Case Sorting

[Wandering Man]

Is there such a thing as a machine that will sort different size brass?

Just curious, as I sit here today sorting through the brass I picked up at my range.

Thanks,

WM

[AlamoShooter]

try a search this was just up a month or so back Lots of $$$ for one that works

I use a 12" x 24" pice of 1/2" light lenz eag creat = it has 1/2 inch square patern to it I have two 12"x 24 glass sheets that I sit it on, spread out the brass untill most of it falls in base down. I put the 2nd pice of glass over it and flip it over to read the head stamp while it is upside down I look in the casses for splits or age.

does not take as long as it sounds = I seperate my brass for Super comp and TJ Tj goes in my steel gun comp in my new IPSC gun

[R/T Performance]

one like the old change sorter would be awsome.

Never seen one but would like to have one

[Catfish]

I have a friend who has the best brass sorter I've ever seen - two 10 year old kids!

[Wandering Man]

I have a friend who has the best brass sorter I've ever seen - two 10 year old kids!

You'd think two 20 - somethings would be twice as good ...

... but their not.

Nothing but me, my wife, and two dogs around here to do the sorting.

WM

[Chris Keen]

Your dogs help you sort brass ?

[Wandering Man]

Your dogs help you sort brass ?

Sadly, no.

... and neither does my wife.

WM

[Chris Keen]

[yoshidaex]

i heard of a machine where there are 2 rollers thats set at a very slight angle and are spaced just right that sort brass casings. I'm not sure if i seen pics here or on another forum. i'd like to see how it works and how well it actually sorts the brass.

[amlevin]

I have a friend who has the best brass sorter I've ever seen - two 10 year old kids!

My experience has been that 10 year olds grow into teenagers and then you can't get them to anything.

[shred]

poking around here will reveal a lot of threads on brass sorting, and not much on actual units to do it... TreblePlink's sieve idea works pretty well to sort 45 from 40 from 9-sized cases, and the two-rollers routine is posted here somewhere as well.

With scrap brass prices approaching $2/lb, some ranges are finding it easier just to sell all the brass to be melted down instead of sorting it

[raz-0]

You know, this subject crops up regularly.

I'm really tempted to try creating something that is like an apple sorter. It's like a litte catapault that launces apples with equal force as they come down a chute. Then there are hammocks set up at distances based on weight. Fling.. land... roll into sorted chute/bin.

It'd be amusing to watch at least, and wouldn't require precision cuts. Crud in the case might screw it up, but it owuld get a lot of the work done.

[open17]

I'm really tempted to try creating something that is like an apple sorter. It's like a litte catapault that launces apples with equal force as they come down a chute. Then there are hammocks set up at distances based on weight. Fling.. land... roll into sorted chute/bin.

.

Wow. Hadn't thought of that approach. Got a 110V solenoid around here somewhere, and probably

a microswitch or electric eye. The part of the process that's has always stumped my is how to get the cases seperated into single cases automatically. If you have ever pulled apart the 9mm

inside a 40 inside a 45, you know what I'm talking about. For the fling-it sorter to work, the cases

have to be flung one at a time.

[amlevin]

With scrap brass prices approaching $2/lb, some ranges are finding it easier just to sell all the brass to be melted down instead of sorting it

I "Volunteer" to sort it for them at the range where I shoot. To keep the manager happy I give him a bag of clean/polished brass in his favorite caliber.

[shred]

I'm really tempted to try creating something that is like an apple sorter. It's like a litte catapault that launces apples with equal force as they come down a chute. Then there are hammocks set up at distances based on weight. Fling.. land... roll into sorted chute/bin.

.

Wow. Hadn't thought of that approach. Got a 110V solenoid around here somewhere, and probably

a microswitch or electric eye. The part of the process that's has always stumped my is how to get the cases seperated into single cases automatically. If you have ever pulled apart the 9mm

inside a 40 inside a 45, you know what I'm talking about. For the fling-it sorter to work, the cases

have to be flung one at a time.

You'd have to set up a 'mystery' basket for all the stuff that doesn't fling into a known bucket, but it's a cool idea. The commercial sorters seem to use a mechanism like the Dillon carefeeder-- rotating slotted plates. They also have a 'mystery' bin for everything that isn't what they expect.

[Chills1994]

Shred wrote:

With scrap brass prices approaching $2/lb, some ranges are finding it easier just to sell all the brass to be melted down instead of sorting it

Unless of course a range has some of the rare-er stuff: .357 Sig, 10mm, .45 G.A.P. and .380 if you can believe it.

Now who the heck wants to reload .380 ? That doesn't sound like fun.

The rarer stuff gets auctioned off via gunbroker DOT com and a few other places.

[LadyinBlue]

I have a friend who has the best brass sorter I've ever seen - two 10 year old kids!

My experience has been that 10 year olds grow into teenagers and then you can't get them to anything.

I'll second that and raise you 2-bits.

[Wandering Man]

I built myself a little birdhouse looking thing with a gap at the bottom (what would be the roof of a birdhouse) that allows the 9mm and smaller stuff to fall through and hangs on to the larger stuff.

It takes a lot of shaking but the cases do eventually sort themselves out, with the added bonus that all the lint, carpet sweepings, etc from the range seem to separate, too.

BUT, I still have two bins of stuff to sort when I'm through. It seems a bit easier to sort .380 and 9mm (and the miscellaneous others). And it seems easier to sort the .45 from the other stuff. Still, other than the fun factor I'm not sure it is any better. It's probably not quicker.

I guess I'll have to time myself sorting the bags of cases I pick up out of the range's brass bins.

WM