Well it was bound to happen.

Panfisher · February 16, 2015, 10:36 AM

Put the last of my range pick up .223/5.56 into thewet tumbler last night, went back to the house and forgot about them. Remembered them this morning, 9 hours after they went in. Result clean shiny brass. The soap didn't last, but honestly couldn't tell any difference in the result between 2 hours and nine. I normally change the water out after an hour and for all intents they are cleaned ought then to go into loading use.

BoogieMan · February 16, 2015, 10:40 AM

Do you use ss pins for tumbling? Any deformation of the cases? Do you deprime and resize prior to tumbling?
I have prepped all my 06 cases ready to re prime and then load. They are going into a walnut shells in a vibratory tumbler to polish them up before priming,powder,bullet.

Jeff2131 · February 16, 2015, 10:47 AM

Im interested in this as well. I bought an 18 "wet" tumbler from harbor.frieght a while back but i just use walnut shell in it.and use it for bulk loads. Can i use SS pins and water or just SS pins?

jaguarxk120 · February 16, 2015, 11:17 AM

Use the pins wet, a bit of Dawn and 1/2 teaspoon of Lemshine. The case's will come out looking factory new.

the led farmer · February 16, 2015, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoogieMan

... Any deformation of the cases? Do you deprime and resize prior to tumbling...

No deformation of the cases, just clean shiny brass

I resize and deprime before tumbling it saves you from tumbling twice and will clean the crud from the primer pockets if that's important to you. You can also use citric acid instead of lemishine (found in the canning section) it's a bit cheaper and is the same thing.

FWIW there is absolutely no good reason to clean your brass other than cosmetic reasons. That being said I like cosmetically pretty brass so go figure

Panfisher · February 16, 2015, 12:20 PM

I deprive with a Lee universal depriming die, run them past a Lyman primer pocket reamer to remove the primer crimp. Then into the Harbor freight dual tumbler With dawn, lemishine and 2 lbs of SS pins. I replaced the little irritating canisters it came with and made two new canisters out of 4 inch PVC pipe, with 2 Oates 4 inch compression cap/plugs. Then had to replace the giant wing nuts with 3/8 he nuts. Have to play with the length a ltitle to get it right to fit. I can measure mine if needed. One canister willhandle 200 .223 cases, the other will handle 100 cases, and that is the one I use mostly. I really like shiny clean cases so after they get dried, resized and trimmed they get a ride in the old Lyman 600 to remove the case lube and get a final polish helped along with a dab of nu-finish. Then all shiny and clean they go into zip lock bags of 100 each and stored in 50 cal ammo cans. Obviously for non range pick up non mil stuff a few steps can be eliminated. Am going to try tumbling some old bullets with the HF rotary tumbler and dry media, tried them in the Lyman but they justfall to the bottom and stay, hopefully the rotary action will work better.

jaguarxk120 · February 16, 2015, 12:44 PM

Deprime like Panfisher says, clean cases resize much eaysier than the dirty oxidized ones.

TheFineLine · February 16, 2015, 02:01 PM

I plug my tumbler into an outdoor Christmas lights timer. Set it and forget it. That's in dry media though.

Panfisher · February 16, 2015, 03:12 PM

Timer is a good idea. Never worried about dry tumbling though. Have run it for 3 or 4 days before. No problems but sure was SHINY! that's a hazard of having it in a different building I guess.

February 16, 2015, 10:36 AM	#1
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	Well it was bound to happen. Put the last of my range pick up .223/5.56 into thewet tumbler last night, went back to the house and forgot about them. Remembered them this morning, 9 hours after they went in. Result clean shiny brass. The soap didn't last, but honestly couldn't tell any difference in the result between 2 hours and nine. I normally change the water out after an hour and for all intents they are cleaned ought then to go into loading use.

February 16, 2015, 10:40 AM	#2
BoogieMan Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2012 Location: South Jersey Posts: 2,217	Do you use ss pins for tumbling? Any deformation of the cases? Do you deprime and resize prior to tumbling? I have prepped all my 06 cases ready to re prime and then load. They are going into a walnut shells in a vibratory tumbler to polish them up before priming,powder,bullet. __________________ Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown

February 16, 2015, 10:47 AM	#3
Jeff2131 Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Spring City, PA Posts: 497	Im interested in this as well. I bought an 18 "wet" tumbler from harbor.frieght a while back but i just use walnut shell in it.and use it for bulk loads. Can i use SS pins and water or just SS pins? __________________ ---I DON'T DIAL 911---

February 16, 2015, 11:17 AM	#4
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,620	Use the pins wet, a bit of Dawn and 1/2 teaspoon of Lemshine. The case's will come out looking factory new.

February 16, 2015, 12:20 PM	#6
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	I deprive with a Lee universal depriming die, run them past a Lyman primer pocket reamer to remove the primer crimp. Then into the Harbor freight dual tumbler With dawn, lemishine and 2 lbs of SS pins. I replaced the little irritating canisters it came with and made two new canisters out of 4 inch PVC pipe, with 2 Oates 4 inch compression cap/plugs. Then had to replace the giant wing nuts with 3/8 he nuts. Have to play with the length a ltitle to get it right to fit. I can measure mine if needed. One canister willhandle 200 .223 cases, the other will handle 100 cases, and that is the one I use mostly. I really like shiny clean cases so after they get dried, resized and trimmed they get a ride in the old Lyman 600 to remove the case lube and get a final polish helped along with a dab of nu-finish. Then all shiny and clean they go into zip lock bags of 100 each and stored in 50 cal ammo cans. Obviously for non range pick up non mil stuff a few steps can be eliminated. Am going to try tumbling some old bullets with the HF rotary tumbler and dry media, tried them in the Lyman but they justfall to the bottom and stay, hopefully the rotary action will work better.

February 16, 2015, 12:44 PM	#7
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,620	Deprime like Panfisher says, clean cases resize much eaysier than the dirty oxidized ones.

February 16, 2015, 02:01 PM	#8
TheFineLine Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2012 Location: The Great State of Texas Posts: 210	I plug my tumbler into an outdoor Christmas lights timer. Set it and forget it. That's in dry media though.

February 16, 2015, 03:12 PM	#9
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	Timer is a good idea. Never worried about dry tumbling though. Have run it for 3 or 4 days before. No problems but sure was SHINY! that's a hazard of having it in a different building I guess.