Cas City Forum Hall & CAS-L
CAS TOPICS => The Darksider's Den => Topic started by: Gabriel Law on September 30, 2019, 11:12:50 AM
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I have a Lyman media vibrating polisher, but it is disappointing for black powder soiled cases. Can anyone suggest a good stainless steel pin polisher, and where to acquire it?
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https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Stainless-Tumbling-Reloading/dp/B07KT95P5Q/ref=asc_df_B07KT95P5Q/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid={creative}&hvpos={adposition}&hvnetw=o&hvrand={random}&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl={devicemodel}&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001420631735&psc=1
or
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Tumbling-Media-Pins/dp/B00IER21M6/ref=pd_sim_b2b_5/130-7703117-8788549?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00IER21M6&pd_rd_r=e20567d2-e621-4a4f-8a91-063f4f001e13&pd_rd_w=ey62O&pd_rd_wg=zIZRP&pf_rd_p=a07701e4-f565-442a-b97f-93ab23cbb7ef&pf_rd_r=7KCB7GNMBSN3396MC7CK&psc=1&refRID=7KCB7GNMBSN3396MC7CK
But a bit of experience , it works best in a tumbler with water & lemon shine a tad of Turtle wax will keep them bright in storage...
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Thanks Major 2. I ordered the 7 l. Platinum system. Comes with 5 pounds of pins. I'll buy a cullender for separating shells and media.
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It is an envying price @ $107 .... lets us know how it works
I use a Thumler's Rock Tumbler that was $220.00
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I really don't want to mess with wet media. Can you just use the SS pins and rinse them off? I don't care to have to dry my brass. The use of detergents, water, etc. seems like a lot of work for little gain. It is pretty easy to just let the tumbler run an hour or more longer to get the brass shinier with walnut. If I really want a shine I use corncob and Brasso.
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Cartridges fired with smokless polish perfectly in walnut shells media in a vibrating machine. But black powder shells, particularly ones that i shot on Saturday and clean on Tuesday, never come out nice. And my 45-70 Sharps cases get water/soap cleaned with an electric drill and brush, de-primed, dried, and spun on a 30-06 case in the drill press with Brasso on 0000 steel wool. That's a lot of work and time. So I'm going to the steel pin and water system. I'll have a report in due course.
Major, Canadian cash is 1.33 of the USD, so with shipping, I paid $276.77. I've been ordering stuff for my whole life, from the USA, so I'm used to the exchange thing. I do not let it interfere with my life. It won't be chaper next year, and I can't make it for that money.
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stainless pins are as PITA but I figured out a system
Take a heavy duty zip lock bag and turn it inside out.
In the bag put one of those rare earth magnets, a big one.
Pick up the pins
Turn the bag right side out.
The pins are now in the bag so zip it up and store the magnet somewhere.
DONE!
Respectfully
Bunk
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$276.77 for the Franklin Armory tumbler ? :o
Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler Lite with Clear Viewing Window and Leakproof Seal for Cleaning and Polishing During Reloading
by Frankford Arsenal
List Price: On Amazon.com is
$143.99
current Price:
$107.24
@ $107.24 shipped I might get one of these too
Bunk I just flush the old water /lemon shine and dry my pins on a blue shop towel then store them dry in the drums ?.
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Just because I want better than new shiny brass, here's how it's done. Mix 2oz tumbling soap, 1/2 tsp trisodium phosphate, 1/2 tsp lemi shine in one gallon of water. Put deprimed brass in rotary tumbler, put in SS Pin media and pour in enough tumbling mix to cover the brass and pins about 1/2". Tumble 3 hours. Strain and drain and return brass to tumbler with Ceramic Porcelain media and fresh tumbling mix and tumble 3 more hours. Separate brass, rinse and throw into shaker with corncob media to dry. Result, perfectly sparkling clean brass including primer pockets. Just because I want better than new shiny brass. . .
DD-MDA
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YOU GUYS ARE KNUTZ!!!! STARK RAVING LOONS AWREADY!!!!!!
Gabriel, your washing your cases WRONG (I think). I shoot APP on Saturday and wash the cases immediately!! Like by Wednesday or Thursday. I wash my cases in Tap Hot Water (inna sink) with a goodly amount of White Vinegar. Let em sit for .. oh .. 30 minute than rinse. Toss em inna Dillon vibrator tumbler for 90 minutes. PRESTO!! Nice looking cases. Some staining happens.
DDD, there are very effective treatments for OCD. Really!! There are!! Trust Me!!!!
Let us also remember. I'm LAZY. Sparkely brass is entirely too much WORK. Doesn't shoot any better than lightly stained brass. So There!!
