FYI, walnut media is a cleaner, corncob media is a polisher. Switching from walnut to corncob on the last step will give your brass a high polished look that you can definitely tell the difference. Let your corncob tumble a few minutes with the brass polish before you put brass in so the polish does not gum up inside a case. I also like to to cut up three used or new dryer sheets and toss them in the tumbler. It seems to collect that last bit of dust and dirt off the media and brass as it tumbles. Happy loading!
Tip: Use Meguires Ultimate Wash & Wax car wash soap instead of the Dawn. You'll then be able to skip the dry tumbler step. That dry tumbler dust is nasty. The brass will have slight waxy feeling, and never tarnish. Will be great for your dies, and chambers. Try it for one session and you'll be convinced, and save several hours per cycle of 1500 rounds.
@@MCMXI1 I don't measure. Just use one big squirt is the best way to describe it. Maybe 2 teaspoons? I also tumble with just water for 5-10 mins first and then pour out that black dirty water. From there I start a normal session.
@steve, quick question.....with the meguires W&W is that all you are using? Or are you still adding lemi shine as well or do you add anything else? And what are the ratios you are using? Thanks
@@kennyhayes3079 I am using a 44mag case worth of Lemishine along with the Meguires. I just squeeze a 1/2 second squirt of the Meguires. I'll do my own video soon of the process.
TheGoatMumbler is the funniest user name on YT. Also, great vid on your process. I kept getting pins where I didn't want then and figured someone had already figured it out.
After my brass dries (I just let it air dry overnight), I put it in coffee cans until I am ready to reload. When reloading, I take a few pounds of brass, dump it in a big ziplock bag and spray in a couple shots of home-made case lube (lanolin and alcohol). I dump it into a large pan and let the alcohol flash off before I pour it into the case feeder of the XL750. It make re-sizing the brass very smooth. After I have about 300 rounds made up, I dry tumble them in untreated corn cob media for about 5 or 10 minutes to get the lube off. The media lasts for thousands of rounds before I have to replace it.
I also have the Frankford Arsenal Wet Tumbler with the steel pins, the media separator AND the Frankford arsenal magnet which is invaluable. I don't need strainers or anything else because of magnet. I use Dawn Dishwasher detergent and LemiShine. I do a few things different depending on how dirty the range brass is. For example: brass from indoor ranges versus outdoor ranges. If it's real dirty I will rinse off the brass before i put it in the tumbler for a quick 30-45 minute initial clean. I do not use the steel pins for that first tumbling clean. Next , I will spray a mixture of case lube made of one part pure lanolin and 10 parts 99% Alcohol and Load my Dillon 650 case feeder with brass. Then simply SIZE and decap the brass but not dropping powder or seating bullets. Next step brass goes back in the wet tumbler WITH the steel pins, Dawn and LemiShine for 1-2 hours. When these cases come out they are whistle clean as they have been decapped and the lube has been removed. The media separator kit is perfect for separating the steel pins which fall to the bottom and yes some get scattered here and there on the floor. The Frankford Arsenal magnet does a fantastic job of picking up the strays. My brass is now decapped and sized so the sizing die is not needed for the rest of the reloading process. To dry the brass I put on a towel and let air dry in the sun or put in the oven at 170 for 15-20 minutes. Been reloading 4 years and have processed 100,000 cases of 9mm, 38 special, 357, 40 cal, 10mm, 45ACP and .223.
Good job with this vid. Informative/educational/entertaining. More involved than what I used to do but food for thought as I get back into reloading after a 5 year hiatus. Again, good job, well done...... Regards
In my experience I used the whole box of pins (about 3 pounds) and then tried half of them. It cleaned the brass the same as the full amount. About 6 months later I thought I’d try without the pins. Guess what, it did the same with pins and without. One less step I had to do. I also tried the screen ends that they sell for the tumbler, save your money. The screen is so air tight that the water won’t come out! In using Dawn soap, I tried a big squirt, small squirt and found out it works the same as three drops of Dawn ( and this is the same without using the pins ). All I was doing was to having to buy Dawn more often! And because I’m so ACD, I clean my brass. You really don’t need to when reloading. I just like the looks. Enjoy and Happy Reloading!
you could try window screen streched across your strainer to catch the stainless media that should be fine enough to stop it all from escaping .thanks for the video
about 15 years ago i came home from work and my said there was a very interesting man on opra that day. he said one day bullets cnd toilet paper would be worth more than paper money.
