Once you have used Stainless Steel Cleaning do you go back?
- Thread starter getmygun
- Start date
I believe he's talking about wet tumbling with stainless steel media.
I have converted to wet tumbling and won't go back to the dust.
In 1 year I spent over $80.00 in corn cob and walnut media not to mention all the different types of polish I tried.
Since turning to SS pins all I've bought is a bottle of dish soap and a bottle of Lemishine.
Hmmmmmmmm, I have been using the same $18 50lb bag of walnut and 1 bottle of Nu Finish for 2 years now. I can tumble and load the cases same day.
I guess if you really don't like cleaning primer pockets the SS method is the way to go I'll stick to walnut myself.
I guess if you really don't like cleaning primer pockets the SS method is the way to go I'll stick to walnut myself.
Yes it is by far!!!.. the problem with ceramic media is that it gets stuck in some of the cases.. I have used it and have two buckets of it in my basement if someone wants it... It gets stuck in the primer pockets and in some calibers gets jammed in the cases.. You can only use the spheres in rifle cases because the cylinders will get stuck irreversibly...
I switched to SS media and never looked back.. everytime.. i have new cases to reload... i also did an experiment that showed (not really scientific) that i got more consistent velocities (less variation for pistol reloading) with SS cleaned cases...
STAINLESS STEEL is the way to go
RDG
Ive bought the whole stainless setup.
Its great for pretty brass and clean primer pockets.
BUT it peens the case mouths on my 223 brass. Ive verified it and its a real pain to get rid of.
So i bought a Ultrasonic unit ( Branson ) and use the Hornady solution and it does a great job. Primer pockets get a quick twist of the pocket cleaner and into the solution!
I'm thinking its time to put the whole stainless thing out to pasture and put it on the EE.
Its great for pretty brass and clean primer pockets.
BUT it peens the case mouths on my 223 brass. Ive verified it and its a real pain to get rid of.
So i bought a Ultrasonic unit ( Branson ) and use the Hornady solution and it does a great job. Primer pockets get a quick twist of the pocket cleaner and into the solution!
I'm thinking its time to put the whole stainless thing out to pasture and put it on the EE.
- Location
- Timmins, Ontario
Just picked up a Lortone QT12 and used stainless steel dowel pins I picked up at Acklands Grainger and tumbled my first batch of .40 cal brass (approx 400 pieces)
What a phenominal way to clean brass. I've done the dry media stuff (walnut/cob) I've got 2 ultrasonic cleaners and they work however they pale in comparison to SS media in a rotary.
I wanted a Thumler's but had a hard time finding one in stock. The Lortone seems to do the job very well. No complaints here even with the cash outlay.
What a phenominal way to clean brass. I've done the dry media stuff (walnut/cob) I've got 2 ultrasonic cleaners and they work however they pale in comparison to SS media in a rotary.
I wanted a Thumler's but had a hard time finding one in stock. The Lortone seems to do the job very well. No complaints here even with the cash outlay.
SS media is definitely the best. I used corn cob and walnut media in a vibratory cleaner for at least 20 years. I also experimented with ultrasonic cleaning using various liquids. Corn cob or walnut does a good job of outside case cleaning making things easier for the sizing die but does nothing for inside necks nor primer pockets. Ultrasonic does a good job of all but is way too slow and won't clean large volumes at a time. Since using SS media in water, dish soap and Lemishine, I never have to clean primer pockets nor inside necks. Brass looks as new on all surfaces. Primers are set with a hand tool and primer feel is really smooth. No lead dust in the air in contrast to a vibratory cleaner. Only downside I've noticed is that from one to three pins get stuck in the necks of almost all 6.5X55 brass and have to be picked out with a small screwdriver. Expensive to set up but almost no maintenace cost (soap and Lemishine). Thumbler's Tumbler model B.
Stainage: I still don't understand how a so called slight peening of .223 cases is a pain? I have run thousands of cases and never seen or measured any peening at all. Unless the cases were found in the mud, 1 hour is plenty in the tumbler to remove dirt/grim from the inside and out.
The only thing I can think of is you are decaping the primers, lubing and sizing them and then putting them in the tumbler which kind of defeats the purpose of cleaning the cases before they go in the die.
The only thing I can think of is you are decaping the primers, lubing and sizing them and then putting them in the tumbler which kind of defeats the purpose of cleaning the cases before they go in the die.
What's your source of stainless media? From what some say they still see stuck media in cases. I have two shapes of ceramic and they usually don't stick if matched appropriately with the case size but I'm always interested in something new.
The case peening was when I put the brass in a 2 hour cycle. I have since reduced to a 1 hour cycle and it is almost almost eliminated, but it is still there, not as bad but I can detect it.
Ive gone to the Ultra Sonic method as I don't want to harm my Lapua match brass.
Like I said I'm trying both methods right now and will determine what I want to keep!
Ive gone to the Ultra Sonic method as I don't want to harm my Lapua match brass.
Like I said I'm trying both methods right now and will determine what I want to keep!
I've been using the stuff since it first appeared and have never found a way to reliably guarantee that it doesn't peen the case mouths. And once they are peened, it is a huge PITA to get rid of IF you need to. It won't affect lose chambers on pistols, sporting rifles or the like, but it causes HUGE headaches with precision rifles (custom chambers).
Someone said that it goes away during resizing. Nope! Not even with a Lee Collet dies... Still very detectable... the traces stick out like a sore thumb if I fire the cases through the Pressure Trace system (looks the same as when cases have donuts). Just pushing a bullet into a fired case, you can feel resistance. There shouldn't be any with a fire case...
Someone is going to say that it won't matter because it'll get trimmed off. Yeah, the first or second time you trim. However, the peening also shortens the cases, and once they stop stretching, they end up getting peened to less than trim-to-lenght and then it doesn't get trimmed off.
SS works great for some applications, probably most applications the average shooter will engage in. However, it isn't the right solution for brass that you're going to use in something like F-class. US is the way to go for that application.
Someone said that it goes away during resizing. Nope! Not even with a Lee Collet dies... Still very detectable... the traces stick out like a sore thumb if I fire the cases through the Pressure Trace system (looks the same as when cases have donuts). Just pushing a bullet into a fired case, you can feel resistance. There shouldn't be any with a fire case...
Someone is going to say that it won't matter because it'll get trimmed off. Yeah, the first or second time you trim. However, the peening also shortens the cases, and once they stop stretching, they end up getting peened to less than trim-to-lenght and then it doesn't get trimmed off.
SS works great for some applications, probably most applications the average shooter will engage in. However, it isn't the right solution for brass that you're going to use in something like F-class. US is the way to go for that application.
