Stainless Tumbling Media

[Obtunded]

I took my new Stainless Tumbling media system for a test drive yesterday. I tired the system on a mixed batch of 260 and 6BR brass that had not been de-capped or re-sized. the results looked very good, however I was most interested to see if it could compare to ultrasonic cleaning for doing the primer pockets.

i neck sized/de-capped a batch of 6BR brass and when the brass came out of the tumbler, i was a bit miffed to see this...

Re-sized brass obviously reduces diameter juuust enough that the pins became stuck in about one quarter of the cases. Removing these pins takes some efforst, but most concerning was the amount of scoring to the inner surface of the case necks from pushing these pins out.

Has anyone come across this problem? It looks shorter pins are the answer.

 

[sparky123321]

Did you use a rock tumbler?

 

[MT204]

I got my media from http://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/.
This media is aprox. .240-.250 long. Have done 6-7 thousand cases and only had 1 or 2 stuck pins which require a light tap to remove.

 

[infantrytrophy]

Try ordering SS media from PelletsLLC (www.pelletsllc.com). The pin size that I received is .041" x .265", and this .265" length should not get caught in 6mm brass. The cost was $22.55 (including shipping) for 6 lbs. of media.

The cost of the media (at least from this source) is cheap enough that you could order different sizes, if needed, for different calibers. Remember that the media is reusable indefinitely - it doesn't wear out and it is self-cleaning with a couple of rinses after each cleaning.

Randy

 

[Obtunded]

Mine was all from Stainlesstunblingmedia, including the tumbler itself.

Thanks for the tip regarding other media sources. That sounds like the ticket.

 

[navyrad8r]

I did a batch of 6brx brass for a buddy to show him how well it works. He hate chasing corn cob out of cases, primer pockets, and flash holes. i had a few ~15% of the cases with pins stuck like obtunded. I called the guy from STM and talked for a while with him. he is looking to offer a "long cut" or "ssc" version with longer/shorter media. the ones that get stuck are merely ones that were a smidge longer than they are supposed to be and got stuck. he recommends just tossing those little buggers if you are in those calibers prone to getting stuck. I had no probs with any 5.56 or .308. I also asked him to consider selling 1lb bags to "re charge" or make up for lost pins. Also those folks who want to use the "lighter" (less expensive light duty) tumbler would be able to try it out. He did seem open to the idea. I am still amazed tha in our sport when you call a company ususally you end up with the owner or inventor and they are always open to suggestions and appreciative of feedback. I still have the normal vibratory tumbler and 2 ultrasonic cleaners. i have to say i still like the STM method the best. But i dont shoot 6BR/X. I do shoot .260 but haven't reloaded my first round yet! i guess i am gonna be in the group that gets to deal with this. I don't think it is that big of a deal though. Overall i think this is still a great product that does and excellent job on the worst brass you can come up with!!
Cheers,
Doc

 

[Longtrain]

I load 308 and 223; I did get some 308's with 2 to 3 pins stuck side by side in the flash hole and have had 1 pin stuck laterally in the primer pocket on maybe 4 or 5 out of a 150 case batch. For those, I just deprimed and they fell out very easily.

My buddy had some stuck in the necks of his 6mm BR brass also, as yours did.

I don't feel that this is a big issue, but I do check each case individually just in case. BTW these are STM pins.

Tony

 

[spclark]

Yeah I bought into the STM pins also & found the same thing true with some 6.5mm cases (6.5 Grendel) I've had in storage for a couple of years. No problem with 6mm so far & not yet tried with .308 but those ought to work OK too.

An impact bullet puller's the most effective tool I've used to remove stuck pins.

I mix pins with corncob media to absorb the stuff the pins are knocking off decapped cases. End of the season I wash the pins out of the cob, let the pins dry out then add media used to clean cases after sizing / trimming.

More effective than cob media alone & keeps the gritty dust to a minimum