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Coffinmaker: I appreciate your point of view,and there's no way I would try to convince you that you are doing it wrong. I don't understand why, but I have to have my rifle cartridge brass as new looking as I can, and my revolver brass can be a little gungy, but I've been dissatisfied with walnut hull media in a vibrating cleaner, so have sought a better way. I thank those who contributed to my making a purchase. My main gripe with black powder fouling, is cleaning individual cases, one at a time, for an hour when a machine can do it better without the waste of my time. I'm hoping the new tumbler will be the answer.
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Major: I bought the tumbler through Amazon. I bought the bigger unit - the 7 litre one, and it is $161.99 plus shipping to Canada, times 1.33 % exchange. Unit comes with 5 pounds ss pin media rather than 2 pounds, as in the smaller unit.
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Very well Sir :)
?..the reason I use a tumbler as opposed to other methods is the same reason I don't beat my clothes on a rock and hang under some pooping birds on some line....
Tumbler takes less time and is convenient to me ?.
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I clean my 45 Colt cases that have been fired with real black powder in an RCBS rotary tumbler.
50 cases at a time 5# of SS pins, 1 litre of hot water, 15 ml Cascade dish washing machine powdered detergent and 1.25ml of Lemi-shine detergent booster crystals.
I tried adding TSP. but it makes the wash water so slippery it?s like an oil bath, I think it making the tumbling process take longer.
I press out the spent primers and dry scrape clean the primer pockets using the same tool that was used to uniform the primer pockets.
I pre clean the brass, 50 cases swirled in a 2# margarine tub with Dawn liquid dish detergent.
Do not use liquid Dawn in the tumbler, it makes too much suds, you want to use low suds dish washing machine detergent. My favourite is Cascade brand.
I do spin a bronze brush in the cases with a cordless drill. Brush mounted in a shortened piece of cleaning rod. The case and brush held under running tap water. This pre wash and power brushing removes the stubborn stuff and I get to inspect the brass for defects.
The pre cleaning removes a large amount of the fouling so my tumbler was water come out grey not jet black. I do not want to tumble the cases in concentrated black fouling because high sulphur concentration will tarnish the brass that I am trying to clean and shine it.
I tumble for 1 hour and change the water adding fresh detergent and lemi-shine.
A Lyman Turbo Super Sifter sieve sits perfectly in the mouth of a Home Depot 2 US gallon bucket.
I have punched seven .45 caliber holes 2 inches below the bottom of the sieve floor for drainage.
At the laundry tub I pour off most of the dirty water prior to dumping all the cases and SS pins into the Lyman sieve. With the bucket in the laundry tub and a 3 foot hose on the faucet spigot I can rinse off the cases dumping out all the pins. All the pins fall to the bottom of the bucket passing through the sieve. The cases stay in the sieve.
I spread the cases out on cheap Walmart grade cotton towels to air dry over night.
Or if I am in a hurry I put the case on a large pan, it?s has a ?? inch sides to prevent spilling cases.
SS pins are dumped in a mound on the above mentioned baking pan. I elevate one end to let most of the water drain out of the mound of pins and sponge out this water. Then bake in a 325*F oven for an hour to dry the pins.
I usually twist a ? sheet of paper towel into rope and twist this rope into each case, this removes more fouling and bulk drys the inside of the case. Every 4th cases I snip off a half inch of wet and dirty piece of towel rope. The the case are air dried or oven dried.
I am sure everyone knows the 80% of the time spent re-loading is spent on case prep, whether it is a new cases or a dirty fired cases. Primer pocket & flash hole uniforming, trimming to length after the first firing. All this take a lot of time and that doesn?t include cleaning the firearm(s).
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I use both a Thumblers tumbler and also those little two barrel rock tumblers from Harbor Freight with stainless pins from STM.
On a budget the little Harbor Freight tumbler is great and I like it when I want to clean small amounts especially when I have two different cartridges cleaned so the small ones don't get jammed in the larger ones.
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Well, here's mine. 38-40 real b/p. On one day shoots, I've got a large old peanut butter jar , that I put my cases in, dry, no water. When I get home one of the first things I do is to deprime them. Hot soapy water wash, hot water rinse maybe twice. Dump in old towel, shake water off, dry. I've got an old food dehydrator I got from the thrift store that was broken for $15.00 that I repaired. Most one day shoots use 80-120 cases. About every 2-3 shoots, I'll tumble clean them. I use a Thumblers. I could never get b/p brass to look clean just dry cleaning (vibratory).
1. Dump brass, 2-3 shoots worth. Approx. 300
2. Water, 1" above, splash of Dawn, 1/4 tsp. Lemi-shine
3. Tumble approx. 2hrs.
4. Pour water off until pins and cases get close to top.
5. Dump cases and pins in the plastic separator in the bucket.
6. Fill with water, turn handle until no more pins come out. I cut part of the handle off that sticks out because it stuck out to far to turn in the sink.
