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Keeping Reloading Cost Down I Don't Really See The Need For A Tumbling Machine

4K views 33 replies 21 participants last post by  rawright54 
#1 ·
Tumblers or Vibrating machines are what about $59 to $89 dollars or so plus corn cob or walnut pieces plus cleaners.I just wash them in Dawn dish soap and Rinse!Rinse!Rinse! until all visible soap is gone and dry.Then I set them in a towel and dry them off and let sit for a day or to before applying primers and powder.It removes all the burnt marks and darkness from the shell and makes then look like a shiny new Calvary bugle.Then take a Q-tip and wipe out the inside while there still wet inside.The machine process might make them a little more shiny but I haven't bought one.


 
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#2 ·
vibro tumpler at harbor freight is 35$, roller tumbler as low as 20$

bag of white rice? 59 cents? wheat or cc media cat litter is cheap too. pet smart sells in bulk sells by weight. you can walk in and buy a 'cup' for cheap.. like rice.. etc. add in a cap full of car wax and you have good cheap media.

every now and then frankford arsenal ez tumbler and media seperator basket combo is on an amazingly cheap sale too.

less hand work.

let the machine do it while you do something else.
 
#4 ·
Try some citric acid too, that stuff will make your brass super shiny! a little goes a long way, available online pretty cheap or look in the canning section of anywhere that sells canning supplies.

About a teaspoon per quart, let sit for about 10 min or so.
 
#7 ·
You can always save money--in any endeavor--by putting in more time and effort.

I choose to let the machine do the work. The Hornady tumbler and media set me back $70 total, which is less than 5 hours work (at my pay rate). I'm certain I've saved over 5 hours already, so the thing has paid for itself, I'll get to keep using it for years. To me, that's all profit.
 
#8 ·
My Lyman tumbler set me back $50 a few years back. I use crushed walnut lizard litter. I cleaned a bowl full of .223 brass today while I was at work making double time at $65/hr. I spent 5min loading my tumbler this morning, and 10min unloading/loading this afternoon when I got home. Those 600 or so cases will be ready to prep tomorrow.

I have considered a SS wet tumbler for cleaning .223 cases I get from a Sheriff buddy of mine. He brings me a couple thousand cases each month, and some are extremly dirty. I like the idea, but hate thinking about getting them dry.
 
#10 ·
The reloading manufacturers sure have all kinds of gear to sell. I find some works for me, some really doesn't work well. Example, I bought all that neck turning gear and run out gauges and it doesn't really improve much for me. I try to stay basic and learn what I need as I go.
 
#12 ·
I lovingly clean each and every one of my fired cases with a soft pencil eraser, then use a pipe cleaner to make the inside of the necks shiny. The primer pockets I clean using a toothbrush and pumice with a little lemon juice...

Not.:D

I got the RCBS tumbler before I started my first load of brass, and I love it. Cheap media from Wally World pet department makes it cheap to feed, and a timer for Christmas lights lets me run it while I'm off doing other things. I'd love to have the time to hand wash my cases and make them perfect, but until I retire I just don't see much free time on the horizon. :bleh:
 
#14 ·
When I load my cases in my Dillion vibratory cleaner it takes a few hours and they are clean enough to reload immediately. There is no drying time or wiping down time. I let the machine do all the work while I lay on the sofa, watching soap operas, and eating chocolates. :) :)

Why clean the cases at all??? Cases must be clean enough so that dirt on the case's outer wall does not scratch the sizing die which would mark every case that ever entered that die in the future. It is not necessary or even desirable to get all the carbon deposits out of the inside of the case as that carbon deposit acts as a dry lubricant to make bullet seating easier and less likely to buckle the case wall as the bullet drags on the case wall during bullet seating. I don't ever clean primer pockets on handgun brass but do clean the rifle brass primer pockets when I have to trim the brass which typically is after several reloadings.

Some people who report here are obsessive about cleaning brass and that most certainly is not me. My cleaning efforts focus on making sure the sizing die is not scratched by dirty cases and nothing more. I use walnut shell media which leaves the brass clean but dull finished. The sizing die burnishes the cases exterior making them plenty shiny enough looking for me even though some brass is still stained. It's about how they shoot, not how they look.