Just got my set few days ago, I ordered the hand de-primer, the tumbler, the media separator and the device to dry it, I also ordered the magnet but has not come yet. I expended about couple hours de-priming about 700 mix brass from .380, 9mm, 38special and some 40mm, brass I picked from shooting at the range back in 2011 (yes I have practice ever since zillions of time but only that one time picked the brass; if I knew what was coming I would have way more brass!) so today I started my 2 hours with a dab of dawn and a teaspoon of shine lime. Let's see how it turns out; the brass was really dirty and faded from being stored in the garage for years.
I do mine kind of opposite. I dry tumble them first. Then I decap and size them. That way, when I wet tumble them next, the primer pockets get nice and clean. I have found with the FA wet tumbler that if you keep the brass/pin mixture around 1/2 to 2/3 capacity and fill it up to the taper with water and cleaning stuff of your choice, it comes out much cleaner and shinier than trying to fill it to the max with brass/pins.
This method makes way more sense, because when you dry tumble the media often gets stuck (ESPECIALLY If you add wax) and the wet tumbling will wash it. Stuck media has been my biggest headache as it cracks brass and gets stuck in your die costing tons of time. But even so, the primer pockets don't get cleaned so in essence you have to clean, tumble and deprime, then clean again.
I've gone to the Lee Universal decapping die as my first step. It's looks like an added step, but it's not. And I don't get powdered carbon around my primer slide on my 550.
Great presentation, thanks. FYI, FA recommends putting the tumbler on the floor in case it falls off the rollers. Also FA sells screens that fit under the endcaps so you can just pour off the water directly without losing any pins. Since I got those I’ve never used the standard brass strainers. Some people use paint strainer bags in the bucket which works pretty well. I pour it off then refill once or twice with clean water then separate my brass and pins. Since I use car wash & wax (and only about 1/3 rd that amt of lemishine to avoid spotting) I only use my Dillon vibratory dry media tumbler now to quickly clean case lube off loaded rounds.
We have extra hard water here ( about 750 ) I use a bit more of lemishine ( which is citric acid. Buy it in the food section ) and a couple drops of dishwasher rinse aid. Gets rid of the spots for me.
Hi just found your video, very informative and great to see how other re-loaders clean and shine. I see it has been mentioned a couple of times by others in regards to the dryer sheets to help keep the media dust down and remove a fair amount of it from the media but it will also reduce "static charge" which in turn reduce anything from sticking on the brass , but would also like to make a suggestion about adding a soda straw (cut to length) over the exposed sharp threads on the rod that runs up and down thru the media, the straw will protect your brass from possible scratches, with that same theme I also invert a small funnel (large opening down towards the base of the bowl) cut the funnel to length. This will give the cleaning media more of a vortex action back to the bottom of the bowl as well as around in circles. Things I have found that improve the process when a fella like me is overly anal about re-loading!
I had a few minor issues with this tumbler, easily fixed. First it leaked, solution was silicone grease on both rubber seals. Also used hot water to create a vacuum as it cools. The second problem, rollers slipping. Solved by sanding the rollers to rough up the surface giving better grip. Works fine now.
Very similar to what i do, I use lemon (1/4 cup) juice with dawn, works great. Tried vinegar and it turned the brass rose color, maybe less would work (seems more powerful than lemon juice). I dry mu brass on the wood burning stove in the shop in stainless french fry baskets sitting on bricks, in the summer, I place the brass on towels in the driveway in the sun. I like the car wax and the plastic bag ideas, thanks.
That car wax in the corn cob is a good tip. I haven't done that before, I'd think I'll try it. Other than that, the way I process brass is almost identical to yours. Nice video!👍
Very good video What do you do to get the case lube off after processing the brass ? I stopped using the lemi mix I was getting mixed results I switch to the Frankford brass cleaner I think they hold their shine longer also. I let them go swimming 1 more time without pins after processing then prime , powder and seat , and crimp No lube this way
Frankford arsenal makes a screen to go on both ends of the tumbler that costs only $8.00. Put one on each end and run water through the tumbler to clean all the soap off. By the way I had over 2000 9MM brass in my tumbler at one time.
Two suggestions: Don’t worry about the bag, the pins aren’t going anywhere except the bottom of your bucket. Also fill your bucket with water and the water will help to remove all of the pins from inside the brass. Once I have rolled the separator in each direction several times I will dump the water AND pins and then refill the bucket and rinse once again. Then I know the detergents are completely removed and then I can easily determine that all of the pins were removed as well.
On the frankford armory dry tumbler I but two nuts together on the shaft at the right height to keep from tightening the cover to tight. It keeps it from cracking down the road.
