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A quicker, less messy option: wipe cases liberally with WD-40, let stand 20 minutes and polish off. Rinses of warm water cleaned the drum and released pins clinging inside the cases. I am a concealed permit holder (for over a decade), a lifetime NRA member, certified firearms instructor, and a firearm enthusiast. Oops, there's been an error. Next, I dump the brass into the bucket and rinse with clean water. My cleaning concoction isnt the be all end all of recipes. EverydayCarryConcealed.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Shiny casings are pretty to look at. Thats like running a dry rag over your sedan once a year. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. If you have a smaller tumbler, youll need to adjust how much of each cleaning agent you use. A built in timer in the base can be set to run from 0 to 3 hours, shutting off automatically. The large capacity drum holds up to 1000 pieces of .223 brass and features a rubber lining to protect brass and greatly reduce noise during operation. I elected to skip the home recipes and go straight to a proven method of wet tumbling. However, for anything above 500 casings, the recommended wash time is 2-3 hours. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to use this website. EverydayCarryConcealed.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. For any amount under 500 Frankford recommends 1-2 hours of tumbling. Live The Armory Life. Regardless of whether you reload because of an ammo shortage, find it more cost effective, or just do it for fun, if you want to get truly shiny brass, heres a summary of the methodology: A reloading tumbler is a device used to spin or jostle used brass casings along with a cleaning agent and media in order to remove contaminants. Springfield Armory recommends you seek qualified and competent training from a Five pounds is the recommended maximum drum-load size. I keep brass out of the dirt, so the main debris is powder and primer residue. This wet tumbler works with a special cleaning solution and small metal pins to restore your cases to a factory-fresh look. Over the past 40 years, Wayne van Zwoll has published 16 books and nearly 3,000 magazine articles on firearms, optics, ballistics and big game hunting. How Many Casings Can I Wash In My Tumbler? (Within the contiguous U.S., Standard/Ground shipping only). My name is Mike and my goal is to provide you with all types of information for your everyday carry needs. Ok, but how many casings can I wash at once? Not to mention its portable. and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the I re-sized the 6.5 and 06 cases. I selected the Lyman Cyclone Rotary Tumbler for wet-cleaning cases. Then, I carefully dump out the water and set my tumbling media aside. For example, my 24 ounce container of lemishine cost me about $12 at my local Walmart. At this point, youre approaching the final stage where youve finished cleaning your brass with a tumbler and need to dry it out. Using my Frankford Rotary Tumbler as an example, I cannot exceed 30 lbs for the total contents of the tumbler. Required fields are marked *. The Cyclone Rotary Tumbler takes brass cleaning to a whole new level. Occasionally, Ill wash a casing that isnt usable but it is rare. Simply empty the tumbler into the stacked pans. Fully loaded tumbler on scale prior to starting the wash cycle. Some are made to be used with dry tumblers while others can be used in wet or dry tumblers. These got no pre-cleaning. One example of a wet tumbler is the Frankford Aresenal Rotary Tumbler on Amazon, affectionally referred to as FART for short. However, you first need to clean dirty brass in order to use it for reloading. The key, of course, is the right tools and methods. The first pan catches the brass, while the second fine screen pan catches the pins. Dry media tumblers are also called vibratory tumblers since they do not spin. Use distilled water; itll prevent spotting, a colleague had advised when sharing a wet tumbling brass recipe. The process to clean brass with a tumbler is straightforward. Its important to separate the brass from the dirty water as soon as possible. Overfilling your tumbler can result in brass that isnt as clean and shiny at best, or a broken tumbler at worst. For the Franklin Rotary Tumbler, washing time depends on the number of cases your are cleaning. He's found time to run marathons and earn a Ph.D. in wildlife policy. Afterwards, youll put your casings into your parts drying tray or the oven. The best cases are made of brass and nickel-plated brass. Set the oven or your parts dryer to 140-160 degrees and dry your casings for 1 hour. But youllsavemore time than you might think, as pre-washed cases must be dried before sizing. Allowing the clean brass to sit in dirty water can cause discoloration and undo all your hard work to get your brass nice and shiny. An alternative: Skip the 15-minute pre-wash. Re-size, then tumble in the water solution with pins. The drum works best, says Lyman, half-full of brass with just enough water to cover, and an ounce of its Turbo Sonic case cleaning solution. Ditto the pins. But if youre going to clean your brass casings with a tumbler then it should be functionally clean as well as aesthetically pleasing. Your email address will not be published. For comparison, the copper jackets on bullet jackets are typically made of gilding metal: roughly 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc.). In theory, you dont need to invest in