LDBennett
 
#15 ·
The main reason I don't use a vibratory cleaner is the dust and noise. The only place I have to run the cleaner is in my garage where I reload and the dust would get every where. If I tried to reload while the cleaner was running the noise would be very annoying.

When I started reloading as a teenager we didn't clean cases at all except to wipe any dirt off the outside, and I don't remember having any problems caused by not cleaning. Years later I got a vibratory cleaner and didn't like it at all because of the dust and noise.

When I started back reloading this time I decided to try the wet cleaning with SS pins and I really like it. I deprime before cleaning so the primer pockets and flash holes are cleaned. That eliminates problems with debris coming out of the primer pockets and causing problems on the press. It also eliminates the need to manually clean the primer pockets.

I've never noticed any problems with bullet seating caused by having clean cases and have not bulged any cases when the bullet was seated. Wet cleaning does take longer if you include the drying time, but that does not bother me because I keep about a thousand cases of every caliber I reload cleaned, resized, primed, and ready to load in ammo cans. That way I'm never in a rush to have clean brass. When the brass comes out of the tumbler I really don't care how long it takes to dry because I won't need it for a long time.
 
#16 ·
stev32k:

We all develop methods that work for each of us. I obviously am not a fan of using water to clean cases but if it works for you that's great. I also am not a fan of using any chemical (including soap) on brass cases that may be called on to handle 60,000 psi gas pressures. Some chemicals microscopically attack the brass alloy used in cases. I don't know what is in most soaps or other additives and wish not to risk case failure from cleaning.

I have had trouble with bullet seating distorting the case wall and in those cases where the carbon buildup is not sufficient I use NECO's Dry Moly lube case neck lube system. It only happens occasionally but it does happen to me. I have had it happen on new cases that are clean as they possibly can be. And yes, all cases mouths are chamfered on both the outside and inside.

LDBennett
 
#20 ·
When I load my cases in my Dillion vibratory cleaner it takes a few hours and they are clean enough to reload immediately. There is no drying time or wiping down time. I let the machine do all the work while I lay on the sofa, watching soap operas, and eating chocolates. :) :)

LDBennett
The only problem I see here LD is when you sit in front of the boob-toob eating bon-bons and watching soap opera's all day long the next thing you know your hips are going to look a little big when you holster your revolver on. Be extra careful LD.
 
#21 ·
The reloading manufacturers sure have all kinds of gear to sell. I find some works for me, some really doesn't work well. Example, I bought all that neck turning gear and run out gauges and it doesn't really improve much for me. I try to stay basic and learn what I need as I go.
I'm with you Zhurh, just keep things basic. I do use a RCBS vibrator to save a little though.
 
#22 ·
I'm firmly in the camp of having better things to do than hand wash brass.

Vibratory is my choice of action and the noise can be a bit much when I have two machines going at once. In that case, I'll simply leave the loading room, close the door and go on about my other business. However when it comes down to it, one machine running doesn't bother me enough to want to get away from it. So, aside from that aspect, I haven't found a really negative side to the process including dust getting anywhere, except on the under side of the cover.
 
#24 ·
So as I'm following this thread I see that everyone is tumbling. No one sonic cleans? LDBennett mentioned why he doesn't like to use acid (hmm, that sounds bad). What is everyone else's thought?

After a lot of reseach, I recently bought a sonic cleaner (Hornady 2L). My goal is to clean inside and out including primer pockets. I'm not interested in extra shinny brass and didn't want the noise and mess so I went the sonic router. Up until recently, I never cleaned brass before other than a wipe down and that goes way back to my teenage reloading years.
 
#25 ·
Yer right! Tumbling, wobbling brass ain't necessary. I reloaded for 12 years before I got a tumbler. All I did was to wipe each case with a mineral spirits dampened rag as I inspected it. No, I did not wear out any dies in that 12 years, and yes, I could spot case defects. Today tumbled, ultra shiny, virgin looking brass seems to be a necessity, but it doesn't handle any easier, nor shoot any better than unpolished brass. I do tumble/clean my brass, but not every reloading. But my M1 brass is shiny, not for looks or it may shoot better, but so I can find it in the dirt, grass, where I shoot...
 
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