Brass tumbling questions

[ckcollins2003]

My friend that helped me get started in reloading said that tumbling was not important. He now shoots bench rest only and the brass never goes to the ground. When I started loading for semi-auto hand guns the brass always went to ground. At that time was loading for 357sig and the brass was not re-sizing very well, not long after that noticed that the brass were looking really scratched. Did some research and found out the brass was dirty and that is what was scratching the dies it came from the grit after being on the ground.

Yeah, I always say a good tumbling before starting to reload is needed (could be wrong, it's probably not needed either but I want my dies clean), but as far as tumbling after they are loaded, it's not needed, but it sure makes them look purty

 

[Lee S. Forsberg]

The stainless steel pins and toilet paper are abrasive and the dish soap has a chemical reaction or the brass would not clean up. Brasso, Ammonia or any type of ammonia based products are bad for brass.

You have no reason to change if it works for you and don't mind the process.

Your right no argument. Yes TP and SS pin are abrasive but don't leave any thing on the brass Hand soap is rinsed off. Once again right about Brasso and Ammonia.

 

[Yote7mmSlayer]

What .17 squirrel said ,

ive found if you add AFTER the brass it clumps inside the case and is a pain to remove

 

[jcwit]

Once again, using Brasso after the ammonia has dried off leaving only the polishing compound is not harmfully at all.

But then why not just use a polishing compound in the first place, or a cap full of whatever auto polish one has left in the garage?
They all work well.

 

[jcwit]

My friend that helped me get started in reloading said that tumbling was not important. He now shoots bench rest only and the brass never goes to the ground. When I started loading for semi-auto hand guns the brass always went to ground. At that time was loading for 357sig and the brass was not re-sizing very well, not long after that noticed that the brass were looking really scratched. Did some research and found out the brass was dirty and that is what was scratching the dies it came from the grit after being on the ground.

Question. We're those dies that got scratched strrl or carbide? I'm betting steel.

 

[Fullmag]

Question. We're those dies that got scratched strrl or carbide? I'm betting steel.

Yep they are steel. Dillion makes the only carbide 357sig dies. What I found interesting was that Nickel plated brass will scratch carbide dies.

 

[jcwit]

Yep they are steel. Dillion makes the only carbide 357sig dies. What I found interesting was that Nickel plated brass will scratch carbide dies.

Not real sure about that.

You claim the dies scratch the brass, right? For the dies to scratch the dies they need to have a projection on the inside of the die surface. A scratch is a depression on the surface of the brass case, right? So in fact you are likely having a build up of nickel on the inside of the case, in other words "galling".

This can easily be removed with fine sandpaper, 200 grit or finer, slipped into a split piece of dowel rod and using a drill to spin the dowel. Note the finner the sand paper the longer it will take to remove the galling. Don't be to concerned about the die, carbide is just a step down from a diamond, I've even fixed steel dies using this method.

This is one reason I claim it's not much of a worry about clean versus dirty brass when resizing range pick ups. However I do wash them first, but if a grain of sand is here or there I consider it no big deal, and I'm 72 years old and have yet to ruin a sizing die, or worn out for that matter either.

Ya, I started to reload back in the 60's IIRC.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Wow. Occasionally I tumble brass because, well, it's prettier. But really, mostly I ain't got time for that.

Today, like I do several days a week, I took a few pieces of pistol brass, loaded them, shot them, loaded them, shot them, loaded them, shot them. Then I did the same with some .223 through my AR. Four or five cycles of loading and firing. These are my daily use brass of which I have a few pieces in every caliber I shoot regularly. When one fails or is near failure it gets tossed in the scrap bucket and a new piece is cycled in. They never get tumbled. I have some pistols have have seen multiple tens of thousands of rounds of this regimen, and some rifles that have many thousands of rounds like this. All are going strong. My cheap Lee dies have loaded most of those and are still working just fine too.

But I won't deny the brass fresh out of the tumbler sure is pretty.

 

[jcwit]

Being as I have 10's of thousands of most of the calibers I reload for, I rarely need to reload at the range unless I'm benching or testing.

Tumbling takes up none of my time, it runs at night as I sleep.

 

[Lee S. Forsberg]

Not real sure about that.

You claim the dies scratch the brass, right? For the dies to scratch the dies they need to have a projection on the inside of the die surface. A scratch is a depression on the surface of the brass case, right? So in fact you are likely having a build up of nickel on the inside of the case, in other words "galling".

This can easily be removed with fine sandpaper, 200 grit or finer, slipped into a split piece of dowel rod and using a drill to spin the dowel. Note the finner the sand paper the longer it will take to remove the galling. Don't be to concerned about the die, carbide is just a step down from a diamond, I've even fixed steel dies using this method.

This is one reason I claim it's not much of a worry about clean versus dirty brass when resizing range pick ups. However I do wash them first, but if a grain of sand is here or there I consider it no big deal, and I'm 72 years old and have yet to ruin a sizing die, or worn out for that matter either.

Ya, I started to reload back in the 60's IIRC.

Me too I'm still using dies from the 60's.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Being as I have 10's of thousands of most of the calibers I reload for, I rarely need to reload at the range unless I'm benching or testing.

Tumbling takes up none of my time, it runs at night as I sleep.

My range is 50' from the house and the shooting building houses my reloading shack as well.

I enjoy reloading almost as much as I do shooting, so spending a minute or two reloading five or ten rounds is a nice relaxing interval between shooting. If I was trying to reload a thousand rounds at one go I'd probably start to not like reloading as much. Regardless, my "ain't got time for that" was tongue-in-cheek, not a serious statement.

 

[jcwit]

Got'cha!

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I went years without tumbling brass and only started when I began noticing that my .357 brass had so much soot on it after having to use sub-optimal powders during The Great Shortage as to be filthy to handle, for the dies, and for the cylinders on the next range trip. Now I tumble everything because why not. I also just let it run while I'm doing something else, and I've got coffee cans full of most of the calibers I reload for so I'm not waiting on anything.

 

[Fullmag]

Not real sure about that.

You claim the dies scratch the brass, right? For the dies to scratch the dies they need to have a projection on the inside of the die surface. A scratch is a depression on the surface of the brass case, right? So in fact you are likely having a build up of nickel on the inside of the case, in other words "galling".

I"m saying grit from the brass was left behind in the die. The grit was then embedded in the die. Therefore scratching the next brass. Yes, the dies can be polished. The instructions from RCBS dies set recommended not to use nickel plated brass in carbide dies due to the properties in nickel will gall the carbide.

Cleaning brass goes back to Boy Scout days at the shooting range and merit badge training. Do not load a cartridge if it hit the ground. So taking a it little farther re-loading. Carbide dies do not require cleaning or lubrication but I just like to clean the brass so inspection goes better for me. Besides the range has sand and fine dirt that gets on every thing.

 

[Lee S. Forsberg]

I've never experienced any galling with either steel or carbide dies with either brass or nickel cases. I have experienced scratching from grit embedded into steel dies used to size dirty cases. Polishing the dies removed the embedded grit they work fine now. As a result I clean every case before sizing regardless of weather I use steel or carbide dies. I also deprime before cleaning so the primer pockets are cleaned. I use TP for cleaning up loaded rounds.

 

[jcwit]

I have experienced galling of steel dies by nickel cases and seen the nickel stripped off the case causing the galling.

Never had any problems with carbide dies. No problems of any kind. But then most bottle neck dies are steel. YMMV

 

[bulletsmith]

Aside from the mechanics of it. I simply like working with shiny brass. The key is accumulating enough of it so that cleaning never interferes with reloading or shooting it.