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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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..
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!!!
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!👍
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
I cut approx. 1" strips of landry dryer sheets and saturate them ( 4-5 strips) with the brass cleaning liquid and put them into media with or without brass. This method helps to help distributing the brass cleanering evenly in the media. Works great for me!
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
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.
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! 🇬🇧🏴
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 !!!
Your problem with it sticking is called the Dillion hickup and is caused by the brass being to clean. It won't happen if you don't use as much lemon shine. At least that has been my experience.
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
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.
... If you want a fine mesh classifier ,, (instead of a strainer) ,, check with a prospector shop or internet ,, they are reduced fine by size and have adequate depth to handle good volume of brass ...
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.
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?
I've used straight citric acid diluted 2 tablespoons per gallon of mildly hot water (160° F) for years for removing tarnish on heavily weathered surplus and range brass. It will remove the zinc where the metal is already corroded but will not remove the zinc from good brass. The corrosion is usually so thin that it cannot be felt after the citric acid treatment and cannot be seen after polishing the brass. I don't use wax; just NuFinish Car Polish and a tablespoon of mineral spirits in the corn cob media. Brass stays bright for years.
@@David-hm9ic Wax--car polish- Simonize Whatever name floats your boat. Pulling zinc from the brass alloy results in a color change, possible physical property alteration. It's not a question of more or less shiny
15:45 That is a cow/horse magnet. You get the critter to swallow it if you suspect they have injested anything metal (wire/nails) They crap it out and its supposed to take any metal out with it.
I use a piece of heavy duty-ish fine mesh window screen under the screw cap to drain drum rather than how you do it. Turn it upside down with window screen down. All the water will drain out; pins will not. Pull cap on opposite end (top now) and run a hose thru the cases for couple min. Done. Go to separator.
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.
