Goodbye corn cob media. Hello Franklin Armory wet shell processing system.

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  • babue
    Warrior
    • Mar 2011
    • 135

    #16
    I used the Franklin wet tumbler for several years with great results. I got it because I had pails of muddy range brass to clean and it does a perfect job of cleaning the muddy brass. I used the stainless media for the first couple of batches but never again. To messy to clean up and my brass looks just as good using Dawn, LemiShine and the cheapest white vinegar I can buy. I will never use that messy media again. I also do not deprime before tumbling. Just clean, rinse real good and lay out in the hot sun for a couple of days or you could place in an oven to dry. I have cleaned 6 five gallon pails of muddy brass with never a problem with a wet primer pocket. It is really hard to believe how clean the brass will come out with just the liquid cleaning.

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    • Kswhitetails
      Chieftain
      • Oct 2016
      • 1914

      #17
      So, I'm sorry to admit that today was the first time I actually had enough brass set aside, sorted, de-primed, and sized to make what I felt to be a good load of brass. I am absolutely happy with the results. Not only is the brass like new in appearance, the insides of the cases and primer pockets are as clean as I could hope for without spending more time and effort than would be warranted for reloading brass. I am a believer, and will recommend wet-tumbling to anyone that asks. My first load was 265 Grendel brass which was perhaps slightly more than a half load. Maybe. I don't own enough Hornady brass to get to 500 at once. This will do me nicely, as I tend to load in smaller batches anyway. For now. I don't know, this lot is tempting me to develop loads on a faster time table than originally planned, so this will likely change - eventually.

      I've taken and uploaded some pics to post:

      Bin of "new" tumbled brass
      Brass by bosephus, on Flickr

      Pockets
      Pockets by bosephusClean! by bosephus, on Flickr
      Hey, I told you it looked like new brass!

      One happy customer here. This was a little more labor intensive than dry, but only slightly so. I used two tablespoons of Dawn, two thirds teaspoon of Lemi-Shine, and tap water. We soften our tap water so I couldn't say what that does to the mix. These cases were pretty slimy with case lube (Dillon variety) and needed to be cleaned prior to moving forward. As I am currently unemployed, I have the time to spend on these things. It took me 5 minutes to get the hopper loaded, and to figure out the ratios, which I will admit took only a quick search on youtube for a guy that seemed to know what he was doing... I set the tumbler for two hours, leveled the thing to keep it rotating the hopper without riding an edge, and walked away. Another five minutes including admiring how cool it was. The last part of the process took the real "time investment" which was draining the water, dumping the brass and pins into a bucket, transferring the bucket into the house (my reloading room is my detached garage), grabbing an old towel from the rack, patting the pins and cases down with said towel.

      I had to dump the pins out of every case. This was the only time intensive part, and honestly, is the only drawback I can find so far. After the pins had all been dumped into the towel, the brass was placed on a cookie sheet and transferred into the oven set to 170 (the lowest my oven goes?) for 30 minutes. This gave me ample time to finish the process. The hopper was rinsed, the pins were transferred to an old ice cream bucket, rinsed, and tossed out again onto the towel. The sink was rinsed well, and the pins were laid on the towel on the stove top to dry. The brass was then removed - dry from the oven, and I then began inspecting cases for the quality of the clean.

      It was then I found this. >.<
      Frankford Arsenal pins in Grendel after 2 hour tumble. by bosephus, on Flickr

      Ironically, the FA media (maybe just my lot #?) appears to be the perfect length to span quite well the inside diameter of the Grendel case neck after being expanded in the sizing die. Huh. Well, this necessitates the inspection of every case, which took all of about 10 minutes, and a piece of wire (I used a paperclip bent into a small hook, worked well. After this, I will use a punch... duh). The benefit is that I also know for sure no case has a pin left behind, that could be bad for the bore... or other complications later...

      In the end, it was worth the efforts, which basically amount to another inspection step, which I find difficult dislike too much. Because inspection is good in this kind of detail oriented system, which honestly, reloading should be anyway.

      This lot of brass had all been dry tumbled for at least an hour prior to de-priming and sizing. I would recommend doing so before wet-tumbling. You want empty primer pockets folks. I could see all kinds of nasty being introduced into the system wet-tumbling seated spent primers. PLUS, after de-priming at that point your pockets would be dirty - for shame!

      Overall, this will become part of every caliber I load, especially considering how easy pistol calibers will be. And for my smaller batch stuff, like my 30-30, .270, and 30-40Krag - likely mixed together. I wouldn't want to run a small load simply because of the extra efforts involved, and for efficiencies sake. And to keep the enviro-socialists away - God forbid I use a gallon of water to wash 25 brass!
      Nothing kills the incentive of men faster than a healthy sense of entitlement. Nothing kills entitlement faster than a healthy sense of achievement.