I started dry tumbling them in dry media, bought a small wet tumbler and the tumbling media separator, and now own the large tumbler. Get the gear, and wet tumbling is the way to go. Drying shells, throw them in wire mesh office baskets and throw then in a toaster oven or an oven at 200 deg. Yes, wet tumbling takes more gear but it is faster and has great results every time. Clean brass in 2 hours or less. When I first started not sure if I was into it. Now no questions asked. I am fully into reloading. Lol
Nice work. However, add some cut-up BOUNCE sheets to the last step in your process to eliminate that dusty/gritty feel of the shells. Also, you might want to split the load on your machine 50/50 instead of 60/30.
Do you mix it with water or only brasso in the tumber? How much do you need? I considered using brasso but figured it would cost a fortune if i had to use a lot of it.
I have all the gear you do. I enjoy rolling my own ammo. I have been looking for federal small rifle primers for over two years. I am sitting on several k of Federal large pistol primers.. I would consider a 1:1 trade large pistol to small rifle.
Try using 1/4 cup Armorall Wash and Wax and 1 TBL Spoon of powdered Citric Acid. The Wax in the Armorall will keep the brass from tarnishing in the future.
You my already know this but, Frankfort Arsenal sells a mesh strainer that goes on the end of tumbler and held in place by the screw cap. Works great for the rinse step and keeps all pins in tumbler.
To find a strainer that has fine mesh the pins will not go through.. Go to a restaurant supply vendor and get a cone shaped deep strainer. Ace Restaurant Supply is in Fort Worth. You can probably mail order the strainer. And get a few one gallon buckets. When you clean the brass in the wet tumbler the Limishine strips off any finish that is on the brass. This is probably what is causing the sticking problem. You have to polish the brass to reapply the polish to slick it up a little and the brass will tarnish if you do not polish it.
I am just wondering how much better does polished brass work than tarnished brass and how much wear does the steel pins cause to the wall thickness of the brass.
Just getting started with reloading and this video along with all the comments will really help me a LOT, thank guys for all the feedback and extra suggestions to fine tune his process!!!
Having water in the bucket, especially the soapy cleaning water, breaks the surface tension and pulls the pins out much quicker. My separator is ghetto made made of two colanders with a shaft through them turning in slots in a bucket and i just reuse the solution and pins that fall in the bucket. The solution works perfectly even when it's pitch black..
Thing to remember about dry tumbling is mixed in with the media dust is lead and primer residue so wear a mask or anything else you can think of to protect you breathing that stuff in! 🇬🇧🏴
Great video, thanks for sharing. I have a question, how does adding the car wax to the dry media affect the amount of case lube you use when resizing? Do you still use about the same amount, use less, or does the wax eliminate the need for case lube all together?
Do u De-Prime your brass before you clean them? Or after? I don’t have a liquid case tumbler I have a Hornady case tumbler that uses normal media. I also have the same exact Frankfort arsenal dry case tumbler. But my question is after I use normal Lyman turbo tumbler media and Yes it’s that orange shit that leaves the dust all over my brass afterwards. So clean them one by one with a case brush and sometimes ear cleaners as well. But Should I also wash my brass afterwards and before I de-prime my brass?
@@TheGoatMumbler I have been playing with those things since I was a kid. If I told someone it was a cow magnet I would get the most puzzled looks. LOL
Get yun’s another bucket to put on top of that separator bucket so you can spin that separator proper quick, keeps the pins escaping and the dust down.
Good video I would just like to give my go-to-way with the same Tumblr and a lot of the same procedure. But total time would be two and a half hours start to finish. Load tumbler with stainless steel media Add Water give one or two good squirts of dawn one teaspoon of cascade dishwasher soap and one good teaspoon of lemon juice and Tumble for 1 hour. Drain And add water till all soap is removed standing up the tumbler under the faucet and run until soap bubbles out the top then drain and add hot water again and one good teaspoon of jet-dry. Tumble for one more hour and drain and light rinse and separate media as you did and then I cut off and tied off one old pant leg from a pair of jeans poured cases in them and shook for about a minute laid out on a tray and finish drying with my Harbor Freight $7 heat gun for about 5 to 10 minutes. No polish needed the Jet-Dry does a great job and any moisture left inside is thoroughly dried out by the time the brass cools for 5 minutes. If I only have a small batch to do like 3 to 500 cases I just put them in a plastic Planters 1 lb peanut jar and put it in my South Bend Lathe and Tumble and dry the same way. That was my go-to until my son purchased the Frankford tumbler for bigger batches like you did. Thanks for the video well done !!!
Car wax may help it go thru dies better but it will also keep it from grabbing the sides of the chamber when fired putting more stress on bolt and other parts. Just my 2 cents worth.
