case tumbling wet with pins, what is the best proceedure?

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ok-22shooter

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Getting back into reloading after about 20 years away. all case tumbling in past was with hex drum and walnut hulls. now using Small Franklin drum, turbo sonic cleaner and stainless pins, 25 minutes or so and clean 556 cases. much better than hours in walnut hulls. I see guys using dehumidifiers for drying hulls. maybe if I can find a garage sale cheapy. used slotted base pan to separate cases, pins and water. used magnet to pull pins from water. pins still wet. wondering if anyone has issues with pins rusting or other tricks in drying pins and cases? reloading setup is at a friends farm so unfortunately do not have every day access to check on things. working on building my own tumbler to go thru many cases at the house.
 

rswink

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I use a few drops of Dawn and Lemishine for about 30-60 minutes depending on how dirty they are.

I use the HF tumblers, so 1# pins, fill with brass that cannot fit inside each other, cover with water. I have the single and double tumblers, if you have the double then make sure they are close to the same weight. Add the detergents. Seal. Place on frame and start.

Some are using Armor-all car wash & wax, I will be trying it on the next batch round, but with no primers on shelves I am not wanting to shoot much right now.

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swampratt

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I rinse my pins and brass while still in the container they tumbled in I pour the old water out and add fresh and shake around and dump it and then add fresh water again.
I do this 5 times or until the water is clear when you pour it out.

I then have a large plastic bowl or just a large towel and pour the pins and cases out into the bowl or onto the towel.

I pick a case up in my right hand and one in my left and tap them together a couple times and make sure no pins are in them. the pins will fall back into the bowl or onto the towel.

The cases i put on another towel that is dry.
I do not use fabric softener on my clothes or towels as that stuff is an oil. just saying.

Now I dry the outside of the cases on the towel.
I leave the towel on the floor or on the hood of my car in the summer to dry.
1 day and they will be all dry in the house.

I am not in such a big hurry to use them so no need to dry them fast for me but you can put them on the oven on a cookie sheet.
Or in the bathroom sink and get the hair dryer after them.

Rifle cases if you are in a hurry as I have been a couple times will dry after they cool off from the annealing I will give them.

I want to tap pins out and inspect each case for stuck pins before it goes onto the dry towel.
Again I do not wish to rush this.
 

Revolvers4Life

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I wet tumble with pins, if you get stainless steel pins they shouldn't rust and I have never had any issues with it. I use a Franklin Armory tumbler and it came with the pins and a good end cap to drain out the water.

I typically drain from the tumbler the best I can without letting pins come out, then transfer to a 5 gallon button with a strainer over top that will catch the brass and let the pins drop through. then I spread out on a towel and hit it with a fan. They dry pretty quickly then I run a large pick up magnet over everything and it collects any pins left in the case.

I sometimes use dawn and a tiny bit of Lemishine, but I have had better luck with the Armor-All car wash and wax, this is nickel plated lake city 5.56 that has 2 firings on it.

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OKCHunter

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I punch out the primers and then run the brass through a Thumblers Tumbler with stainless steel pins. I use 1 gallon of water, 1 tablespoon of Dawn liquid detergent, and 1/8 teaspoon of Lemishine. I let it run for an hour or so. I pour everything into an RCBS Media Separator and turn each direction 15 or 20 times to separate out the pins. I put the brass on in the cloths dryer on a dryer rack to dry. I clean-up the pins in the media separator by flushing with running water. Once clean, the pins go back into the tumbler for next use.
 

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