice for reloading.

The advantages of a tumbler are:
You can do something else while the cases are cleaning
Will remove oxidation and usually get a nice shiny surface which makes it easier to spot splits, cracks and similar problems
Cleans the inside of the case to some extent (especially straight wall cases) at the same time
You can change media walnut, corncob, plastic, ceramic or metal shot to do different things with the same equipment.

You can get a good all in one basic kit for about $60.
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Old April 12, 2009, 12:42 PM   #4
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Dan, a tumbler can be used for both cleaning and polishing. And yes, there are many different means to ending up with clean cases, which is what you should want to have entering your dies. Dirty cases can scratch dies, chambers (if they get that far), etc.

Personally, I use walnut media with a splash of paint thinnner/mineral spirits. Trust me, it gets the dirtiest of cases clean with two hours run time in a Lyman 1200 tumbler. I have also used a separate batch of corn cob media with a little NuFinish polish to remove resizing lube and "polish" 223 cases after they were resized. As a side note, I use Dillon's spray lube which is lanolin and isopropyl alcohol, and may remove much easier than other types.

I don't think washing and drying cases would suit me very well. But then, that's why everyone has their own opinions. Trust me, this would be a very boring world if we all thought alike.....
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Old April 12, 2009, 12:47 PM   #5
ar15chase
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I soak mine in hot soapy water overnight then toss them in the oven for a few minutes at aout 150 degs. But I cant afford a tumbler.
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Old April 12, 2009, 12:50 PM   #6
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A guy at our club would take his brass and shotgun empties to the laundromat and run them through a washing machine adding a little soap & bleach....then tumble dry. Of course he always went late at night when no one was around to hear the racket. (His wife wouldn't let him do them at home)
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Old April 12, 2009, 01:00 PM   #7
Dan The Sig Man
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Yeah my WIFE would shoot me with one of my own reloads... LOL

I have been looking at Tumblers, and I guess I am going to have to just bite the Bullet and go get one. I think Midway has a could nice looking kits that include like 6 pounds media and a reclaim bucket.

Another question... Do you deprime before you tumble? I am getting a Lee Turret that I think deprimes as part of the process (Or am I mistaken?). I am getting the Lee Turret Kit that they offer, and I know just wonder if I have to have a separte deprimer, or if it does it all for me.

Thanks,
D
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Old April 12, 2009, 01:03 PM   #8
ar15chase
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Pop you primers 1st. My Lee kit has a casesizing die that de-primes at the same time.
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Old April 12, 2009, 01:07 PM   #9
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Pop Primers?

If you pop the primers first, you get to clean media out of the primer hole. Not fun!
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Old April 12, 2009, 01:09 PM   #10
ar15chase
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Thats how I was always taught to do it. I never try real hard to clean the pockets though. I just pop them out and soak the casings.
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Old April 12, 2009, 01:27 PM   #11
Dan The Sig Man
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ok so it looks like the concensis is that depriming prior is a good thing. I guess I will just have to keep an eye on the Primer pocket after tumbling. I think though it sounds like a great idea to get a Tumbler and as for the media? I guess either Walnut or Corn cob.
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Old April 12, 2009, 05:06 PM   #12
Russ5924
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When I first started reloading I just bought a cheaper tumbler from Cabelas (there brand). Figured to replace it in a few years after it went bad. Almost 8 years and still waiting for it to go bad And it has cleaned an awful lot of brass
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Old April 12, 2009, 05:39 PM   #13
arizona98tj
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Quote:
Using a tumbler for brass is a relatively new practice for reloading.


I suppose "new" is a relative term and could certainly mean different things to different people. That being said, I was tumbling brass in the '70s when I first got into reloading. And it was by no means a "new" practice back then.

Edit: And it was a rotary tumbler, not the vibrating version commonly seen today. I still have it.
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Old April 12, 2009, 06:00 PM   #14
Al Norris
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ar15chase
Pop you primers 1st. My Lee kit has a casesizing die that de-primes at the same time.
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

For pistols, there are 3 dies: Decap & Size; Bell mouth; Seat & crimp.

For Rifles there are 2 dies: Decap & Size; Seat & Crimp.

So why in the world would you decap (and possibly resize) dirty brass and then clean the brass? Isn't the point to not place dirty brass into that die?

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what was wrote?

AAR, I clean my brass, inspect it for problems and then decap and size. How you go about cleaning your brass, is up to you.
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Old April 12, 2009, 06:20 PM   #15
vsgonzo
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Quote:
So why in the world would you decap (and possibly resize) dirty brass and then clean the brass? Isn't the point to not place dirty brass into that die?
some people by a universal decapping die and decap then they clean.

As in my case I

Tumble (short tumble time of 30min-to 1 hr) > Size, Decap, trim, deburr, swage (if necessary) > Then back to tumbler (good tumble of 2hrs+) to get lube off, to polish and get shiney and to get any little shavings and burrs out of the cases, but most importantly the primer pockets get cleaned out
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Old April 12, 2009, 06:20 PM   #16
Sevens
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Quote:
You cant seriously reload without a good tumbler
Maybe south of the equator!
I reloaded for 15 years without a tumbler. I did fine... but no, I would not go back. When this tumbler I have now burns up, I will get another ASAP.

Couple things that are relevant-- for motorized tools to clean cases, you have a tumbler and a vibratory cleaner. That's pretty much the two standards. A true tumbler is just that, a little drum that rotates and it takes a long time, is relatively quiet, does a fantastic job and the unit lasts for decades. They are pricey.

