frankford arsenal wet tumbler?

[gerritm]

I have always used vibrator types with media. Wasn't sure if you would end up with water spots or problems if you just let them air dry.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

gerritm

[SCTaylor]

4 minutes ago, gerritm said:

I have always used vibrator types with media. Wasn't sure if you would end up with water spots or problems if you just let them air dry.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

gerritm

 

Water spots? You making jewelry? Haha. Honestly I don't know about air-dry spots but some of my dehydrated brass has spots, they do not cause any issues.

[gerritm]

I like my brass pretty, just kidding, good to know.

 

gerritm

[gerritm]

Ran my first loads over the weekend. This thing is the cat's azz. Used the solution provided by FA with the pins on a bunch of 9mm range brass. Inside and out brass came out like new. Downside is chasing the pins even with a magnet. Had a couple of loads that had been cleaned with walnut media in vibrator. Just used water and a little lemon dish soap. This cleaned up nice but did not get the inside of the brass as clean like when using the pins.

 

Air dryed, no water spots.

 

 

gerritm

[SCTaylor]

Great to hear! I've yet to use the pins but may have to give it a go this winter.

[Kenstone]

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 5:20 AM, gerritm said:

Ran my first loads over the weekend. This thing is the cat's azz. Used the solution provided by FA with the pins on a bunch of 9mm range brass. Inside and out brass came out like new. Downside is chasing the pins even with a magnet. Had a couple of loads that had been cleaned with walnut media in vibrator. Just used water and a little lemon dish soap. This cleaned up nice but did not get the inside of the brass as clean like when using the pins.

 

Air dryed, no water spots.

 

 

gerritm

OK, bumping an old thread...

OK
I bit the bullet and bought a Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler kit after vibe tumbling forever.
I knew there'd be a learning curve but those iddy-biddy pins end up everywhere and I thought I'd need to buy more soon, at the rate I was "loosing" them.

I am using Frankford's round separator that fits into a 5 gal bucket that I used for dry tumbling and didn't want to buy yet another special separator for the wet process so I searched the usual gun forums for a solution/method to not loose those pesky pins.
I found nothing...so I went to youtube and found a guy using 5 gal elastic top paint strainers to separate the pins from the brass.
($4 for 2 )
Strainers/bags:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360

 

Do this and you won't need the magnet

 

[Sarge]

8 hours ago, Kenstone said:

OK, bumping an old thread...

OK
I bit the bullet and bought a Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler kit after vibe tumbling forever.
I knew there'd be a learning curve but those iddy-biddy pins end up everywhere and I thought I'd need to buy more soon, at the rate I was "loosing" them.

I am using Frankford's round separator that fits into a 5 gal bucket that I used for dry tumbling and didn't want to buy yet another special separator for the wet process so I searched the usual gun forums for a solution/method to not loose those pesky pins.
I found nothing...so I went to youtube and found a guy using 5 gal elastic top paint strainers to separate the pins from the brass.
($4 for 2 )
Strainers/bags:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360

 

Do this and you won't need the magnet

 

I stopped using pins. Works almost as good

[mwray]

Same here I only use the pins when running decapped rifle brass in it.

[Kenstone]

7 hours ago, Sarge said:

I stopped using pins. Works almost as good

 

1st thing I tried was "no pins" and the results were no better than dry/vibe tumbling, dirty insides and dirty primer pockets.

Not what I was looking for in wet tumbling.

 

I'm sure most people stopped using pins because they were losing them/scattering them, which is a pita for sure.

I suggest you buy those paint strainers and give the pins another try, it was a game changer for me.

 

Edited September 23, 2018 by Kenstone

[HesedTech]

I started with pins and boy do they clean brass nice. But for pistol ammo I stopped using the pins because the brass was clean enough without them. What I like about the wet tumbler is I can clean about 1000 rounds at a time compared to around 200 in the dry tumbler. 

 

What I keep working on are quality loads in high volume. I want the lowest percentage of failed gauge tests with the highest volume. These days my son and I are running through about 2k plus a month and they have to not fail, ie no squibs, misfires (not seated primers), correct PF, feed and chamber correctly. My measure of success, so if they don’t shine no problem. 

