Looks like I'm joining the stainless pin tumbling crowd

[swampratt]

I rinse my brass 5 times with hot water..after pin cleaning that is.

Now too much lemishine will remove the copper from the cases and redeposit it and you get pink cases.

I used too much when I started and slowly ran tests on how much was needed..I settled on 1/8 teaspoon for 2 quarts of water and a little less than 1 quart of brass.
I later found I got the same results with 1/2 that amount 1/16 teaspoon and 1-3 drops of dawn or palmoliove I found Palmolive removes grease from
my hands better.

After rinsing off the cases I shake the pins out by hand and lay cases on a dry towel and dry the outsides and let them sit on the towel overnight.

Or summertime they spend time on the hot steel car and are dry in an hour or so.

never any spots or funny colors now..
My pins will clean the cases in 45-120 minutes,, does not take long.

Go easy on the lemishine and soap.

 

[tulsanewb]

I have a Franklin rotary seperator but rarely use it. I find the pins bunch up in the cases and will stay there until given a couple good shakes upside down submerged in water. Plus you have to check each case anyway as the pins can get stuck in the primer hole. Then I dry the cases in a garment bag either on the AC unit outside in the summer or where the heat blows in the winter. Even by shaking the cases one or two at a time, it doesn't take very long.

I use about a 40 cal round full of lemonshine and Dawn (I read somewhere that biologists almost exclusively use Dawn for cleaning birds after an oil spill, so figured if it works for them...). I cannot be happier with the outcome. Most people don't believe me that I'm using multi-fired brass.

 

[OKCHunter]

You will like the SS Media cleaning.

I have used a Thumbler's Tumbler and SS pins for the last couple of years. My vibrating unit is lost somewhere in the garage. I de-prime the brass, tumble in the Thumbler's Tumbler and solution for 2 hours. I separate the brass with an RCBS Media Separator and rinse the brass with tap water. I put the brass on a dryer rack and run it through the clothes dryer for 1 drying cycle. The brass looks as good or better than new when complete. The brass is clean outside, inside, and in the primer pocket.

The solution I use is 1 gallon of water, 1 tablespoon of Dawn Dishwashing liquid, and 1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine. Be sure to put some oil (3 in 1 is what I use) on the bearing wheels of the tumbler. Otherwise, it will start making loud, screeching sounds after a few uses.

 

[OKCHunter]

I have a Franklin rotary seperator but rarely use it. I find the pins bunch up in the cases and will stay there until given a couple good shakes upside down submerged in water. Plus you have to check each case anyway as the pins can get stuck in the primer hole. Then I dry the cases in a garment bag either on the AC unit outside in the summer or where the heat blows in the winter. Even by shaking the cases one or two at a time, it doesn't take very long.

I use about a 40 cal round full of lemonshine and Dawn (I read somewhere that biologists almost exclusively use Dawn for cleaning birds after an oil spill, so figured if it works for them...). I cannot be happier with the outcome. Most people don't believe me that I'm using multi-fired brass.

Your pin sizes may be too large if they are hanging up inside the casings. I bought pin sizes on Amazon that specifically advertised that they would not hang in the flash hole and would not bunch-up in the casings. I have had no problems with 9mm, 40cal, 45cal, 45 Colt, 38 special, and 30-06 with an RCBS Media Separator.

 

[FenixTxM3]

I've wondered what the best way would be to flush the pins from the brass once it's cleaned. The Franklin media separator that sits on a 5 gallon bucket seems to be the best way. It would make sense to fill the bucket with water up to the brim so that the bottom half of the separator bowl with the media/brassis submerged. As you turn the separator, the pins are "washed out" of the brass and fall to the bottom of the bucket, leaving brass in the separator with no pins inside. This might even act as a rinse for the brass.

This is what I do. Use a standard media separator filled with water. Give it a few turns and all of the pins will be sitting at the bottom of the bucket. Try separating without water and pins will fly out of the bucket in different directions and will stick inside the cases due to the residual water from tumbling.

 

[aviator41]

Your pin sizes may be too large if they are hanging up inside the casings. I bought pin sizes on Amazon that specifically advertised that they would not hang in the flash hole and would not bunch-up in the casings. I have had no problems with 9mm, 40cal, 45cal, 45 Colt, 38 special, and 30-06 with an RCBS Media Separator.

Curious as to what the right and wrong size is for the pins. Did the wife do good by getting .047 pins?

 

[FenixTxM3]

Curious as to what the right and wrong size is for the pins. Did the wife do good by getting .047 pins?

Yes she did. The smaller size pins can double up side by side and get stuck in flash holes. The .047 pins are too large for 2 of them to fit through the flash holes.

 

[OKCHunter]

I believe the size I of pins I have is the .047 pins. You should be good.

 

[bsd230]

I use the same setup you just purchased or got for Christmas. I use lemi-shine and Dawn ultra concentrate. I've noticed the pink tint when I put too much lemi-shine in, looks like rose gold. I would agree with others that is doesn't take much. I use about 1/2 a teaspoon. I have the same tumbler and I would recommend buying some stair traction tape, like the stuff you put on stairs. Put that around the outer edge of the tumbler barrel. When it is loaded down sometimes it will just sit and the motor just spins away while the tumbler just sits there. It's a common complaint with this tumbler. Put a little stair tape around the edge and it never slips again.

 

[Blitzfike]

You should never pin tumble any brass you have.

The issue I found with pin tumbling is that I have 100's of cleaned resized trimmed cases in many sizes that were walnut or citric acid boiled clean and after I pin tumbled a batch of cases all that stash of what I called clean before is now dirty cases and I hate to even load them.

When you get it running you will clean all your "cleaned" cases.
So to help you out, keep you from going crazy, I will either take all your cleaned cases before you get your present or I will swap you a 1lb jug of mixed nuts for your tumbler and pins.
Some nuts may cause allergies just saying

Listen to swampratt, he can save you much grief. it will be a major concession on his part to have to look at previously clean dirty brass, but what are friends for anyway... You won't look back...