My 2 cents: - stainless steel spheres are better to clean bottle neck cartridges, from my experience. They find their way in and out of the necks easier. Make sure they are too big to fit a flash hole. - stainless steel pins are better suited for straight walled brass, I’m under the impression they clean the inside of it better as they roll along the cases. - You can deprime your cases before wet tumbling them (the primer pocket won’t be 100% clean however) but I strongly advise against doing so with dry tumbling unless you like media stuck inside your primer pockets.
Count me into the category of reloaders going against the tide of wet tumbling. It's too much to make pretty brass that doesn't necessarily make ammo that shoots any better than brass traditionally tumbled in a vibratory tumbler with walnut hulls and some Berry's Bullet's media treatment. The only way I could see going through the wet tumbling would be if I were restricted to picking up range brass. I shoot only only my own brass, and I don't let it roll around in mud, with most of it never even touching the ground before I take it home with me. One other negative aspect that surprisingly no one has mentioned about wet tumbling is that you will be pouring several gallons of heavily lead-contaminated water down your drain, which would be very bad for ground water and your septic system if not on city water treatment, plus it's also bad for the water treatment having all that highly toxic contamination.
We had a chemist look at that in one of our labs. He couldn’t find any interaction between powder and wax on inside of cases. He did mention that his concern would be interference fit of the primer to the base. The wax may make it loose and the primer seating coating to keep moisture out may not seal properly if there is a wax coating. He recommended against using waxes all over the case. Just another reloaders perspective who was also a chemist at our company. He was a good guy. Died while bicycling on the road, which I’ll never understand with all the bike trails out there.
Really good video. Made my mind up that walnut and corncob will stay as my method. I have a bit more spacious and equipped building. Front and backside. Been thinking on swapping to wet, but I don't think I will. Your video helped me make that decision. Oh and my building has big sink basin and..... drum roll...... A throne! AKA crapper. LOL! Hope all is well. :)
I use the FART tumbler, but w/o the pins. NO pins ! The pins will get into sensitive body parts !! Damn pins. I also bought the FART wrench to get a tight lock down. My wife made a "dump bag" for me to dump the clean wet brass into. I shake the brass around in the bag and then lay out the brass overnight on an old towel to dry.
FYI, walnut media is a cleaner, corncob media is a polisher. Switching from walnut to corncob on the last step will give your brass a high polished look that you can definitely tell the difference. Let your corncob tumble a few minutes with the brass polish before you put brass in so the polish does not gum up inside a case. I also like to to cut up three used or new dryer sheets and toss them in the tumbler. It seems to collect that last bit of dust and dirt off the media and brass as it tumbles. Happy loading!
Tip: Use Meguires Ultimate Wash & Wax car wash soap instead of the Dawn. You'll then be able to skip the dry tumbler step. That dry tumbler dust is nasty. The brass will have slight waxy feeling, and never tarnish. Will be great for your dies, and chambers. Try it for one session and you'll be convinced, and save several hours per cycle of 1500 rounds.
How much Meguires do you use?
@@MCMXI1 I don't measure. Just use one big squirt is the best way to describe it. Maybe 2 teaspoons? I also tumble with just water for 5-10 mins first and then pour out that black dirty water. From there I start a normal session.
@@stevegiron8825 Thanks a ton
@steve, quick question.....with the meguires W&W is that all you are using? Or are you still adding lemi shine as well or do you add anything else? And what are the ratios you are using? Thanks
@@kennyhayes3079 I am using a 44mag case worth of Lemishine along with the Meguires. I just squeeze a 1/2 second squirt of the Meguires. I'll do my own video soon of the process.
TheGoatMumbler is the funniest user name on YT. Also, great vid on your process. I kept getting pins where I didn't want then and figured someone had already figured it out.
After my brass dries (I just let it air dry overnight), I put it in coffee cans until I am ready to reload. When reloading, I take a few pounds of brass, dump it in a big ziplock bag and spray in a couple shots of home-made case lube (lanolin and alcohol). I dump it into a large pan and let the alcohol flash off before I pour it into the case feeder of the XL750. It make re-sizing the brass very smooth.
After I have about 300 rounds made up, I dry tumble them in untreated corn cob media for about 5 or 10 minutes to get the lube off. The media lasts for thousands of rounds before I have to replace it.
Beautifully done my friend - thank you!
That’s for sharing your great ideas!!
Outstanding vid. Thanks for taking the time and sharing.