 

I will state my free time this week has been consumed with reloading. 

Edited September 23, 2018 by HesedTech

[Sarge]

1 hour ago, Kenstone said:

 

1st thing I tried was "no pins" and the results were no better than dry/vibe tumbling, dirty insides and dirty primer pockets.

Not what I was looking for in wet tumbling.

 

I'm sure most people stopped using pins because they were losing them/scattering them, which is a pita for sure.

I suggest you buy those paint strainers and give the pins another try, it was a game changer for me.

 

To each their own but my brass is way cleaner than dry tumbling. I deprime first though. I didn’t lose pins but did get tired of trying to straining them all out etc. 

  The real truth is, brass is more than clean enough when dry tumbled in walnut then tumbled in corn with some wax but some of us just have more time than sense.

[mikamarj]

Anyone tried Brass Juice? That is supposed to clean also the inside of the brass without using the pins...

[GrumpyOne]

18 minutes ago, Sarge said:

some of us just have more time than sense.

Sarge, which category do you fall into?

[Kenstone]

15 minutes ago, Sarge said:

To each their own but my brass is way cleaner than dry tumbling. I deprime first though. I didn’t lose pins but did get tired of trying to straining them all out etc. 

  The real truth is, brass is more than clean enough when dry tumbled in walnut then tumbled in corn with some wax but some of us just have more time than sense.

Thanks for adding your perception of the truth on this subject, and your view of people who choose to use pins.

 

 

[Mcfoto]

I guess I’m a bit of a reactionary on wet vs dry. New this year to reloading and I started wet tumbling with pins in a second-hand Harbor Freight tumbler. Seemed to work fine but couldn’t keep up with the volume I needed so in order to supplement, I picked up a dry tumbler and some walnut shells sold as bird litter at the pet store. Four to six hours with a couple sprays of OneShot and they come out shining and enough lubed for sizing. No drying and the walnut bits are easier to sift out than the pins and can be used as garden mulch when done.

[Sarge]

3 hours ago, GrumpyOne said:

Sarge, which category do you fall into?

 

3 hours ago, Kenstone said:

Thanks for adding your perception of the truth on this subject, and your view of people who choose to use pins.

 

 

I’m clearly in the stated group of having more time than sense.

  And it’s pretty much fact that wet tumbling pistol brass does NOTHING to improve its performance or reloadability. If anything it often makes the Reloading process more troublesome. But it sure looks good!

[mwray]

I’m clearly in the stated group of having more time than sense.[emoji23]

  And it’s pretty much fact that wet tumbling pistol brass does NOTHING to improve its performance or reloadability. If anything it often makes the Reloading process more troublesome. But it sure looks good!

Have you tried using automotive was/wax instead of dish soap ? Takes away the need for lube. So in that sense it’s helpful, and you can do in 3hours wet that takes all night dry

[Sarge]

10 minutes ago, mwray said:

Have you tried using automotive was/wax instead of dish soap ? Takes away the need for lube. So in that sense it’s helpful, and you can do in 3hours wet that takes all night dry

Never used dish soap except once to test. I used the armor all combo stuff for awhile. Now I’m using FA cleaning solution because I had a coupon to Cabela’s. It’s all a little more sticky on the funnel than dry tumbled that still has the carbon deposits inside for lube. 

WAIT- just noticed you said no need to lube?!? That’s not been the case for me. I like a very smooth running press so I lube to deprime and size, wet tumble, then lube and load with a Udie. Press feels like it’s empty when cycling. 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Sarge

[gerritm]

So I ran my first few loads with the supplied SS pins, Armor All & Lemi Shine and they came out great, inside & out. But man sorting/finding the pins war a PITA even with a magnet. Ran the next couple of loads with just the Armor All & Lemi shine and they came out almost as good without the hassle of chasing the pins. Thanks all for the advice, so much better than the vibrator and a lot cleaner inside and out.

