Duane Thomas Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Besides, it's just fun to handle. I know what you mean. I don't see how anyone could ever field strip a 1911 - much less detail strip it - and not realize John Moses Browning was a genius. It's like taking apart a little Chinese puzzle, then putting it back together again. In my experience cleaning a 1911 can take a little longer than some other guns - more nooks and crannies - but it's actually much more fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Split brass is audible when handled. No one has improved their performance with shiny brass. Could you explain that one to me? "Audible when handled"? I tumble the brass, lube it, load it, gage it, put it in boxes. I use the case gage to catch split casings - assuming I didn't notice them before that. How do you hear split casings? And would it be worth it when I've got the case gage as a failsafe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 I tried the Duane T. method of putting my brass in a zip plastic bag with some polish in it and then massaging the mess to coat the brass with polish. It indeed got the stuff shiny, but the other thing that I noticed is that if any of the polish got inside of the brass, the media wanted to cake inside. Perhaps I used a bit too much polish... I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I didn't say to put polish in the bag and massage it onto the casings before they go into the tumbler. I said to put the cleaned casings into a bag, spray lube into the bag and onto the casings, then massage it in before loading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 clean cars? make beds? polish things?and oh my dog!!! clean guns!! whats wrong with you people??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 by the way i start the tumber before i leave for work. i like my brass shinny even if my gun isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Split brass is audible when handled. No one has improved their performance with shiny brass. Could you explain that one to me? "Audible when handled"? Completely split 38 Super cases (as opposed to barely-split ones) do make a noticeably different 'ringing' sound when handled or dropped on concrete. I don't usually hear them except on ejection though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 "When handling," do you mean running a handful of brass through your fingers, so they'll click together, specifically to listen to them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Brass is extremely resonant metal. If the surface of a brass cylinder is uninterrupted by flaws in cellular structure it will resonate (ring)(jingle) with a high degree of brilliance. A cracked casing is discontiguous in cellular structure and will not ring... you'll hear the difference when you jiggle 'em in your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Brass is extremely resonant metal. If the surface of a brass cylinder is uninterrupted by flaws in cellular structure it will resonate (ring)(jingle) with a high degree of brilliance. A cracked casing is discontiguous in cellular structure and will not ring... you'll hear the difference when you jiggle 'em in your hands. Ditto! If you pick up a handful of tumbled brass, and stir them in your hand you'll hear a crystal clear sound, almost similar to the one will hear when tickling a crystal glass. Whenever a cracked bass sneaks among the good stuff, the sound you'll hear is a discordant note that will resemble an un-tuned bell. The deeper the crack, the more discordant the note. You might try to test-hear it: separate some cracked brass (various lenght of cracks), and put one at time into a handful of normal brass; you'll learn almost immediately the difference, and you won't need anymore to check brass one by one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Hmmmmm. The thing is, I'm still gonna check them one by one, anyway. The case gage catches more things than split casings. The info you guys have just given me is really interesting, and I appreciate it. I don't really see myself jingling every casing though, when I can gage them afterwards in less time, and accomplish more in the process. Just my take on it - no offense intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 I was talking about this topic at the range tonight and when I told people I tumbled my brass for 8 hours they all started laughing. Someone had mentioned if you tumble your brass for that long it would lower the life of your brass. Is this true? It doesn't seen very likely but then again I'm sure in same way it could be true. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 The case gage catches more things than split casings. . Dillon needs to invent the automatic case gauger. Don't ask me what station you're supposed to put it in, but dammit those guys need to jump on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 You're right. It doesn't seem very likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Mentioned to my gunsmith today about this "tumbling" thread... He said he once put some nickel-plated casings into the tumbler out in the garage and proceded to forget about them for a REALLY long time (days), and opened it up finally only to find that the nickel plating was gone. Totally. And boy, were they shiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Run n Gun Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I mark my cases with a “Sharpie” so those low-life thievin’ brass pirates (my shooting buddy’s) don’t run off with ‘em, a side benefit of doing this is that it’s easy to tell when they’ve been in the tumbler long enough… no lines = clean brass! Side note: SL, I’m really glad your hip has turned out to be “manageable”. Good Luck. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 As SL mentioned, a very long tumbling can remove the plating from brass, but there is no way you can shorten brass life by tumbling them for long periods, unless you are actually using a media harder than brass that will scrape out dirt and metal too! By using corncob and other vegetal derivatives it is almost impossible to erode brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Heiter Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I'm not sure if a long tumble shortens brass life or not. I know the media isn't hurting my brass much but unless you're tumbling one case at a time, the other brass in there banging against each other has to do something. Cartridge brass is typically a 70-30 blend of copper and zinc so all the standard factors of light, humidity, skin acids, etc. increase the rate of tarnish. After I tumble, I pour all of the cleaned rounds and media into a rotary media separator. I spin it for about 30 seconds to get all of the media out and then I pour it directly from the separator into a storage box with a lid. When I go to load, I use a Dillon 550 bin to scoop brass out of the storage box. That way I never actually touch the tumbled brass with my hands until I'm putting it in the loader. If I had a case feeder I could have some REALLy shiny brass because I'd never touch it. I'm not going to go crazy to keep my brass shiny but none of the above steps really add any time to my routine so why not. I too am a big fan of the audible brass check. I use an EGW undersize die so I've actually had some split cases case gauge. The audible check is just one more way of ensuring safety that doesn't take any more time to do. When you're pouring from the separator into the storage bin or even when you're at the range picking up your empties, just listen for split/damaged cases. One plug for the long tumble is that shiny brass rings better so it's easier to detect a bad case. I like impressing the new guys at the indoor range when they're picking up their brass and from across the room with my ears (pro-ears) on I tell them "Hey, you just put a split case in your brass bag". Whether you explain it to them or just leave them thinking you're the range psychic is up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Easy, tumble 'em as long as you need to in order to get then as shiny as you want them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 4 hours or so. I like shiny ammo. I know it doesn't really matter, but to me it does make feel like I'm using the best ammo I can make. I have used grungy brass before and I just don't like putting it in the magazine. Weird? Yeah... SA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Not weird, I am the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenelson Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I do 30 minutes with Corn Cob and Dillion Polish. Nice and clean, but not really shiny. The polish seems to make the brass nice and slipery. I replace the media when I notice that the cases aren't as clean as I expect them to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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