Howdy all. I've been out of the game for a while but still have a good supply of powders and primers. I'm just curious what everyone does for 9mm case cleaning. I'm in a 2nd floor apartment right now so noise might be a slight factor. I used to use a Lyman Vibratory tumbler but am thinking a wet tumbler might be a better option or ultra sonic. When I was normally shooting SC and USPSA I had my Lyman and my Square Deal, which.is at Dillon for a refurb. Ibe got all my old recipes with VV and Sillhouette powders but the cases are my hornswaggle at the moment. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks and hope everyone is safe.
9mm reloads
- Thread starter Gadgetrunt
- Start date
When I started loading I used a vibratory tumbler. 3-4 years ago I went to wet tumbling with a Harbor Freight dual drum tumbler. It was fine. Kind of slow - but I have time on my hands. Six months ago or so I got a Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Lite. It works great. It does sub-optimally for small batches - but I'm very very happy I got it.
Never say never - but I can't imagine going back to vibratory tumbling. I don't think wet tumbling changes the quality of my loads. But I just get satisfaction out of really clean brass. And I do have to say checking for presence of powder is a lot easier when the insides of the cases are clean.
Never say never - but I can't imagine going back to vibratory tumbling. I don't think wet tumbling changes the quality of my loads. But I just get satisfaction out of really clean brass. And I do have to say checking for presence of powder is a lot easier when the insides of the cases are clean.
I'm not that picky for clean brass; but I will knock the dirt / grit off of it, so Lee universal decapper and wet tumbling. Air dry in the sun and then set up the carbide dies set in the progressive. Powder cop die included.
-Mac
-Mac
Either an ultrasonic or a small wet rotary. The advantage of wet tumbling is that the tumbling time is only 2 hours.
My experience over past 10 years is that Wet tumbling with steel pin is extremely fast compared to vibrate tumbling. For me the typical batch of pistol brass and rifle brass (bolt action - pretty clean) only takes 25-30 minutes. Brass shot through a gas gun or suppressed usually takes 30-45 minutes depending on how sooty/blacked from carbon or oil.
You just need to run all your brass through sorting trays to separate different calibers so they don't get stuck inside each other. Also, need to run a magnet over your cases to remove all of the steel cases.
You just need to run all your brass through sorting trays to separate different calibers so they don't get stuck inside each other. Also, need to run a magnet over your cases to remove all of the steel cases.
DocBII
Gold $$ Contributor
Gadgetrunt,
If just for pistol loads, the vibratory will be fairly quiet if you use plenty of media. Otherwise, the wet tumbler method will get the brass really clean without too much noise. You just have to be careful about where you place the wet tumbler so the noise isn't transmitted through the structure.
HTH,
DocBII
If just for pistol loads, the vibratory will be fairly quiet if you use plenty of media. Otherwise, the wet tumbler method will get the brass really clean without too much noise. You just have to be careful about where you place the wet tumbler so the noise isn't transmitted through the structure.
HTH,
DocBII
Thanks also everyone for the replies. Since I have some time on my hands I think I'll try the wet tumble. I've got the perfect place for it at the moment and want to give it a shot. If not I can always go back to dry. As I'm waiting for my press to come back I have the time to get all of the rest in order. Thanks again for all the help.
Just put it on top of your washing machine as you run a load of laundry nobody will know the difference
If you wet tumble buy the frankford arsenal tumbling solution. Works way better than dish soap or lemibrite or whatever usually gets recommenddd
+1Vibratory tumbler..Berry's.. there quieter
Why the expense. I need sunglasses when my brass is laid out.
A 9mm of dish soap and a 9mm full of lemishine is money. 45 cases work just as good.
Attachments
I use the lyman 1200 vibratory tumbler,.. I assume I fit at least thousand 9mmLuger cases at a time,.. but I haven't actually counted. then run them though the Frankford Arsenal media separator. I cut up a drier sheet into 6 pieces and toss them in the media separator with the brass so no media clings to the plastic.
The cases are my measuring cups. Not an exact science but the ratio stays the same. When I lived in sand Diego the lemishine was more important because the water was so dam hard.
I don't care what color the brass ends up. I use a four liter sonic cleaner. Its quick and nearly silent. Gets the brass squeaky clean.
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