Stainless Steel Media - Thoughts

[bayoubrass]

I have 25 pounds of SS media and a 3.4 CF cement mixer. . I've found a good clean up to basically a 5 gallon bucket of 9mm (ran 6 hours and still didnt get it clean enough for me). So I use the 25 pounds for 100 to 1500 rounds. I run it till I'm happy with the result 2 to 4 hours.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Brad

[Robinhood]

How much detergent and how much Lemishine?

[Deadshot2]

How much detergent and how much Lemishine?

This plus how much water.

I bought a Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler that claimed to hold up to 1,000 pieces of .223 brass for cleaning. Oh it held the brass count but problem was that with the brass and pins, it wouldn't hold enough water, detergent, and lemishine to actually carry away the crud and keep it in suspension. End result was brass that was covered with a slimy substance that had to be re-cleaned in smaller batches.

It's just like your washing machine. There has to be the right balance of clothes, water, detergent, and room to move the clothes through the water.

Of course one could do large batches in a cement mixer if they employed the same sustem as new washing machines. Find a way to have the solution separated from procduct and media, then pumped back into the drum to wash over the tumbling media/brass mix more effectively. On my new washer they call it "Turbo-Wash".

[RC20]

They make machines for this with formulas of what is needed.

Download the manual and then scale up?

It seems a CM would be rough on the brass.

Of just get one the machines and go less industrial size process?

[Robinhood]

There are several guys on the hide that have used the HF cement mixer for a commercial application. They were very happy the best I can remember. Check this out and then you can watch the other dozen videos on the same topic.

[Phranque]

There are several guys on the hide that have used the HF cement mixer for a commercial application. They were very happy the best I can remember. Check this out and then you can watch the other dozen videos on the same topic.

Yeeeeaaaahhhhhhh...... my big-boy dry tumbler works perfectly fine, thank you. If i had an out-building & processed copious amounts of brass... maybe. But THAT running in an attached garage, I think not....

[Robinhood]

If you buy a bin full of brass every week from the local military complex it pays off. When you see guys selling thousands of once fired brass on a forum chances are they are using this.

[JeepsAndGuns]

One thing stopping me from using the SS media is that it hardens your brass. I have read about it on a few different places.

[Robinhood]

The only way that can happen is if Brineling takes place. If you put it in a large tumbling container and ran it for a long time that might happen. The biggest complaint I know of is the removal of the carbon in the neck I.D. causing the bullet to bond to the case. I'm not sure if that is galvanic corrosion or what.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

SS media can and will get your brass TOO CLEAN! The carbon from the burnt powder acts like a lube when seating bullets. No lube = hard seating and crushed neck at times. Best to use SS "every once in a while". Do the initial cleaning then maybe every fourth or fifth time after that when you reload. BUT, shiny/clean brass shoots better.

[Deadshot2]

SS media can and will get your brass TOO CLEAN! The carbon from the burnt powder acts like a lube when seating bullets. No lube = hard seating and crushed neck at times. Best to use SS "every once in a while". Do the initial cleaning then maybe every fourth or fifth time after that when you reload. BUT, shiny/clean brass shoots better.

I've never had an issue with hard seating after cleaning with SS Pin media.

I pop out primers with a hand de-priming tool, clean in SS Media, then anneal (instant case dry). From there I lube cases with Hornady One-Shot (some of which hits the neck area) and size followed by expanding with a mandrel expander. There's enough residual lube from this process to assist with bullet insertion but a dry lube film now as indicated by the fact powder doesn't stick to the inside of the neck.


As for "hardening the case"? Only way a case can be hardened is if the brass is worked as in "flexed". The pins are way too light to cause any working of the brass and merely slide over the surface in the water solution, burnishing the surface. The "hardening" is a myth that gets passed from person to person on the internet and nobody ever takes time to actually understand what's happening. In reality, tumbling brass in corn cob media is probably more of a risk due to the lack of mass to cushion the brass in the lightweight corn cob media.

I like the SS Pin method because I don't have to worry about dust. Oh yes, I do like clean shiny brass too.

[darkker]

As a caution, remember the extra hazard with the residue.
Lead Styphanate (sure that is spelled wrong) in liquid form can be easily absorbed, and is very toxic.

[Robinhood]

As a caution, remember the extra hazard with the residue. Lead Styphanate (sure that is spelled wrong) in liquid form can be easily absorbed, and is very toxic.

Often overlooked. Safety first, Thanks darrker

[RC20]

I may got to it eventually but its a fair amount of more effort just for clean brass.

Where it may have application is the annealing end where the carbon build up affects the heat concentration.

My take has been if I do it, it will be the round I do the anneal on. I am on the fence and for now I am not going to.
It also keeps anneal odors out of the picture, I vent the shop when I am annealing but there is some remnants of smell.


As noted, it gets things too clean and you will probably need to lube the bullets the first firing after you use it.

[bayoubrass]

I used 6 "squirts" of Dawn, 4 of Lemishine and 4 palmfuls of cream of tartar. I've since reduced the quantity with much better results. I also added another 5 pounds of SS media. And yes I process a lot of brass for resale.

[JeepsAndGuns]

All these comments about the brass being too clean and having bullet seating problems. Has no one ever used brand new brass? I have never had a problem with seating bullets with "too clean" (new) brass.

[Mozella]

One thing stopping me from using the SS media is that it hardens your brass. I have read about it on a few different places.

Urban myth promulgated by people who slept through science class.

I'm thinking about running my car on a mixture of water and dog pee. I have read about on a few different places.

[JeepsAndGuns]

I remember reading a article once where someone did a hardness test on the brass before they put in it, then after 2 or 3 different time periods. As time went on, the brass got harder. I can not remember the name of the article as it was several years ago.

[J.Baker]

One thing stopping me from using the SS media is that it hardens your brass. I have read about it on a few different places.

The in-depth testing the guys from AMP did pretty much dispelled this. The minimal hardening that takes place is very shallow on the outer skin and is ultimately irrelevant. See #7 under Initial Observations at this link: https://www.ampannealing.com/article...he-microscope/

SS media can and will get your brass TOO CLEAN! The carbon from the burnt powder acts like a lube when seating bullets. No lube = hard seating and crushed neck at times. Best to use SS "every once in a while". Do the initial cleaning then maybe every fourth or fifth time after that when you reload. BUT, shiny/clean brass shoots better.

Can't say I've run into any such issues with SS media, but I've been using Imperial Dry Neck Lube when I resize after cleaning.

[RC20]

I do have some problems with sticky bullets after anneal with the carbon cooking in the neck.

Just lube that round and good to go.

[bigedp51]

After wet tumbling with SS media there is a simple cure for the missing carbon in the neck.

Just dip the case necks in powdered graphite which is nothing more than finely ground "CARBON".

Then when sizing the expander will smear and coat the inside of the case neck with a fresh layer of carbon.




What is Graphite?

Graphite is a naturally-occurring form of crystalline carbon. It is a native element mineral found in metamorphic and igneous rocks. Graphite is a mineral of extremes. It is extremely soft, cleaves with very light pressure, and has a very low specific gravity. In contrast, it is extremely resistant to heat and nearly inert in contact with almost any other material. These extreme properties give it a wide range of uses in metallurgy and manufacturing.

http://geology.com/minerals/graphite.shtml

[Worriedman50]

I have been using SS pins for 15 years, got started from talking to a Range Master at Camp Perry, primer pockets get cleaned, inside case gets cleaned. I have never had a problem seating bullets with SS cleaned cases.