a wet tumbler as kitchen remedies for brightening cases abound. Flitz, Frankford, and Lyman make these types of products. However, I have found that brass isnt noticeably cleaner or shinier with multiple cycles. Some people prefer to wash their brass before de-priming and then again with an exposed primer pocket. Growing up the son of a Marine, I was raised to be prepared and adaptable to overcome life's challenges. articles and videos are considered to be suggestions and not recommendations from Springfield Armory. So, whether it's setting up and maintaining your EDC bag, laws on concealed carry, or refining your medical kit we tackle the hard questions. Alternatively, you can use a dry media tumbler which relies on corncob or walnut media to clean brass. It is also the most expensive part of a load. My tap water was kind to the cases, as they did not spot. At a certain point the soap falls out of suspension with the water and sticks to the pins, bringing the carbon with. Wet tumbling brass is one of the latest things in the reloading world. This step isnt overly complicated, but can be a bit tedious. In general, discoloration does not harm the case. Nevertheless, they are a necessity if you are going to reload your own ammunition unless of course you begin with shiny casings you purchased. To get my brass really shiny, I add a 1/4 tsp of LemiShine and 3 tbsp. In summary, if you want to get your spent casings bright and shiny like theyre new from the factory I highly recommend a wet tumbler. What the untreated bits of walnut shells failed to remove was the patina of age oxidation that over time turns copper greenish-brown. EverydayCarryConcealed.com also participates in affiliate programs with Clickbank, CJ, and other sites. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. of pins and water and Turbo Sonic solution to cover, the drum was only half-full just what Lyman recommended for best cleaning results! The latest content straight to your inbox plus an automatic entry to each of our monthly gungiveaways! I use a 5 gallon bucket to dump out the dirty water and catch the steel media. I have the wrinkles out of the drying routine and know where Alice keeps her cookie sheets. A competitive rifleman with two state smallbore titles, he's served as a coach and volunteer Hunter Education Instructor in five states. However, you should monitor your brass and ensure you move to the next step in the process in a timely manner to produce the cleanest brass possible. Cleaning rids cases of surface dirt, which can scratch expensive reloading dies and cause feeding glitches. Afterwards, you need to separate the tumbling media from the freshly cleaned casings. Im not much for dry media, so today Im going cover how to clean brass casings with a rotary tumbler. Next, you will want to rinse the brass to remove any lingering suds or residue from your cleaning solution. Next, I carefully drain out the nasty water making sure I dont dump the reusable steel pins. To my surprise, the cases looked like new! Your email address will not be published. An hour after applying the paste of your choice, wash off these acid plasters with warm, soapy water. Dirty brass casings are abhorrent. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. When you clean brass with a tumbler, your journey doesnt end with the tumbling cycle. Its a surface reaction that can prevent further, more damaging corrosion. Can You Clean A Gun Without Taking It Apart? For example, catsup is said by some to work well in some wet tumbling brass recipes. If this is still too expensive, Ive read that you can also use citric acid which is the active ingredient in Lemishine. An hour later, both went onto baking sheets and into an oven, on low.. But they didnt sparkle. Not that youd want to rub a case hard enough and long enough with WD-40 to find its brilliance. As the name implies, wet tumblers rely on the use of water during the cleaning process. Lymans Cyclone wet tumbler with stainless pins in cleaning solution gave me dazzling results in less than an hour. Pins? I shook the brass dry and spread it on towels. Most of the cases were magnums, so I expected to run two batches. Subscribe to the Lyman newsletter to receive timely updates for your favorite products. Wayne lives in rural Washington state. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. This was a perfectly fine way of cleaning the brass for use, but it didnt give them that new from the store look. Upending the Cyclone Rotary Tumbler drum, I began filling it. This site (EverydayCarryConcealed.com) is owned and operated by Graphite Designs LLC, a limited liability company headquartered in Virginia, USA. Handgun cases are significantly smaller than rifle casings. Tumblers clean casings and prep your brass for the reloading process. They dont work as well as a dedicated wet tumbling system, but you may want to give them a try. For this pre-clean exercise, I emptied a box each of dark, fired 7mm Dakota and .375 H&H cases into the modest tub of my Lyman Turbo Tumbler. So far, weve covered how a tumbler operates and preparing to clean your brass with a tumbler. Skip to the beginning of the images gallery, CLICK HERE TO REQUEST YOUR 2022 LYMAN CATALOG. The views While treated media (jewelers rouge in walnut-shell bits, for example) polishes faster and yields a brighter surface than the untreated corn cob and walnut Ive used, it probably wouldnt make a noticeable difference in a pre-scrub. All rights reserved. The advantage of the pre-wash: it removes debris that can damage dies, and makes sizing easier. A 110v motor on a timer drives the rollers, rotating the drum. views and opinions of Springfield Armory. It's not a more-is-better deal. Five pounds of stainless media pins and a sample packet of Brass Cleaning Solution are also included. Cartridge brass is strong, ductile and corrosion-resistant. I expected it would need another 50. Lyman Products Corp. | 475 Smith Street, Middletown, CT 06457 | 800-225-9626 | 2022. To pre-clean but avoid drying cases twice, why not dry-tumble first, then wet-tumble after sizing? Although The High Road has attempted to provide accurate information on the forum, The High Road assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information. 