7. Dump cases on old towel, shake water off.
8. Spread on dehydrator trays.
9. Rinse pins off, dump on old towel, shake water off.
10. I cut the back out of an old work shirt, (real thin) dump pins on it. Place on tray in dehydrator, spread pins out.
11. 2hrs. later, you've got dried pins and dry, brand new looking brass.
If I'm at an away shoot, 2-3 days, soapy water in a jar in the hotel room. When I get home, hot, soapy wash and rinse. Dry, "deprime", then steps 1-12 above.
YMMV
Isom
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I soak the fired brass in a gallon cooler bucket in a mixture of simple green and water before leaving the range. at home I drain rinse then soak in vinegar and water for a bit. rinse dry then tumble.
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Ya'all realize tiffin those be REAL Stainless pins, a Magnet ain't gonna hep ya pick em up ..... right ???
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Not true. Some stainless is attracted to magnets including those used for cleaning brass.
wM1
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Cold worked SS is magnetic
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Betcha it'll RUST too then :o
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For the OCDers (Im included there) here's my process ifn your interested. I shoot 45 colt and 44-40 with goex 2f. Sometimes 44 Russian and 12 or 20 gauge magtech brass. When I finish a stage and on my way from the reloading bench to my cart, I have an old plastic milk carton that has a solution of water, white vinegar and a small squirt of dawn dish detergent. I have a hand de-priming tool that I pop out the spent primers and drop the brass in the carton. That goes in the back of the truck. On the way home the solution is agitated by the ride and when I get home its about 2/3 clean. Pour out, brass in the Frankfort arsenal tumble, steel pins, 1/2 container water, another squirt of dawn, lemon shine, and tumble an hour. Wash tumbler in sink to overflow soap solution out, dump all in the basket of an rcbs media separator. Turn until pins separated, brass then goes into a dehydrator for 20 minutes. water poured out of media separator (carefully as not to lose pins) then I use a Frankfort magnet to pull and deposit pins back in the tumbler.
ok ok ok I like my brass like new.......its a lot easier and quicker than it sounds.
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Betcha it'll RUST too then :o
Nope, mine sits in the water until I do the next batch of brass, sometimes for a month. When it does dry out it is done by draining the water off of it and let it dry. I've been using it for about 6 or 7 years and it has never been cleaned (well ok sometimes I rinse it) just left in the Dillon media separator. Not rusted not stained looks like new. We just finished a series of trips and for the last 2 weeks I have been doing 2-3 batches a day in each of my Thumbler B's. For the preceding months since April it hadn't been used and the water it was in had dried up. Still no rust.
wM1
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YOU GUYS ARE KNUTZ!!!! STARK RAVING LOONS AWREADY!!!!!!
Gabriel, your washing your cases WRONG (I think). I shoot APP on Saturday and wash the cases immediately!! Like by Wednesday or Thursday. I wash my cases in Tap Hot Water (inna sink) with a goodly amount of White Vinegar. Let em sit for .. oh .. 30 minute than rinse. Toss em inna Dillon vibrator tumbler for 90 minutes. PRESTO!! Nice looking cases. Some staining happens.
DDD, there are very effective treatments for OCD. Really!! There are!! Trust Me!!!!
Let us also remember. I'm LAZY. Sparkely brass is entirely too much WORK. Doesn't shoot any better than lightly stained brass. So There!!
I'm with Coffinmaker. Due to the nature of shooting blackpowder, removing the stains off of brass is a pain and shoots just as well as bright shiny new. When I shoot black in brass cases, I always toss em hot soapy water, let em soak, swirl around, rinse with hot water, drain, and let em dry on a towel. I then vibrate the beejebbers out of them in a Lyman vibrator and leave them at that. Some stains remain, but the cost of going to a steel pin setup just for shiny brass for black powder isn't worth it to me. Once in a while I'll toss them in some brass cleaner solution prior to vibrating if they're really stained. My brass for SL powder loads be it handgun or rifle gets polished just like out of the bag, but that powder isn't as nasty as black.
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I admit, I do like really clean, inside and out and in the primer pockets. It takes so little to have them that way and I do like loading sparkling clean ammo into my guns. It's just a matter of pride to me. Be that as it may, I've never had a loading or shooting with clean ammo, whether it's new, or cleaned to new condition.
BTW, my media, both SS pins or ceramic porcelain, it's reclaimable and re-usable. The initial cost is in the original purchase. The stuff works over and over, actually better with use.
