Is stainless steel media even needed when using a wet tumbler!? VIDEO
- Thread starter elfster1234
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You don't need SS pins if you only want to clean the very outside of the cases. But if you'd like the primer pockets and interior of the cases cleaned. . . yes, you need something, like SS pins or SS chips, to get inside and clean.
This.
Depends on how clean you want your ammo.
For pistol ammo I only use the SS pins if the cases look VERY dirty...
Shoot mainly 6 Creed and 6 Dasher, I tumble in stainless steel every time I clean. Gets the brass really clean then throw them in the oven for 1 hr at 175 to dry out. Brass looks brand new
I guess I just don't understand the obsession of wet tumbling. Since '92 or '93 I have dry tumbled using 1/2 walnut, 1/2 'all natural' kitty litter + cap full of Nu-Finish. I deprime, dump my brass in and go to bed. The next morning everything shines like a diamond in a goats ass ((the brass, too 
)). 10-12 spins of the case/media separator and it's time to load. It just seems like a pain in the ass with the water, soap, towels, dehydrator, etc. Maybe it's I'm too dumb to know what I'm missing.
)). 10-12 spins of the case/media separator and it's time to load. It just seems like a pain in the ass with the water, soap, towels, dehydrator, etc. Maybe it's I'm too dumb to know what I'm missing.
Mostly personal preference. I don't have a place to put a dry tumbler where i can leave it running overnight. With a wet tumbler, my brass is usually done in about 45 min. unless it's from a DI AR platform that's extra nasty.I guess I just don't understand the obsession of wet tumbling. Since '92 or '93 I have dry tumbled using 1/2 walnut, 1/2 'all natural' kitty litter + cap full of Nu-Finish. I deprime, dump my brass in and go to bed. The next morning everything shines like a diamond in a goats ass ((the brass, too
I don't think one way is better than the other. The end result is pretty much the same.
I stopped used pins about a month ago. Just water, soap, and a little lemi shine. Probably gonna stop using lemi shine too as that doesn’t matter much.
I wet tumble purely out of convenience. I just dump brass in a strainer, then toss in the brass dryer and forget about it for a while.
I only care about getting brass clean enough to not gunk up my dies.
I wet tumble purely out of convenience. I just dump brass in a strainer, then toss in the brass dryer and forget about it for a while.
I only care about getting brass clean enough to not gunk up my dies.
Dasher. 223, 300BO.
No, that doesn't include drying. Depending on temp setting, that is 1-3 hours.
Edit: Sorry, I misread that as "what" not where
I do all of my reloading at home, which is a bit on the small side (750 sqft) Just barely enough room for me and
my asshat of a dog.
I do it mostly for time. Can clean 500+ 308 casings and close to 1000 556 in less than an hour. The. Another hour in a good dehydrated and I’m ready to go with shiny new looking brass.
I’ve read that the pins help buffer the impact between the cases, so you may end up with more mouth peening if you don’t use them.
As for dry vs wet, I prefer wet because it gets the brass cleaner and I don’t have to deal with toxic dust in my basement.
As for dry vs wet, I prefer wet because it gets the brass cleaner and I don’t have to deal with toxic dust in my basement.
Precision loading for my .308, I wet tumble with SS pins at about 4 firings to get the build up inside cleaned out down to shinny brass. To much build up reduces case capacity effecting performance. Look at the inside of a case with a bore scope and you can see just how much there is. I don't mind what little peening I get on the case mouth as I always trim cases as my final step before loading. Otherwise, I dry tumble with rice, which does a good job and the rice does it without dust flying around.
I exclusively wet tumbled with pins for about 4yrs. Over the past year, I went back to walnut media for precision brass. The slight amount of carbon on the inside necks has given me better ES and SD numbers without the need of using moly powder on the necks.
100% truth to that statement! I know a world record holding BR shooter that said and does the same thing
That's what I'm going to do as well. Its way faster to wet tumble but the pins leave microscopic poc marks that leave a sparkley finish. Dry tumbler looks more like from the factory, shiny and glossy.
I read somewhere a while back about the SS pins wear out or loose their edge. Does this even matter?
Yes, media does loose their edge so it doesn't clean as fast but it really doesn't matter at all IMO
I guess I just don't understand the obsession of wet tumbling. Since '92 or '93 I have dry tumbled using 1/2 walnut, 1/2 'all natural' kitty litter + cap full of Nu-Finish. I deprime, dump my brass in and go to bed. The next morning everything shines like a diamond in a goats ass ((the brass, too
For me, the dust from the dry tumbler was a concern. I didn't want to worry about breathing that crap or potentially coating surfaces with it. Wet tumblers trap it all nicely in the water. As others have said though, having the bright and shiny necks can lead to a lot of friction during seating.
They probably do over time, but I couldn't see it ever getting to the point where it makes a lick of difference.
For those of you who do wet tumble, a food dehydrator has changed the game for me. I dump the cases in mine and just let it run over night and it does a fantastic job inside and out. Nice shiny brass. A good separator magnet is similarly a must have.
Haven’t used pins in over a year.
And only mechanically cleaning if brass was in mud or really bad dirt. Otherwise, I just wipe off with a rag
Cleaning is in the realm of messing with primer pockets and sorting brass. One of the most over analyzed processes that has very little return on investment.
And only mechanically cleaning if brass was in mud or really bad dirt. Otherwise, I just wipe off with a rag
Cleaning is in the realm of messing with primer pockets and sorting brass. One of the most over analyzed processes that has very little return on investment.
I have been wet tumbling with pins and then processing the brass. When done, I was tossing it back in the tumbler with only soap for 15 minutes to wash off the lube. I may just forego the pins altogether. The only reason I'm cleaning before sizing is to remove any sand or mud. It's too time consuming to individually clean each piece when doing 100's of cases. Even with dry media I had to wipe down each case to get rid of the dust.
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