I have an awful lot of spare time on my hands lately but I still don't like to waste it making brass look like jewelry.
I just plugged in my National Metallic rotary tumbler that I received from Midway yesterday. I put several hundred each of 45acp and 45 Colt in it. Says it will hold 1000 223. I probably should have got the smaller version but this will work fine.
I did what others here suggested and put a little Dawn and some Lemi Shine, probably too much of each now that it's spinning but we'll see.
The 45acp had been through my vibrator tumbler and looked ok but not jewelry, the 45 Colt was filthy dirty so we'll see how it turns out.
Oh I put in 2 1/2 lb's of stainless steel pins in there too. The Tumbler said to use 5 lb's but again I think it'll be ok.
In Memory of Paul "Dietrich" Stines.
Dad: Say something nice to your cousin Shirley
Dietrich: For a fat girl you sure don't sweat much.
Cue sound of Head slap.
RIP Muggsy & TMan
"If you are a warrior legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that JOCKO will not come today."
Decap before cleaning makes a big difference. I dump the brass in a coffee can, cover it with white vinegar(cheaper than apple cider) and Lemishine then soak for an hour or so while walking the dog. Drain and rinse, dry them out then walnut shell tumble.
For case lube I mix rubbing alcohol and a very small amount of hand cream. Shake it up in a pump spray bottle.
Todays lesson for running the wet tumbler with steel pins. DO NOT mix cases that will fit inside each other. I had a hunch they would do like a vibrator tumble and get stuck together but of course I had to make sure. I put 44, 44 special, 38 and 357 and of course a whole lot of them stuck together trapping the pins inside, so I got a lot of sorting to do.
Snowed in and coming down hard now so guess it's a fine day for it.
On the bright side, it came out looking real pretty.
I put it in all mixed up as it had to be sorted out anyhow.
In Memory of Paul "Dietrich" Stines.
Dad: Say something nice to your cousin Shirley
Dietrich: For a fat girl you sure don't sweat much.
Cue sound of Head slap.
RIP Muggsy & TMan
"If you are a warrior legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that JOCKO will not come today."
I use the walnuts, but all the guy's around here that reload have switched to the wet tumble with stainless steel needles. I have to admit, it does a super job! Though while they are waiting for things to dry, I'm out shooting!
Robin
Amen bother. I load one caliber of mixed range brass at a time in a very old Midway tumbler filled with Lizard litter from the pet store and a cap or two of NuShine and mineral spirits.
I used to decap first and at the time I was using Lyman walnut media and the media would get stuck in the primer pocket. That practice lasted about a month and for the last 50 years no trimming of handgun cases, no decaping, and no reaming of the primer pockets.
One more thing, everything on a single stage Pacific press bought in the 1960's.
"Never pet a burning dog"
Yep, that's me.