Wet vs. Dry Tumbling

[TxWelder35]

It's very quick...I may have been too detailed on each little step. I could probably write a novel on how to open a can of Coke...that's just the way I am.

I dry tumbled for 3 DECADES....so I know both worlds. I know it comes down to a preference issue...and for me personally...I like wet tumbling a lot better. I find it less work for how I do wet....versus how I used to do dry.

I think the argument over neck tension between the two methods is a better argument than time. I have observed varying seating depth tensions when loading wet tumbled...but I've yet to actually see the difference on muzzle velocity or vertical spread at 1500+ yards. To each their own though. Do what makes ya happy. As long as it loads up a quality round that puts you on target...then either way is good.

So what made you move away from dry tumbling?

 

[Longshot231]

That’s why they make different models of cars, houses, fishing rods, guns, reloading equipment and women. Whatever makes you happy - go for it

 

[Longshot231]

So what made you move away from dry tumbling?

The dust.

 

[b2lee]

So what made you move away from dry tumbling?

The straw that broke the camels back was when I came back to the apartment and it was filled with dust because the wingnut screw came off and I had dust and walnut everywhere....and I mean EVERYWHERE. I never liked the way it didn't get the primer pockets clean..and I didn't like the feel of the brass being all powdery after walnut.

Now...I tried other stuff...but when it came to say 5.56 brass...getting the media out of the bottle neck or the primer pockets was insane. The first time I tried wet tumbling was in a ultrasonic...and I didn't like it...too much work and not enough volume. Then I got a Hornady wet tumbler and I just loved it...and still use it.

<joke>

I don't like tumbling with rice because it makes the rice taste funny.

</joke>

 

[TxWelder35]

The straw that broke the camels back was when I came back to the apartment and it was filled with dust because the wingnut screw came off and I had dust and walnut everywhere....and I mean EVERYWHERE. I never liked the way it didn't get the primer pockets clean..and I didn't like the feel of the brass being all powdery after walnut.

Now...I tried other stuff...but when it came to say 5.56 brass...getting the media out of the bottle neck or the primer pockets was insane. The first time I tried wet tumbling was in a ultrasonic...and I didn't like it...too much work and not enough volume. Then I got a Hornady wet tumbler and I just loved it...and still use it.

<joke>

I don't like tumbling with rice because it makes the rice taste funny.

</joke>

Hey everything is just carbon anyway. Little extra dose never hurt anybody

 

[PrecisionParks]

Does wet tumbling improve velocity consistency or increase brass life? It cleans the carbon from inside of the case...does this maintain consistent case volume? Or does it really not matter? I am considering changing to wet but not if it doesn’t help something in the precision system.

 

[47guy]

Does wet tumbling improve velocity consistency or increase brass life? It cleans the carbon from inside of the case...does this maintain consistent case volume? Or does it really not matter? I am considering changing to wet but not if it doesn’t help something in the precision system.

it does not just adds more time spent prepping brass

 

[Longshot231]

Does wet tumbling improve velocity consistency or increase brass life? It cleans the carbon from inside of the case...does this maintain consistent case volume? Or does it really not matter? I am considering changing to wet but not if it doesn’t help something in the precision system.

Even though someone said I went to a lot of work concerning my earlier post, my brass is cleaner inside and out, compared to dry tumbling.

 

[47guy]

Even though someone said I went to a lot of work concerning my earlier post, my brass is cleaner inside and out, compared to dry tumbling.

But does it improve consistency or accuracy?

 

[b2lee]

Some people argue it decreases consistency and accuracy because you will notice different seating tension...and some argue the brass and copper bullet will gall and cause increase force to start bullet jump in that first few milliseconds of ignition to it's first stopping place to create a seal.

In the real world...I have noticed...easily noticed the increase in seating force...the inconsistency of seating force...however...I've yet to see a difference in bullet on targets.

 

[47guy]

Some people argue it decreases consistency and accuracy because you will notice different seating tension...and some argue the brass and copper bullet will gall and cause increase force to start bullet jump in that first few milliseconds of ignition to it's first stopping place to create a seal.

In the real world...I have noticed...easily noticed the increase in seating force...the inconsistency of seating force...however...I've yet to see a difference in bullet on targets.

like I say I wet tumbled for 7yrs and figured out after 2 tumbles not to tumble shinny clean.

I then started tumbling for 30mins and the outsides were shinny clean but necks still had carbon left in them plus I’ve sprayed hornady one shot in my necks before sizing for years so I never had these issues after the first 2 times.

