Wet Tumbling with the Frankford Arsenal brand.

[jonbearman]

I have a couple questions:
1 What soap and how much including lemishine do you use
2 Can you do nickel plated pistol brass without destroying the nickel?
3 Does it clean the primer pockets?
4 How long do you tumble for?
5 How many 30-06 can you do at a time?
Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[rpeacock]

I have a couple questions:
1 What soap and how much including lemishine do you use
2 Can you do nickel plated pistol brass without destroying the nickel?
3 Does it clean the primer pockets?
4 How long do you tumble for?
5 How many 30-06 can you do at a time?
Thank you for your help in advance.

jonbearman, I can answer a couple of your questions I hope. I use just a light dash (tablespoon or so) of liquid laundry soap, and 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine to the Frankford Arsenal tumbler that is full of the metal pins. I also use hot water, but I don't really know if that matters or not. I run the tumbler full of whatever cases I am cleaning at the time for 3 hours. It is the max on the timer. When it shuts off the cases look like gold! I have used this method ever since the tumbler came out and have been very pleased with it. It cleans the primer pocket, the inside of the case, and everything. Just my experience, and hope it works as well for you and others. Russ

 

[Delfuego]

I'll answer the ones I can. I don't think matters too much. I do like to rinse the brass and pins well in cold water and dry them quickly and thoroughly with towel and hair dryer. They come out clean and ready for the fashion show after

1 What soap and how much including lemishine do you use
Dawn; a squirt into hot water
Lemishine; I pour a little into my palm and dump it in (tsp?)
I think people really overthink this, it no different than washing the dishes...

3 Does it clean the primer pockets?
Yep!

4 How long do you tumble for?
45-90 minutes; depending on what I'm doing around the shop. I don't clean range brass, that might require longer.

 

[rardoin]

Be cautious on the Lemishine...only 1/4tsp is enough...mo' ain't betta'. Too much can cause a tarnished look to the cases..purely cosmetic though.

 

[Shrek]

Same with a squirt of Dawn and about a tsp of Lemishine. I bought a couple of extra pounds of SS media so it’s more full when there is a small batch of brass. I also put all my media in with some junk brass the first time and let it tumble all day. There was a good bit of SS grit when I rinsed it after the first tumble and have never had that grit again. I feel it smooths up the media. I’ve never had scratches or deformed necks like some report.
Edit : I also use hot water. I deprime and then clean and then anneal. All sizing and trimming happens after the cleaning and annealing.

 

[Comrade Terry]

I’ve never had scratches or deformed necks like some report.

I bought a couple of extra pounds of SS media so it’s more full when there is a small batch of brass.

That's the way to avoid 'peened' case mouths. Use an abundance of pins, and don't overload the tumbler with cases. 'Peening' is the result of cases colliding with one another in the tumbling process. The extra pins minimize this effect.

 

[slm9s]

1 What soap and how much including lemishine do you use: A two-second squeeze of dawn dish soap, the plain blue kind. An empty 45acp case worth of plain lemishine.
2 Can you do nickel plated pistol brass without destroying the nickel? Haven't tried.
3 Does it clean the primer pockets? Very well
4 How long do you tumble for? 2 hours
5 How many 30-06 can you do at a time? Fill the sucker to 75% full

 

[jonbearman]

This helps me alot. I understand you have to clean the pins first to get the oil off if I am correct.

 

[Mozella]

1 What soap and how much including lemishine do you use: A two-second squeeze of dawn dish soap, the plain blue kind. An empty 45acp case worth of plain lemishine.
2 Can you do nickel plated pistol brass without destroying the nickel? Haven't tried.
3 Does it clean the primer pockets? Very well
4 How long do you tumble for? 2 hours
5 How many 30-06 can you do at a time? Fill the sucker to 75% full

I use about a tsp of Lemishine
I use about a table spoon of liquid dish washing machine detergent because if foams less than Dawn.
I use about double the amount of included SS media.
I fill the drum to the top with warm water and tumble for 90 minutes.
I use a Frankford Arsenal Standard Media Seperator in a 5 gal drywall bucket. It's like a deep colander, it's very cheap, no moving parts, and works good. Start by twisting it and finish with shaking it.
I rinse my brass in a smaller bucket of warm water, stir them around, and strain them after which I always find some SS pins. I gather the stray pins with a magnet.
I shake my brass in a towel for a minute and then put them in a baking pan. I put the pan on a tennis shoe rack inside my wife's clothes dryer for 30 minutes on cotton high.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

This helps me alot. I understand you have to clean the pins first to get the oil off if I am correct.

tumble them by themselves and change the water often. i had to do mine a long time before i quit getting that metallic water look

 

[jr600yd]

I use a tablespoon worth of dish soap, 1/8 tablespoon lemishine, HOT water.
As far as how many '06 cases? The directions I have say not to overload the rotary (about 4 pounds of brass) so weigh a couple of cases, take the average. 7000 grs to the pound X 4 pounds = 28,000 / average case weight will tell you the max amount of cases to do at a time.
Yes the clean the primer pockets.