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      • NugginFutz
        Chieftain
        • Aug 2013
        • 2622

        #18
        KSWT - Ain't them purty cases?

        The main suggestion I would offer is to use a media separator, such as the one from either RCBS or Lyman. Just use it the same way as you would to separate corn cob or walnut shells. Pour the contents of the tumbler into the basket, close the lid and 99.999% of the pins will fall straight to the bottom and leave only a very few stuck in the case necks. I then rinse the cases and set them aside to dry. As a separate step, I will rinse the media and use a magnet to recover it, also setting it aside to dry.

        You'll also discover that the more trips through the tumbler your pins make, the fewer will get stuck in the necks. I believe this is because the ends of the pins tend to get polished smoother, therefore allowing them to slip out more easily.
        Last edited by NugginFutz; 02-21-2018, 01:08 PM.
        If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

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        • BCHunter
          Warrior
          • Jan 2018
          • 555

          #19
          I just started using the FA wet tumbler this fall. I find for small batches I dry media vibrate the brass, size de-prime. Then mix in different calibers for the wet clean, that are of obvious size 300wsm and 7-08 or 243 and 30-06. I use the FA media separator then pat dry and place on cookie rack over a storage tote lid and run a fan on it. .223 i do batches of 600+ that keeps me busy awhile!

          You don't want to use anything for drying that your going to prepare food on. The same reason you don't eat when handling reloading componets, risk of lead or mercury poison to you and grease contamination to your reloads.
          Plus if keeps the wife happy,....er

          Comment

          • zapper
            Unwashed
            • Mar 2015
            • 3

            #20
            Wow, I must be a serious slacker. I put about 500-600 cases in total of 223, Grendel and 308 mixed, more will fit, give two very small drips of Dawn and about half a 380 case of Lemi-shine in the tumbler and add water till it just covers the cases by about a half inch. It's all been de-primed first and if it's my brass it only takes about an hour to get it clean. Unknown range brass maybe 2-3 hours. I use a garden hose to overfill and rinse the tumbler when it's done then pour it into the same media separator I use for dry tumbling. I fill the tub with water and rotate a few times and basically all the pins come out. I count maybe 5 pins in necks after drying. I shake off the excess water then open the sifter and dump them onto an old towel. I do a quick dry off then put them on dedicated cookie sheets into the oven on warm for 10 minutes then they're dry and hot to the touch. Pretty much everyone I know says they leave them for hours but I cant even imagine why. They're still too warm to touch 10 minutes after I've pulled them out. After sizing I just use a couple of blue paper towels to wipe off any excess if necessary, sometimes not! I've got 3 dry media tumblers and only use them for pistol brass and since I only use nickel cases any more, they're done in 20-30 minutes!

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            • BCHunter
              Warrior
              • Jan 2018
              • 555

              #21
              Picture of mixed brass trying, I run a fan on it overnight usually, don't have to worry about softening the brass from too much heat in the oven, or the reasons I stated above.

              P1070048 (1024x683).jpg

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              • centerfire
                Warrior
                • Dec 2017
                • 681

                #22
                i put my wet cases on a cookie sheet and in the oven on Warm/175 for 40 minutes with the door cracked. It takes a lot more heat than 175 to anneal brass.

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                • JethroBodine
                  Bloodstained
                  • Apr 2017
                  • 82

                  #23
                  I started tumbling brass with a Thumbler's Tumbler and loved the results but wanted something with a little more capacity.

                  I stumbled on a forum article on AR15.com started by a member named Biggdawg. He gives all of the dimensions and materials you need to build your own.

                  He got so many requests to build one for other members that he started his own online store. His prices are very reasonable, in my opinion, considering what the materials cost and the time it takes to build.

                  The media separater and magnet are great advice and what I use. It's amazing where those pins will fly off to and the magnet really helps.

                  You really have to watch for stuck pins in each case and each caliber is different in how they can get stuck. I ran some 6.5 Grendel and got the same result of pins stuck sideways in the neck, up to three pins in about half the cases.

                  On 223 they will get stuck sideways in the body of the cases. I'm trying a new pin shape that Sleeping Giant Brass sells and haven't found any media in the brass yet but it does rust if you don't take care of the media properly after tumbling. They warn you on their website about it.

                  I use the Dawn / Lemishine mixture also but added a step that seems to help keep the brass bright and shiny longer. I rinse the brass in a five gallon bucket until all of the soap suds are gone then I dunk the brass in a bucket of diluted Armor All Wash & Wax for around 5 minutes then strain the brass into another bucket and rinse similar to the rinse from the soap solution. It usually takes 3 to 4 rinses to get all of the suds removed. I keep the wash & wax solution in a separate bucket and occasionally have to add more W&W or water if it evaporates. I've been doing it this way for over five years and haven't had any problems. YMMV.

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