Love the idea of the strainer bag for the bucket! Thanks
I also have the Frankford Arsenal Wet Tumbler with the steel pins, the media separator AND the Frankford arsenal magnet which is invaluable. I don't need strainers or anything else because of magnet. I use Dawn Dishwasher detergent and LemiShine. I do a few things different depending on how dirty the range brass is. For example: brass from indoor ranges versus outdoor ranges. If it's real dirty I will rinse off the brass before i put it in the tumbler for a quick 30-45 minute initial clean. I do not use the steel pins for that first tumbling clean. Next , I will spray a mixture of case lube made of one part pure lanolin and 10 parts 99% Alcohol and Load my Dillon 650 case feeder with brass. Then simply SIZE and decap the brass but not dropping powder or seating bullets. Next step brass goes back in the wet tumbler WITH the steel pins, Dawn and LemiShine for 1-2 hours. When these cases come out they are whistle clean as they have been decapped and the lube has been removed. The media separator kit is perfect for separating the steel pins which fall to the bottom and yes some get scattered here and there on the floor. The Frankford Arsenal magnet does a fantastic job of picking up the strays. My brass is now decapped and sized so the sizing die is not needed for the rest of the reloading process. To dry the brass I put on a towel and let air dry in the sun or put in the oven at 170 for 15-20 minutes. Been reloading 4 years and have processed 100,000 cases of 9mm, 38 special, 357, 40 cal, 10mm, 45ACP and .223.
Thanks for the post. I am thinking of getting into reloading and I found your post very informative.
Great vid. Like the paint mesh idea thanks.
Great job, nice work on the bench
I did purchase the magnet and that thing does work really well for me. Good job on your brass.
Good job with this vid. Informative/educational/entertaining.
More involved than what I used to do but food for thought as I get back into reloading after a 5 year hiatus.
Again, good job, well done......
Regards
Wonderful, I’m learning some things today and hopefully I can do it my self
Thank you so much for sharing your video, it’s loud and clear
Love it
In my experience I used the whole box of pins (about 3 pounds) and then tried half of them. It cleaned the brass the same as the full amount. About 6 months later I thought I’d try without the pins. Guess what, it did the same with pins and without. One less step I had to do. I also tried the screen ends that they sell for the tumbler, save your money. The screen is so air tight that the water won’t come out!
In using Dawn soap, I tried a big squirt, small squirt and found out it works the same as three drops of Dawn ( and this is the same without using the pins ). All I was doing was to having to buy Dawn more often! And because I’m so ACD, I clean my brass. You really don’t need to when reloading. I just like the looks. Enjoy and Happy Reloading!
you could try window screen streched across your strainer to catch the stainless media that should be fine enough to stop it all from escaping .thanks for the video
about 15 years ago i came home from work and my said there was a very interesting man on opra that day. he said one day bullets cnd toilet paper would be worth more than paper money.
Just got my set few days ago, I ordered the hand de-primer, the tumbler, the media separator and the device to dry it, I also ordered the magnet but has not come yet. I expended about couple hours de-priming about 700 mix brass from .380, 9mm, 38special and some 40mm, brass I picked from shooting at the range back in 2011 (yes I have practice ever since zillions of time but only that one time picked the brass; if I knew what was coming I would have way more brass!) so today I started my 2 hours with a dab of dawn and a teaspoon of shine lime. Let's see how it turns out; the brass was really dirty and faded from being stored in the garage for years.
I do mine kind of opposite. I dry tumble them first. Then I decap and size them. That way, when I wet tumble them next, the primer pockets get nice and clean. I have found with the FA wet tumbler that if you keep the brass/pin mixture around 1/2 to 2/3 capacity and fill it up to the taper with water and cleaning stuff of your choice, it comes out much cleaner and shinier than trying to fill it to the max with brass/pins.
This method makes way more sense, because when you dry tumble the media often gets stuck (ESPECIALLY If you add wax) and the wet tumbling will wash it.
Stuck media has been my biggest headache as it cracks brass and gets stuck in your die costing tons of time.
But even so, the primer pockets don't get cleaned so in essence you have to clean, tumble and deprime, then clean again.
I've gone to the Lee Universal decapping die as my first step. It's looks like an added step, but it's not. And I don't get powdered carbon around my primer slide on my 550.
Great video!!
Great presentation, thanks. FYI, FA recommends putting the tumbler on the floor in case it falls off the rollers. Also FA sells screens that fit under the endcaps so you can just pour off the water directly without losing any pins. Since I got those I’ve never used the standard brass strainers. Some people use paint strainer bags in the bucket which works pretty well. I pour it off then refill once or twice with clean water then separate my brass and pins. Since I use car wash & wax (and only about 1/3 rd that amt of lemishine to avoid spotting) I only use my Dillon vibratory dry media tumbler now to quickly clean case lube off loaded rounds.
Thanks for the share brother
Awesome video! FA now makes a metal strainer to catch steel pins.
A cow gut magnet. I’ve installed a good many of those!
Gotta love cow magnets! I use them for the same thing along with about 50 million other things around the shop. Great video and you got a sub from me!
I subbed too!