 

[Stingray]

I use about a tsp of Lemishine
I use about a table spoon of liquid dish washing machine detergent because if foams less than Dawn.
I use about double the amount of included SS media.
I fill the drum to the top with warm water and tumble for 90 minutes.
I use a Frankford Arsenal Standard Media Seperator in a 5 gal drywall bucket. It's like a deep colander, it's very cheap, no moving parts, and works good. Start by twisting it and finish with shaking it.
I rinse my brass in a smaller bucket of warm water, stir them around, and strain them after which I always find some SS pins. I gather the stray pins with a magnet.
I shake my brass in a towel for a minute and then put them in a baking pan. I put the pan on a tennis shoe rack inside my wife's clothes dryer for 30 minutes on cotton high.

This is exactly the same procedure I use except I tumble 60 minutes and dry in a small oven I have in the garage for that purpose.

 

[dickn52]

Same with a squirt of Dawn and about a tsp of Lemishine. I bought a couple of extra pounds of SS media so it’s more full when there is a small batch of brass. I also put all my media in with some junk brass the first time and let it tumble all day. There was a good bit of SS grit when I rinsed it after the first tumble and have never had that grit again. I feel it smooths up the media. I’ve never had scratches or deformed necks like some report.
Edit : I also use hot water. I deprime and then clean and then anneal. All sizing and trimming happens after the cleaning and annealing.

In my Thumlers I use 1 drop of Dawn. 1 and only 1 sense I hate all the suds it makes later. The lemishine is to remove the 'hardness' of the water. Since I'm treated that needs very little as well.

 

[divingin]

I use a wash-and-wax car shampoo (whatever's cheapest at the auto parts store.) I have no idea if it does anything, but I like the idea of a coating to prevent tarnishing. Maybe a tablespoon or two of car wash, and about 1/8 tsp of Lemishine (I don't measure either one.) Hot water if you're using a wax or oil based case lube prior to washing (really helps to cut to oil/wax; seems to aid in carbon cleaning as well.)

Yes, nickel is fine. At least the pieces I've run through show no ill effects. I do not use nickel plated brass much though.

Primer pockets get clean (mostly), but they are the last to clean up. Somewhere around the 2 to 3 hour mark on my setup. Occasionally you'll have a little stubborn burnt-on carbon. I don't see it as enough to worry about.

I usually aim for 3 to 4 hours if I want it really clean. I've run as long as 12 hrs. If I'm in a hurry or have other stuff that precludes me from getting back to it, a couple of hours yields "mostly clean" brass. There may be a bit of residual carbon inside and in the primer pockets, but it's not much.

No idea on .30-06, but I've done about 250 .308 in my Thumlers 12Lb model. Don't know about the FA tumbler.

 

[Road_Clam]

Me , load my brass in the the tumbler , fill with hot water, squeeze about 4 seconds worth of Dawn concentrated soap, and add about a couple tablespoons of Lemi shine. Brass comes out looking amazing !

 

[dickn52]

Me , load my brass in the the tumbler , fill with hot water, squeeze about 4 seconds worth of Dawn concentrated soap, and add about a couple tablespoons of Lemi shine. Brass comes out looking amazing !

You have a 20 gallon tumbler? If I used that much soap I'd spend a day rinsing.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I use real lemon juice- the kind in your fridge- and dawn.

 

[borderghost]

I have a couple questions:
1 What soap and how much including lemishine do you use
2 Can you do nickel plated pistol brass without destroying the nickel?
3 Does it clean the primer pockets?
4 How long do you tumble for?
5 How many 30-06 can you do at a time?
Thank you for your help in advance.

I have a Frankford Arsenal tumbler , I just tried a little shot of dawn and a little shot of lemi shine and about 3 tablespoons of white vinegar with the 5 lbs of pins and 50 30 BR brass wow they came out super clean, tumbled for 1 hour , tried shot of dawn with about 3 tablespoons of white vinegar and tumbled for 40 minutes , they came out better and the mouth of cases was better , going to get 5 lbs more of pins to add and will do more cases each time