DD-MDA
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Well I'm not a slob shooter or reloader. I don't think a bit of stain on the brass makes ya one. My brass used for black powder are clean when loaded, a few may show some stains, but they are shiny for the most part. For the expense of going to a new tumbler, pins, and all of the other needs, what little tarnish is left on the brass is no big deal and not worth stainless steel pins IMO. Ya stick em in the cylinder, fire em, and in a fraction of a second they're all scruffy looking again. I don't polish my boots every time I go shootin, but that doesn't make me a slob shooter. I do take pride in my gear and other things that matter. Have a shootin friend that started shooting a 44 1851 Euroarms Navy same time I did back in the early 70's. When mentioning that we shoot black powder he would sometimes cringe because he didn't want to get his brass on the Navy revolver stained and dirty. That gun had more brass polish used on it than the King of England's carriage did back 200 years ago. He no longer shoots black powder.
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Maybe I should start another thread but I had asked if one could use the SS pins (or ceramic media) COMPLETELY DRY and tumble as if it were walnut and get clean brass without all the bathing. I didn't get anyone to comment, therefore this additional posting.
I use nickeled brass anyway because it cleans up so easily.
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Ya'all realize tiffin those be REAL Stainless pins, a Magnet ain't gonna hep ya pick em up ..... right ???
400 series, hardenable stainless steel and other modern steels with similar composition is magnetic and can even become magnetized. It's corrosion resistance depends on the content of different alloys to make up the steel, how it's worked and hardened.
I'm a knifemaker and use primarily stainless steel for blades and use a magnetic chuck on a surface grinder to do the flats and in fact after working with the blades I have to demagnetize them in order to keep them from attaching themselves to everything.
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I made my own a while ago, I had a motor in the shop so I thought what better reason reason to build a tumbler.
That's 8 inch ABS
(https://i.imgur.com/L04xGpY.jpg)
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So Sorry Hellgate :P
I didn't even begin to address your original question. OOPS. But I'ma dry hole. I don't and never have, used SS or Ceramic pins to clean brass. Just Lizard Litter in a Dillon. Sorry again, no help.
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Here's my take Hellgate. For me, ceramic, walnut or corncob work good for smokeless. They don't cut it for me with b/p. I use real b/p. SS pins work best for B/P. I use both.
Isom
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Isom (Dart?),
Do you use the SS pins dry or wet?
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For shooting I just use the ss pins a soap they don't come out new brass shiny but they are clean if I want them bright and shiny I use the same tumbler with walnut and nushine after the ss soap and water
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Isom (Dart?),
Do you use the SS pins dry or wet?
Wet tumble SS pins to keep all types of not good for your health nasty fouling dust suspended in a liquid (soapy water) medium so it can be poured off and throughly rinsed off.
Otherwise if tumbled dry you would be making fouling dust that still need to be removed somehow.
Dry tumbling would present more problems.
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..... two barrel rock tumblers from Harbor Freight with stainless pins from STM.
On a budget the little Harbor Freight tumbler is great and I like it when I want to clean small amounts especially when I have two different cartridges cleaned so the small ones don't get jammed in the larger ones.
Dual Drum Rotary Rock Tumbler https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html
$57.99
use their coupons and get 20-30 % off
I had one of their 50% sidewalk sale coupons and paid $32 bucks out the door tax included
4 years later it still works a champ
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At the range, I use a milk jug half full with water and some dish soap. The cases go right in there after shooting. Dump out at home, then tumble as you like.
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:o Nope. Not ME :D
I, like so many "others" use to lug this little jug of Soapy (Dawn) water around and dump'd my fired cases innit just as soon as I finished the stage or stages. Then I asked myself why?? Myself answered, "Dunno. Ever body does zit." SO:
I just throw ALL my fired brass (or nickel) inna bag at the range and lug it home DRY (Much more simpler). At the Hacienda I dump 'em all inna sink inna shop with tap hot water and White Vinegar.
Rinse after 30 minutes and dry. Tumble 30 minutes. Done. A CAVEAT: I'm LAZY and don't care if there is a little bit of staining.
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I have never and would never transport fired cases wet in a jug of soapy water. I wouldn?t trust the container not to leak. If that black fouling water ever spilled in the car the stain would be there forever.
I place my fired cases back into the plastic MTM cartridge box for transport home.
At home I de-prime with a universal de-priming die and clean the primer pockets.
Then go through my cleaning process.
Pre soak with water an Dawn detergent.
With a cordless drill I spin a bronze brush briefly inside each case under the running water faucet.
Then into the RCBS rotary tumbler with a tablespoon of Cascade dish washing machine powdered detergent.
After an hour I pour off the dirty water and add clean water and detergent and citric acid ? tsp/L.
The cases get tumbled again for another hour or two till I am satisfied at the state of clean and shiny.
Spread the wet cases out on a towel roll them a bit to dry the outside, the inside dries overnight.
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BP cases, rinse em at home. SS pins Dawn & Lemishine 3 hrs inna Thumbler B dry in the sun or oven at 255 for 30 minutes. Like new shiny. IF I want primer pockets cleaned, universal deprimer before tumbling, primer pockets come out clean.
wM1
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I substitute concentrated lemon juice for Lemishine.