2022 Springfield Armory. Editors Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Instead, the Lyman Cyclone comprises a base with two rollers that support a polymer drum. Generally, I wash my brass for 3 hours regardless of how many cases I put in the tumbler. First use a towel to roll the casings around to separate any remaining media and soak up any standing water. Alternatively, you can use polishers and cleaners touted specifically for cleaning brass. The drums great capacity eight boxes of large rifle cases per batch is hard to match with a dry tumbler, though Lyman and other manufacturers offer bigger bowls than that on my old 600 Turbo. The drum features a large end cap to allow easy loading and unloading. Just one pin had to be dislodged with a pick. Now if your pins are dirty when you stop (bass dull film) you did not use enough W&W. Regardless of how many cycles you plan to run brass through your tumbler, at some point youll need to deprime your casings. Dry-tumbled cases came out of the Cyclone Rotary Tumbler looking the same as those with no prep. Instead of using my press, I use the Frankford Arsenal Hand Deprimer tool. Therefore, I can only wash a quantity of brass that doesnt exceed 30 lbs when combined with both the tumbling media (5 lbs of steel pins) and water. With care, a single case can last for many loadings. certified instructor prior to handling any firearm and be sure to read your owners manual. Multiply this by 4 for the 1/4 tsp I use per 1000 casings and extrapolated data says I can clean 500,000+ casings! A blue-green hue, such as on the Statue of Liberty, coats copper alloys after long exposure to saltwater and weather. After wiping off sizing lube, I added this brass to the 7mm Dakota and .375 hulls. I removed the drum and emptied it over the Cyclone kits two polymer screens. If you found this article helpful, then please like, share and comment to help others in the community. All information is provided "as is" with all faults without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. I use the Hornady Digital Parts Dryer, but you can use a standard oven if thats all you have available. Can You Shoot A New Gun Straight Out Of The Box. I personally believe wet tumblers are superior for cleaning brass, but to each their own. After a 40-minute shake in untreated corn cob media, they had a fresh glow but no shine. Afterwards, I refill the 5 gallon bucket halfway with fresh water and dunk my FART into it and jostle until a majority of the media is gone and only shiny brass remains in the tumbling drum. Tightening the lids on the rubber gasket, I laid the drum on its drive wheels, set the timer for an hour and left the drum spinning like a hamster cage. With the right equipment and technique, you can return fired brass to its original, shiny self. Something that vibratory tumbler will not do! For this, I went to Lyman a company well known for quality products in the reloading market. However, some form of cleaning and/or polishing agent is usually added to the tumbler along with the cleaning media. He has hunted worldwide, worked as a big game guide in the West and, with African Professional Hunters, hosted more than a dozen safaris. Therefore, I opt to deprime up front. The number of casings you can wash at once depends on a number of factors. Wet tumblers use steel pins as the cleaning media. My tumbler is capable of cleaning up to 1000 casings at a time. Far and away the worst case of this I had was when using too much wash and wax. Meanwhile, the catsup and WD-40 can relax. This is not a standard vibratory cleaning system that you might use with a dry polishing system. There is no pre-heating necessary for the digital parts dryer, so I dont believe you need to preheat the oven, though feel free to if you are overly cautious. In addition, the tumbler comes with a pair of unique sifter pans which makes separating pins from the cases a breeze! Sorry, an error occurred and we could not sign you up. Rinsing Your Brass Casings Helps Them Shine, Steps For Rinsing Your Brass After Tumbling, How Long To Dry Your Casings After Tumbling, How To Concealed Carry For The Most States. Chamber dimensions are precise, so it is important that you correctly size re-used cases and clean the surface to ensure the reliable function in your firearm. Click the Go To Forum Thread link below to jump in and discuss this article and much more! The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. Plus the pins. Final product: a freshly cleaned and shiny casing ready for reload. Thats one of the reasons why youll hear cases referred to as brass., Brass cases are made of an alloy that is comprised of about 70 percent copper and 30 percent zinc. Early on in my reloading career, the only cleaning my cases got was a quick wipe before lubing to re-size.