trimming straight wall cases??

English Mike

PaulS wrote:

Mike do you use a cement mixer to clean all that brass with steel pins?
Doing it a batch at a time in a Frankfort Arsenal tumbler would take weeks.

.45 ACP goes through 7-800 at a time & a couple of times I've run three lots in a day.
The most labour intensive part is getting the pins out - takes about 5 minutes by putting the cases in a small frying basket about 50 at a time & giving it a good shake with the cases under water in a BIG bowl.
Rifle cases take longer, as they have to be shaken out by hand, mebbe 15 minutes for a load of 400.
Even in November, spreading them out on old towels in the NM sun & low humidity dries them fast.

PaulS

Mike,
I have the same tumbler but use walnut media instead of water and pins. I can enpty the drum into my strainer basket (it sits atop a 5 gallon bucket) and shake the cases free of any media in moments. Then I can reload without stopping or prep the cases and put them in storage for the next reloading session.
I even talked to the folks at Frankfort to make sure the walnut media was OK to use.

English Mike

I've seen others do the same but the end result's nowhere near as good looking, or as easy to find again when out shooting. Very Happy

It would be easy to clear out the pins using a rotary media separator running in a water bath but I'm too cheap to buy one. Laughing

Bushmaster

I have a Lyman Turbo 1200 vibrator that I bought in 1986. I use a corn cob media so fine that it will almost flow through the flash hole. No problem with stuck or plugged media in the cases. I do use a few drops of Nu-Finish. The end product is not only bright and shinny, but corrosive resistant.

PaulS

Bushy,
I have a Lyman vibratory cleaner too, but it never gets used any more. It is too noisy and it takes too long. I switched from cob to walnut. The cases are not as polished but they are clean and free of corrosion in about 1/3 the time. I get the walnut at a local feed and supply store for $10 for 25 pounds.

RePete

I had a Lyman Turbo 1200 that crapped out about 4 years ago.

I have 2 2500 Pro Magnum Tumbler and a 2200 that had the auto flo (what junk) that I installed the 1200 bowl on.

The 3 work hard for me and very well.

My media is 40% Lyman Treated Corn Cob and 60% Corn Blast along with 4 used Bounce Dryer sheets in each 2500 and 3 used Bounce Dryer sheets in the 1200 bowl, with a shot of mineral spirits and Nu Finish car wax mixed a a bottle.

I run them for 2 hrs (new media) for great results and when it gets to 4hrs, I change the media.

Bushmaster

Paul: My tumbler is in the basement/shop and is never heard. While polishing cases I have other procedures to perform and by the time I'm ready to reload the cases are done.

Repete: I haven't changed my media in years. I just add to it as it disappears to wherever it goes (some on the bench and some on the floor).