I stopped wet tumbling to save time...I don’t like reloading so the more time I can cut off the better.

 

[Mmussati]

I have all 3.
The ultrasonic was my 1st purchase. its now used for gun part cleaning. It did a decent job but I always seemed to leave me desiring more no matter what chemical I mixed in.

2nd was a media tumblr. Other than getting media in the primer pockets it does a good job at cleaning.

3rd was a wet tumbler. A little detergent a dash of lemi shine and 5# of pins produced awesom results..

down fall is the pins left in bottleneck cases. They are easy enough to shake out, but..

95% of my case cleaning is wet tumbled. I rarely wet tumble with pins anymore.

BTW you can double down with a wet tumblr and use it with cob media. Its essentially a 2 in 1.

 

[Dthomas3523]

If you have to write a novel about how to clean your brass it’s too much work. Reloading in general has enough steps in it already. By your time estimates you have 3 minutes to do all those steps besides waiting for it to tumble. I seriously doubt that.

I do without pins. So it’s just put in brass, water soap. Turn on. Dump in strainer, and dump into dryer.

But I also have a dry tumbler for taking wax off if I don’t feel like waiting for brass to dry.

 

[Longshot231]

But does it improve consistency or accuracy?

I don't see how it could hurt. Anything that gets the insides of the cases looking like new brass has to help.

I have only been wet tumbling for a few months now. As I have to shoot up reloads from year's past, I haven't got to cycle through my most recent handloads.

Again, the insides of the cases look like new. The primer pockets are cleaner. Best of all; NO dust!

 

[47guy]

I don't see how it could hurt. Anything that gets the insides of the cases looking like new brass has to help.

I have only been wet tumbling for a few months now. As I have to shoot up reloads from year's past, I haven't got to cycle through my most recent handloads.

Again, the insides of the cases look like new. The primer pockets are cleaner. Best of all; NO dust!

you will have to figure it out on your own but shinny brass on the inside isn’t a good thing.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I don't see how it could hurt. Anything that gets the insides of the cases looking like new brass has to help.

Please articulate why you think it has to help.

 

[Longshot231]

Please articulate why you think it has to help.

Uniformity of the conditions inside the case. No dust and no fouling from previous shots to affect the burn rate.

I've fired factory rounds that, at times, have been just as accurate as handloads. Those factory loads are using new brass.

So applying the theory that a dirty case (on the inside) enhances accuracy then we would expect to see small groups with factory ammo.

Probably the only way of telling whether or not the cleanliness of the inside of the case affects accuracy is a comparison between reloads.

Everything else being equal. the loads tested would have use brass that has been tumbled wet versus those tumbled dry.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Uniformity of the conditions inside the case. No dust and no fouling from previous shots to affect the burn rate.

I've fired factory rounds that, at times, have been just as accurate as handloads. Those factory loads are using new brass.

So applying the theory that a dirty case (on the inside) enhances accuracy then we would expect to see small groups with factory ammo.

Probably the only way of telling whether or not the cleanliness of the inside of the case affects accuracy is a comparison between reloads.

Everything else being equal. the loads tested would have use brass that has been tumbled wet versus those tumbled dry.

Been done. That’s what most people prefer not to clean the carbon out of necks.

 

[trob_205]

I’m super confused on people complaining about dry tumbling and dust. I’ve not once never had a problem with dust. Maybe my tumbler is different from the rest but if the wing nut is working loose then shouldn’t you make it tighter next time?

 

[Snuby642]

I was watching this thread late last nite .
I was going to post again but I lost my phone and just now found it.

I was tumbling some brass and the toxic cloud just now dissipated.

 

[47guy]

Your using the wrong media.

 

[Strykervet]

I started wet tumbling this past weekend... amazing results. 200 pieces of 308 per batch with a Frankford dryer... easy... except I had 5 pins “escape” in the sink, with a garbage disposal. Need to pay more attention! Regarding mouth peening… I trim every load cycle no concerns.

Ah, the lost pin...

I use a cement mixer and 60 or 80lbs of pins. I forget. It's the only way to go for bulk, large cases or volumes (if you load for an M2HB then this won't even be a question of which is better) but I'm not so sure the pins really do much... I have a vibratory tumbler and a cheap-o Hornady US cleaner (it came with a bunch of XTP's, couldn't refuse). Each one has it's pros and cons.

US cleaner is best for accuracy and how I can say that is because the brass doesn't bang against anything. It just sits there, goes in dirty and comes out clean. But I think I burned up that Hornady cleaner (it rattles and shit now) trying to do BMG cases back before I got the cement mixer. If you don't load volume or 100+ large cases, this is by far the way to go.

