Wet Tumbling

[Ray_Z]

I've used my big Dillon tumbler and corn cob for a lot of years. Fill it up with cases, a couple of used dryer sheets, and media, set the timer for 6 hours, come back in the morning. Now I read about wet tumbling with stainless pins in the brew. Let's see, put brass, pins, water, and a couple of other things in the mix. Tumble for 2 hours, rinse 'till the water is clear, and bake in the wife's oven for 2 hours.

• If you size first, before tumbling, are you going to screw up your sizing die with range crud.
• If you don't resize first are you going to have water trapped in the spent primers?
• Are you going to have water in some of your reloads from that?
• Can you justify the mess in the stationary tubs? Hell! I gave up playing in the tub when I gave up my army men at about 5 or 6.

[Beastly]

Other stuff - 380 case of cheap Lemishine, 2s squirt of dish soap.

A food dehydrator will easily dry left-in primers in 2 hours, I imagine an oven would do the same.

I have a very large stainless tub to work in,.

Separate pins with a rotary media separator, short half filled with water. Pour off dirty water, pour pins/water/cases in separator, spin. Drain, refill and repeat. Drain, spin dry, towel dry, orr into dehydrator / oven.

Probably more work, but blingy clean results inside and out, and not at all messy for me.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Beastly

[Chills1994]

I think air drying/fan drying is where it's at:

That was 90 minutes in the FART. 15 handfuls of 9mm brass, which filled it almost halfway. Dump in the pins, fill almost all the way up with hot water, tablespoon of Armor All wash and wax, 1 teaspon of Lemishine granules.

About the only thing I might try differently next time is to air dry/fan dry over night, and then put the brass in the oven for maybe a half hour just to make sure the primers are dry. From another forum, I read rumors of the old primers corroding or rusting to the brass, and then when you go to deprime/resize, the primer pin punches right through the old primer instead of knocking it out completely. But that sounds like that is only an issue if you plan to store your brass for like 6 months to a year:

EDIT: what I might try doing first, actually, is to take that air dryed brass and put it inside a zip lock bag sealed up tight. Then check it the next day to see if moisture has condensed on the inside of the bag. If no moisture, then I will stick to just strictly air drying/fan drying because oven frying appears to change the color.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Chills1994

[Absocold]

There are only three reasons to switch to wet tumbling if you're already happy with dry.

1. You want ridiculously shiny brass (however, requires a lot of extra steps to get there).

2. You want your flash holes and primer pockets squeaky clean.

3. You want to reduce your dust exposure a lot.

If none of those are a big deal to you then continue vibrating, it's easier.

[Absocold]

As to your questions:

• If you size first, before tumbling, are you going to screw up your sizing die with range crud.

Yep. You'll need to dry tumble for an hour to get the cases clean enough to size. No need to size first, but you may as well since you should also de-prime before wet tumbling. If you don't de-prime first then there's little point in wet tumbling except to reduce dust exposure.

• If you don't resize first are you going to have water trapped in the spent primers?

Not if you let the cases dry for a day in the sun or use some forced warm airflow. Ovens are too hot and will darken the brass a little. And primers shouldn't really be going into a wet tumbler (see above).

• Are you going to have water in some of your reloads from that?

Not if you dry them properly first (see above).

• Can you justify the mess in the stationary tubs? Hell! I gave up playing in the tub when I gave up my army men at about 5 or 6.

Whether you throw your dry media in a garbage can to go to the landfill or dump your waste water down the sink to go to the waste treatment plant... trash is trash. At least the water won't contaminate anyone else.

[Chills1994]

4. You have a 650, but don't run a powder cop die, and the shiney insides make it easier to spot with the Mark I eyeball whether you have no powder, just the right amount, or too much, before you seat the bullet.

[Chills1994]

You could use a universal decapping die which shouldn't be harmed by dirty cases unless it is packed full of mud or has a piece of gravel in it.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Chills1994

[Tom S.]

As Chills stated, I use a universal decapping die first. The only problem I ever had was when I wasn't paying attention and tried to decap a 45 with a 40 case stuck insde (doesn't work, take my word). If all you clean are small lots of brass, then IMHO, wet tumbling isn't worth the effort. On the other hand, if you do large amounts, say 1,000 or more, then it's the best way to clean the cases completely, inside and out.

[NFLcavediver]

I do the same as Tom S. I deprime with a universal deprimer on a single stage press, wet tumble, then resize. If you have a good progressive press then it keeps it cleaner, I don't have one yet. They dry much faster without the primers in. A couple of minutes in a towel and let them set for an hour and your good to go.

