S/S Media Polishing ISSUE !!!

[Hippy]

I purchased some S/S polishing "Pins" upon some of the feedback that was given by members on this board. I took some time off work to do a little Range time and decided to F/Form some 22 Hornet brass to K for a recently purchased T/C barrel.

After f/forming and doing a initial inspection I decided to polish the brass with the media --after about 4 hours the brass upon 1st inspection and drying looked nice.

I am a little anal about my brass even taking time to clean/polish with steel wool when loading at the range -- upon final inspection/ before powder charging I found better than 75% of the brass with S/S PINS LODGED INSIDE of the brass. I could not get the pins to dislodge after various attemps-- some brass had as many as 3 pins lodged-- I finally was able to get the pins out as I have a set of dental picks and was able to get under them and free them up .

I really do not know if this is of interest to anyone I personnaly believe it to be a saftey issue as well as possible damage to a barrel we have all been told about the damages S/S brushes do to S/S barrels I can only imagine what the pins will do at 3000 FPS

Good Luck,

Jim

 

[kelbro]

That has been a concern of mine since this method gained popularity. Shrapnel!

 

[bigedp51]

The length of the pins and the inside diameter of the case determine if the pins will become lodged inside the body of the case.

I believe the topic I read dealt with pins becoming stuck in the primer flash hole and the diameter of the pins.

If your having problems with stuck pins then switch to the jewelers mix, and they will not get stuck in the flash holes or inside your cases.

Below is a link to Google Images and jewelers mix, pick the photo that suits your needs, there is even ceramic media to pick from.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C2KMZB_enUS524US524&q=STAINLESS+STEEL+TUMBLING+MEDIA+JEWELERS+MIX&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46865395,d.dmQ&biw=1024&bih=655&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=fmaeUeyNE6in0AGr7oDIAg#imgrc=_



Pick your poison below.
NOTE: Normally jewelers mix is used in a dry vibrating tumbler and used to polish silver jewelry. When used in a wet tumbler it will still scrub the brass clean with the advantage of the media not having any sharp ends.

http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/tumbling-media/stainless-steel-shot.htm

 

[M-61]

I purchased some S/S polishing "Pins" upon some of the feedback that was given by members on this board. I took some time off work to do a little Range time and decided to F/Form some 22 Hornet brass to K for a recently purchased T/C barrel.

After f/forming and doing a initial inspection I decided to polish the brass with the media --after about 4 hours the brass upon 1st inspection and drying looked nice.

I am a little anal about my brass even taking time to clean/polish with steel wool when loading at the range -- upon final inspection/ before powder charging I found better than 75% of the brass with S/S PINS LODGED INSIDE of the brass. I could not get the pins to dislodge after various attemps-- some brass had as many as 3 pins lodged-- I finally was able to get the pins out as I have a set of dental picks and was able to get under them and free them up .

I really do not know if this is of interest to anyone I personnaly believe it to be a saftey issue as well as possible damage to a barrel we have all been told about the damages S/S brushes do to S/S barrels I can only imagine what the pins will do at 3000 FPS

Good Luck,

Jim

My opinion : Can't really get on board with this pin tumbling. Between wet cases, soap, drying, emptying the water. Now I guess you could say a potential 'safety' hazard. Then I am not in agreement with the need for surgically pristine brass. 'Clean" yes, 'spotless' no. Then I read about pinged cases and damaged case mouths. No, I'm fine with the media tumbling. Of coarse I am not a re loader of large amounts of brass so a time factor means nothing to me. I reload the 20-40 cases I shot on a given day and that is it. Guys seem to really like this pin system and that's fine....I'll end with how I opened..."My opinion"
("Be not the first on whom the new is tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside.") auth.unk.

 

[bigedp51]

My opinion : Can't really get on board with this pin tumbling. Between wet cases, soap, drying, emptying the water. Now I guess you could say a potential 'safety' hazard. Then I am not in agreement with the need for surgically pristine brass. 'Clean" yes, 'spotless' no. Then I read about pinged cases and damaged case mouths. No, I'm fine with the media tumbling. Of coarse I am not a re loader of large amounts of brass so a time factor means nothing to me. I reload the 20-40 cases I shot on a given day and that is it. Guys seem to really like this pin system and that's fine....I'll end with how I opened..."My opinion"
("Be not the first on whom the new is tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside.") auth.unk.

They didn't bath regularly in the dark ages because medieval church authorities proclaiming that public bathing led to immorality, promiscuous sex, and diseases.
(Are you also on board about not bathing and believe the world is flat)

The next complaint about wet tumbling we will hear will tell us wet tumbling is a communist inspired plot to destroy the pro gun, clean brass capitalistic west.

"He who has the most toys wins"
Attila the Hun

 

[M-61]

My opinion : Can't really get on board with this pin tumbling. Between wet cases, soap, drying, emptying the water. Now I guess you could say a potential 'safety' hazard. Then I am not in agreement with the need for surgically pristine brass. 'Clean" yes, 'spotless' no. Then I read about pinged cases and damaged case mouths. No, I'm fine with the media tumbling. Of coarse I am not a re loader of large amounts of brass so a time factor means nothing to me. I reload the 20-40 cases I shot on a given day and that is it. Guys seem to really like this pin system and that's fine....I'll end with how I opened..."My opinion"
("Be not the first on whom the new is tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside.") auth.unk.

