Rotary Tumbler Time?

[Ernest T]

Anyone using a rotary tumbler? How long do you typically tumble brass?

[charlie b]

I do. With SS pins and dawn I usually let it run for an hour or two. Doesn't get all of the primer pocket sparkling clean, but, I only tumble them when I want the outside shiny.

If I am being picky about it I use the ultrasonic cleaner first, then tumble. That gets just about everything out of it.

Caution. The inside of the necks need a bit of something to let the bullets slide in nicely. I use Hornady One Shot so some of that is sprayed inside the case when it is applied.

Most of the time (for rifles) I do not clean between loading, maybe every 5th or 6th reload.

[Ernest T]

Thanks, I was curious. I've been running them for a couple hours with the pins and cleaner, but I do it every time I reload them. I use Hornady One Shot too and spray the inside of the sizing die when I start and give it another shot after about 25 cases. The 6.5 CM sizing die was incredibly tight the first cases I ran through it and I actually ran the case about half way through and re-lubed it to finish. I was pretty sure I was going to get a case stuck. I even took the decapper out and polished it with a Dremel and polishing compound. After about 100 cases, it works much better.

[Robinhood]

Measure your soap and your Limishine. When it works keep that recipe. Use cold water.

[gkainz]

I’m going though a bunch of military 5.56 - I’m happy with 90 minutes, Dawn and Lemishine and no pins.

[jpx2rk]

I use the Dawn & Lemishine recipe with SS pins, run it 2-3 hours. I use hot water at the start, rinse with the garden hose. I clean the primer pockets with one of the many mechanical pocket cleaners available on a case prep machine. I've found that cleaning the pockets prior to wet tumble & drying is easier than trying to remove the "baked" on residue after wash & dry cycle. Just my preference.

[charlie b]

I use citric acid when I am not tumbling. Just put everything in a bucket and swirl it around a little, let sit for 20-30min and rinse. Just don't leave it in there too long. I did that once (5hrs) and had 'pick' areas on the brass.

[CFJunkie]

I have been tumbling with pins for at least 6 years.
I use Dawn, Lemi Shine appliance cleaner (powder) and dishwasher rinse agent.
I tumble for 50 minutes to an hour, pour out the dirty water. Then I rinse with clean water. It comes out very shiny - better than new, even after 20 reloads.
If you leave the brass in too long, the brass will tend to turn pinkish.

After I lube and size the brass, I tumble for about 15 minutes with a bit of Dawn and dishwasher rinse agent - no Lemi-shine. That gets rid of the lube.
I dry in a dehydrator for an hour and then it's ready for primers and loads.

[want2ride]

1 to 1 1/2 hours with SS pins, Dawn and either Lemi shine or Jet dry. I really like the results.

[Ernest T]

Thanks for the information.

[CFJunkie]

One thing I forgot to mention.
Before I started using the rinse agent, I had issues with soap scum on the brass that kept it from being really shiny.
The rinse agent eliminates the soap scum and the brass shines really bright and clean.

[se3388]

Stainless steel pins, Dawn, Lemi Shine and tap water for about 1.5 to 2 hours works great for me. I made my own rotary tumbler with two different containers for the brass and stuff to go in.

Steve............

[J.Baker]

I have one of the Frankfort Arsenal rotary tumblers and have been using it for a good 4-5 years now, if not a little longer. Depending on how dirty the brass and/or what size brass I'm running is I may or may not use the SS pins in it. Have had a lot of issues with the SS pins getting wedged in the webbing area of .223/5.56 cases so I no longer use them for this brass. Have pretty much settled on using Dawn dish soap, scolding hot water from the tap, and (depending on how dull the brass is) Lemi Shine for my solution and it seems to do a pretty good job.

As for how long I let it run, that again depends on how dirty the brass is. Some powders burn dirtier than others, some brass I may skip cleaning a time or two when reloading if they aren't too bad, etc. If I'm using the pins I'll run them an hour and then check to see how they look to determine if they need more time or not. If not running the pins I run them 90 minutes before checking.

Only complaint is I'm still trying to figure out a quick and easy way to separate the pins from the brass. I have the 5-gallon bucket rotisserie separator setup and it works fairly well, but still a hassle to drain the water out of the bucket and then getting all the pins out to dry them before putting them back in a tupperware dish until I need them again.

[Blue Avenger]

Only complaint is I'm still trying to figure out a quick and easy way to separate the pins from the brass. I have the 5-gallon bucket rotisserie separator setup and it works fairly well, but still a hassle to drain the water out of the bucket and then getting all the pins out to dry them before putting them back in a tupperware dish until I need them again.

Funnel and filter for turkey fryer

[Ernest T]

This is what I use to deal with the water.

[RCE1]

This is what I use to deal with the water.

I know what I'm doing this afternoon. Nice.

[Ernest T]

I know what I'm doing this afternoon. Nice.

it works great. I just pour distilled water over the basket as it turns. Sneak up on the slot size and the square shape keeps it centered in the bucket.

[charlie b]

I don't clean them often enough for it to be a big issue. After rinse and drain I just pour everything out on a cookie pan. I pick out cases one or two at a time, tap off the 'sticky' pins and put them on a towel (that is also when I check for pins left in flash holes). Then I either air dry them or put them in an oven for a while.

It doesn't bother me if the cases look 'dingy' at the range. I'll go about 10 reloads before tumble cleaning the brass. Most of the time I simply size and then wipe off the case lube, which gets the case as clean as I need.

[ragsflh]

1 1;2 to 2hr depends how dirty brass was

[Julesk]

I use it every time it's fired. I usually wait till I have enough to fill the Container though. 2 hours is about a full battery charge. I made my own tumbler. Couple drops of Dawn and a pinch of Lemi Shine. I always use SS pins. Primer pockets come out clean.

[J.Baker]

This is what I use to deal with the water.

That's what I've got, but then you end up with a ton of pins in the bottom of the bucket with the water as well.

[jpx2rk]

I've got both sizes of the FA tumblers, and use the pins that came with them, and have never had any SS pins get stuck in 223 or 20 cal cases. I've read of numerous complaints about this but I've never dealt with it. I use one of the FA wet/dry media separators and rotate the cases/pin mix back and forth with abrupt stops at the 180* point in the rotation. Seems to shake all the pins loose/out of the cases as I've never found one on down the line when processing the brass. I really shake the crap out of the separator when doing the abrupt stops.

[Julesk]

That's what I've got, but then you end up with a ton of pins in the bottom of the bucket with the water as well.

I wrap one of my wife's old nylon ankle footie over an empty coffee container then pour the pins and water through it. When you pick the footie up the pins are trapped in side it and the water stays in the container.

[charlie b]

I bought my FA tumbler in the last couple of years. It came with two screens that fit the top. Just remove the clear lid section and replace with screen, drain the water. I also rinse the cases that way.