I notice that you guys clean brass before depriming?

K

Kryogen

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
11   0   0
Location
Quebec
I noticed that some of you seem to tumble brass before depriming.
How can it clean the primer pocket then?

Wouldnt it be better to deprime on a single stage with a decapper, then clean, lube, and then progressive reload?
 
Sounds good to me. Decap (dedicated decapper), clean, size, clean, reload. The initial cleaning (with or without decapping) is to protect the die when resizing. I always find I need to use the hand held primer pocket cleaner anyway, since I have a simple Franklin vibratory cleaner.
 
You don't have to tumble to clean the primer, in fact in the good old days there was no such thing as a tumbler. One would simply use the hand tool. I only tumble before sizing and depriming if I need to examine the brass. It saves me time to tumble after sizing to get the lube off.
 
I prefer to tumble my brass before depriming for 2 reasons. One is that having a primer in the pocket prevents the cleaning media from getting stuck in the primer pocket or flash hole.
Two, when I resize, the brass is clean which I feel makes it easier to resize & keeps the die clean.
I can then clean the primer pocket & reprime.

However, I realize it takes more time but I find reloading relaxing.
 
Primer pockets don't get cleaned well (if at all) by treated corncob media. Stainless steel media might do the trick but I don't use such.

And really, why should I ever clean the pocket? As long as the primer seats snugly and there's a flash hole, it's gonna do it's job.
 
I hate poking media out of flash holes, that is the very definition of tedious. Once tumbled, the brass can be resized and de-primed, then the other steps necessary for case prep can be accomplished, including running a primer pocket uniformer in to the primer pocket to remove carbon deposits. Another option is to clean the brass with an ultra-sonic cleaner, which does a good job of cleaning the primer pocket as well.
 
I prefer to leave the primers inand clean the brass first. I think it's better for my dies when depriming & resizing.

Then, I'll give them a quick touch with a hand pocket celaner in case there's any gunk in there, and a quick look to see the flash hole looks clear and about the right size.

Pokoing the media out that gets jammed in the hole is a tedious annoying process.
 
I use a universal decapping die, so there's no issue of getting my 'real' dies full of dirt. I run dirty cases through that, then into the tumbler and then back to the bench for reloading.

Actually, tumbling is hardly necessary. A wipe-down with a cloth soaked in lighter fluid is enough and, unless you are going for super accuracy, cleaning the inside of cases is pointless. There are cheap tools for cleaning 3D cr*p out of primer pockets and I used them for years.

I still use a tumbler, however. Among other things, it makes it easier to notice cracked cases, incipient head separations and so forth. I recently switched to a much finer ground walnut shell, which doesn't seem to plug the flash holes (and yes, "the very definition of tedious" is a good way of describing that problem). I suspect I will be switching to stainless steel pins eventually, but there are other priorities for my wallet right now.
 
colinjw said:
I prefer to tumble my brass before depriming for 2 reasons. One is that having a primer in the pocket prevents the cleaning media from getting stuck in the primer pocket or flash hole.
Two, when I resize, the brass is clean which I feel makes it easier to resize & keeps the die clean.
I can then clean the primer pocket & reprime.

However, I realize it takes more time but I find reloading relaxing.
Click to expand...

X2 Colin
 
fiddler said:
You don't have to tumble to clean the primer, in fact in the good old days there was no such thing as a tumbler. One would simply use the hand tool. I only tumble before sizing and depriming if I need to examine the brass. It saves me time to tumble after sizing to get the lube off.
Click to expand...

I often think of those days when nobody tumbled, because any tumbler around was for polishing rocks. Of course, the same kind are used now for tumbling cases, but as stated, nobody tumbled cases.
This bit about tumling to save the dies, is one of those many theories, related to shooting, that can not be proven. I am still using the same dies that I used extensively, for at least twenty years, before I started tummbling cases. The dies still look and perform perfectly.
Cases change color with time from a type of oxidation, but this in no way refers to them being dirty. If you wanted to clean a case, for example one that had been on the ground or a dirty floor, a simple wipe off with a cloth would do it.
So let's face it. You tumble cases for aesthetic purposes. Therefore, pretty up your cases any time your little heart desires.
 
For me, it depends on the condition of the brass. If I have some range pick-ups or I've bought some once fired, I will give them a quick tumble (maybe 1/2hour) then size/deprime, trim (if needed), chamfer mouths etc, then retumble. I don't even look at the primer pockets until after they're nice and shiny (I'm a little fussy). The pocket uniformer and flash hole tools do a good job of cleaning out any media that gets stuck in the holes (which is pretty much every one with corncob!!) and not hard to do while inspecting each piece for cracks or other dammage.
 
I am not particularly anal about super shiny brass.
When I do tumble, I leave the primers in to save having to pick media out of flash holes.
Cleaning primer pockets is a waste of time, except possibly for long range target loads.
I often reload my brass two or three times between tumblings.
I just make sure it is clean before lubing it to size it.
Haven't scratched a die yet.
I know that brass that is shiny inside and out is nice to look at, but it has no affect on performance whatsoever...absolutely none.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
Shiny brass makes it easy to check for defects and such. Will tumbling may not have much effect in a bolt action, for a semi, it certainly helps. Semi brass gets abused far more than bolt action brass and lots of scatches and crud gets into them. I wash my brass with warm soapy water to remove dirt and lead residue, then tumble and then remove primers.
 
Tumbling is easy, makes brass look pretty, makes it easier to see defects or splits or cracks, and it removes gunk that can get built up over time in your dies.

Washing brass by hand is tedious. Buy a tumbler :)
 
So what I'm gathering here is that it is OK to resize and decap fired brass without cleaning it first? Because that's a whole lot easier. I have an ultrasonic and would rather have it clean the primer pockets.
 
Shiney brass is not more accurate than oxidized,but i feel it makes the guy pulling the trigger more accurate.Thats what makes it worth it.
 
Paatz said:
So what I'm gathering here is that it is OK to resize and decap fired brass without cleaning it first? Because that's a whole lot easier. I have an ultrasonic and would rather have it clean the primer pockets.
Click to expand...

Heck, yes. But I would wipe any serious gunk off first, let the US do the detailed cleaning afterwards.
 
Tumbling is reserved for brass that's picked up out of the dirt, or really sooty brass that comes from cowboy loads. Otherwise, I find it's a big waste of time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom