Tumbling your brass

[spleify]

I am gonna ask some questions here as I have been doing things the same way for over 10 years now and I'm wondering how others are doing things or if things have changed any.

So since I have been reloading I have always tumbled my brass, then resized/decapped. Now with rifle I use the Hornady One Shot case lube, then I have always tumbled the cases again to get the lube off. But obviously this adds a lot of time back on as I have to separate brass from corn media, and double check all flash holes and pop the media out of them if it gets stuck in there(which is common) then I can continue on as normal.

So my question is, do you folks tumble the case lube off, or do you just move right on to measuring, trimming...etc? Is there any negative effects to leaving the case lube on the cases? will it gum up the barrel at all? Or should I just continue on as I always have? I generally load 1000-3000 rounds a month and will generally shoot 1000-2000 rounds a month.

Thanks

 

[jagter82]

I deprime/resize mine and then tumble it. I believe you can just wipe off the lube or it evaporates the one from Hornady. Don't quote me on that but it dries of and is not supposed to interfere with being reloaded.

 

[jcwit]

Buy some new media this stuff
http://www.drillspot.com/products/521055/econoline_526040g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

It will clean/shine your brass just as well and believe me it will not clog your flash holes or primer pockets. Cheap too.

 

[Slamfire]

So my question is, do you folks tumble the case lube off, or do you just move right on to measuring, trimming...etc? Is there any negative effects to leaving the case lube on the cases? will it gum up the barrel at all? Or should I just continue on as I always have? I generally load 1000-3000 rounds a month and will generally shoot 1000-2000 rounds a month.

Actions are designed ignoring case friction. Leaving case lube on, as long as it does not become a bore obstruction, won't over load the locking mechanism, as long as yout loads are within SAMMI specs.

The quickest, easiest way to create over pressure ammo is by adding powder. A liberal dash of powder can raise pressures 20,000, 30,000, 100,000 psia. I do not recommend lubing cases for those who hot load. I do not recommend reloading for those who plan to hot load. I don't want to be near folks shooting hot loads as I might be hit by parts coming off exploding firearms.

A Distinguished HM gunsmith told me he left his RCBS water soluble on his M1a cases. He was able to take his cases an entire shooting season without any case head separations. I copied this more or less. If I am in a hurry I leave RCBS water soluble lube on the case. If I have time I apply Johnson paste wax and buff the cases. I really don't like greasy cases which will attract dirt and Johnson paste wax is hard when dry. Under the temperatures of combustion it melts, like the ceresin wax used on Pederson rifle cases, and breaks the friction between the case and chamber.

After every match I clean the bore and chamber. So I really don't know about gumming in rifles. I don't think so.

I experimented once with stick wax on CAVIM90 308 cases. Stick wax is used on metal saw blades to provide lubrication to the cutting edges. It sticks tenaciously to the surface of metals. Stick wax was a bad choice, I hope no one ever tries this, it required a lot of work to remove from the fired cases. I don’t remember what solvents I used to get the stuff off. It was a mess. Stupidly I put big globs of the stuff in a plastic bag with my 308 cases and shook the stuff. I had globs of stick wax over the cases. I had so much that I ended up wiping the cases with paper towels. Again, this turned out to be a real mess.

Anyway I fired about 1000 rounds of this stuff in my FAL. I shot a couple of hundred rounds per session at the range. I was only interested in the brass, as CAVIM brass was good but the bullets awful, and I did not want to stretch the brass. Which is the reason I lubricated the stuff. I was able to really dial down the gas system on the FAL verifying that it took a lot less effort to extract these cases. In fact with dry cases at this setting, my FAL would not cycle. My FAL never gummed up but my glasses got coated with driblets of stick wax.

I always cleaned up my FAL’s when I got home. Chamber brush and all.

I found leaving case lube on 9mm cases made them super easy to size in my Dillon 550B. I also found my 9mm pistols ran smoother as there was less breech friction during extraction. I believe that case lube washes out residue in my 9mm pistol chambers, but I have only fired about 400 of these up to the current time. Takes a while to shoot a ammo box of 9mm as I am not a 9mm fan.

I will shoot a 50 caliber can of 45ACP before get around to shooting 100 9mm cases.

I do not understand how anyone could think the 9mm is a good self defense round.