[Beastly]

As to your questions:

• If you size first, before tumbling, are you going to screw up your sizing die with range crud.

Yep. You'll need to dry tumble for an hour to get the cases clean enough to size. No need to size first, but you may as well since you should also de-prime before wet tumbling. If you don't de-prime first then there's little point in wet tumbling except to reduce dust exposure.

• If you don't resize first are you going to have water trapped in the spent primers?

Not if you let the cases dry for a day in the sun or use some forced warm airflow. Ovens are too hot and will darken the brass a little. And primers shouldn't really be going into a wet tumbler (see above).

• Are you going to have water in some of your reloads from that?

Not if you dry them properly first (see above).

• Can you justify the mess in the stationary tubs? Hell! I gave up playing in the tub when I gave up my army men at about 5 or 6.

Whether you throw your dry media in a garbage can to go to the landfill or dump your waste water down the sink to go to the waste treatment plant... trash is trash. At least the water won't contaminate anyone else.

Depriming first is not required IF your process dries the brass completely. Like I said, 2h in a dehydrator works great.

I've processed close to 100K pieces of pistol and rifle brass primers in, stored many in ziplock freezer bags and have no issues with corrosion or stuck primers. Checking a sealed bag for moisture is probably the best trick, all the brass WILL get nasty if left wet.

[slavex]

You can wet tumble and run through the press almost immediately after, but you'll want to make sure your dies are sprayed with WD40 or something after. depriming isn't necessary before wet tumbling, if you've got the time and gear, do it, otherwise just make sure to dry the cases properly. 30 minutes in the oven does it for me

[Absocold]

Now, don't take this the wrong way, not criticizing you or your methods, I'm just genuinely curious. But why would you bother with the hassle of wet tumbling if you don't deprime first and then oven bake your brass which often darkens it a bit? Is it to reduce lead exposure?

I listed three main reasons to wet tumble but maybe I'm missing another one I don't know about.

[slavex]

I don't deprime because I don't want to waste the time, I also don't care if the primer pockets are dirty. The main reason is so that I don't have the dust to deal with, second is I also want clean fingers when I load my mags. Wet tumbling is faster than dry and produces a better case. That I have to dry it in my oven or in front of my fireplace if it's on, is not a hassle to me at all. It doesn't darken my cases doing that, not that I'd care if it did. wet tumbling is much cleaner and simpler than dry tumbling and doesn't produce the mess dry does.

[Foxbat]

Now, don't take this the wrong way, not criticizing you or your methods, I'm just genuinely curious. But why would you bother with the hassle of wet tumbling if you don't deprime first and then oven bake your brass which often darkens it a bit? Is it to reduce lead exposure?

I listed three main reasons to wet tumble but maybe I'm missing another one I don't know about.

Here's my main reason:

[Chills1994]

Now, don't take this the wrong way, not criticizing you or your methods, I'm just genuinely curious. But why would you bother with the hassle of wet tumbling if you don't deprime first and then oven bake your brass which often darkens it a bit? Is it to reduce lead exposure?

I listed three main reasons to wet tumble but maybe I'm missing another one I don't know about.

Here's my main reason:

You put plexiglass doors on your chrome wire shelves?

[Chills1994]

That brass I pictured above...I was curious as to how many pieces I had. So I put on the blue nitrile gloves and for the must part dumped them into the Berry's flip top lid boxes (meant for .45ACP). Granted the picture above isn't panned out enough to capture the whole towel covered end table. I ended up with 940 pieces of 9mm brass (there were a handful of .38 Supers that snuck in there, and a couple of .22's).

So, long story short, the blue nitrile gloves were surprisingly clean when I got done.

With regular walnut or corn cob tumbling, the thumbs and index fingers on each glove would have been black.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Chills1994

[Foxbat]

Now, don't take this the wrong way, not criticizing you or your methods, I'm just genuinely curious. But why would you bother with the hassle of wet tumbling if you don't deprime first and then oven bake your brass which often darkens it a bit? Is it to reduce lead exposure?

I listed three main reasons to wet tumble but maybe I'm missing another one I don't know about.

Here's my main reason:

You put plexiglass doors on your chrome wire shelves?

No, I build a complete exhaust hood, using a plastic cart as a base, with a 6" exhaust hose on top.

[PiratePast40]

Nice lab hood.

[Kaldor]

I wet tumble for one reason. Dust. I dont want the mess.

Lets face it, as hard as you try, there will always be dust and dirt and media from dry tumbling. It gets all over the place unless you get extreme and build a hood. Its gets in your press. Im not real concerned about lead, but yeah, that too. Dry tumbling is better if you do smallish batches. Dry tumbling does do a good job of removing lanolin lubes.

