Can I tumble live rounds?

propliner said:
There was a good report done by a guy who vibrated a bunch of ammo. He took microscopic pictures of different powder kernels and primer contents, before and after, and neither showed any amount of abrasion or deterioration after many hours of vibrating in his unit. To me, it was evidence enough that live ammo is not harmed at all by doing this.
I wish I could find the writeup now... it's out there somewhere.
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Lol, post #6
 
Lee case length gauge anvil and chuck it in a cordless drill.............any drill for that matter.
Spin it and polish with steel wool.
Or a rag and that stinkie chit Brasso splawwtched awn a rag.
Don't take long tuh gitter rat shiny.

Just don't pewt them live rounds in yer paw-kitt.
Blow yer bawls awff.......................................................:nest:
 
I haven't had a dry tumbler for years now but if I did I wouldn't hesitate if I had some ammo to clean up. This is one of the more annoying myths I hear, right up there with "you can't shoot slugs through a choke".
 
kamlooky said:
Lee case length gauge anvil and chuck it in a cordless drill.............any drill for that matter.
Spin it and polish with steel wool.
Or a rag and that stinkie chit Brasso splawwtched awn a rag.
Don't take long tuh gitter rat shiny.

Just don't pewt them live rounds in yer paw-kitt.
Blow yer bawls awff.......................................................:nest:
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Lol, should be more careful with my ammo cans and bricks of 22lr.
 
kamlooky said:
Lee case length gauge anvil and chuck it in a cordless drill.............any drill for that matter.
Spin it and polish with steel wool.
Or a rag and that stinkie chit Brasso splawwtched awn a rag.
Don't take long tuh gitter rat shiny.

Just don't pewt them live rounds in yer paw-kitt.
Blow yer bawls awff.......................................................:nest:
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Got Juice? said:
use steel wool to clean up. problem with tumbling is the powder kernels inside the case can be beat up enough to break up into smaller pieces. This in turn can affect the pressure, causing a safe load to become unsafe.
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I would generally not use steel wool to polish non-ferrous metals like brass. Iron from the wool will be forced into the microscopic irregularities in the polished surface, and encourage galvanic corrosion. It could take place at a rate that would likely far exceed that of the corrosion already been deposited on old ammo.
I suppose if you were going to shoot it shortly after and don't keep your brass it would be no big deal. Definitely not for ammo to be stored for later though.
 
Now that's a slick piece of gear!

I noticed that the round he held up was covered completely on one side with some kind of metal salt (Cusomethingorother). I've been curious about how much is too much for the case to be safe for 4-5 firings in a semi like an AR. I scored a bunch of .223 brass that for the most part is completely but lightly tarnished, but some pieces are quite badly tarnished in some spots. I wash them in a weak acid solution first then tumble. I've only noticed a few lightly pitted which I discard, I have about 5,000 so no loss. Is there a rule of thumb for this? I pitch them in the scrap bin for safeties sake, but for any future deals how much is too much tarnish?
 
redshooter said:
Now that's a slick piece of gear!

I noticed that the round he held up was covered completely on one side with some kind of metal salt (Cusomethingorother). I've been curious about how much is too much for the case to be safe for 4-5 firings in a semi like an AR. I scored a bunch of .223 brass that for the most part is completely but lightly tarnished, but some pieces are quite badly tarnished in some spots. I wash them in a weak acid solution first then tumble. I've only noticed a few lightly pitted which I discard, I have about 5,000 so no loss. Is there a rule of thumb for this? I pitch them in the scrap bin for safeties sake, but for any future deals how much is too much tarnish?
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I got a case of Hirtenberger that was likely stored under water by the looks of the brass. Every single round has large green barnacles on it. I wish I had access to that big ass ceramic media tumbler but I'm too poor...
Anyway, they get chucked in a drill, spun with some 00 non-steel wool until it's removed, spun quickly with some polish on a rag, then into the tumbler for a day or 2. I weighed before and after and not a measurable difference, so I have no concerns.
 
Totally safe to do. Don't do it with hollow point 9mm or you will be digging corncob media out of the cavities. Ask me how I know. :bangHead:
 
Divermike said:
I would generally not use steel wool to polish non-ferrous metals like brass. Iron from the wool will be forced into the microscopic irregularities in the polished surface, and encourage galvanic corrosion. It could take place at a rate that would likely far exceed that of the corrosion already been deposited on old ammo.
I suppose if you were going to shoot it shortly after and don't keep your brass it would be no big deal. Definitely not for ammo to be stored for later though.
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I'd be curious about when this galvanic corrosion would take place? Just checked some IVI brass that I had spun as per Looky's description, and it still looks fine - I prepped these in about 1985.
 
Don't do it! Bad Ju-ju. I did it once and my brother got divorced, cat crapped on the carpet, wrecked my truck, broke my ankle, never won the lottery, fell off a ladder, wife dropped the milk and broke an egg, accidently drank cold coffee(yuck), cheese went mouldy, missed a duck, got skunked ice fishing, lost my boot in deep mud, Bad ju-ju man.
 
Divermike said:
I would generally not use steel wool to polish non-ferrous metals like brass. Iron from the wool will be forced into the microscopic irregularities in the polished surface, and encourage galvanic corrosion. It could take place at a rate that would likely far exceed that of the corrosion already been deposited on old ammo.
I suppose if you were going to shoot it shortly after and don't keep your brass it would be no big deal. Definitely not for ammo to be stored for later though.
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Brass is less reactive than steel, so the steel particles would be oxidized instead of the brass. Worst case would be unsightly rust spots on the brass, assuming enough steel was left behind.

The real reason not to use steel wool it that it is much more labour-intensive than tumbling. Go ahead and tumble those loaded rounds to your heart's content!
 
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