 

[armoredman]

I de prime and resize after tumbling, using the Lee case lube, and then individually wipe off the excess lube off of the resized brass with an old pair of boxers...CLEAN boxers. I am a slow, low volume reloader, so i don't mind.

 

[animator]

After resizing, I toss the lubed brass in the tumbler again. It only takes maybe 20 minutes to remove the lube, so it's not a huge amount of downtime. Usually I'm tumbling the cases while setting up the dies or powder thrower, so there's really not a whole lot of lost time.

 

[Hondo 60]

+1 on jcwit's post (#3)

I use that media too & it won't clog the flash hole.
and yes, I tumble again after depriming/resizing & then trimming.
(trim with the lube on)

You only need to tumble for 20 minutes or so to get the case lube off.

 

[northark147]

I tumble the whole cartridge after loading for about 10 minutes.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

So my question is, do you folks tumble the case lube off

Hornady One Shot case lube does not need to be removed from your brass.

From the Hornady Site:

Lube entire blocks of cases in one shot. Dries in minutes. One Shot is a non-petroleum product that will not contaminate powder or primers.

 

[FROGO207]

I use a homemade lube using 95% isopropyl and liquid lanolin at 10% mix.

1 I tumble in walnut a short time to remove dirt etc. Then lube and let dry.
2 I size with the depriming pin removed. This leaves the old primer in still.
3 Then I tumble till the desired shine/cleanliness of brass.
4 Next i deprime with a universal deprimer die.
5 Reload as usual.

As I am always short of time this method I find saves me some effort on reloading as a whole. It has worked well for me for at least 30+ years. YMMV

 

[RustyFN]

This is the way I tumble rifle brass.

tumble
size
trim, chamfer/debur if needed
load
tumble loaded rounds to clean the lube off.

Flame suit on.

 

[PCCUSNRET]

When I come home from the range I throw the brass in the tumbler with walnut mixed with Frankford or Dillon brass cleaner/polish and let it tumble until I finish cleaning my guns (about an hour or two, depending how many guns I took to the range that day). I then deprime the brass, resize, trim, put it back in the tumbler and tumble for a couple of hours using fine ground corn mixed with a few drops of Nu-finish. Sure this is a little time consuming but I shoot mostly rifles and reload for most of them on a single stage press so I'm not in that big of a hurry

 

[texaz]

I tumble the whole cartridge after loading for about 10 minutes.

Everything I've ever heard tells me this is a BAD idea!

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I use Imperial wax and I just wipe down the cases with a rag before moving to the next stage (trimming). I too tumble loaded rounds when I'm done for a half hour or so. I like em pretty. Never had a problem. Don't think I ever will.

 

[saitek]

cleaning

i like econimy of functions if the brass is not to dirty leave the primers in throw them in the walnut shell mrdia with a polish of your choice .if is a little bit old throw a couple teaspoons full of mineral sprit's to liven it up .
use imperal sizing wax .size and de prime at the same time ,trim cases if needed .
last step before loading i give them a bath in laqure thinner to remove all the lube and residue from the case . air dry and prime cases ,powder and install bullet's . i hate spray lube's they are a messand the imperial lube goes a long way .
if the cases are real dirty i de prime first and use iosso liquid case cleaner it only takes about 3 4 miniite's then rinse off with water and it really get's them clean .

 

[northark147]

Quote:
Originally Posted by northark147 View Post
I tumble the whole cartridge after loading for about 10 minutes.
Everything I've ever heard tells me this is a BAD idea!
__________________
texaz
texaz is offline Report Post Quick reply to this message

Yes Ive seen people say its not so bright too, however I have yet to see it cause any injuries, death, or equipment damage. I am using jacketed bullets so no danger from lead. and if the primers can take a strike from an AR's free floating firing pin good enough to leave dings without going off I really doubt if there is anything my little Cabela's tumbler can do that will create enough pressure and impact. I haven't even seen it ding one a little yet. Come to think of it I haven't even seen any pictures of blowed up tumblers. Maybe I shall one day pay for not listening to everything I see on the internet, but I'm not to concerned. Matter of fact I'm less concerned that I am about doing things we all do it clearly states not to do in loading manuals,( ie use brass from unknown sources, decap live primers after screw ups) and that stuff ranks very low on my concern meter.

