Stainless steel pins

[gaboon]

My first attempt at wet tumbling. I checked the brass after 1hr and it looked terrible. It had a black flim on the brass that felt greasy. I wipe it off. It did not shine any of it. I used 1/4 teaspoon of lemi shine booster and a couple drops of dawn in hot water. The brass that came out of the corn cob looked better. Am I doing something wrong

 

[Miket56]

I had the same problem the first time I used it , then read that you need to tumble the stainless pins and get them polished first. Now it is perfect.

 

[Webster]

I had the same problem the first time I used it , then read that you need to tumble the stainless pins and get them polished first. Now it is perfect.

I eye ball the Dawn and Lemon Shine and get good results. I use more Dawn than you use. I tumble 2-3 hours no problem. 1 hour is OK. I think the biggest thing is not to over load the tumbler. The SS pins and cases need to ride up the side of the tank and fall a certain amount. You need some impact of the pins against the cases. If you over load the tank everything tends to just rotate as a clump without much falling impact.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You need to tumble the pins alone for hours with about half water and dawn. Then rinse em good and do it again

 

[zipollini]

Thumler's Model B tumbler
5 lbs steel pins
100 6XC cases
put rubber tubing over case necks to protect them from getting chewed up
1 tsp Dawn
1 tsp Lemi Shine
fill half way with hot H2O
tumble for 1 hour
dump water and cases and pins into media separator
remove rubber tubing from case necks
rinse cases in softened or filtered H2O
final rinse in 90% isopropyl alcohol
air dry or dry in oven at 200 deg. for 1 hour.
pour pins and dirty H2O thru filter screen to separate pins from dirty H2)
rinse pins in softened H2O
dry pins on cookie sheet in oven for 1 hour.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Even on the mfr website it says to tumble alone before use. The water will be metalflake black. Rinse repeat til its clear

 

[gaboon]

I guess I need to tumble the pins alone longer and try it again. Thx all

 

[msinc]

I guess I need to tumble the pins alone longer and try it again. Thx all

It sounds like you might have left the tumbler sit for a while with the cases and dirty water in it. If you do that then the dirty water pretty quickly adheres to the cases and they have to be tumbled again in clean water. Just run the cases again after you dump out the bad dirty water. Recharge with some dish soap and Lemi-Shine.
I have never tumbled my pins by themselves. I purchased my pins from Midway. I got perfectly whistle clean bright shiny brass the very first time. I don't get what tumbling stainless pins alone is supposed to do. They are stainless and they are clean when you get them...at least mine were. Stainless steel cannot create black grease, and tumbling them alone for several hours wouldn't make them stop if they did. The black stuff in the water is what cleaned off the brass. Some of it may stick a little to the pins, again, just run everything again in clean water and fresh soap.
One hour is usually not long enough for oxidized dirty range brass. I always run mine for 4 hours. I have tried it in two with once fired fairly clean brass cases and they don't come out too bad. They always look done on the outside, but always show some residual junk in the primer pockets. 4 hours if they are really bad looking, at least 3 hours if they are once fired and pretty clean. It don't hurt the brass so I really just run everything for 4 hours.
You might want to snoop over around snipershide and search "STS cleaning"...there was a very informative thread over there that will answer all your questions in depth. You could read for days.

 

[Webster]

My first attempt at wet tumbling. I checked the brass after 1hr and it looked terrible. It had a black flim on the brass that felt greasy. I wipe it off. It did not shine any of it. I used 1/4 teaspoon of lemi shine booster and a couple drops of dawn in hot water. The brass that came out of the corn cob looked better. Am I doing something wrong

There is nothing associated with new pins to make the water black. Breaking the pins in doesn't make sense. The oxide layer on SS is well under 0.00001" thick. The oxide is not dark colored. It must come from the rubber lining of the tumbler tank. I am using the small Harbour Freight Rock polishing tumbler ($39) . Just measured and weighed components.

Tumbler tank holds exactly 32 oz. of water/ 1 qt.
1.57 lbs of pins. About 3/4 - 1 cup

1. Drop the pins in the tank.
2. I put about 50-70 6BR cases in the tank.
3. Fill tank to about one inch from the top with water.
4. Eyeball about a teaspoon of Dawn and 1/2 tsp of LemiShine.
5. After tumbling the water is very black from the carbon inside the cases. Not sure about rubber wearing off after a few uses? The rubber doesn't look worn or damaged. Anyhow it isn't an issue.

They come out like jewlery. There has to be space so the cases and pins have a lot of movement. I rinse with tap water then distilled water. Shake the water out, roll on a paper towel, then put them in the oven for a couple hours at 200F. I bought 5 lbs. of pins because I didn't know how much I needed $52). If anyone in the Cleveland, Ohio area wants a couple of lbs. of SS pins for free PM me. We have a severe shortage of GH where I hunt around Holmes, Ashland, Coshocton and Harrison County. Other people seem to have good luck. I think you need to find hot spots.

 

[sfldiver]

I always run mine for 4 hours. I have tried it in two with once fired fairly clean brass cases and they don't come out too bad. They always look done on the outside, but always show some residual junk in the primer pockets. 4 hours if they are really bad looking, at least 3 hours if they are once fired and pretty clean. It don't hurt the brass so I really just run everything for 4 hours.

