I was loading this morning and discovered that some stainless pins from wet tumbling got trapped in one of my brass. Luckily, I discovered this before I finished loading that round. I can only imagine what damage a couple dozen of those pins traveling the length of the barrel might have done. I am pretty anal about my reloading process. I have no idea how I overlooked this situation. This is just a “heads-up“ to others that may use the wet tumbling routine. Good shooting, everyone.
Caught my mistake !!!
- Thread starter Topwater
- Start date
TylerFromMS
Gold $$ Contributor
Magnets are your friend.
CarlGeorge
Silver $$ Contributor
What caliber? And were they rattling around or had they dried/stuck to an inside surface of the case? (i.e. did you discover them by seeing them or hearing them?)
Glad you found them!
Glad you found them!
TheOtherZilla
Pull my finger
Stainless is non-magnetic...
TylerFromMS
Gold $$ Contributor
Look, I’m as confused as you. Magnets... how do they work?!?
Stainless Steel Pin Magnet
Lyman’s Stainless Steel Pin Transfer Magnet is the answer for separating your cases from the media pins used in rotary tumblers. Simply pass the magnet over the mixture of cases and pins and the pins will be pulled out and grabbed by the magnet. To release the pins, just pull up on the handle...
Apparently they were somehow adhered to the interior wall of the 6XC case. When I dropped the pan in the funnel, the powder didn’t all fall through. I initially thought that I’d dropped a double load. When I dumped the case and funnel together the pins dislodged from in the case. Yep, thank golly I accidentally found them.
TheOtherZilla
Pull my finger
Maybe your pins are not true stainless. We used stainless in a few plants just because it is non-magnetic.
Edit: Looked it up. Learn sumpin every day
In order for stainless steel to be magnetic, a couple of requirements need to be met:
And this:https://sizemetal.com/stainless-steel-magnetic/
Edit: Looked it up. Learn sumpin every day
In order for stainless steel to be magnetic, a couple of requirements need to be met:
- The stainless steel must have iron in it
- The stainless steel must have its crystal structure be arranged in a ferritic or martensitic structure.
And this:https://sizemetal.com/stainless-steel-magnetic/
I understand your concern about pins going down the barrel. Was shooting my 6BR with Magnetospeed attached and when I went to remove it, found what looked like the remnants of a SS pin badly deformed stuck to the magnet on the bayonet.
I don't know if it came out of my barrel, or was picked up off the bench, but pulled the barrel anyway and looked closely with borescope camera. Couldn't find any obvious damage, but my confidence in the barrel was shattered at the point, so a new one went back on. It was long in the tooth anyway, so not a big loss.
I don't know if it came out of my barrel, or was picked up off the bench, but pulled the barrel anyway and looked closely with borescope camera. Couldn't find any obvious damage, but my confidence in the barrel was shattered at the point, so a new one went back on. It was long in the tooth anyway, so not a big loss.
And look inside every one. Every time.
I emptied and checked ALL fifty rounds that I was loading. Like stated, I’m a bit anal about my reloading. This barrel has only 136 rounds on it. I wasn’t taking any chances.
After I remove the brass from the tumbler i use a frankford arsenal separator. This removes 99% of the pins. Next step, roll the brass in a towel to start the drying process, then spead them out in a single layer. Use a magnet to pick up any loose pins and run it over the empty cases, any cases with pins left in them will stick to the magnet. After this step i use a air nozzle with a needle nose to blow compressed air inside of each case. This insures that the cases are dry inside and out as well as that all pins are removed from the cases.
Last edited:
I use this and it works well for removing SS pins.
www.midwayusa.com
I rotate the basket for a decent amount of time, changing the water 2x's as well. I change directions of the basket rather abruptly so as to shake any pins out, so far I have never found one inside a dried case.
Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Wet/Dry Rotary Media Separator
The Frankford Arsenal Rotary Media Separator is ideal for both wet or dry cleaning processes. The dry rotary media separator is the ideal tool to...
www.midwayusa.com
I rotate the basket for a decent amount of time, changing the water 2x's as well. I change directions of the basket rather abruptly so as to shake any pins out, so far I have never found one inside a dried case.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.