Vibratory tumbler is a good stand by and everyone should have one. I use it for finishing off brass or loaded ammo (I know, but I use a lot of media and don't really give a shit...). It's good for removing lube from cases prior to loading.

Wet tumbler works well for large volume but that's it. That goddamn lost pin fucks it all up and you will lose sleep over it. I've heard it's not that big of a deal in most cases, that most times a stray pin will just blow out the barrel with no consequences (unless you have a can on it, which likely I will). And it's best to only use it for bulk cleaning prior to decapping. Dry tumbling will remove lube better and give one last chance to shake out any pins (hopefully, at least won't be adding any). So you need the vibratory tumbler anyway IMO/E.

I'd also get the Dillon rotary basket or whatever the hell it's called. It rotates and shakes out any water or pins or dry media. It's a damn useful tool for sure (wish I had one made out of a beer keg but hey, can't have it all).

So unless you do great volume or large cases, get the vibratory tumbler and the rotary basket and call it a day. If you have the money or need (or just find it for a killer deal like I did) then get the US cleaner too. Small wet tumblers? I don't understand 'em, if you don't need a cement mixer then you probably don't need to wet tumble either.

Oh, you can also just wipe 'em off one at a time and I've done that too...

 

[little_scrapper]

I didnt read the whole thread but has anyone tried SS media in a dry tumbler?

 

[Longshot231]

I didnt read the whole thread but has anyone tried SS media in a dry tumbler?

That's like putting peas in your ice cream

I don't think it would work in a vibratory tumbler as the pins will all gravitate to the bottom.

If you had a rotary tumbler that uses dry media then they would not sink to the bottom.

If you got a rotary tumbler, I say try it. You'll never know if it works until it has been attempted.

 

[little_scrapper]

So try it and tell us how it does.

 

[Andrewst35]

Went with the dry tumbler. I would have considered the wet but I will be tumbling after I size to get the lube off and I didn't want to damage my case mouths after they have been sized. Also a lot easier to just run down to the basement and dry tumble real quick vs wet tumble, dry, separate pins, etc.

Try Turtle Metal polish or Lucas Metal and Gun Polish with mineral spirits. Add a used dryer sheet to keep dust down.

 

[Andrewst35]

I started wet tumbling this past weekend... amazing results. 200 pieces of 308 per batch with a Frankford dryer... easy... except I had 5 pins “escape” in the sink, with a garbage disposal. Need to pay more attention! Regarding mouth peening… I trim every load cycle no concerns.

Try Brass Wash by Brass Juice. SS pins not used plus vet owned and operated.

 

[Hunter Sykes]

Wet tumble with pins. They fall right out in a media separator.

Its super easy, super clean, and I don’t have to pick media out of flash holes on every dang rd.

 

[JODA]

Went with the dry tumbler. I would have considered the wet but I will be tumbling after I size to get the lube off and I didn't want to damage my case mouths after they have been sized. Also a lot easier to just run down to the basement and dry tumble real quick vs wet tumble, dry, separate pins, etc.

Seriously kids;
I have been shooting and reloading for almost forty years and have tried both methods. I only used the 'wet' method once and discarded the concept immediately. I have cleaned and loaded at least a quarter of a million cases. and am still doing it as I write this. 300 9mm cases tumbling right now. I've loaded everything from 380 Auto to 50 BMG using the same method with zero complaints. I use corn cob media, which can be refreshed once in awhile with a Dillon Precision product called Rapid Polish 290. I simply pour the brass into a tumbler, pour in enough media to completely cover the brass, plug in the unit and come back in the morning. It sits under cover on my rear porch where I never hear it at all.
Dillon also makes a simple and proficient tool called a Media Separator. Dump out the tumbler into the separator, close the lid, crank the handle a dozen times, and all the media is left in the tub below. Open the separator and pour the 'highly polished' brass into a cardboard box and into the loading room it goes. No ill effects whatsoever.

 

[little_scrapper]

Yea my grandpa is a dusty old fart too. Refuses to embrace new technology. LOL

Hi

BTW, I think that is a bingo ball spinner, not a media separator.















Just playing with ya Joda. Welcome. hehehe dusty

 

[KYpatriot]

I wet tumble...but I think there is validity to the inconsistent neck tension complaint. You can definitely feel a difference in seating force consistency between carboned up necks and the grabby sparkling clean ones you get from wet tumbling.