Yep, 4 hours seems to do the trick for me too - beautiful and shiny primer pockets every time! I do that in Frankford Arsenal's large tumbler with 4 caps of their proprietary brass cleaning solution. Does the trick every time!

Btw, I never tumbled the 5 pounds of steel media individually either, and I've never let the brass sit long after it's done tumbling either.

Adrian

 

[msinc]

Yep, 4 hours seems to do the trick for me too - beautiful and shiny primer pockets every time! I do that in Frankford Arsenal's large tumbler with 4 caps of their proprietary brass cleaning solution. Does the trick every time!

Btw, I never tumbled the 5 pounds of steel media individually either, and I've never let the brass sit long after it's done tumbling either.

Adrian

Yep, I do remember when we all started cleaning brass this way, the "pros" said, "about the only trouble you can get into is if you run a batch of cases and let them sit in the water for a while"..."everything gets a slimy greasy coat of black all over it that will not rinse or wash off."..."when this happens just change the water and run them again."
If I remember right one guy explained it as some sort of chemical/ionization process and that is why it stuck so bad and refused to just rinse off.

Edit: Also, someone posted a few posts back to fill the tumbler "half full" with water, no...this is not correct...as above, fill to within one inch of the top.

 

[jlow]

First off the bat “a couple drops of Dawn” is too little - put in at least half a teaspoon ful. You need to put enough in to keep the dirt suspended and not glob back on to the brass. The fact that it felt “greasy” is clear proof of that – DAWN CUTS GREASE…. You need to put enough in so that when you are done and open the tumbler, the water should be soapy i.e with lots of bubbles on top.

 

[BenPerfected]

IMO, you can't use too much liquid dish soap. I use a about 2-3 table spoons and about a teaspoon of limi-shine and don't bother to measure either. When you are done tumbling you should still have lots of soap suds. Go out side and run the hose in the tumbler until all the suds float out of the tumbler.

 

[bulwaagh]

IMO, you can't use too much liquid dish soap. I use a about 2-3 table spoons and about a teaspoon of limi-shine and don't bother to measure either. When you are done tumbling you should still have lots of soap suds. Go out side and run the hose in the tumbler until all the suds float out of the tumbler.

I'm with you on the soap. I use a Frankfort Arsenal setup and about 4 teaspoons of soap and a 9mm case full of Lemishine. 2 hours is my mark for tumbling and the key is to rinse those cases out immediately. Do not let them sit in the muck, it'll be counterproductive.

 

[noload]

I hate to bang up the neck mouths, I use HOT water and get very good results in 15 min. with no neck damage. I normally do not clean cases that often, but thats how I do it when I do. Hot water gets greasy pans cleaner than cold water, also works better on brass.

 

[Joe R]

gaboon said:
My first attempt at wet tumbling. I checked the brass after 1hr and it looked terrible. It had a black flim on the brass that felt greasy. I wipe it off. It did not shine any of it. I used 1/4 teaspoon of lemi shine booster and a couple drops of dawn in hot water. The brass that came out of the corn cob looked better. Am I doing something wrong

I had the same experience the first time I used the Red Tumbler. I believe it was the black lining that did it, but I could be wrong. I sent the Red Thumbler back to Midway the next day because I saw the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART) . I have been using for over a year now.

If you tumble your brass as for 3 or 4 hours as some are suggesting you will get peening. Peening is when a little ridge form on the case mouth. That will affect bullet release and accuracy. I have found that 30 minutes in the FART gets my case just as clean as 3 hours did, without the peening. I use 1 Tablespoon of Dawn and 1/4 teaspoon of LemiShine that works for me (I have a house water softner). If you have different tumbler YMMV.

Regards,

Joe

 

[msinc]

I never measure the soap or Lemi-Shine...just kind of give it a good squirt. I remember when I started doing this the thing was to use a 44 magnum case full of soap and a 9mm case full of Lemi-Shine. But, it really depends on your water...mine is hard, so I use more of the shine stuff. I am probably dumping in a tablespoon or so of soap and at least a teaspoon of shine.
I agree that the mouths will get peened and have that ridge, I seen it every time. Not a big deal as it is going to get chamfered anyway. I think the entire case mouth area right down to the shoulder junction gets peened some. I can definitely tell there is a different "feel" that is rougher when I seat bullets, even after a fresh anneal.
i also remember on the other forum, everyone was making clear plexiglas lids for the tumbler so they could sit and watch it work.....personally I aint quite that into it. I do like the way the cases look when they are finished.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If youll look at their website it says tumble pins only for a while right under the FAQ. I didnt say thats what caused the black. When i get new pins and tumble em the water is metalflake black. You dont have to do it but it helps

 

[charlesasmith]

Dusty and Greg - Always appreciate your posts.

Chuck

 

[impalacustom]

The pins will have a lubricant on them, I guarantee it. They use a lubricant to extrude them out of the machine, now whether or not it will create a greasy coating I don't know, but be sure they are lubed before you get them, with what, who knows.