cleaning brass

M

mark shubert

New member
Well guys, my old tumbler just died a very quiet, and peaceful, death. The motor just barely moves when you turn it on, so it's terminal.
I need to reload some 204's, and can't remember for the life of me alternative ways to clean brass, other than just wiping. HELPPPP please?
Mark
 
Chop the leg off of an old pair of jeans, put your brass inside the "tube" and tie off the ends.

Wash in the washing machine. Just make sure they are completely dried out before reloading.
 
Put a shell holder in a drill and use a fine steel wool? Id go with Leons method. They would be clean,"not quite as shiney" but the Coyotes wont mind.
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Mark -
I have used a tumbler for years, but have recently turned to the old tried and true NRA formula case cleaner. It is quick, and does a good enough job.
Mix the following;
1 pint water
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dish detergent
Deprime the cases and wash them for 10 minutes in the solution. I usually agitate the cases a few times to enhance the cleaning.
Rinse thoroughly in clean water, at least twice.
Dry in the sun, oven, or just spread out on an old towel.
Hope this helps.
 
Powderburner, if I put them in the oven, app how long at what temp to dry them? I know over 220 degrees, but don't want to get them too hot (over annealed).
Thanks, Mark
 
Mark, if you have an air compressor you could blow them dry. Place them in a bucket or simlar and put the nozzle tip right down in the brass and blow air thru the brass. It will blow most of the water out of there. Then....if you put them in the oven at 180 to 200 they would dry very quickly since most of the water will be gone. I don't think 200 will hurt the brass, but I don't know for certain.
JMO
 
I cleaned some brass in a liquid case cleaner and rinsed them and shook all of the water out of the and put them on cookie sheets in the oven for about 10 minutes at the lowest setting. I think 250 degrees was the lowest in my oven. Took them out and let them cool. Was good to go. Not hot enough to anneal the brass but hot enough to dry the brass. JUST DON'T TELL THE LITTLE WIFE WHAT YOU ARE DOING OR YOU WILL BE BUYING HER SOME NEW COOKIE SHEETS. HOW DO I KNOW?

TONY
 
de-prime them, wash them is soapy water, i take a dish rag and swish it around in the bowl for a while. take a piece of wood and pound in a bunch of 16p casing nails. hang brass upside down on nails. put in the oven for about 1/2 hour at 200*. take an air compressor and blow domn through the primer hole. if there is any moisure that comes out, put back in the oven- repeat withair. if all is dry, ready to go. been doing this for 20 years
 
I have an older Frankford Arsenal vibrator tumbler that has served me well for the last many years... It's very similar to the Lyman Tumbler shown here that I got from Midway... An old friend that I helped move last week gave me his RCBS Sidewinder tumbler and it doesn't hold the amount of brass/media that my Frankford does, but it does clean brass...(considering that it costs about $350 more, it should)

I use the rouge impregnated "Tuf-Nut" media from Lyman and it gets the brass really clean in a short time, unless it's been out in the weather for a while, and then I run it through my other tumbler with treated Walnut hulls...
 
I have been using the stainless steel pins as cleaning media for the last two years, ever since a long range shooter introduced me to the art. It completely cleans the inside of the case as well as the primer pocket area. No more blowing spent primer residue down the tube. It actually takes less effort to produce as new brass than using any vibratory cleaner, and I have several.
 
You do need to use a tumbler as opposed to a vibratory cleaner. I use a Thumlers, and for larger batches, one that I built.

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I prep some huge quantaties of .223, can do 750 in the large ball mill. Cylander is made from a 8" piece of PVC, end caps are Van Zorn flange parts, which I tapped and ran in studs, cut light plate for the ends.

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It is worth the set up to me, brass looks like brand new.

243Brass.jpg
 
I too use the Stainless Tumbling Media process and it's blows me away everytime that I am done tumbling. They suggest thumler's tumbler and I think it's the best option. There is a whole write up about it on accurateshooter.com
 
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