Wet Tumbeling

[Sporky]

I know a lot of people have been telling me not to wet tumble because it is an extra step....blah...blah....blah.

But I just ran my first batch in my Rebel 17 and the brass looks BETTER than new.

It will take me a few tries to work out separating the stainless steel pins, but It only took a little over 2 hours to do 5 lbs of 9mm brass, and about 15 mins to separate with a kitchen strainer.

The other nice part is no mess at all. No dust to worry about either.

If you haven't thought about it, I strongly suggest that you reconsider. I am sold!

 

[IndyGlockMan]

I wet tumble too on a machine I made. It's great and the brass comes out very nice.
I separate mine with a tumbler basket on a 3 gallon bucket that came with the Frankfort Arsenal kit I bought a couple years ago.
Works great and the pins fall right out.
the secret is to fill the bucket with water so the basket and the brass/pins rinse through the water as you crank the handle.
the water rinses off the brass and helps wash out the pins and they don't flip around everywhere.
get a good magnet for the few that do manage to sneak out

 

[Broom_jm]

Was that 2 hours to do the cleaning AND drying?

What volume of your total 9mm reloading does 5# worth of brass represent? Is that enough brass to last you a month, 6 months, a year?

Do you reload on a progressive, turret or single-stage press?

Was the brass dirty when you started, or just a little discolored from being fired? Do you plan to clean all of your brass like this, every time?

 

[straight-shooter]

Normally it takes me 5 minutes to put the brass in the tumbler with soap and start it on the machine. The next two hours is spent doing something else while it cleans so no time lost there. The next 10 minutes would be spent separating and putting the brass in the mesh dryer bag and hanging in the dryer. The dryer runs for 40 minutes while I again do something else. Ok so now were up to 15 minutes labor. Another 2 minutes is spent dumping out the brass from the bag and i'm done!

17 minutes spent and since I'm worth at least $100 an hour for my time it cost me $26 and materials (soap).

 

[Sporky]

drying only took 10 minutes...and I will cut that time down as i improve the process...

I think the folks that do the dry are against the wet version for some reason.

I was just suggesting that people give it a second look because it really worked very well for me.

 

[straight-shooter]

I was just suggesting that people give it a second look because it really worked very well for me.

Agreed, I'm sold on it and it's just another avenue in this hobby that I enjoy doing and don't see it as a drudge. Nothing wrong with the old vibratory tumbler method either.

 

[longbarrel]

get a good magnet for the few that do manage to sneak out

No scientist here, but I was under the impression that stainless steel was non-ferrous, which is why it will not rust? Also, would make it not attracted to magnets.

 

[warthog]

when it is hot out the brass dries spotless in the sun quickly. I like the way the brass looks wet tumbling so I plan on using the rollers and drums I used for a long time. I just use a sieve and water to separate the brass out.

 

[mac45]

No scientist here, but I was under the impression that stainless steel was non-ferrous, which is why it will not rust? Also, would make it not attracted to magnets.

Stainless is just an alloy of steel.
A magnet will stick to some flavors.

 

[bdybdall]

No scientist here, but I was under the impression that stainless steel was non-ferrous, which is why it will not rust? Also, would make it not attracted to magnets.
Stainless steel is a ferrous alloy (containing iron) but it is rust resistant due to other alloying agents. Some stainless steels are nonmagnetic (austenitic, like 303) and some are magnetic (ferritic, like 400 series).

 

[chillidip1]

FYI. if you use carwash & wax, your brass wont start to tarnish like it will using dawn, etc.

 

[straight-shooter]

Here is a good price for a wet tumbler since it also comes with 5 pounds of stainless pins.

Frankford Arsenal Platinum series

Looks like it's on backorder but it says it's overdue so it might come in soon.

 

[mospeada]

I ran across this system over the weekend.
[video=youtube_share;RWzPyTvnkNA]http://youtu.be/RWzPyTvnkNA[/video]

I've been using a Thumler's Model B and stainless for a couple of years or so. I separate the pins/brass by using my RCBS separator with water in it so the drum is partially submerged. I do like the dryer they use which appears to be a food dehydrator. I'm going to either buy theirs or a regular dehydrator. Anybody else try this method of drying? I typically lay mine out on a 1/4 sheet pan on a towel in the sun or under a ceiling fan.

 

[Sporky]

Thanks for the tip on the RCBS separator with water in it. I think I will get one and try it out!
I saw that CED Tornado as well, but I went with the Rebel 17 instead. It is quiet and well made, and it came with 5lbs of media and lemishine!
I just used a towel to dry them off with. Rolled it back and forth for about 5 minutes and all was well. But I think that there has to be a better way.
Jerry Miculek uses an old oven to cook the water off. I also thought that putting it in a cloth bag of some sort and putting it in the clothes dryer with some clothes in it so that it doesn't make a ton of noise might be an option as well.

The haters just don't realize that wet tumbling does a fantastic job, and leaves the mess to go down the drain. Don't know why they are so against it. If i can get much better results, with a similar amount of effort, why wouldn't I do it?

Let me know if anyone else has a good idea for drying the brass...I am all ears!

 

[mospeada]

Thumler's are great tumblers no doubt. But the ease of opening the Tornado and the screen that lets you pour out the water without pins going everywhere is nice. That and it reverses direction, speed adjustment and timer built in are very nice.

I've done oven drying and it tarnished/discolored the brass and I once left them in overnight I used a very low temp, something like 180°.

I'm going to try the car wash/wax as I have a ton of it from when I actually hand-washed my cars.

 

[Sporky]

Thanks for the info on the oven.
What is the recipe for the car wash/wax? How much do you put in? When do you put it in?

Wish I would have got the Tornado just for the screen alone. Oh well, I am happy with how clean they are now, just need to find a "system" for separation and drying that is efficient and quicker.

Keep me up to date with your findings Sir

 

[billt]

This is some .223 / 5.56 MM range pickup brass that I picked up off the ground at my club range a while back. The stuff was almost BLACK, and caked with mud and dirt. You can see the result after wet tumbling with Stainless Steel Media, Dawn, and a bit of Lemi Shine. The cases are better than new. It even polished the burr on the inside of the flash hole! The orange Home Depot bucket is it mixed in with 2,500 rounds of once fired brass I purchased from Brassman Brass, out of Las Vegas. All of these received a 2 hour dry tumble with ground corn cob, and Dillon Rapid Polish, with a dab of Flitz Metal Polish thrown in for good measure. It all didn't take very long, and was not work because the machine does it all. I run them out in the garage while I sleep. In the morning after coffee, I sort it out and I've got brass that looks more like jewelry than rifle brass.

 

[mospeada]

The car wash/wax is a pre-mixed detergent/wax that is sold to wash cars. You can pick it up at just about any gettin' place.
wash & wax - Walmart.com

 

[Garander]

Sounds awesome Ill need to try it.

 

[Robjps]

My brass looks like that from walnut media+nufinish. The only upgrade i see in wet tumbling is it seems to do a better job in primer pockets.