They didn't bath regularly in the dark ages because medieval church authorities proclaiming that public bathing led to immorality, promiscuous sex, and diseases.

The next complaint about wet tumbling we will hear will tell us wet tumbling is a communist inspired plot to destroy the pro gun, clean brass capitalistic west.

"He who has the most toys wins"
Attila the Hun

Actually I started and ended with "My Opinion" which does not qualify it as a complaint.
The DARK AGES are referred to as such as very little is known about that time period that is accurate.
I doubt that Attila authored that quote.

 

[bigedp51]

Actually I started and ended with "My Opinion" which does not qualify it as a complaint.
The DARK AGES are referred to as such as very little is known about that time period that is accurate.
I doubt that Attila authored that quote.

The OP is looking for helpful comments and not someone sucking on lemons and giving opinions on a subject he has no experience with.

“If you're afraid - don't do it, - if you're doing it - don't be afraid!”
― Genghis Khan

 

[LHSmith]

I share the opinions of kelbro and M-61......the risks far outweigh the benefits...which for me is zilch until they give out fake wood for the shiniest brass.....and I want that fouling inside the case neck.

 

[Cleftwynd]

I have been using SS pins for quite a while now, once in a while a few pins get lodged in a flash hole, but since I actually inspect my brass before loading them, it's really a non issue.

 

[dickn52]

I've been using them for over a year now. Most if not all will come out by simpy dipping them in the water and shaking them in with mouth side down of course. IF I get one stuck in the flash hole, I push it out with a tooth pick. Never had an issue yet, but then again I am anal and check everything twice most of the time.

 

[mattlewis]

I got a heck of a lot more corn cob media stuck in cases than pins. But I will start paying a little extra attention, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Nvreloader]

Hippy,

I don't know which BRAND of SS pins you got/used, but I do lots of 22 hornet, K hornet and 17 cal hornet based Wildcat cases and have never found and pin stuck inside. I do a complete inspection inside/out after every cleaning, and have found pins stuck in the flash holes, on 38 SPCL/9mm/40 cases so far, and other have reported 223/30-30 cases.

I have found at least 4 DIFFERENT sizes of SS pins, for length and diameters.

Tia,
Don

 

[kelbro]

I got a heck of a lot more corn cob media stuck in cases than pins. But I will start paying a little extra attention, thanks for the heads up!

I think that's the key take away from this post.

 

[amlevin]

I rinse then separate my pin media from the brass using my RCBS media separator. A few tumbles in the basket and all the pins are gone from the case. I did have a few pins get stuck in the primer pocket holes when the media was new but just as the instructions suggested, I threw those pins away and after a few uses, no more.

I clean both .308 and .223 brass in fairly large quantities and have no problem with retained pins when I tumble them in the media separator.


BTW, who DOESN'T check their cases for foreign objects before loading?

 

[bholcomb]

I haven't had many pins stick in the case but the one problem I have run into is seating pressure. Using my wilson seating die I feel the varying neck tensions. Is it possible that it cleans it too much and creates some type of friction when seating bullets?

 

[LHSmith]

Is it possible that it cleans it too much and creates some type of friction when seating bullets?

BINGO.....read the May 21 Daily Bulletin on case cleaning.

 

[Goatsnguns]

Final inspection is a given....The only brass I have had pins lodge in the cases to a great degree was 30 carbine. One pin would be vertical along the side of the case with another pin horizontal against the first pin and the other side of the case, kind of a T on it's side. I attribute this to my 1500 RPM tumbler and 6-8 hour tumbling times. I had one case with 8 pins lodged in it, 3 sets of 2 as described and 2 in the flash hole. The brass was range brass that had been stored for about 15 years, that's why the long times, it came out looking new. A few minutes with a pair of needle nose and all was well.

 

[Cleftwynd]

Whoa!!! 1500 RPM tumbler?!? For 6 hours?!? How do you still have any brass that's useable? Lol

 

[Goatsnguns]

I guess I should have said the motor runs a 1500 RPM, the drum at 40 RPM or less, not really sure. The brass comes out fine can't really tell much deference in primer seating pressure using Lee hand primer. Case mouths are not deformed or eroded. Most of the brass I have processed so far has been old range brass that I have collected over the years.

 

[BaconFat]

I haven't had many pins stick in the case but the one problem I have run into is seating pressure. Using my wilson seating die I feel the varying neck tensions. Is it possible that it cleans it too much and creates some type of friction when seating bullets?

I thought about this myself and then in another thread someone pointed out the obvious. What do you do with new unfired cases?

Now as far as SS media cleaning, I'm still on the fence with this. I have both a Thumler's Tumbler and their medium sized Ultra Vibe. There's no doubt that cleaning with SS gets your brass the cleanest, inside and out. This allows me to inspect the inside of the cases for any problems. Whether there is any advantage to that, I don't know. Yesterday I cleaned a batch of Norma and Lapua brass together. After getting them dried, I sat down to separate them and I found 6 or 8 Lapua cases with pins stuck in the flash hole. No problem with the Norma cases, only the Lapua. It made me wonder if the flash holes in the Lapua are just a hair's width bigger or smaller than the Norma cases. Anyway, the extra effort of drying both the cases and the SS media is kind of making me feel this method is more trouble than it's worth.