Dry tumbling with steel pins?

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chas442

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Ok. This may be absurd but I'm gonna ask. Has anyone tried to clean cases with stainless pins in a vibratory tumbler that would normally be used in a wet tumbler?
 
I’ve tried it before. Not in a vibratory tumbler but in my rock tumbler just no water or soap. It kinda worked got the bulk of the dirt off but it was nowhere near as clean as with soap and water.
 
Never tried dry tumbleing with the pins, doubt they would do much.
On dirty range brass I did switch over to wet tumbleing minus the pins before depriming. I ruined a 2 1/2 year old single stage Hornady Lock n Load press from not cleaning the brass first.
Dry tumbleing just doesn't do it for me any more.
 
Stainless steel is harder than brass (Copper/Zinc alloy).

When wet tumbling, water likely acts as buffer to slow down SS pin movement to gently clean brass surface but when dry tumbling, vibratory action could act as "impact hammer" to contact brass surface with added weight of brass in the bowl. Wet tumbling usually involves slow rotating drum action.

And likely why dry tumbling uses lightweight media that are softer than brass (crushed walnut shell and corn cob) as vibratory action with combined weight of brass in the bowl, the media acts like padding between brass cases to clean/polish brass surfaces.

For me, I would not dry tumble brass with SS pins.
 
I really don't recommend dry tumbling. At least not as the step to clean the brass. Why introduce more lead dust than is needed. Now if you use lead free primers, then dry tumble away. I have switched to wet tumbling. Most if not all of the lead dust gets dissolved into the water and not introduced into the air.
 
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