Trust me brother, once you slip on the ring things are gonna change. Girlfriends put up with a lot of our crap, wives not so much.
So...how much lettuce do you put in there?
Ever use a washing machine to clean cases? (Am I missing something?)
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Trust me brother, once you slip on the ring things are gonna change. Girlfriends put up with a lot of our crap, wives not so much.
So...how much lettuce do you put in there?
Fine Figure of a Man
Member
It's as if matrimony opens their eyes to the guidance and discipline they need to instill in us. I hate thinking back and realizing she was right.
Hondo 60
Member
Personally, I wouldn't wanna wash my clothes & my brass in the same machine.
Any lead or toxic residue is now in ALL your clothes, including your underwear.
That thought just gives me the willies.
Any lead or toxic residue is now in ALL your clothes, including your underwear.
That thought just gives me the willies.
FROGO207
Member
Had a local garage that used a washing machine to wash engine parts and such. Had to replace it with a used machine about once a year. He used a special degreaser and never drained the thing. I personally like how wet tumbling with SS pins works, but if this works for you----------
nettlle
Contributing Member
My wife washes her saddle pads in our washing machine and I go to work with horsey hair all over my shirts. Me wash brass in our washing machine? I think not!
True. Lettuce & underwear isn't very appealing either.
troy fairweather
Member
i used a cement mixer one time when i got range brass worked good some dawn and small pail of sand
Toprudder
Member
I try to segregate my brass cleaning from everything else. Primer residue is full of lead (lead styphnate, to be exact) and I am not sure just how much contamination could occur by using the same washer for clothes and for brass. It may not be an issue, but without conclusive evidence why tempt it.
I have the Frankford Arsenal rotary tumbler and love it. Brass comes out bright and clean, and no residue gets on my hands when I load (I use primarily plated bullets). It is not quiet, though, but it is not the same type of vibratory noise that can radiate through walls, it is more of a "white" noise. Normally I run it in the garage, but I sometimes run it in the house if it is really cold outside, I just put it in the bathroom with the door closed. Placing it on a rug helps. I've heard of some people using a foam lined box to cover it with, but you need to have a fan circulating some air through it for cooling the motor.
I've done many things to dry the brass. One thing you can do is to use the shoe rack inside a clothes dryer, just place a towel on the rack and then place the brass on it. I've dried brass in front of the fireplace also. I have used an oven, or a dehydrator, but mainly I just place the brass on a screen and blow air across it with a fan. Dry in a couple of hours.
A lot of people use Dawn dishwashing detergent, but I use Armorall Wash-n-Wax Ultrashine, it leaves a thin film of wax that helps slide through dies easier and also protects it from tarnishing later.
I have the Frankford Arsenal rotary tumbler and love it. Brass comes out bright and clean, and no residue gets on my hands when I load (I use primarily plated bullets). It is not quiet, though, but it is not the same type of vibratory noise that can radiate through walls, it is more of a "white" noise. Normally I run it in the garage, but I sometimes run it in the house if it is really cold outside, I just put it in the bathroom with the door closed. Placing it on a rug helps. I've heard of some people using a foam lined box to cover it with, but you need to have a fan circulating some air through it for cooling the motor.
I've done many things to dry the brass. One thing you can do is to use the shoe rack inside a clothes dryer, just place a towel on the rack and then place the brass on it. I've dried brass in front of the fireplace also. I have used an oven, or a dehydrator, but mainly I just place the brass on a screen and blow air across it with a fan. Dry in a couple of hours.
A lot of people use Dawn dishwashing detergent, but I use Armorall Wash-n-Wax Ultrashine, it leaves a thin film of wax that helps slide through dies easier and also protects it from tarnishing later.
Officers'Wife
Member
Single men do a lot of things that would be signs of a death wish for a married man.
That said, after I built the windmill I use for a ball mill… A certain unnamed idiot that shall remain my brother built his own with an even larger PVC pipe tumbler that he now uses for cleaning small parts and his various castings. To my knowledge he hasn't used it for brass but I will ask him.
That said, after I built the windmill I use for a ball mill… A certain unnamed idiot that shall remain my brother built his own with an even larger PVC pipe tumbler that he now uses for cleaning small parts and his various castings. To my knowledge he hasn't used it for brass but I will ask him.
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Wash machines are pretty loud as well.
There are some vibrating tumblers that are quieter than others. My Dillon tumbler is not as loud as my Berry Mfg tumbler. Also, keep the tumbler full of media (don't over fill, though) and run few cases.
Wet tumbling with stainless pins is not as loud as a vibrating tumbler plus, it cleans in a hour or less.
There are case dryers available, most seem to be based on food dehydrators. They are about the size of a small toaster oven. Wash your cases and put them in the dryer. It blows warmed air over the cases to aid in drying. Lots of cases in a small countertop area.
When I wet clean my cases, I do not scrimp on the drying time just to make sure there is no water left in the case. I have enough cases on hand so that my reloading-to-shooting is not "hand to mouth". When I laid them out on a towel to dry, I'd leave the cases for several days and stir them periodically so that any water inside the case would get disturbed and redistributed in the case so that it could evaporate more easily.
There is something wrong here. I might get some of the dust from the vibrating media on my hands when separating the cases from the media, but not when I'm reloading them. It washes right off
I use a rotary basket for separating the media from the cases, it seems to knock most of the dust away.
I avoid using polish in the media until the media starts to get old and stops cleaning as well. Too much polish can make the media get slimy.
Get a box of rubber/latex gloves to wear to protect your hands from the media.
PhillySoldier
Member
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I use an ultrasonic for brass & gun cleaning. With the brass ya have to rinse off the brass cleaning solution after the cycle. The gun solution doesnt need to be rinsed and they come out so hot that everything air dry's in 1-2 minutes. Gotta say that makes me wonder if I could just throw the basket of brass in the dishwasher at least for the rinse and dry cycles
Catpop
Member
That’s were I do my shop rags too! The oily old rags come out nice and clean!!!!!
I agree, no one likes hairy brass
I've used the crap dishwasher at work for getting general gunk off stuff like paintball guns, and inal cleaning of parts after degreasing. I tossed my really nasty .375 cases in it and that got them clean enough to run thru my dies.
I still need to get a FART, I do like the shiny......
I actually have a lab grade Sonic cleaner.....no solution tho, gonna have to get some and try it out.
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Officers'Wife
Member
*sigh* If you find clean 55 gallon drum and put four fittings close to the bottom set with an air stream of about 5 PSI she can fill it about half full of water and a teaspoon of borax and leave it to bubble for a few hours. It's easier on the washing machine and more pleasant for the mount. The added bonus is - of course - no transfer of hair to other laundry and the laundry room doesn't smell like sweaty horse for days on end. Just FYI- it works well with greasy blue jeans and shop rags if you add a bit of detergent (about a little over a tablespoon) and let it bubble overnight. Just remember to change the water occasionally and keep away from small children or grown men.
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Ah, shucks. Didn't you realize no vehicle or clothes are complete without a few horse hairs?
The drum idea has merit. When we replaced our washer and dryer a few years ago, we moved the old pair out to the barn for equine duties.
I've used a sonic cleaner in the distant past to clean cases. I primarily just used a liquid soap or detergent and the cases got cleaned but not shiny. I am not sure what the cleaners available on the market today can do.
splattergun
Member
A tumbler ("rotary cleaner"), whether used wet, with or without SS pins, or used dry with corncob and/or walnut, is a lot quieter than a vibratory cleaner. You should be able to use it in an apartment, as long as it's not at night when neighbors are trying to sleep. It won't transfer lead styphnate residue to your laundry, either.
nettlle
Contributing Member
I have a Thumler's UV10 vibratory cleaner. Thumler's are pretty quite for a vibratory. About as much noise as the fridge kicking on.
Bbear
Member
Double bag in cloth bags and run with the regular laundry. With a full load in the drier, I'll run the bag full of brass for about half the cycle to get fairly dry then spread on a cookie sheet to let cool and finish drying. Or, this time of year, when it's 100 + degrees, I just put them on the cookie sheet out in the sun. 15 minutes and they're ready to load.
Dudedog
Contributing Member
Instead of a cookie sheet I use an old towel.
Yes, where I'm out a couple hours in the sun in the afternoon and the case get to hot to touch.
Drying in the summer is easy.
PWC
Member
How many times do different people have to say the same thing but in different ways? Enough already.... this sounds like the tv news...every 1/2 hour a different talking head saying the same thing.
You said it yourself, "wife" and "live-in girlfriend". Those are two different things.
As my wife's father said to her after we were engaged, but not yet married, "Don't count your fish 'til you got 'em in the boat." And he was right. After the legally-binding contract is entered into, things change.
And since we've diverged into social issues, I will point out the current research is pretty uniform on this: Education, Marriage and then Children. Do those three in any other order and you greatly improve the odds you will spend your life in or near poverty. Marry the "live-in girlfriend" or send her packing. Your future economic security depends on it. And once you do marry her, don't be surprised if she won't let you clean brass in "her" washing machine.
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