Wet Tumbling with Stainless Steel Pins - Media Separation Tips?

I don't really see the need to SS pins. I get brass clean enough to reload without using pins. They are not new looking but they are clean. If you are trying to fake someone to say it is new brass then maybe you need the pins but for me it just another 2 unneeded steps to used pins.

I wouldn’t say it’s needed. I loaded for decades before and the most accurate groups I have shot were shot with brass that never had been in a tumbler ever. Each wiped off and brushed out, one at a time, by hand. So in that sense, I would say tumbling at all isn’t needed.

There are some amounts I wouldn’t even consider cleaning by hand though.



I use ultra sonic, wet and several dry media solutions because I fine I like something about all the methods. So I understand why some insist on defending all of them, they are happy.

jmorris said:

I wouldn’t say it’s needed. I loaded for decades before and the most accurate groups I have shot were shot with brass that never had been in a tumbler ever. Each wiped off and brushed out, one at a time, by hand. So in that sense, I would say tumbling at all isn’t needed.

There are some amounts I wouldn’t even consider cleaning by hand though.

View attachment 1088317

I use ultra sonic, wet and several dry media solutions because I fine I like something about all the methods. So I understand why some insist on defending all of them, they are happy.

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What the??

When you tumble the earth goes off it’s axis!

Like Cheesemaker and Frogo207 I use the Franklin Arsenal media separator. I use the same technique as Frogo207 (plenty of water in the bottom tub) and have yet to find a pin in 223 or pistol brass. I use the same media separator dry to remove sizing lube from 223 brass.

The Glockodile said:

Nice feeling, having the the lead contained in a liquid.

And I need something to handle large quantities, without resorting to chemical cleaning.

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I built a half dozen of these for that brass and more I posted above. They did 15 gallons of brass per drum, I also built a gantry crane to load/unload them.



On the opposite side they had their post load tumblers.



Made this separator for them.

I just empty the tumbler drum out in a tub in the sink, tilt it enough to drain the dirty water off, rinse it with fresh water and start picking the brass up and shake the pins out. I put a large magnet in the sink drain to catch any pins attempting to escape. The only time I've had the pins stick in the case necks were with some 20 cal brass.

I have the larger Dillon separator but just use it for the times I dry tumble with corncob.

lightman said:

I just empty the tumbler drum out in a tub in the sink, tilt it enough to drain the dirty water off, rinse it with fresh water and start picking the brass up and shake the pins out. I put a large magnet in the sink drain to catch any pins attempting to escape. The only time I've had the pins stick in the case necks were with some 20 cal brass.

I have the larger Dillon separator but just use it for the times I dry tumble with corncob.

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I use the exact same method as you but I have had a short pin bridged across the throat of a .223 once or twice, and a short pin across the primer pocket on SPP brass 2 or 3 times.

Because I’m physically handling the brass, I have caught it.

The Glockodile said:

Just to clarify - the good results you've had with the media separators above is in the context of .223 Remington brass?

Buying one this afternoon, but just wanted to
make sure beforehand...

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Yes.

https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/141007-homemade-wet-tumbler-for-stainless-steel-media/

The Glockodile said:

Nice Media Separator it is, then.

I think I'll buy the smaller one made by Dillon.

Hopefully, the plastic's thick enough to take a beating.

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You will be happy with the small one. That is what I have been using to do this using wet media for about 15 years so far and it's still going strong with no obvious wear.

With bottleneck brass, I believe that de-capping before tumbling also helps a small bit w/pin removal.
I feel it improves the flow, both in and out of the case, vs. brass w/spent primer still in place.

With straight wall brass, there is no added 'pin-removal' benefit. The pockets still end up 'clean enough' even if tumbled multiple times with the primer in place. Virtually all of my straight-wall is tumbled w/primer in place

Otherwise:

Pin removal w/water in your separator is a definite plus.
I rinse my brass before it heads to the separator, but I don't remove that last little bit of soap as the surfactants contained in soap reduce the surface tension of the water.

Highland Lofts said:

I buy & sell lots of range brass. I wet tumble all of it.

I made a bunch drying racks to hang the brass on. I tumble for an hour, drain & rince the brass. Fill the tumbler back up and run another fifteen minutes. Drain the gray water, put the brass in a small bucket of warm water.
Grab a hand full if brass in left hand. Grab two pieces of brass in my right hand.
Swish them around in the warm water and place on the drying racks.
All the pins come out, I get an accurate count on the brass and it gives me a chance to inspect for damaged cases.

View attachment 1088173

I tumble with hot tap water,
A 1/2 teaspoon of Lemi-shine,
a cap full of ArmorAll Wash n Wax,
A small squirt of Dawn Dish Soap,
And a cap full of Finnish Jet Dry.
View attachment 1088174

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I like your formula.
Almost like eye of newt and hair of frog.
The great brass wizard. Can imagine seeing test tubes and boiling flasks with an evil cackle in the background.

I use 2 sifting pans from Amazon. A 1/4 mesh on top of a 1/100 mesh. Use the sprayer in my sink to rinse all the pins to the bottom pan.

I tumble with hot tap water,
A 1/2 teaspoon of Lemi-shine,
a cap full of ArmorAll Wash n Wax,
A small squirt of Dawn Dish Soap,
And a cap full of Finnish Jet Dry.

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But you left off how much Budwiser

Since there is a can in the picture it must be important to the process.

I also use the FA wet media separator to remove Southern Shine chips after tumbling. I am amazed how well it works to remove the chips even with .223 brass. I thought it was overpriced when I bought it, but it sure works.

I bought 5 gallon elastic paint strainer bags off Amazon. I line a bucket with one. I have an RCBS media separator that I cut the very bottom out of by using a sharp blade, going in a circle inside the bottom, and using the sides as a guide. It’s now dedicated to this task.

I put the bucket with the strainer in the laundry tub and put the modified media separator into the top of the bucket, resting inside of the strainer. The bucket holds it in place, and the separator rests deep enough into the bucket so that the pins can’t escape. I very slowly pour the brass and pin mixture into the black clamshells up top, trying to prevent any pins from bouncing away, snap them together, close the lid, and turn the handle. The pins fall into the strainer bag in the bucket and the brass stays up in the black clamshell under the closed lid.

The brass cases can be rinsed where they are with a very short laundry tub hose and the paint strainer bag containing the pins can be lifted out, rinsed while in the bag, and then can be carefully dumped back into the tumbler by putting the open end of the bag inside the tumbler and letting them fall. (If you get careless after the 50th time doing this and don’t pay attention to what you’re doing, the bag will dump next to the bucket and the mess will require a magnet to pick it all up. Don’t be careless.).

Any stray pins can get picked up with one of those Franford Arsenal magnets that has a handle that releases objects when you squeeze it. Sometimes it’s as low as $12 on sale. It’s very useful and a must-have for me. About the time that you think that you won’t ever need it because you haven’t dropped any pins, you will. Blindly going around the bottom of the laundry tub sometimes picks up a stray pin or two, so I always do that as part of my routine before running water down the drain.

I saw this setup somewhere. I copied it, and it works. If I could remember where I saw it, I’d thank the guy.