Cool video. Magnet is a cattle magnet. Used to use a pill pusher to plant them. Got them back from the butcher too. Still have some
Man this is right down my alley. I hope in a yr I have this setup…I don’t shoot that much but want cleaner brass than my Lyman sonic..
We have extra hard water here ( about 750 ) I use a bit more of lemishine ( which is citric acid. Buy it in the food section ) and a couple drops of dishwasher rinse aid. Gets rid of the spots for me.
Hi just found your video, very informative and great to see how other re-loaders clean and shine. I see it has been mentioned a couple of times by others in regards to the dryer sheets to help keep the media dust down and remove a fair amount of it from the media but it will also reduce "static charge" which in turn reduce anything from sticking on the brass , but would also like to make a suggestion about adding a soda straw (cut to length) over the exposed sharp threads on the rod that runs up and down thru the media, the straw will protect your brass from possible scratches, with that same theme I also invert a small funnel (large opening down towards the base of the bowl) cut the funnel to length. This will give the cleaning media more of a vortex action back to the bottom of the bowl as well as around in circles. Things I have found that improve the process when a fella like me is overly anal about re-loading!
Great video
nice clean shop area..
I had a few minor issues with this tumbler, easily fixed. First it leaked, solution was silicone grease on both rubber seals. Also used hot water to create a vacuum as it cools. The second problem, rollers slipping. Solved by sanding the rollers to rough up the surface giving better grip. Works fine now.
Or you can just not overload the Tumblr!
Drying the rollers also works excellently
You have a nice setup bro 🤙
Paint bucket net style paint strainer is an excellent method for catching all the SS pins!
Put a large magnet at the bottom of the sink, to catch any stragglers from your strainer. Love the paint strainer hack!
Very similar to what i do, I use lemon (1/4 cup) juice with dawn, works great. Tried vinegar and it turned the brass rose color, maybe less would work (seems more powerful than lemon juice). I dry mu brass on the wood burning stove in the shop in stainless french fry baskets sitting on bricks, in the summer, I place the brass on towels in the driveway in the sun. I like the car wax and the plastic bag ideas, thanks.
That car wax in the corn cob is a good tip. I haven't done that before, I'd think I'll try it. Other than that, the way I process brass is almost identical to yours. Nice video!👍
Good video. Moo on the magnet
I use a prospectors sifting pan with fine mesh, works really well.
@John Beige Amazon
Very good video
What do you do to get the case lube off after processing the brass ?
I stopped using the lemi mix I was getting mixed results I switch to the Frankford brass cleaner I think they hold their shine longer also.
I let them go swimming 1 more time without pins after processing then prime , powder and seat , and crimp
No lube this way
Frankford arsenal makes a screen to go on both ends of the tumbler that costs only $8.00. Put one on each end and run water through the tumbler to clean all the soap off. By the way I had over 2000 9MM brass in my tumbler at one time.
Two suggestions: Don’t worry about the bag, the pins aren’t going anywhere except the bottom of your bucket. Also fill your bucket with water and the water will help to remove all of the pins from inside the brass. Once I have rolled the separator in each direction several times I will dump the water AND pins and then refill the bucket and rinse once again. Then I know the detergents are completely removed and then I can easily determine that all of the pins were removed as well.
Do you sell any 9 mm brass
@@billysimpson637 Haven’t really thought about it.
5.56 doesn't let go of the pins so easy. I use a magnet to detect pins still hiding in the case.
There are mesh strainers for your endcaps. Try Midway USA. I just bought a pair for my baby tumbler.
I have had good luck getting the pins out of the brass out of all of the cases when I fill the separator bucket to the two slots with water.
On the frankford armory dry tumbler I but two nuts together on the shaft at the right height to keep from tightening the cover to tight. It keeps it from cracking down the road.
Makes sense
I started dry tumbling them in dry media, bought a small wet tumbler and the tumbling media separator, and now own the large tumbler. Get the gear, and wet tumbling is the way to go. Drying shells, throw them in wire mesh office baskets and throw then in a toaster oven or an oven at 200 deg. Yes, wet tumbling takes more gear but it is faster and has great results every time. Clean brass in 2 hours or less. When I first started not sure if I was into it. Now no questions asked. I am fully into reloading. Lol
The magnet goes in a cow's stomach and collects bits of metal that might find their way into the stomach and keeps it out of the intestinal track.
Could you please show a close-up of the primer pockets after your wet and dry cleaning process?
Nice work. However, add some cut-up BOUNCE sheets to the last step in your process to eliminate that dusty/gritty feel of the shells. Also, you might want to split the load on your machine 50/50 instead of 60/30.
I use BRASSO in my vibratory tumbler to polish and slick the cases up. It does a very good job.
