Separating the steel pins at the end of the wet cleaning process ?

[Hammer1]

You have run your Frankfort Arsenal wet tumbler with your favorite cleaning solution and are very happy with the resulting clean brass.

Time to separate the stainless-steel pins from the clean brass and the dirty water.

What is the best way that you have found to separate the pins ?

Are you happy with that "best way" ?

[jmorris]

Dillon tub and basket. If you fill the tub with water it is a final rinse as well.

[Kaldor]

Dillon tub and basket. If you fill the tub with water it is a final rinse as well.

This. I was doing it a different way, switched to the CM-500 Media Separator. Best $50 I spent on something in awhile. Its built strong enough that my kids will inherit it.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Kaldor

[Hammer1]

I have a Dillon tub and basket.

Do you use a water hose to run water through the basket and further rinse the brass as you turn the basket ?

Do any of the steel pins fly off into interstellar space as you crank the handle and spin the basket ?

Ever add any rare earth magnets to the basket or bucket to catch the pins ?

[Steve RA]

After rinse of the pins and brass I separate it with one of these:

While it isn't as high quality as the Dillon's it has one big advantage - the Lid - which allows you to spin it up pretty rapidly which gets most of the water off. Than I dump the brass out on a towel and let it finish drying. Then just pour the pins out of the bottom back into whatever you use for a tumbler.

[Kaldor]

I have a Dillon tub and basket.

Do you use a water hose to run water through the basket and further rinse the brass as you turn the basket ?

Do any of the steel pins fly off into interstellar space as you crank the handle and spin the basket ?

Ever add any rare earth magnets to the basket or bucket to catch the pins ?

I fill the tub with water when I tumble out the pins. I do not use a magnet except for picking pins up out of a container or off the floor.. Dont spin like a crazy person, turn 5 cranks one direction, 5 the other, and within 20 cranks they will be done, rinsed, with no pins. My home built tumbler probably has twice the capacity of a FART, so should be even easier for you.

[meatman]

I have a Dillon tub and basket.

Do you use a water hose to run water through the basket and further rinse the brass as you turn the basket ?

Do any of the steel pins fly off into interstellar space as you crank the handle and spin the basket ?

Ever add any rare earth magnets to the basket or bucket to catch the pins ?

I fill the tub with water when I tumble out the pins. I do not use a magnet except for picking pins up out of a container or off the floor.. Dont spin like a crazy person, turn 5 cranks one direction, 5 the other, and within 20 cranks they will be done, rinsed, with no pins. My home built tumbler probably has twice the capacity of a FART, so should be even easier for you.

/\ This. I fill the tub to where the basket hangs down into the water. It breaks the surface tension and allows the pins to fall free of the basket much easier, and they bounce less.

Before I pour the brass and pins into the basket, I line a 5 gallon bucket with a paint strainer bag- they are very stout and they last a long time, by the way.

I pour pins, brass, dirty water and all into the bag inside the bucket. Then I pull the bag from the bucket and hold it shut while I dunk it into another 5 gallon bucket full of clean water. Now they are pretty much rinsed, but now they get poured into the separator basket and get turned in that water.

I like a double rinse to eliminate any residual lemi-shine which I think is a good thing.

[Sarge]

Yep. Small Dillon and follow instructions above

[Tom S.]

I have the small Dillon and while it works great, especially for dry media, I bought the RCBS unit that Steve RA pictured and like it better. The Dillon has no cover, which isn't a problem if using outside or in a garage, and it has some steel parts which may start to rust. The RCBS is a bit smaller, but has a cover to keep all water and pins inside the unit and is all plastic so no rusting. Plus it's a LOT cheaper than the Dillon.

[GregJ]

After rinse of the pins and brass I separate it with one of these:

While it isn't as high quality as the Dillon's it has one big advantage - the Lid - which allows you to spin it up pretty rapidly which gets most of the water off. Than I dump the brass out on a towel and let it finish drying. Then just pour the pins out of the bottom back into whatever you use for a tumbler.

^^ This. After spinning and dumping the brass onto a towel, I take the top lid off and pour the last bit of water into it, then empty in the yard. I then pour the bulk of the pins from the base of the separator back into the tumbler, then use the FA transfer magnet to gather the remaining pins from the base and transfer them into the drum. The brass gets rolled about in the towel, then placed in the FA dehydrator while the next batch gets tumbled. Rinse and repeat.

[Chills1994]

I work in radiology/imaging now, and my boss doesn't mind me using the MRI.

I just set a bucket full of pins and brass about 10 feet from the MRI, when it gets really slow. I flip the machine part way on, and the big electromagnetic makes the pins fly out of the bucket and across the room. Kinda neat really.

Then I have an old sheet on the floor by the "tunnel". I flip the switch off, and all the pins drop to the floor. It's pretty neat to watch.

Nahhhh....not really. I just made all that up.

I use a Dillon like spinner separator, with the lid. That special magnet that FA sells is

[Kaldor]

I work in radiology/imaging now, and my boss doesn't mind me using the MRI.

