redwoods Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Does anybody know of a device or a homemade thing-a-ma-jig to separate cases? I am fortunate enough to be able to collect 9, 40, and 45 cases from the local PD range. I have a box of all these cases that are mixed up. It is boring and time consuming trying to separate them. I collect them 4 times a year and would like to save time. Any ideas? Redwoods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
open17 Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 The only thing I ever found that worked reliably to seperate cases is a child between the ages of 4 and 7. Any younger and they get the cases mixed up. Older and they lose interest. Ice cream and cookies will increase the sorting speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwoods Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 I was thinking about making a small box and then using a router to cut slits that are just slightly larger than a 9mm case, that way the 9's would fall down and the 40 and 45's would stay. Then I would dump the rest into a 40 box and separate the other two sizes. If it works, I might just have to sell some. Redwoods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 There are commercial units to do it. They are big $. We've kicked around the idea of doing a hobby-sized one a few times-- seems like sifters with the right sized holes are the most popular / easiest thing to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmruger Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I was just thinking about this today. I was going to make something with 9mm size holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Shot Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I was just thinking about this today. I was going to make something with 9mm size holes. Just make long slots the slightly wider than the diameter of a 9MM case - no need for holes. The only sticky point is if the bottom is flat it will be tough to get the cases to orient themselves. If the bottom is a V shape they will want to lie in the bottom and would fall right through. If you have some Kydex you could route the slots, then heat it and bend it into the right shape. 5Shot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itento Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 What would be great is a replacable panel on a media seperator. Clean brass in batch and seperate media, replace panel with a 9mm size and spin a couple of times and collect up the brass, replace the panel with the .40 size and spin again, collect up the .40 brass, empty out the .45's from the hopper. Are you listening Dillon??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 What would be great is a replacable panel on a media seperator. Clean brass in batch and seperate media, replace panel with a 9mm size and spin a couple of times and collect up the brass, replace the panel with the .40 size and spin again, collect up the .40 brass, empty out the .45's from the hopper. Are you listening Dillon??? That's a great idea, though I don't think actually tumbling the different calibers together would work well. Every time I've done it, accidentally or deliberately, I get every .45 case jammed with a media filled .40, and what's left of the .40's are jammed up with 9mm. Sort first, then clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 (edited) Here is mine. I can sort out a 5 gallon bucket in 15 min. anything .40 and above stays in the sorter. Everything else falls through. Edited March 27, 2007 by PAPER KILLER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I am a firm believer in child labor.... Brass tends to get sorted pretty well when it is followed by, "Ya wanna Eat dont ya" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Ellis Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Follow this link to what this guy did at 1911forum.com as a solution to his brass sorting problem. He never did follow up on making the things. Some enterprising individual could make a few bucks on it. (Paging EricW) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 A friend posted a video on his site, taken when I first had my sorter up and running (http://www.commencefiring.com/files...orterhopper.mpg) I’ll warn you the file is very large. The hopper is now 12” deep and the brass falls through the dividers into removeable plastic bins below. It will sort .22 from 25 or 32, .380/223 from 9mm etc. and is much faster than any hand. It will also separate cases of the same caliber if one was shot from a loose chamber (like a machine gun) and the other from a standard chamber. The hopper looks like a 2’ diameter 12”deep Dillon case feeder. I run mixed brass through first and make a second pass with each bin for good measure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 The only thing I ever found that worked reliably to seperate cases is a child between theages of 4 and 7. Any younger and they get the cases mixed up. Older and they lose interest. Ice cream and cookies will increase the sorting speed. Every kid needs a healthy dose of ice cream, cookies and lead contamination! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00bullitt Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Shell Sorter I bought the three trays and like it alot. About 5 times faster than hand sorting. Worth the $49 to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Here is mine. I can sort out a 5 gallon bucket in 15 min. anything .40 and above stays in the sorter. Everything else falls through. Very cool idea and nice workmanship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Great! Thanks for the link! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Shell SorterI bought the three trays and like it alot. About 5 times faster than hand sorting. Worth the $49 to me. Saweet! Finally an easy and economical solution to and "age old" problem! Definitely worth the price for the competition reloader. I wish I had one of the setups when I sort the multi-thousands of brass in the past! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Cool. Officially on my list. Jim M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I got my Shell Sorter a couple of days ago, and have used it to sort through a 2 gallon bucket of brass from the indoor range I shoot at a couple of days a week. This brass is challenging because unlike the brass I pick up at matches, which is pre-sorted by me as I pick it up to 9mm, 40SW and 45 Auto, the brass swept up from the indoor range is going to have everything from target staples and 22s, to 50 desert eagle ammo, as well as all the aluminum Blaser crap. My thoughts, yes, it is faster than just hand sorting in this case. Once all the sub-45 stuff is strained out, you still have to pull out the bigger stuff and the Blaser, as well as the ever present nested cases. Same goes with the other bins. Have to look for the occasional 10mm in the 40SW bin, and pull out the 38 Specials that are wedged in the groves, and then in the 9mm bin, sort or the 380 Auto. When you are able to sort brass that is limited to the three main calibers, the only worry then is the nested cases. But basically, these are things you already have to do anyway and the Shell Sorter speeds the process along. Worth the money to me. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwoods Posted December 31, 2007 Author Share Posted December 31, 2007 I just bought a case sorter from shellsorter.com and it works great. That was just what I was looking for. It does not eliminate all the work, but it sure helps a bunch, well worth the money spent. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I ordered one yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter hornby Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 i got my case sorter the other day and used it for the first time yesterday in the indoor range. it works great! Of course nested cases are a problem and you still have to sort out the 9 from the super but it sure does make it easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDRODA396 Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I ordered one yesterday. So did I...another one of those things I wish I had come up with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I got my set of three trays yesterday. The trays are slotted for .45, .40 and 9mm and are color coded to help keep things straight. I used the sorter for the first time this morning and am happy with it. I sorted a pretty decent sized boxed of mixed brass in about fifteen minutes. The box was mostly .40 and .223 with a couple 9mm and .45 cases thrown in for good measure. It's simple and makes short work out of a painful and boring task. A couple things I note is that the .223 and 9mm brass fall through the same slots. Depending on how much 9 and .223 needs to be sorted, it might be a good idea to see if Case Sorter will make an additional tray to further separate the .223 from the 9mm. This would probably require a tray with shorter slots or maybe just some holes. Also, the trays seem to work better one at a time rather than with all three stacked on top of each other as shown on the website. And it sorts better if you just pour in a handful at a time instead of filling the trays up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I got my set of three trays yesterday. The trays are slotted for .45, .40 and 9mm and are color coded to help keep things straight.I used the sorter for the first time this morning and am happy with it. I sorted a pretty decent sized boxed of mixed brass in about fifteen minutes. The box was mostly .40 and .223 with a couple 9mm and .45 cases thrown in for good measure. It's simple and makes short work out of a painful and boring task. A couple things I note is that the .223 and 9mm brass fall through the same slots. Depending on how much 9 and .223 needs to be sorted, it might be a good idea to see if Case Sorter will make an additional tray to further separate the .223 from the 9mm. This would probably require a tray with shorter slots or maybe just some holes. Also, the trays seem to work better one at a time rather than with all three stacked on top of each other as shown on the website. And it sorts better if you just pour in a handful at a time instead of filling the trays up. You could always duct tape it. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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