There will always be water when you wet tumble. Water I can just let it dry outside on my driveway. I use a magnet to pick up any dropped pins. It does take a little longer to dry, but thats the trade off. I process my brass in large batches and have a large stockpile so dont worry about dry time. It allows me to see defects in the cases much easier. It makes it easier to detect a double charge or squib because I can see into the case better, bright brass and grey/black colored powder.

My method probably takes a bit longer, because I decapp with a Lee universal decapper on all my brass, rifle and pistol, before I tumble. I can tell the difference between and dirty and a clean primer pocket when I seat the primer.

My method:

Pistol brass goes straight into my LnL and gets decapped. This also gives me a chance to do a quick inspection as I operate the press.

Pistol brass then gets tumbled for 3-4 hours, and dried. Then it goes into storage. I do lube pistol brass with OneStuck before loading.

Rifle brass from my guns that has never hit the ground gets segregated at the range and decapped in the LnL.

Rifle brass from range pickups gets separated out and decapped in my LnL, crimps cut with RCBS cutter.

Now I mix my brass with the range brass, and run it for 20-30 minutes without pins in my tumbler to clean it up so I dont screw up my sizing die.

From there if Im in a hurry, Ill throw it in the oven for 15 minutes at 250 degrees and it comes out more than dry enough to size.

I lube with lanolin homebrew, and size everything on the LnL. Then I trim with a WFT2. Then I tumble it all.

The SSTL pins will chamfer and deburr the cases for me, so that saves a step.

The brass then gets laid out to dry in front of a fan. Usually takes 24 hours.

If you have the time, wet tumbling is superior. Over time, wet tumbling will be cheaper. Yes the money up front is more, I have $300ish into my homebuilt tumbler, but I will never need to replace it, or the media. My brass is factory clean. I dont have a mess.

[Chills1994]

Now, don't take this the wrong way, not criticizing you or your methods, I'm just genuinely curious. But why would you bother with the hassle of wet tumbling if you don't deprime first and then oven bake your brass which often darkens it a bit? Is it to reduce lead exposure?

I listed three main reasons to wet tumble but maybe I'm missing another one I don't know about.

Here's my main reason:

You put plexiglass doors on your chrome wire shelves?

No, I build a complete exhaust hood, using a plastic cart as a base, with a 6" exhaust hose on top.

Okay, thanks!

I've been eyeballing the heavy duty chrome wire shelves at Lowe's for a few months now. I think the one I have now is either just 30 inches or 36 inches long.

The one at Lowe's is 4 feet long, so I could get some more ammo cans filled with brass, bullets, or loaded rounds across it. Plus, Lowe's sells extra shelves and the casters for it.

So, that's why your pic caught my eye.

[Hammer1]

Can the cleaning liquid used in the wet tumbling brass process be poured onto the ground without becoming a safety or environmental hazard ?

Without killing vegetation ?

[Absocold]

Haven't noticed it killing any grass. If you have a shallow well nearby used for watering livestock or for a sprinkler system (pets often drink sprinkler water) I'd move off a good way before dumping. If you have the option of sending it to a city sewer line for proper treatment that's what I'd do.

Lead, tin, brass, carbon, copper and lead styphnate are the biggest portion of the contaminants, with antimony, celluloids, lead nitrate, graphite, ethyl centralite, lead thiocyanate and a couple dozen types of other additives (depending on manufacturer) making up a smaller amount of the residue. The leads and the antimony are the worst of the bunch for your health. Antimony in bullets is too tightly bound to the lead to be a concern unless you're doing high temperature smelting operations (normal bullet casting doesn't get hot enough), but antimony sulfide is often used as a fuel in primers and it's not bound up so can potentially be a concern.

It all sounds horrifically scary but the short answer is: don't drink it, don't dump where it can get into drinking water or on a playground, wash your hands thoroughly immediately after contact, no biggie.

[Foxbat]

Overall the process is whole lot cleaner than dry tumbling, even though it produces less shine. With dry tumbling, no matter what you do, you still get dust. And lead absorption through your lungs is thousands of times more efficient than through your skin.

[slavex]

produces less shine? I triple cleaned brass when I dry tumbled, and thought I had bright shiny cases, until I wet tumbled and found out how wrong I was.

[RDA]

produces less shine? I triple cleaned brass when I dry tumbled, and thought I had bright shiny cases, until I wet tumbled and found out how wrong I was.

I would agree, I get clean cases with dry tumbling but nothing gets as clean and as shiny as I can get with wet tumbling.