A vibratory cleaner is a big vibrating bowl that shakes the crap out of your brass and in 2-4 hours, it's nice and clean. These are cheaper, loud as hell, don't last as long before they burn up & die, but do a fine job. Most of us hook them to a lamp timer and run them while we are at work.

I would NEVER deprime first before cleaning. You either need a universal decapping die (cheap!) and then you add a whole extra press stroke and step to the long process, or you run dirty brass through your die which is bad bad bad, for two reasons.
1) It runs filth through your sizing die, which is bad.
2) Carbide sizing dies will make dirty cases look horrible and even make them tougher to clean, as it squeezes the filth and spreads it across the case.

Worse-- decapping and running brass through your tumbler with no primers in place doesn't even clean the primer pocket... they'll be just as dirty before, and now you will have fine pieces of corn media to poke out before you can load them. If you don't poke them out, you can snap a decapping rod, or a piece of media stuck in the flash hole can block the primer flame as cause a misfire.

When I get home from the range, I separate brass by compatible calibers. That means 9mm/.38/.357 will tumble together fine. But NO 9mm and .40 in the same batch, or 9 and .45, etc. The little ones get stuck inside the big ones and the little ones don't get clean. After the brass is separated for compatibility, it gets tumbled.

Only after that does it get inspected, then I can proceed to resize and go further with the reloading.
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Old April 12, 2009, 06:30 PM   #17
hornady
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Antipilas +1 some how this form started going in the Wrong direction. For the first 20 years, I did not tumble brass, it is hard on dies, when I replaced my Lyman Dies, I got a lyman 1200. It is still going strong. 15 years later, I dealt exclusively with mid-way for years. Then I found mid-south shooters. They are about 15% less than mid-way. Also Mid- south sells the lyman for $47.67 or they sell one they call the smart reloader for $34.99
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Old April 12, 2009, 06:45 PM   #18
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pistol brass that gets picked up off the ground I wash before tumbling.
rifle brass I wash then hit a lick with fine steel wool while in trim holder.
if I have a bunch of rifle I'll toss into the tumbler or vibrator (I have both- the tumbler is great for small amounts, the vibrator I use for large amounts.
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Old April 12, 2009, 07:40 PM   #19
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Well as you saw you will get a lot of opinions on which way is the best and they are all good ways. I'm also one that believes you want to put clean brass in the sizing die. IMO the easiest way to clean brass is to use a tumbler. It takes me 3 minutes to load the tumbler and 3 to 5 minutes to unload it. While the tumbler is doing the work I am loading or doing other reloading related things. I also like my brass shiny because it makes it easier to find it in the gravel at the range. It is worth the $45 for the tumbler for me.
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Old April 12, 2009, 09:46 PM   #20
Sevens
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Oh, if we are addressing the "why" of tumbling, I'll go with these, in no particular order:

--pride in what I've built
--keeps my hands clean when pouring over my loaded ammo
--makes case inspection possible, and much more enjoyable
--makes for much cleaner handling at the load bench
--makes for much cleaner storage of my brass, before I go to reload it
--makes for much cleaner ammo boxes, as my range brass goes in to bags
--makes for better, smoother, easier chambering of all my ammo, no matter the platform

Like I said, you certainly can reload safely and successfully without tumbling your brass, but I wouldn't ever want to go back to dirty brass.
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Old April 12, 2009, 10:02 PM   #21
Dan The Sig Man
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WOW... I must say that reloaders are very passionate about there traditions... I am now a very big believer that Tumblers are the way to go. I too agree with a lot of the comments about it makes things safer and cleaner, I dont want a major mess around my reloading bench. I have decided that I am going to go ahead and get a Tumbler. Thanks guys and if others have their opinions. I would like to hear a little more about how and what you do. Materials, technics and anything else.
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Old April 12, 2009, 10:02 PM   #22
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http://www.iosso.com/MivaStore/merch...de=GunCleaning

check the above site, then try this.
1. decap with universal tool of your choice
2. use the iosso case cleaning kit, the solution cleans the case inside and out, including the primer pocket and flash hole

I found this stuff at the last shot show, bought the product, tried it, stuffed my tumbler in the closet and told my kid he could shine rocks with it.
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Old April 13, 2009, 06:43 AM   #23
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One thing to be careful of is to NOT use any brass polish or cleaning compound that has ammonia in it. The ammonia will attack the brass and cause it to become brittle, then it will crack. Usually at the worst possible time.

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Old April 13, 2009, 07:00 AM   #24
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Correction

I forgot about the drum type tumbler... I actually use a vibratory type cleaner. Mine is an RCBS & the media is walnut shell. I was just thinking of mine as a tumbler and have a habit of refering to it as a tumbler.

I always clean the cases in the vibrator before decapping, so as not to block the flashhole which is a pain when media blocks this (as it always seems to do) and to keep the muck out of the dies as others have said. De capping first just creates more work for yourself IMO.

I have been reloading for about 5 years now (a noob to some fellers been doing it for years & years) and will re word my original statement:

IMO, in this day and age with modern equipment available, you can't seriously reload without a tumbler/vibratory case cleaner. You can of course reload without one, as I did the first year I reloaded, but the simplicity, ease and speed of getting nice clean cases makes the whole reloading process much more efficient and enjoyable (IMO anyway)

I paid $Au95 for mine, best money I spent in a long time on an accessory
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Old April 13, 2009, 10:24 AM   #25
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My Dad used to clean his brass in a small cement mixer and crushed walnut shells but that was back in the seventies.

I use a Lyman vibrator with walnut media. It does a great job and I have never had an instance where I thought I needed to wash the brass.
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