Easy Primer Pocket Cleaning w/ a Dremel

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falldowngoboom

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I've asked a ton of questions on here and gotten some great info, so I thought I'd try to give back in a some small way...

I was at the hardware store and saw a dremel attachment that seemed like it could work for cleaning primer pockets. Because it's steel, I was initially worried it would strip away too much and enlarge the pocket.

Turns out it works perfectly on my 30-06 brass. It takes the gunk out but still leaves the pocket dark, so I doubt if it strips away (hardly) any actual brass. There are also brass and nylon brushes (not sure how well nylon would work) of the same size, but the steel was all my hardware store carried.

I simply grab a big fistful of maybe 15 cases, holding them all so the pockets face up, and dremel away at high speed using a fair amount of pressure for about 2 seconds each. I've processed 80 cases so far and the bristles stay put pretty well with only several being bent outward like with an old toothbrush. I suspect the attachment will last several hundred or even a thousand cases at least. And it only cost $3.

The one I have is a 443 attachment and the brass and nylon versions are 537 and 405, respectively. You can check them out on the dremel website. http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Attachm...ducts.aspx?catid=64&catname=Polishing+Brushes

Happy Cleaning! :D
 

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Yep!
Works great don't it!
Been doing it so long I never thought to tell anyone about it!

I use a cordless Dremel at low speed with those.

In my experience, on high speed, the bristles fly out from centripetal force and can do some damage to cases & finger skin.

I also use a short length of heat-shrink tubing over the bristles on a new brush to hold them bunched together tightly.

rc
 
Yeah, it's not a money saving idea if you don't already have a dremel. Although, if you didn't have a pocket cleaner, you could just put the attachment in a drill. Just be a lot bulkier to work with.
 
Nice idea but a bit of overkill IMO. Two or three turns with the RCBS brushes in a handheld tool do just fine. The pockets don't need to be polished.
 
I use the plastic shealthed cable that every hardware store carries. Strip the plastic off of the last 1/4" or so and chuck it into a cordless drill or drill press. You only need a piece that is 1" long or so.

I've found one size that is perfect for SR size and another for LR. The cable strands work just like a steel brush, and it is pretty easy and quick.
 
kelbro, they actually don't get polished as the pockets are still pretty dark in color. The main thing is it's faster b/c you can grab a handful and process them all at once instead of one at a time like (I imagine?) you'd have to do with a hand tool. Also, I wasn't necessarily suggesting ppl get a dremel just to do this, but I already had one, so $3 is cheaper than a separate pocket tool.

NorCal, do you mean speaker wire? Definitely have lots of that lying around. I'll give that a go too.
 
Sorry to rain on this mutual admiration society for cleaning primer pockets. If you are shooting under 600 meters, your time and effort cleaning primer pockets is a tremendous waste of time an effort.

In the mid 60’s for several years, using 4 different rifles set up for 222, 270, 30-06 and 300WM, I shot 100 brass that pockets were religiously cleaned, and 100 that were never cleaned in each rifle. Statistically there was no difference in accuracy between cleaned and uncleaned pockets.
 
Hello at all.
I´m using a dremel for three years all most to clean small primer pocket.
Working very well and quickly.
Greeting from Spain.
 
I've never bothered to clean pockets.... well, aside from looking down each to make sure no medium is in the hole.... I have never had the problem... I realistically never probably use a piece of brass more than 4 times (?)... pure guess, as I don't keep track either, I just inspect it before I tumble it and loose some every time I go out.... buy some more brass after supplies get low.... rinse and repeat...

I'm no match shooter though (shoot some USPSA)... just saying I've never noticed any problem.... never a misfire, or a round that was obviously underpowered, assuming that is what a weak ignition from a 'dirty' primer pocket would do... (aside from a recent incident with teaching a new person about the importance of adding powder to each and every round... lol)...

I, no doubt, waste my time on some other useless endeavor, because I sure can't keep numbers with what some people here claim to load in an hour.... heck, it takes me an hour just to figure out what I should load next.... lol....
 
I suppose there's some debate as to how much/little difference a clean pocket makes. I don't have the answer. Maybe a poll on a new thread? :D

gandog56, to answer your question: I don't think it makes a difference because the steel brush doesn't trim away brass. Just leaves the pocket free of gunk. I think I've said this three times now. :)
 
I have been loading for 57 years and never, and I say NEVER cleaned a primer pocket in pistol or rifle, and I have hunted game all over the country, and do a lot of target shooting, never a problem, do what you want, but it's a total waste of time.
Floydster
 
I like clean pockets

I uniform all rifle brass going into my my stock using Redding uniforming tools. I have been surprised how much variability there is in flash holes and pocket depth. Not to say that every cartridge didn't fire the first time in the condition it was in...just that everything is uniform when it goes into my stock. I also can't gage the relative importance compared to everything else we do to ensure consistent loads.

What I can say it that four last guys shooting at the 200 meter bench that ran 5 of my rounds versus what they were shooting all started reloading. And they all tell me they are shooting better than they have ever shot. I just wish that I could shoot as well as they do...

Hope this helps!
Scott
 
I used a cordless Dremel about a year ago but stopped after one session due to all the carbon up my nose. I ran the Dremel on low speed but it still managed to put a lot of particulate in the air. I figured that it wouldn't be good for my longevity so I went back to using the RCBS handle ... it doesn't take long to go through 100 cases and I don't need to wear a dust mask.

I like clean primer pockets too!! Factory ammunition comes with clean primer pockets so why should my reloads be any different? In addition, carbon fouling could prevent a primer from seating properly, increasing the chance of a slam fire. I could care less if some here think it's a waste of time ... I'm still doing it.

:)
 
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Cleaning primer pockets MIGHT be a waste of time, but they also say shiny cases don't shoot any straighter. Don't know whether they do or not, but I like 'em!
 
I just use a nail and give the pocket a quick light scrape around the inside corner to get the magority of the residue out. I don't like the primers resting on a bed of ash and I think it helps insure you'll get the proper seating depth, sometimes. But, as everyone else pretty much stated... to each his own.
 
I use an ultrasonic cleaner for all my brass, followed by tumbling with corncob, cut up paper towels, & Nufinish/mineral spirits. Shiny cases inside & out, including the primer pockets. Got a primer pocket cleaner, but I've never used it. :)
 
Ok, you guys have helped out with that one. I usually prep cases by using a Lee self centering chuck in my cordless drill and polishing with flitz followed by trimming, and camfering. Now I think I'm going to cut down an old cleaning rod section and chuck that with a primer pocket brush instead of the handle and doing it by hand.
 
The Dremel bit is cheaper, and you can chuck that in your cordless drill too. That's what I've been doing for years.

I'm not really picky about cleaning primer pockets, but I do check them and if the buildup looks heavy enough, I'll zap 'em. On first time brass, I do use a Lyman flash hole de-burring tool and over the years, I've found that making the flash holes uniform and slightly chamfered on the inside actually does more for improving accuracy than cleaning the pockets.
 
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