Im gonna try dry rice in the wet tumbler i have.

 

[JODA]

I love how these young 'woke scolds' seem to be 'sexual intellectuals' too.
BTW Stainless steel is not attracted by magnetism.

 

[little_scrapper]

To say stainless steel is not magnetic is false. Stainless steel is a broadly defined term and some stainless steel is magnetic. It depends on mixture and the structure.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I love how these young 'woke scolds' seem to be 'sexual intellectuals' too.
BTW Stainless steel is not attracted by magnetism.

Your 40 years of reloading experience must not have included studies in metallurgy.

Many of us have been doing things for 20 or 30 years plus. It’s usually the ones that point to that first without articulating why they do something that mistake years of repetition for experience and/or wisdom.

Because apparently it takes 41 years to realize that stainless steel is a general term that encompasses a broad range. Some magnetic and some not.

So, let’s try again. Can you articulate why you do one over the other?

 

[little_scrapper]

I think he may have meant the online personality "Stainless Steel" is not attracted by the "magnetism" of sexually mature women?

?

 

[JODA]

Sure, it simply works well for a multitude of calibers and I tried the 'wet method' with practically no satisfaction. The cases just weren't very clean, and the process seemed overly messy.
I used walnut shells initially but the media didn't seem to last very long. Corn cob worked and could be 'spruced up' by running a vibrator/tumbler full with only media, no brass, and the Rapid Polish, to bring the corn cob back to life once again.

Also, apparently the quality of SS I am used to doesn't react to magnetism, maybe some does, (broad range) but I simply call it steel then.. I would surely hate to end up with a piece (rod) of 'truly' SS left in a rifle cartridge while resizing or firing after loading it.
My 40 years was an understatement, but that puts me in the muzzle loader/cast bullet era with you guys I guess. I'm actually 74 YO and have a 100 yd. bench rest range on my place. Also a 25 yd. pistol/shotgun range with lights and a lighted chrono, lots of steel plate racks and other steel targets too. Age has some advantages I guess.

Don't feel bad. I have 5 kids and one of them has two Master's Degrees. One in History. I've done a monstrous amount of reading over the last 20 years since retirement, and I found he hasn't been educated but indoctrinated by the history he was taught in Universities.
He seems to think Socialism is a workable system still. Go figure. He also vote Donk.

 

[JODA]

Yea my grandpa is a dusty old fart too. Refuses to embrace new technology. LOL

Hi

BTW, I think that is a bingo ball spinner, not a media separator.















Just playing with ya Joda. Welcome. hehehe dusty

Well Dusty, thanks for the welcome. I actually have three Great Grandkids, but none old enough to shoot, yet.

I don't recall ever seeing a bingo ball whatyamacallit before. And yep, I refused to get a smart phone so people can keep track of my whereabouts. Leaves me without a good camera when I want one though.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Sure, it simply works well for a multitude of calibers and I tried the 'wet method' with practically no satisfaction. The cases just weren't very clean, and the process seemed overly messy.
I used walnut shells initially but the media didn't seem to last very long. Corn cob worked and could be 'spruced up' by running a vibrator/tumbler full with only media, no brass, and the Rapid Polish, to bring the corn cob back to life once again.

Also, apparently the quality of SS I am used to doesn't react to magnetism, maybe some does, (broad range) but I simply call it steel then.. I would surely hate to end up with a piece (rod) of 'truly' SS left in a rifle cartridge while resizing or firing after loading it.
My 40 years was an understatement, but that puts me in the muzzle loader/cast bullet era with you guys I guess. I'm actually 74 YO and have a 100 yd. bench rest range on my place. Also a 25 yd. pistol/shotgun range with lights and a lighted chrono, lots of steel plate racks and other steel targets too. Age has some advantages I guess.

Don't feel bad. I have 5 kids and one of them has two Master's Degrees. One in History. I've done a monstrous amount of reading over the last 20 years since retirement, and I found he hasn't been educated but indoctrinated by the history he was taught in Universities.
He seems to think Socialism is a workable system still. Go figure. He also vote Donk.

So basically, you can’t articulate why either method works or doesn’t work.

Also, can you articulate why an “overly clean“ case that’s been “brought back to life” works better than a not as clean case?

I’ll save you the trouble. It’s purely aesthetic. Unless there is some major dirt or debris in/on the case, you can simply wipe them off with a rag and there will be no tangible difference in performance.

I know shitty drivers that have been driving 60 years. Repetition doesn’t equal expertise.