 

[northark147]

oh and as far as it possibly breaking the powder down in smaller bits thus raising pressures... As a truck driver, I can guarantee you that powder gets shook a lot harder in the logistical process than a little tumbler is capable of.

 

[jcwit]

[QUOTEQuote:
Originally Posted by northark147
I tumble the whole cartridge after loading for about 10 minutes.

Everything I've ever heard tells me this is a BAD idea!
__________________
texaz ][/QUOTE]

This has been discussed over and over again many times, All the way to it degrading the powder in the case, which it does not. to the manufactures saying not to do it, which they do themselves.

If what you've heard about this being wrong, guess what, you've heard wrong, do a search on it there are many threads about this all disproving this theory.

Hope this helps somebody.

 

[texaz]

Yes Ive seen people say its not so bright too, however I have yet to see it cause any injuries, death, or equipment damage. I am using jacketed bullets so no danger from lead. and if the primers can take a strike from an AR's free floating firing pin good enough to leave dings without going off I really doubt if there is anything my little Cabela's tumbler can do that will create enough pressure and impact. I haven't even seen it ding one a little yet. Come to think of it I haven't even seen any pictures of blowed up tumblers. Maybe I shall one day pay for not listening to everything I see on the internet, but I'm not to concerned. Matter of fact I'm less concerned that I am about doing things we all do it clearly states not to do in loading manuals,( ie use brass from unknown sources, decap live primers after screw ups) and that stuff ranks very low on my concern meter.

Yeah, well, I'm just not gonna take the chance. Shiny cartridges are just not that important. And my cases are lube-free from the ultrasonic case cleaner.

 

[amlevin]

Yeah, well, I'm just not gonna take the chance.

You are taking a bigger risk every time you pull the trigger on one of your firearms.

I've been "tumbling" finished rounds for over 30 years and I produce an average of 10,000 rounds per year.

Watch the process sometime. There's less force imparted on the finished round either swirling or tumbling in the media that is imparted by a progressive press when it ejects the finished round into the bin.

If you are totally averse to risk, I would think might reconsider your choice of sport/hobby.

As for "things I've heard", I used to hear all the time that it was illegal in my state to drive without wearing shoes. You'd be amazed at the number of people that believe that just because someone told someone else and pretty soon it was fact.

 

[texaz]

You are taking a bigger risk every time you pull the trigger on one of your firearms.

I've been "tumbling" finished rounds for over 30 years and I produce an average of 10,000 rounds per year.

Watch the process sometime. There's less force imparted on the finished round either swirling or tumbling in the media that is imparted by a progressive press when it ejects the finished round into the bin.

If you are totally averse to risk, I would think might reconsider your choice of sport/hobby.

As for "things I've heard", I used to hear all the time that it was illegal in my state to drive without wearing shoes. You'd be amazed at the number of people that believe that just because someone told someone else and pretty soon it was fact.

Thanks for the tip on other hobbies or interests.

When I said I "heard" about dissenting opinions on this matter, I should have said I "spent a lot of time researching." Guess I need to be more specific.

I guess an opposing opinion is not welcome?

 

[RustyFN]

texaz:
Yeah, well, I'm just not gonna take the chance. Shiny cartridges are just not that important. And my cases are lube-free from the ultrasonic case cleaner.

And we are all fine with that. I didn't see where anybody said you had to, we were just stating what works for us.

 

[jcwit]

I guess an opposing opinion is not welcome?

Do whatever you wish, makes no difference to me. But PLEASE let knowledge and common sense reign supreme, not just feelings or assumptions. With this logic for Heaves sake never ever get behind the wheel.

 

[texaz]

And we are all fine with that. I didn't see where anybody said you had to, we were just stating what works for us.

Thanks.

I guess there is "risk" involved in bending over to tie your shoes, huh?

For as many people who think tumbling loaded rounds is a safe practice, just as many think it's unsafe. I was merely stating what I had read, then I'm told to find another hobby......?

If tumbling loaded rounds is done to get rid of case lube, that's fine. If it's done to make the cartridges look pretty, I couldn't care less.

 

[northark147]

Your free to tumble or not tumble as you wish, no need for another hobby. I just stated why It wasn't such a BAD idea. I run a progressive so yep, it is to remove case lube. Of course no more case lube that one uses, I don't see much reason to remove it other than because it makes them look pretty. They function fine with the lube still on there.