Drying brass?

Rover31

Rover31

Jedi Master
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 27, 2007
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Mos Eisley
#1
Trying to figure out the best way to dry my brass. Brass I said, Brass!

Between the SS media tumbling bath and the drop into a water bath after annealing I am trying to find a way to dry my brass. Something that works and is quicker than days of laying on a towel and then getting tarnished.

What method is anyone using, if anything?
Thanks
T
 
#2
Re: Drying brass?

When a buddy of mine needs his brass in a hurry he will put them in a dehydrator for a while. He swears by it. I have heard others lay them on a cookie sheet on the lowest oven setting and allow it to dry.

I don't normally need mine that quick so I do the lay out on a towel method.
 
#6
Re: Drying brass?

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#8
Re: Drying brass?

copied from STM site

Various ways to dry brass

1. Lay wet brass cases on large towel and fold towel in half and dry by hand then lay towel outside on warm day to air dry for 12 hours.
2. Place brass on cookie sheet and put in oven on center rack at 130 degrees with door open for 15 minutes or until dry (this procedure can discolor brass so try a few pieces of brass and experiment)
3. Lay the brass out on a towel and use a hair dryer to dry the brass. Usually only takes about 5-10 minutes.
4. Use an air compressor to blow out the insides of the cases and dry the outside of the brass 25-30 minutes.
5. Use a clothes dryer that has one of those removable racks used to dry shoes or sweaters. Spread a sheet of muslin fabric on the rack, (it has a lip, so the brass won't roll off), put a layer of brass on the cloth, and run the dryer on "high" for an hour. If using this method, one must be careful to properly size the muslin fabric so that it goes up the side of the rack, but doesn't overlap the rack thereby causing a snagging hazard with the revolving drum of the dryer. 45-60 minutes
 
#10
Re: Drying brass?

When I rinse my brass I use water too hot for my hands. I then dump the rinsed, hot, brass in a large towel, fold the towel into a "hammock" and pretend I'm polishing a bowling ball by sloshing the brass back and forth for a few moments. Between the shaking of the brass and the heat from the rinse, my .308 brass is dry within the hour. As soon as it's cool enough I trim/deburr/chamfer. If I'm in a huge hurry, I go to the air hose and just blow each piece out with compressed air (that's filtered through a micron filter, suitable for lab grade air) before priming. I'm usually not in that big a hurry.

No spots at all with this method.
 
#11
Re: Drying brass?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Deadshot2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When I rinse my brass I use water too hot for my hands. I then dump the rinsed, hot, brass in a large towel, fold the towel into a "hammock" and pretend I'm polishing a bowling ball by sloshing the brass back and forth for a few moments. Between the shaking of the brass and the heat from the rinse, my .308 brass is dry within the hour. As soon as it's cool enough I trim/deburr/chamfer. If I'm in a huge hurry, I go to the air hose and just blow each piece out with compressed air (that's filtered through a micron filter, suitable for lab grade air) before priming. I'm usually not in that big a hurry.

No spots at all with this method. </div></div>

The "bowling ball polish" method in the "towel hammock" is a crucial step. It gets 95%+ of the water off the brass. After doing that, then dumping into my ammo-can drying box, my brass is bone dry in 30 minutes or less.

One note: Don't leave the brass laying out on a damp towel to dry, unless you don't mind the water spots/tarnish.
 
#12
Re: Drying brass?

Seems like a lot of complicated methods to dry brass. I just put mine on a cookie sheet in the oven, 250 deg. I'll probably give it a little help from a towel first from now on though.
 
#13
Re: Drying brass?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: doubled</div><div class="ubbcode-body">denatured alcohol and a fan - dry in 15 mins. </div></div>

Nothing is faster or easier than this!
 
#14
Re: Drying brass?

I'm not sure about the weather in Cashmire, which I think is somewhere between India and Pakistan, but here in the sunny South (USA) a quick dip in rubbing alcohol (to get rid of the water spots) and a set in the sun on a baking sheet for about an hour (or less) does it every time. In the wintertime, I use the tennis shoe rack in the dryer for about 15 minutes.
 
#15
Re: Drying brass?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427Cobra</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: doubled</div><div class="ubbcode-body">denatured alcohol and a fan - dry in 15 mins. </div></div>

Nothing is faster or easier than this! </div></div>

I do the exact same thing. I got an old Fry Daddy with a wire basket, and filled the bucket with denatured alcohol. Dip for 5 seconds, dump on a towel, and shoot with a hair dryer/fan for 5-10 mins
 
#22
Re: Drying brass?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jeff</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I lay them on a towel in the driveway. They get hot to the touch </div></div>

If I did that they'd just get more wet... !!

Towel dry using the bowling ball method, blow dry then I put in the water heater cupboard overnight. If I want to load the next morning I'll stand them up in a loading block. If I'm in a real hurry I'll put them on a baking tray in the oven for 30 mins on low. Might have to try the denatured alcohol method.
 
#23
Re: Drying brass?

An idea I owe to someone unknown years ago.
Blow dryer inserted into a christmas tin lid with intake holes on lid and exhaust holes on the bottom. It's not a closed system. With forced airflow, the exterior drying goes quite fast, no peak heat is required. Just a stir and more time if you don't pallet the brass neck-up. Not hard to tray the dryer with a block of wood and a drill-press to fit the brass neck-up but I utilmately preferred not to, no real need. A few sheets of paper towel on the bottom seems to help. Works very well overall and is a cheap, dirtbag setup. Volume works well for 50pcs at a time.
Puppies! Who doesn't like puppies? That is accuracy right there.
brassdry.png
 
#24
Re: Drying brass?

I have a round floor fan that I lay on its back so the fan is blowing up. The grate for the fan is plastic and has different size square holes that are smaller towards the center of the fan and get larger towards the outside edge of the fan grate. The different size squares make great neck holders for the cases so i can stand them up vertically, neck first, so the fan is blowing right up through the brass- this dries in about 5-10 minutes with the fan on hi- will post pics tonight to give better idea.
 
#25
Re: Drying brass?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 2ac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Seems like a lot of complicated methods to dry brass. I just put mine on a cookie sheet in the oven, 250 deg. I'll probably give it a little help from a towel first from now on though.
</div></div>

I used to do this until I noticed my brass had a funny color to it when compared to the air dry brass.

Course I always kept forgetting it was there for a couple of hours
blush.gif
 
#26
Re: Drying brass?

I blow the water out with a compressor and then lay them out on a towel. If its not too humid here in Louisiana, I put them outside. If raining or way too humid, I just put them inside under a fan. Either way, they are ready the next day when I'm ready to load.

In rare cases when I've needed then NOW, I've done the oven thing but you have to be careful because they will tarnish in there if you let them get too hot.
 
#29
Re: Drying brass?

I put them in a colander and swirl them while blowing air through with a compressor. Once they look mostly dry I do the swirling with a few paper towels and then let air dry over night.
 
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