 

[spife7980]

 

[little_scrapper]

Nope, new to reloading myself. I have only been doing it for about a year. I have lots to learn. Hell I am still learning that my notes are so far inadequate. Looking back to see a number and realized I didn't even bother writing it down. Phht.

Learning.

 

[99106]

Peening keeps coming up as a reason not to use wet tumbling. Logically I can buy it becoming a problem, however, has anyone performed any tests for the Brinell hardness before and after? I have the same question regarding seating pressures required using new, wet tumbled, media tumbled and using carbon, mica or any other lube to validate consistency of pressures. I would want to see a sampling of brass manufactures, common calibers and perform this over a few reloading cycles as well. Maybe the Amp guys could take this on and add to their annealing tests.

 

[oldfatguy]

I use ultra sonic. Works for me with none of said problems.

^^^^^^^^^^
This

OFG

 

[Baron85]

I have used dry tumbling with walnut and rice, sonic cleaning, and SS pin wet tumbling.

I hated the sonic, it was a small Hornady unit that had no capacity and took multiple cycles to get brass clean, then had to rinse and dry. I ended up selling the unit.

I picked up the SS tumbling setup using the rebel 17, honestly, because I was seeing all the really shiny cases on this forum and others and wanted my cases to be shiny too after using the wet method for a while I found that seating bullets was more inconsistent and “sticky” feeling and also led to inconsistent seating depths. I didn’t really notice any change on target but didn’t like the way bullet seating “felt” so I went back to using the dry vibratory cleaners.

I also tried rice but didn’t like it due to it didn’t seem to clean well and got stuck in a bunch of my primer pockets. Could be the type of rice I tried but I gave up on it and went back to walnut.

I still have and use the ss tumbling for really dirty brass from my suppressed AR’s, and pistol ammo, all my precision ammo I use the dry method. And I use the dry method for removing lube after resizing.

 

[sighting]

I always make sure to run whatever cleaner I put in the media through a 30min cycle with no brass in it. The one and only time I did NOT do that it clogged inside a few casings at the bottom and that led to the primer not ignighting the powder. Sucked that it was during a match as well./

I used to dry tumble but the dust was so bad I had to stop that. Moved it to the garage and put the dryer sheets in with it but didn't make much of a diff to me. Cases did not come out near as clean as wet tumbling and the dust carries some bad crap in it. If you have kids, I would definitely not let them around the dust. And if you put a cleaner in the media, it can get clogged up in the brass.

 

[Meety Peety]

I like dry tumbling, wet is too much extra work and I dont like removing the small amount of carbon from the inside of the neck. I also don't deprime before I tumble because I dont bother cleaning primer pockets anymore. I just dump fired cases in the tumbler, when they're done I deprime during sizing and on to the next step.

I saw the groats thing mentioned on another forum a few years ago and never got around to trying it, maybe I will give it a try. Only concern I'd have would be getting piece stuck inside the case, they look kind of big in the picture. I would rather deal with some dust then have to check every piece for clogs. But sounds like thats not an issue so maybe I'll give it a go.

 

[47guy]

I like dry tumbling, wet is too much extra work and I dont like removing the small amount of carbon from the inside of the neck. I also don't deprime before I tumble because I dont bother cleaning primer pockets anymore. I just dump fired cases in the tumbler, when they're done I deprime during sizing and on to the next step.

I saw the groats thing mentioned on another forum a few years ago and never got around to trying it, maybe I will give it a try. Only concern I'd have would be getting piece stuck inside the case, they look kind of big in the picture. I would rather deal with some dust then have to check every piece for clogs. But sounds like thats not an issue so maybe I'll give it a go.

22cal might be an issue but not 6mm or bigger I’ve been running groats since I read the thread on CGs.....

 

[Kadams1563]

I use the buckwheat groat things. They come in from packaging from Russia lol.

I tumble in my house and use it for 9mm, .223, 6GT and 6.5 creed. I deprime before I tumble and a few will stick in the primer pocket but I run them all through a universal deprimer afterwords.

 

[beetroot]

I've been stainless wet tumbling for years with good results, I've got the process pretty well practised and don't find it too labourious.
I'm curious to try the dry tumbling with rice though.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I really like the wet/pin method. It cleans very well and i dont need to breath all the dry crap in.

 

[Rocketmandb]

How did this thread get resurrected?

All the talk about wet tumbling, dry tumbling... Ultrasonic for 60 minutes using Boretech's Case Clean, dry and done. Not shiny, but I usually don't care how cases look, only how they shoot.