Do you mix it with water or only brasso in the tumber? How much do you need? I considered using brasso but figured it would cost a fortune if i had to use a lot of it.
See a lot of great videos like this that people give a thumbs-down to and it always puzzles me.
Great video just wanted to tell you about Brass Juice you don't even have to use the pins in the tumbler.
I saw the cow magnet around the 10:40 mark. Wondered what you were using it for.
I have all the gear you do. I enjoy rolling my own ammo. I have been looking for federal small rifle primers for over two years. I am sitting on several k of Federal large pistol primers.. I would consider a 1:1 trade large pistol to small rifle.
I am thinking about getting into reloading and this is a great video. I found it very informative. Thank you
Try using 1/4 cup Armorall Wash and Wax and 1 TBL Spoon of powdered Citric Acid. The Wax in the Armorall will keep the brass from tarnishing in the future.
You my already know this but, Frankfort Arsenal sells a mesh strainer that goes on the end of tumbler and held in place by the screw cap. Works great for the rinse step and keeps all pins in tumbler.
I rotate it the media separator while washing it. Gets them moving while washing
To find a strainer that has fine mesh the pins will not go through.. Go to a restaurant supply vendor and get a cone shaped deep strainer. Ace Restaurant Supply is in Fort Worth. You can probably mail order the strainer. And get a few one gallon buckets.
When you clean the brass in the wet tumbler the Limishine strips off any finish that is on the brass. This is probably what is causing the sticking problem. You have to polish the brass to reapply the polish to slick it up a little and the brass will tarnish if you do not polish it.
I am just wondering how much better does polished brass work than tarnished brass and how much wear does the steel pins cause to the wall thickness of the brass.
Just getting started with reloading and this video along with all the comments will really help me a LOT, thank guys for all the feedback and extra suggestions to fine tune his process!!!
pretty brass sir
how do you get the dry media out of the primer pockets?
when you run it threw the dry media do you add the wax every time?
Having water in the bucket, especially the soapy cleaning water, breaks the surface tension and pulls the pins out much quicker. My separator is ghetto made made of two colanders with a shaft through them turning in slots in a bucket and i just reuse the solution and pins that fall in the bucket. The solution works perfectly even when it's pitch black..
So what was the purpose of using the dry media/tumbler at the end again?
To keep the dust down in the dry tumbler but some drier sheets cut into strips or squares.
Running used dryer sheets in your vibratory tumbler now and then will collect dirt off your media and extend its life.
Thing to remember about dry tumbling is mixed in with the media dust is lead and primer residue so wear a mask or anything else you can think of to protect you breathing that stuff in! 🇬🇧🏴
That's an old cowbelly magnet. I've takin many whippins from my grandpa through the years for playing with those.
Definitely stop by the thrift shop for a food dehydrator, the branded ones are way too expensive.
Cow magnets. I used to collect them when I worked in a kill house.
magnet used in balling gun for cows, to pick up metal in first stomach.
Great video, thanks for sharing. I have a question, how does adding the car wax to the dry media affect the amount of case lube you use when resizing? Do you still use about the same amount, use less, or does the wax eliminate the need for case lube all together?
If he is using carbide dies, no case lube is required. Processing brass like this is a huge advantage over other brass prep methods.
Do u De-Prime your brass before you clean them? Or after? I don’t have a liquid case tumbler I have a Hornady case tumbler that uses normal media. I also have the same exact Frankfort arsenal dry case tumbler. But my question is after I use normal Lyman turbo tumbler media and Yes it’s that orange shit that leaves the dust all over my brass afterwards. So clean them one by one with a case brush and sometimes ear cleaners as well. But Should I also wash my brass afterwards and before I de-prime my brass?
Bailing wire magnet for a cows stomach. Got a few of them.
Winner winner! They actually call it a cow magnet.
@@TheGoatMumbler I have been playing with those things since I was a kid. If I told someone it was a cow magnet I would get the most puzzled looks. LOL
Use DE or distilled water for final rinse to avoid water spots
neodymium magnets easy to order from the net. I recommend price shopping
Get yun’s another bucket to put on top of that separator bucket so you can spin that separator proper quick, keeps the pins escaping and the dust down.
Cow magnet I’ve had one for yrs
I'm assuming you use a universal demriming die first?