 

gerritm

[MemphisMechanic]

On 9/23/2018 at 4:21 PM, Sarge said:

The real truth is, brass is more than clean enough when dry tumbled in walnut <snip>

 

Stop there.  

 

My brass gets 30 mins in walnut, then fed to the press. It’s sometimes still dull, and always has stains remaining... but it’s smooth.

 

I’m after function, not form. As soon as the worst looking brass has been polished enough to glide through the dies with some OneShot on them, we’re done here.  

 

[Sarge]

22 minutes ago, gerritm said:

So I ran my first few loads with the supplied SS pins, Armor All & Lemi Shine and they came out great, inside & out. But man sorting/finding the pins war a PITA even with a magnet. Ran the next couple of loads with just the Armor All & Lemi shine and they came out almost as good without the hassle of chasing the pins. Thanks all for the advice, so much better than the vibrator and a lot cleaner inside and out.

 

gerritm

There is a fair amount of testing needed to smooth out the process if using pins but it can be done. 

[dr_boone]

I just started wet tumbling. I bought the lyman cyclone iti comes with a dual sifter that gets the bulk of the pins out. 

After that I give them a spin in the media separator and let them air dry then give them another spin in the separator after they are dry.

I love how clean they are inside and out much better than the dry tumble I had been doing.

Dawn, lemi shine and pins for me.

[MikeyScuba]

I use the FA media separator.  The tumbler and bucket I use for sorting the finished rounds from my walnut/corn/wax mix.

 

The lid/other half with the mesh I use to separate the pins from the brass.  It helps to have a big bucket around too.  I'll pour 1/5 of the brass pin mix into the mesh bin, rinse and dig around with the FA big magnet.  Doesn't take long to get 99% of the pins.  I might also dump the remainder in the bucket and use the magnet and dig around a bit to get more pins.  I'll then dump some more  from the bucket to the mesh bin, rinse and magnet then towel.

 

Spinning the separator with the pins -no way.  Once was enough with pins flying everywhere.

 

The only issue is that pins do escape from the side of the mesh in the bin down to the drain.  Well not that far, just stuck in the U joint.  I need to find a skinny magnet on antenna -bolt recovery type tool.  I got one on amazon but the magnet was a lot bigger than the pic suggested.  It won't get past the X on the bottom of the laundry sink.

[Kenstone]

2 hours ago, MikeyScuba said:

I use the FA media separator.  The tumbler and bucket I use for sorting the finished rounds from my walnut/corn/wax mix.

 

The lid/other half with the mesh I use to separate the pins from the brass.  It helps to have a big bucket around too.  I'll pour 1/5 of the brass pin mix into the mesh bin, rinse and dig around with the FA big magnet.  Doesn't take long to get 99% of the pins.  I might also dump the remainder in the bucket and use the magnet and dig around a bit to get more pins.  I'll then dump some more  from the bucket to the mesh bin, rinse and magnet then towel.

 

Spinning the separator with the pins -no way.  Once was enough with pins flying everywhere.

 

The only issue is that pins do escape from the side of the mesh in the bin down to the drain.  Well not that far, just stuck in the U joint.  I need to find a skinny magnet on antenna -bolt recovery type tool.  I got one on amazon but the magnet was a lot bigger than the pic suggested.  It won't get past the X on the bottom of the laundry sink.

Get you one (or 2) of these paint strainers I mention in an older post to this thread on Sept 22, 2/$4 @ home depot:

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Kenstone

[achalmersman]

I have the FART and the FA media separator with lid. I drain most water off, dump brass into the seperator, spin for a minute, drain water, rinse, spin another 30 sec or so, then dump the brass on a towel, and drain the seperator with pins into a bucket with paint strainer. Pull the strainer out with the pins, rinse pins, and store in the strainer till next batch. Any pins that fell to the ground get picked up with the FA magnet. There's rinsing thrown in there as needed. Process really doesn't take long at all and I never got results I was happy with when not using pins.

 

Only exception is I run .223 bras 2x. Once quickly with no pins before decap, size, trim, etc and then a final time with pins.

 

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