I have searched and read. I have come to the conclusion to get a SS tumbling system. It seems pretty straight forward. I will probably get a kit from Stainless Steel Reloading Supplies | Tumblers, Separators, Media, Brass & More! and call it done. Am I on the right track? I have never reloaded and am wanting to get it right the first time.
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Stainless tumbling options
- Thread starter pizzamanny
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That's where I got mine. I really like the system. I don't use the separator, but made a second endplate with a fine mesh screen that I saw on another forum. It really helps with the rinsing and draining without losing any pins.
That kit will do the trick. I have all the same stuff but a Thumblers B model. I found that going heavy on the pins does a better job. I have 9lbs in mine and it works faster. You can get the Lemishine at Walmart and the trick with the Lemishine is not too much. I use a .45 ACP case full of Lemishine and a healthy squirt of Dawn. Also use HOT water. That helps too. For less than $300 you'll never need anything else except to replenish the Dawn and Lemishine.
You'll struggle with your process to find out what works best. Since I started with Lyman 1200 vibratory tumbler I put all my dirty brass into the Lyman with crushed walnut. Only needs a hour or so. Once out then resize, decap with a FL or neck die. Once sized and decapped then run them through the wet tumbler. Once out then you can trim and camfer. I put them in a big towel to dry the outside then use my air compressor with nozzle to dry the insides. A quick blast at 100 PSI through the flash hole and it's dry and ready to trim.
You'll struggle with your process to find out what works best. Since I started with Lyman 1200 vibratory tumbler I put all my dirty brass into the Lyman with crushed walnut. Only needs a hour or so. Once out then resize, decap with a FL or neck die. Once sized and decapped then run them through the wet tumbler. Once out then you can trim and camfer. I put them in a big towel to dry the outside then use my air compressor with nozzle to dry the insides. A quick blast at 100 PSI through the flash hole and it's dry and ready to trim.
Potentially stupid question but i'm new to this. Wouldn't tumbling after sizing cause denting and deformities in the brass? I actually picked up this exact kit a little while ago but haven't gotten around to actually using it. Perhaps i'll set it up to run on some old brass tonight.
I have never had any issues with that. When I reload the cases, before I drop the powder, I run the brass over a custom .306" expanding ball to "reset" the concentricity of the neck just in case, but I am reloading to tight tolerances and doubt this would be needed for just general target ammo.
I built my own tumbler because the small batches out of the thumblers turned me off. The one I built was over 12 gallons. Others clean my brass for me these days but I have gathered up the materials to build a magnetic tumbler, it will be Jan before I have time to stick it together though.
Tumbling in ss media peens the mouths, and gets more noticeable at longer tumbling times. I tumble once, before I do anything else. It doesn't dent the cases
I don't mean to go too far off topic, but it does kind of burn my ass how this STM website got started. They basically ripped their entire business model off of one thread here that started in 2009 by a guy who was just trying to help people out.
This has been my concern about using SS.
I read it can really deform the mouth if the motor speed is above 1500 rpms.
I guess if you are trimming after tumbling it shouldn't be a huge deal.
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Another thing you can consider that might save money is to source a rock tumbler from a local Rock Hound/Gem cutting supply. I bought a Rock tumbler 25 years ago this way, and used to tumble 45 brass in lemon juice and 409 to clean cases. I use the SS media now in the same rock tumbler and it works great, but I didn't need to spend the fortune that the SS media site wants for a tumbler. I bought an RCBS separator for $30 to shake all the SS pins out. The pins are magnetic stainless, so you can also use a magnet to round up the strays.
That's a lot of pins in a 15lb tumbler. My ratio is 5lbs of pins, 7lbs of water (1 gallon) and 2-3lbs of brass.
So are you leaving out the water or the brass in your ratio?
Nope. Fill it up with brass to about 4" from the top, fill it with hot water then run it for about 4 hours. They come out looking like new. I think using more pins allows me to use more brass.
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never had any problems with beatup case mouths .
Need to pay attention to RPM of your drum & keep it down to 40 - 50 RPM rotation & all is good . I do everything . de-prime, fullsize or neck only, trim if needed and then chamfer inside & out of mouths . Then I SS media clean, dry & load .
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I've been using the one from STM for about 2 years now with no complaints. The Lemi-shine you can find at a local store and dish soap works fine. I didn't care too much about having my brass look new, but instead wanted to be sure the insides were as clean as could be to ensure consistency. I get that with this system.
I trim/deburr/chamfer, then tumble for 5 hours, then lube + FL size, then hand wipe excess lube off. I figure that having a tiny lube left on the outside of the cases won't hurt anything. Depending on what brass I'm tumbling, I sometimes use the separator. It's easy to do everything in the tub.
I trim/deburr/chamfer, then tumble for 5 hours, then lube + FL size, then hand wipe excess lube off. I figure that having a tiny lube left on the outside of the cases won't hurt anything. Depending on what brass I'm tumbling, I sometimes use the separator. It's easy to do everything in the tub.
If anyone is looking to get into SS tumbling cheap, I sell the 0.047" pins for significantly cheaper than you will find elsewhere:
here's a link to my post on reddit/r/reloading ([WTS] 0.047" x 0.255" Stainless Steel Pin Media : reloading)
Basics: $40 all in for 5lbs shipped to your door. $75 for 10 lbs [email protected] if you are interest or you can PM me here or there.
here's a link to my post on reddit/r/reloading ([WTS] 0.047" x 0.255" Stainless Steel Pin Media : reloading)
Basics: $40 all in for 5lbs shipped to your door. $75 for 10 lbs [email protected] if you are interest or you can PM me here or there.
Yes, exceeding the 15lb capacity will shorten the life of a Thumler B starting with having to switch out the drive belt as it burns through them. The drive belt will last for year and years if you stay under capacity. What's nice is everything is serviceable or replaceable. Just be prepared to start fixing it running overloads. No biggie.
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