First try at wet tumbling, how do I store my pins?

Short term wet, long term DRY!!

I don't ever dry mine. They stay in a plastic container, so they don't get dry. They don't rust. Nothing negative has come of storing them that way.

I dry mine by cooking them on the stove til dry in an old frying pan.

I use the dual drum harbor freight tumbler also. After draining as much water as possible out of the drums pins are just left in the drums uncovered. Several years no rusted pins. No problems.

As a note, certain stainless steels do rust. Remember the name is “stain-less” not “stain proof”.

If I am going to tumble more cases within a short period of time, I leave them wet.

If I do not have definite plans to tumble again, I dry the pins. Besides possible rust, I do not want algae or mildue to form.

I spead the pins out on a towel, stir the pile every day or so until they are dry. They dry in a few days.

I don’t really do anything special but I did find some really heavy duty fine mesh zipper bags at a place called The Container Store. I am not sure what they were intended for but they hold 20 lbs of pins great.

Scott S said:

I've heard the pins can rust. Sounds like a few days in water would be ok?

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You should be OK either way.

I dry my pins between uses, but "dry" is easy here in Colorado. Occasionally, I see a rust spot but it gets knocked off in the next batch.

I lay my pins out on paper towel for about 2 days.
(Stole my wife's cookie sheets - they were old & stained. She got new ones)

After 2 days they're dry, so I put 'em in an OPEN drum in the garage or basement.

I've had my tumbler for about 5-6 years now.
Never had a problem with rust or anything.

I hope this helps.

the pins I got with my Fart a small few did rust, so I now dry them in the oven unless I'm going to use them next day.

I’ll usually fill the FART drum up with wash water for the next load as part of my processing. It may stay in there for a few days or weeks and I’ve not seen a problem. If it’s longer than that, I’ll drain the drum and put the pins in there, leave it on it’s side with the top off and eventually they dry. Good luck.

I drain mine as much as I can and just leave them in the drum. I've been wet tumbling for more than 10 years and have not had any problems with rust. Truthfully, drying them would probably be better than what I do.

I store them in the drum with the lid off, so they can dry. I have to run a dehumidifier in my shop so it only takes a couple days at most to get them dry. You just need to shake them up so the wet ones come to the top. The pins are normally 400 series SS the reason they are magnetic. They can/will rust under the right conditions.

During the summer time I just set my rinse bucket out in the shop and let the Texas heat do it's thing.

Scott S said:

... Wondering how you guys store your pins between uses?

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I always air-dry them (overnight in a fan-breeze, along with the freshly-cleaned cases) before storing them in a re-purposed, heavy-clear-plastic "jar". IIRC, my 2 pins-containers started life filled with ground pepper.

I store mine in the drum with the lid off. I’ll put a paper towel in the drum and work one side to the bottom so it will wick the moisture out. Seems to dry the chips faster then without,even though it’s probably not needed.. I think it’s more important to rinse the chips thoroughly than to dry them.

I have a Thumlers and I leave my SS pins in the drum with the cover off.
I think there are more than one quality of pin available though.

I just leave mine in the strainer and let them dry.however long it takes.
(summer where I am at in about an hour, winter maybe a day or two)

Just like the last three posts....rinse them but never clean em. Air dry in the RCBS brass separator I separated and rinsed with......when dry, I pour them in a clear plastic nut jar and screw on the lid. No trouble at all here in New Mexico.

osprey176 said:

I store mine in the drum with the lid off. I’ll put a paper towel in the drum and work one side to the bottom so it will wick the moisture out. Seems to dry the chips faster then without, even though it’s probably not needed.. I think it’s more important to rinse the chips thoroughly than to dry them.

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My method also, minus the paper towel.

I just leave them in the drum after draining. I do thoroughly rinse them after a cleaning session. Been about 4 years since I went to wet tumbling and I've yet to have a rusty pin.

jmorris said:

I don’t really do anything special but I did find some really heavy duty fine mesh zipper bags at a place called The Container Store. I am not sure what they were intended for but they hold 20 lbs of pins great.

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Mesh, no zipper...
I use these paint strainer bags to keep the pins from running away.
Cheap/elastic top/at local HD:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360

I put a bag into a dollar store bucket and a wire waste basket from the dollar into that mesh bag (and some water), then empty the tumbler into it.
4 buckets ($4); 2 mesh bags ($4); some rinse water; some auto wash/wax rich rinse water in the last bucket to be reused.
Transfering/agitating the wire waste basket from basket to basket and you have a brass rinse and lube line.


Edit: I leave the pins in the mesh bag and spread them out and are allowed to dry.
I could store them in those bags but once dry, I transfer the pins back into the tumbler.

No drying process is necessary, at least where I live. I sift them from the cases over a home depot bucket, drain that, then leave them overnight. They are dry the next morning. Should any rust be ocurring, I'm not seeing it.

I store mine in the cracks of my garage floor, in the living room carpet, down my slop sink drain, and in the bottom of my brass storage buckets.

DukeConnor said:

I store mine in the cracks of my garage floor, in the living room carpet, down my slop sink drain, and in the bottom of my brass storage buckets.

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And I’d often wondered just how many wind up blasted down range.

Scott S said:

I've heard the pins can rust. Sounds like a few days in water would be ok?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I care if they rust. If they did, it would come off next batch.