I just set a bucket full of pins and brass about 10 feet from the MRI, when it gets really slow. I flip the machine part way on, and the big electromagnetic makes the pins fly out of the bucket and across the room. Kinda neat really.

Then I have an old sheet on the floor by the "tunnel". I flip the switch off, and all the pins drop to the floor. It's pretty neat to watch.

Nahhhh....not really. I just made all that up.

I use a Dillon like spinner separator, with the lid. That special magnet that FA sells is

Even still, very funny

[Steve RA]

"I use a Dillon like spinner separator, with the lid. That special magnet that FA sells is" unnecessary !

[Chills1994]

Actually, I do find the FA magnet handy for picking up pins off the floor. One bathroom has ceramic tile, and the pins seem to fall in or land in the grout lines which makes them even harder to pick up with my fingers.

[slavex]

I use the magnet to grab the pins out of the bottom of the separator, this helps avoid the crap that accumulates from being put back into the FART

[Erick85]

I use the FA separator, fill bucket with water and gently spin. Only get a few pins thrown and can easily pick them up with an expandable magnet. Lay them on a towel with a fan blowing on for a day or two. I DID buy a dehydrator to try to speed up the drying process, but haven't used it yet.

[Slotbike]

I found a great trick that really helps: go to Home Depot, Lowe's or your local paint store and buy a paint strainer mesh bag. It fits in a 5 gallon bucket. You can dump the dirty water out of the FA drum, with their strainer cap on. The pins will stay in the bag, the dirty water flows out and the brass stays in the drum. Rinse a few times, repeat and then pour the brass in a media tumbler to get the rest of the pins out. Put the brass in a Harbor freight 5 tier food dehydrator ($25.00) for an hour and your all done!

[BobT]

Before I pour the brass and pins into the basket, I line a 5 gallon bucket with a paint strainer bag- they are very stout and they last a long time, by the way.

I pour pins, brass, dirty water and all into the bag inside the bucket. Then I pull the bag from the bucket and hold it shut while I dunk it into another 5 gallon bucket full of clean water. Now they are pretty much rinsed, but now they get poured into the separator basket and get turned in that water.

I like a double rinse to eliminate any residual lemi-shine which I think is a good thing.

I found a great trick that really helps: go to Home Depot, Lowe's or your local paint store and buy a paint strainer mesh bag. It fits in a 5 gallon bucket. You can dump the dirty water out of the FA drum, with their strainer cap on. The pins will stay in the bag, the dirty water flows out and the brass stays in the drum. Rinse a few times, repeat and then pour the brass in a media tumbler to get the rest of the pins out.

This. The paint strainer bag makes the whole operation 10 times easier.

Bob

[tires2burn]

I use the paint strainer in a 5 gal bucket with the bottom cut out of my media separator. The tumbler is dumped into the separator and with the lid closed spun a few times both ways and the pins and dirty water go into the strainer and the brass is ready for rinsing. The strainer is pulled out of the bucket and emptied back into my tumbler. Hardly ever loose any pins. You have to rattle the separator on your bucket after the spin cycle to get all the pins to drop down but it is fast & efficient.

[slavex]

my pins just fall into the bottom of the media separator and I use a magnet to pick them up. Can't get any more simple than that really.

[Slipperhead]

Yes, it can get easier! Don't use pins at all. The brass clinking against one another cleans as well as anything. The inside of the brass gets fairly clean but not pristine, as with pins. I'm not depriming 9mm brass before reloading anyway so clean flash holes aren't important to me. (Never a misfire in 20 years...)

My FART is just a few months old and I will never spin, strain, bake, or otherwise manually separate pins again...just plain trouble and time I don't care to spend.

Tumble ONCE pinless and see what you think! (You won't go back!)

[TONY BARONE]

Yes, it can get easier! Don't use pins at all. The brass clinking against one another cleans as well as anything. The inside of the brass gets fairly clean but not pristine, as with pins. I'm not depriming 9mm brass before reloading anyway so clean flash holes aren't important to me. (Never a misfire in 20 years...)

My FART is just a few months old and I will never spin, strain, bake, or otherwise manually separate pins again...just plain trouble and time I don't care to spend.

Tumble ONCE pinless and see what you think! (You won't go back!)

Slipperhead is right.

[tires2burn]

I tried not depriming once. The old primers hold water even after you think they are dry. I discovered that when I checked a powder charge and the powder stuck to the bottom. Could have had a lot of bad loads that time.

[Tom S.]

I tried not depriming once. The old primers hold water even after you think they are dry. I discovered that when I checked a powder charge and the powder stuck to the bottom. Could have had a lot of bad loads that time.

That, and Dillon states that wet primers can corrode and cause depriming issues. If you're not going to use the pins, you might as well just dry tumble in the garage or outside and skip wet tumbling altogether. IMHO.

[Slipperhead]

Pins or not, I've always been able to dry a tray of wet brass either in the oven or on a heater vent prior to loading. It's easy to see if the brass is still wet inside.