Good video I would just like to give my go-to-way with the same Tumblr and a lot of the same procedure. But total time would be two and a half hours start to finish. Load tumbler with stainless steel media Add Water give one or two good squirts of dawn one teaspoon of cascade dishwasher soap and one good teaspoon of lemon juice and Tumble for 1 hour. Drain And add water till all soap is removed standing up the tumbler under the faucet and run until soap bubbles out the top then drain and add hot water again and one good teaspoon of jet-dry. Tumble for one more hour and drain and light rinse and separate media as you did and then I cut off and tied off one old pant leg from a pair of jeans poured cases in them and shook for about a minute laid out on a tray and finish drying with my Harbor Freight $7 heat gun for about 5 to 10 minutes. No polish needed the Jet-Dry does a great job and any moisture left inside is thoroughly dried out by the time the brass cools for 5 minutes. If I only have a small batch to do like 3 to 500 cases I just put them in a plastic Planters 1 lb peanut jar and put it in my South Bend Lathe and Tumble and dry the same way. That was my go-to until my son purchased the Frankford tumbler for bigger batches like you did. Thanks for the video well done !!!
How much is your media separator? And where I can buy? Thank you
Car wax may help it go thru dies better but it will also keep it from grabbing the sides of the chamber when fired putting more stress on bolt and other parts. Just my 2 cents worth.
So you tumble and clean BEFORE depriming?
My 2 cents:
- stainless steel spheres are better to clean bottle neck cartridges, from my experience. They find their way in and out of the necks easier. Make sure they are too big to fit a flash hole.
- stainless steel pins are better suited for straight walled brass, I’m under the impression they clean the inside of it better as they roll along the cases.
- You can deprime your cases before wet tumbling them (the primer pocket won’t be 100% clean however) but I strongly advise against doing so with dry tumbling unless you like media stuck inside your primer pockets.
Count me into the category of reloaders going against the tide of wet tumbling.
It's too much to make pretty brass that doesn't necessarily make ammo that shoots any better than brass traditionally tumbled in a vibratory tumbler with walnut hulls and some Berry's Bullet's media treatment.
The only way I could see going through the wet tumbling would be if I were restricted to picking up range brass.
I shoot only only my own brass, and I don't let it roll around in mud, with most of it never even touching the ground before I take it home with me.
One other negative aspect that surprisingly no one has mentioned about wet tumbling is that you will be pouring several gallons of heavily lead-contaminated water down your drain, which would be very bad for ground water and your septic system if not on city water treatment, plus it's also bad for the water treatment having all that highly toxic contamination.
That magnet you put in a cows stomach to catch hardware that they may eat.
A magnet is a must, well worth the investment….you’ll be glad you did and wonder how you ever managed without 🎉
Just came across this video, and I enjoyed it. However, I do wonder if you are concerned with powder contamination using the Nu-Polish in your media?
Nu-Finish is widely used by reloaders to shine up brass while tumbling and there is no issue.
We had a chemist look at that in one of our labs. He couldn’t find any interaction between powder and wax on inside of cases. He did mention that his concern would be interference fit of the primer to the base. The wax may make it loose and the primer seating coating to keep moisture out may not seal properly if there is a wax coating. He recommended against using waxes all over the case. Just another reloaders perspective who was also a chemist at our company. He was a good guy. Died while bicycling on the road, which I’ll never understand with all the bike trails out there.
Hot water helps. Not boiling but hot from your tap.
I use a head net/bug net folded twice with some string and haven't lost a pin yet just an idea to save some money
Yeah. 5 gal paint strainer bags work well too.
Really good video. Made my mind up that walnut and corncob will stay as my method. I have a bit more spacious and equipped building. Front and backside. Been thinking on swapping to wet, but I don't think I will. Your video helped me make that decision. Oh and my building has big sink basin and..... drum roll...... A throne! AKA crapper. LOL! Hope all is well. :)
Amazon sells a metal strainer set (3 sizes) that are very fine mesh.
Have you ever tried RICE instead of walnut media ?
Thanks for the video ! A quick question; if you use the dry media and wax, do you need to use case lube for your dies?
Yes for necked cartridges, no for straight wall cartridges - IMHO.
@@walterengh8488 Thank you !!
@@ronkline8726 for straight walled cases also if you are not using a carbide sizing die.
That a stomach magnet?
Might work for handgun but I can guarantee u with rifle that nufinish will cause major pressure in the rifling.
Great info. I love when guys skip no steps when explaining the process. You skipped nothing. Thank you!
I’m new to all of this....THIS is such good info!
The best way by far to separate the SSM is to put a magnet in the tumbler at the end. By the way... they aren't stainless.
They are stainless just not food grade, ie like cheap s/s sinks, magnetic!
I use the FART tumbler, but w/o the pins. NO pins ! The pins will get into sensitive body parts !! Damn pins. I also bought the FART wrench to get a tight lock down. My wife made a "dump bag" for me to dump the clean wet brass into. I shake the brass around in the bag and then lay out the brass overnight on an old towel to dry.