Vibrate or rotary for brass cleaning

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40 and 45, 9 and 40, 45-70 and 308, 450 bushmaster and 30 cal. Tons of cases hate each other in a tumbler
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Somehow I managed to pick up a .32 case which fit perfect in a 9mm case, which of course fit just right in .40 case which fit in .45 cases.
A first for me a 4 way jam......
I normally do a quick clean on range brass before decapping since my range has nasty 60-80 grit dirt.
There was only one .40 case in the batch with the above mess but it still managed to grab a 9mm.
As a 9mm and .45 shooter I have determined that .40 S+W is just evil.:)
 
My vote is for the FART/wet tumble stainless steel pins, LemiShine, Maguire's carnauba carwash soap/polish. It is not fast but I like the results... Clean inside and out, Beautiful primer pockets. Biggest down side...Pins seem to get every where...I still have the HF rotary rock tumbler and the large bowl vibratory- I had to replace the rod for the bowl but it has been running for years, It can do a great job polishing, and I am not opposed to using it were it not for the dust and cob in flash-hole, and that is not a big deal.

Yes, I trust the tumbler...
No, the other is not so trustworthy...
 
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I kind of like buying range brass and finding "Easter Eggs" in cases. One of the little pushes I got to start reloading .40S&W was when I bought some .45ACP/LP range brass from an indoor range instructor in California and found about a dozen .40S&W inside the .45 cases. I couldn't bring myself to just toss them, don't know anybody else reloading .40... so they went into a jar. Then came more and more and eventually a freak Bass Pro plandemic bargain on Hornady dies... and now I reload .40S&W for my one and only* plastifantastic, striker-fired, safe-action pistol.

Unless it's a rimfire, finding a case in a case is a surprise present. Don't look a gift horse in the FART... or something.

* my wife has three. She's more hip than me. ;)
 
We spend a lot of money enjoying our hobby. Tumblers are in the lower cost bracket.

I use a thumbler dry media tumbler and a fart for wet tumbling. Both styles have their place in a proper reloading room.

My future grandchildren will probably be using the thumbler some day. Buy once cry once.
 
I switch to the F.A.R.T. Platinum a year ago and happy I did. You can do much larger quantities with the tumbler and clean up time vs dry tumbling is very little difference. I should say that I have yet to use the stainless steel pins that came with the tumbler and as clean as my brass gets I probably never will use the pins.
 
ParallelCode said:
I use the FART Lite. It's good for the smaller batches I typically do.
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Copy that ... same here. I dunno how many 10s of 1000s of pieces of brass I have run through it over the years, but it easily has to be more than 50k combined.

I figure minimum 600 pcs of 9mm and 350 pcs of 5.56 at a time when I was shooting competitively and I would run several batches consecutively .... it has to be over 50k pieces and never a hiccup, knock on wood.

I will add this fwiw as a point of consideration to include in this thread - everyone who keeps typing "lemishine" - we know that's only for hard water, right? If we are on a well for instance or if our municipality serves-up particularly hard water. Otherwise, if we have a filter system on our home with a water softener, there is no need to add lemishine. Matter of fact too much lemishine leaches the tin out of the brass and, over time, will cause damage to our brass.

Secondly, steel pins need to be cleaned occasionally ... I use Zep Purple.

One way to remove pins from brass, along with using the piston magnets, is to toss some small coin sized magnets (rare earth) in with your brass and toss them a bit in a stainless salad bowl ... those magnets will grab any remaining pins before you slip them into the oven or dehydrator to dry.

I keep hearing about ceramics ... going to have to give them a try. Thanks guys.
 
The one I bought is the larger one. I have had it for over 5 years, but I am just an enthusiast and it has not been rode hard or put up wet. I do have reservations as to how long the rubber liner might last... The Rotary Sifter is a must, I have never had pins stay in cartridges, but I am sure it could happen...Dry time seems forever so I don't plan on using them until at least a week. I like popping primers out before tumble. The hand deprimer is cool until the tube pops off...I am amazed by how many Stainless Steel pins I find on the floor while cleaning them up. I thought I might have to replace/replenish pins, but it is not looking that way. I am saddened by all the things out of stock ~~~~~Everywhere. and some of the weirdest things...I believe I picked up the tumbler from Optics Planet on sale and with some promotion, it sure seemed like a lot of money at the time.
 
I will add this fwiw as a point of consideration to include in this thread - everyone who keeps typing "lemishine" - we know that's only for hard water, right?
Click to expand...

Not a chemist but I believe the Citric acid in Lemishine (I just use citric acid) helps bind up the lead into less toxic compounds.
I haven't done a test of tap water vs bottled water but I do think the acid helps break down the crud on the cases as well.

5lbs of citric acid is about $17 on Amazon. 5 LBs will last a long time, so not much $ to add it in.
https://www.amazon.com/Milliard-Cit...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

I am using a Lyman Cyclone, I have ran lots of brass thru it and still going strong. Yes the pins try to escape but I round them up and put them back to work.
When it's 100+ where I am in the summer cases in the sun dry in nothing flat and get almost to hot to touch. If it is cool outside I just put them on an old towel in the corner of a room and they are dry in a couple days.
I have plenty of brass so no rush to get them dry.
I had a Frankford dry tumbler (vib type) the first one died after a couple years of use. Bought another and then picked up the Lyman Cyclone when it was on sale.
Wet is maybe a little more work but brass comes out like new in about a 1 hour. If you deprime the brass first you also get nice clean primer pockets which probably does not make the ammo shoot any better but makes
me :).

If I was replacing a tumbler or buying a new one I would say go with wet+pins, just does a better job.
I use auto wash and wax (whatever flavor is on sale, usually Turtle) and citric acid.
 
I have RCBS 30LB. I bought mine 2 yrs ago and love it. Brass comes out so good i havent used pins yet. I use the Lyman Turbo cleaner for right now because i have it and it cleans well. In summertime just throw on a towel on back porch done in 2hrs. Winter time i put in front of heater while i warm up garage. 20201210_073936.jpg 20210524_131335.jpg
 
FA rotary wet tumbler. I still have my RCBS tumbler, but since I got the wet tumbler in a reloading deal, I have not used it. I use the steel pins and the Hornady cleaning solution and after 90 minutes, the brass looks brand new. Not that dry tumbling is not a perfectly viable method, but the wet tumbler is my new "go to".
 
GoldieMI said:
Put the biggest opening / largest caliber cases in first. Let it run until they are filled with media. Than stop and add the next size.
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I tried that once & the larger STILL filled with smaller brass.
I just don't mix 'em any more.

I even had a 22lr stick in a 44M.
Broke the decapping pin, had to get a new one.
 
I have a Cabalas mushroom vibrator going on 6 years and use it every couple weeks or more and went from corn cob to walnut media with a little Flitz this year and like it a lot. Six years ago, I bought this on a Black Friday Special for $40. I think the trick is not to get one made on a Friday or Monday just like lemon cars. By the way my brother had a Frankford that lasted 15 years. One secret is we both put them on a piece of scrap carpet instead of right on a cement floor.
 
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