Stainless vs dry tumbling pro/cons

I transitioned from dry media to stainless steel pins a few years ago, never looked back. Dry was okay, but I would clean up the primer pockets by hand after tumbling. With the SS media, I just use hot water, a healthy squirt of dish soap, and a sprinkle of Lemi-shine for extra brightness. I let my wet casings dry overnight on a towel, so if you were in a real hurry to reload, that could be a downside, or you could dry them in the oven like some of the other guys have said, but I don't usually reload in a hurry :cool:
 
Reeferman said:
I found as well as others that the brass doesn't tarnish and they go through the resizer die easier because of the wax. You don't need Armour All as others will work I just happened to find it on sale. I was sceptical at first but it works.
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Thanks I'm cheap so will continue to use the wife's Tide low E syrup :)
 
madcow said:
I been researching the topic a lot lately, I have bot the traditional and stainless tumblers.

Just wanted to see opinions of others.

I used both, but in a pinch for what its worth and cost and time effectiveness, I find traditional tumbling better in the long run.

less expensive media, no drying, can reload as soon as the brass is tumbled. May not be as shiny, but that doesn't really matter to me.

Opinions?!
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Any disposable media will end up costing more than SS pins which are forever.
If you haven't spent more than $40.00 in media in a year you're not shooting enough.
If you need to wait for brass to dry you don't have nearly enough brass.

On a side note I've never spent a penny on common caliber brass except for Lapua for my precision rifle and 1,000 pieces of Lake City 7.62 x 51 for my M1A.
 
SS media allow's you to be able to use any range brass. Grungy will clean up so a thorough inspection is possible.
On first tumble brass it's a 4 hour trip.
 
LUTNIT said:
I use dry media and have never had a problem with any dust I always hear people complaining about. Some say SS tumbled brass is easier to size but I found switching from liquid case lubes to Imperial/Redding sizing wax made a huge difference in ease of sizing. I bought some once-fired that the seller had tumbled in SS and it was nice and shiny but I couldn't notice a difference in force required compared to my dry tumbled brass when both were lubed with sizing wax. I should have tried some with RCBS case lube to see if I could notice a difference but I didn't think about it at the time.
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I assume you're talking about rifle cases. Imperial sizing lube is great stuff but having to clean off each case after you've sized it could get real old real fast if you're talking about doing hundreds of handgun cases. I personally use the Lee lanolin based case lube for rifle cases and have had no problems at all. Plus to clean off the lube a quick swish in lacquer thinner removes it with no residue and the thinner evaporates in a few minutes so no real wait for it to dry.
 
ted_dent said:
I assume you're talking about rifle cases. Imperial sizing lube is great stuff but having to clean off each case after you've sized it could get real old real fast if you're talking about doing hundreds of handgun cases. I personally use the Lee lanolin based case lube for rifle cases and have had no problems at all. Plus to clean off the lube a quick swish in lacquer thinner removes it with no residue and the thinner evaporates in a few minutes so no real wait for it to dry.
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lacquer thinner is nasty.
What I'm using is a tube of the Lee lube dissolved in 750ml rubbing alcohol and sprayed on. Once the alcohol flashes off, size then rinse with hot water and let dry.
 
Going through my case inventory and found a batch that I last did using Dawn dish soap and lemon shine compared to a batch that I did on the same day several months ago when I started using Armour All car wash/wax and lemon shine which is what I have used since. The top ones were done with Dawn and lemon shine and they have started to tarnish and were the same as the bottom ones the day I did them. This may not mean anything to some and that's ok. I am not gong to reload these cases and see how they look again in another few months.

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Reeferman said:
Going through my case inventory and found a batch that I last did using Dawn dish soap and lemon shine compared to a batch that I did on the same day several months ago when I started using Armour All car wash/wax and lemon shine which is what I have used since. The top ones were done with Dawn and lemon shine and they have started to tarnish and were the same as the bottom ones the day I did them. This may not mean anything to some and that's ok. I am not gong to reload these cases and see how they look again in another few months.

e789ed7e9bf001afeb0e8584475f998f_zpshrh2sfgy.jpg
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ive only tumbled with dawn soap and lemi-shine.
my first batch looks like your top one (darker brass) and my 2nd and 3rd batch looks like the bottom.
because my first batch i only tumbled for two hours and latter batches were for three hours (and a tiny bit more lemi-shine)
 
Eagleye said:
When someone can prove to me that the SS tumbling method produces more accurate ammo, then I may capitulate and avail myself of the system.

But, for now, I will stay with the walnut and corncob method. :) ;)
D.
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Well I have no idea if it makes more accurate ammo or not though it does come from the factory all shiny. For me it is easier and cleaner than using dry tumbling.
 
thechineseguy said:
ive only tumbled with dawn soap and lemi-shine.
my first batch looks like your top one (darker brass) and my 2nd and 3rd batch looks like the bottom.
because my first batch i only tumbled for two hours and latter batches were for three hours (and a tiny bit more lemi-shine)
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I must have been lucky as all my brass when I first started came out looking like the bottom picture. The reason I switched to a car wash/wax instead of using Dawn or other such dish soap is because guys who have been doing this far longer than myself did and all said they are getting much better results.
Those cases I showed proved it to me. Like I said use whatever works.
 
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