frankford arsenal wet tumbler?

[Steve RA]

Works better than Lemishine.

[GrumpyOne]

51 minutes ago, Sarge said:

What is vinegar for?

Salad dressing.

[HesedTech]

Brass juice is used considerably diluted and can be reused multiple times. Currently I’ve used one batch three times, about 6,000 pieces of 9mm brass, and can’t see any change in cleaning ability. 

 

When done one I pour the solution into a gallon jug and let the sediment settle to the bottom and then just reuse the clean portion. 

 

I have have been told the “magic” ingredient is ascorbic acid. Whatever it is it works.

[Kenstone]

1 hour ago, HesedTech said:

Brass juice is used considerably diluted and can be reused multiple times. Currently I’ve used one batch three times, about 6,000 pieces of 9mm brass, and can’t see any change in cleaning ability. 

 

When done one I pour the solution into a gallon jug and let the sediment settle to the bottom and then just reuse the clean portion. 

 

I have have been told the “magic” ingredient is ascorbic acid. Whatever it is it works.

Ascorbic acid powder is Vitamin C and can be bought anywhere...

Might be worth a try, instead of Lemishine (citric acid).

Edited November 21, 2018 by Kenstone

[The Donald]

Related to wet tumbling brass, do you guys clean brass at all before de-priming the brass to wet tumble? I hate running dirty brass through my press to de-prime.

[DRock]

I use a Lee Universal Decapping die on a dedicated turret on my Classic Turret press before wet tumbling.

 

Dave

[Steve RA]

I also always decap prior to cleaning.  Helps the cleaning operation and also the drying process.

[Steve RA]

Acetic acid is in vinegar.

[HesedTech]

51 minutes ago, The Donald said:

Related to wet tumbling brass, do you guys clean brass at all before de-priming the brass to wet tumble? I hate running dirty brass through my press to de-prime.

 

Done it both ways and the issue with cleaning first is water will get into the primer pockets and possibly corrode the case and primer contact areas. Then when it is decapped later there may be problems like a “ringer,” where the primer breaks and leaves part in the pocket. I personally have not had a ringer, but there’s always a first and I have found they dry better without the primers. 

 

BTW I find it’s the lube that really leaves a residue on the case feeder and drop tube no matter if the brass is cleaned or not. 

 

10 hours ago, Kenstone said:

Ascorbic acid powder is Vitamin C and can be bought anywhere...

Might be worth a try, instead of Lemishine (citric acid).

 

Yep and that’s why my ammo rarely “coughs” these days. 

[Kenstone]

4 hours ago, The Donald said:

Related to wet tumbling brass, do you guys clean brass at all before de-priming the brass to wet tumble? I hate running dirty brass through my press to de-prime.

I don't resize, just de-prime, and don't even use a press or die to do it.

I use a drill press and a centering jig I made with fender washers, much faster than a press unless you have a case feeder.

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by Kenstone

[Hooked]

16 hours ago, The Donald said:

Related to wet tumbling brass, do you guys clean brass at all before de-priming the brass to wet tumble? I hate running dirty brass through my press to de-prime.

 

I deprime before tumbling. I picked up a used Lee Pro 1000 press for almost nothing. Added the $15 case feeder and a universal decapping die and can deprime a thousand rounds an hour without breaking a sweet. 

[slavex]

I wash, dry, process (including decapping and sizing) then wash again, dry again, and set aside for loading

[The Donald]

I have 3 presses, a T-7, 550 and 650. I load between 3,000 and 6,000 rounds of 9mm at a time, so de-priming on anything other than the 650 takes a lot of time. I'm kind of lucky I get all my 9mm brass from a Fed training range so it is indoors, no crimped primers and all the same brand. The brass has been dry tumbled, but other brass like .223, etc want to clean before de-priming and a serious cleaning.

[funkymonkey1111]

for anyone looking, Amazon has the F.A.R.T. for $127 this morning

[The Donald]

On 11/21/2018 at 11:24 AM, Kenstone said:

I don't resize, just de-prime, and don't even use a press or die to do it.

I use a drill press and a centering jig I made with fender washers, much faster than a press unless you have a case feeder.

 

I like the idea, but my 650 has a case feeder, any other way is a lot of time de-priming 5,000-6,000 cases

[vwpieces]

On 11/22/2018 at 2:03 AM, slavex said:

I wash, dry, process (including decapping and sizing) then wash again, dry again, and set aside for loading

 

I do the same. So yeah, wash 2X till it's ready to load. 

I will not run dirty brass on the press and definitely not run dirty brass in my dies. Just don't like handling dirty brass more than necessary so it gets cleaned as soon as possible. All my brass is shot and picked up from outdoor ranges.  

Still using the Lemishine and Dollar Store Dawn Oxy cause it can be had locally and cheeeep. 

 

 

[LeviSS]

Finally got around to buying one.

 

Is it necessary to deprime before tumbling?

 

Or is it ok to wet tumble, dry thoroughly in a dehydrator, then deprime and load in the same session?

 

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by LeviSS

[DRock]

As long as you have no liquid lingering on the case you should be OK. I would think using a dehydrator would take care of that.

 

Most of us deprime first because the cases dry out more quickly, although you do get the added benefit of clean primer pockets too. Not as important for pistol cases as it might be for precision rifle loading.

 

Dave

[Ace38super]

21 hours ago, LeviSS said:

Finally got around to buying one.

 

Is it necessary to deprime before tumbling?

 

Or is it ok to wet tumble, dry thoroughly in a dehydrator, then deprime and load in the same session?

 

 

I just started with wet tumbling before Christmas. I ran a load of 9mm range brass through the Franklin unit using 1 gal water, 1.5 oz Hornady sonic cleaner case formula and 1 tbsp Lemi shine. I do have a water softener for what that's worth. I did not want to use the pins for pistol brass and I did not want to deprime first. After 3 hours in the FART unit I rinsed well, spun off the excess water with the Franklin separator tub and dried for about an hour or so in the Franklin brass drier. The results were outstanding. The brass looked better that new on the outside and about 75% clean on the inside. I left them sit in a plastic bucket until a few weeks ago. No tarnish at all. I use Hornady One Shot and make sure to get the lube inside the case. The powder funnel does not stick on most cases. An added benefit is no more tumbling media to jam my case feeder. The cases were plenty dry right after they came out of the drier unit.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Ace38super

[slavex]

I clean then size/deprime then clean again. it's a super easy thing to do. I use a dehydrator for both cleanings