Wet tumbling on a budget

[webley701]

GGC96,
Wet tumbling may have utility when dealing with cleaning range ‘pick-up’ cases (as is commonly done in the US - the heartland of ‘wet-tumbling’) but for the typical British shooter it’s an irrelevance. A rub with a cloth will clean off any grit if the case has landed on the ground & if this is done sooner than later after shooting it will also remove most or all of any slight powder fouling around the case neck.

A vibratory ‘tumbler’ for dry media can be handy for cleaning lube off after resizing & as a by product shine the cases somewhat but it’s very much an optional extra. The shine won’t make them shoot any better.

 

[GGC96]

GGC96,
Wet tumbling may have utility when dealing with cleaning range ‘pick-up’ cases (as is commonly done in the US - the heartland of ‘wet-tumbling’) but for the typical British shooter it’s an irrelevance. A rub with a cloth will clean off any grit if the case has landed on the ground & if this is done sooner than later after shooting it will also remove most or all of any slight powder fouling around the case neck.

A vibratory ‘tumbler’ for dry media can be handy for cleaning lube off after resizing & as a by product shine the cases somewhat but it’s very much an optional extra. The shine won’t make them shoot any better.

My main reason for picking wet over dry is the dust - I’ve been told dry tumbling can be a dusty affair and I don’t have the outside space for it. My other consideration was a ultrasonic, have been persuaded to tumbling because the pins should clean out the primer pocket better

 

[webley701]

My main reason for picking wet over dry is the dust - I’ve been told dry tumbling can be a dusty affair and I don’t have the outside space for it. My other consideration was a ultrasonic, have been persuaded to tumbling because the pins should clean out the primer pocket better

You don’t need to even dry tumble - a wipe with a rag is all you need before lubing/sizing - same again after sizing to remove the lube.

If you feel the need to clean the primer pockets then the little twist tool offered by Sinclair (sold by Brownells) or similar from other makers is all you need. It will do a better & far faster job than tumbling (wet or dry) or ultrasonic.

 

[Pedro]

I've got one of those. They work fine, but don't put it on full chat or the container will break loose and make a bid for freedom. And, of course, the amount of brass you can do at one time is limited. But you can, of course get around that by planning ahead and having a bit of patience.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18689486...6Ca/c2SMoljuqPZtuvzhtTO/A=|tkp:Bk9SR6TK96HfZQ

 

[fixedwheel]

There was some hornady tumblers on ebay via a1 decoys at £99 recently, I picked one up and great so far

I grabbed one as well, haven't used it yet, but good to hear your experience with it.

 

[75]

The shine won’t make them shoot any better.

Pah!!! What witchcraft is this you're peddling Everyone knows that shiny things are better

My main reason for picking wet over dry is the dust - I’ve been told dry tumbling can be a dusty affair

It's not - I think I've got corn media in a Lyman tumbler and never noticed any airborne dust off it. Lid is on when it's running anyway. I tend to use wet tumbler more as I do like clean brass (but am under no illusions it shoots any better!).

 

[GGC96]

I've got one of those. They work fine, but don't put it on full chat or the container will break loose and make a bid for freedom. And, of course, the amount of brass you can do at one time is limited. But you can, of course get around that by planning ahead and having a bit of patience.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186894868271?_skw=jewellery+polishing+tumbler&itmmeta=01JVX1XWM8T0149JFK7EGVCB5B&hash=item2b83cd5f2f:g:uHsAAOSwPkVljRm-&itmprp=enc:AQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cCJQnvOcTRcNxlLDuINY7S1yUju+MGdMK+QJfmbHzMiOxoOcgTCW3eZjrW5Vd2i8/+Sa+uwDGMXddZwjatvLcpTyy5YdJ5/2nn+qF2jGlpRXDK5rgwAaDmKtEWVOCeu3QqV5b7SmJkGm6QfygBxxnwTexTaJ7cmlKnzhDXZhpUBEb8EHc+dQQw2bZhArvrg2d/9X75uFFp1J8AOt1w7tkKKfk2KIuUHiZEeq8EY18ETBhTMbFkEBmGI/MVy4yxM6JY2JIuI54ktyrSvoFIoY/yivdhXHfkUQupxxh0/36Ca/c2SMoljuqPZtuvzhtTO/A=|tkp:Bk9SR6TK96HfZQ

How many of what caliber can you fit? I’ll be reloading 6.5creed and 30-06

 

[Pedro]

How many of what caliber can you fit? I’ll be reloading 6.5creed and 30-06

The biggest brass I use in it is .303. I generally do 20-30 at a time. But it would likely be fine up to 40 or possibly 50 at a push.

 

[Taffbats]

I recently got into wet tumbling and was blown away by how good it is!.. also did on the cheap using a treadmill and a protein tub as the barrel, I had to put 3 nylon block agitators inside to mix things up and a couple of large elastic bands for grip, bought some stainless pins/balls/disc's off ebay for media, filled half way up with warm water and a dishwasher tablet! works a treat.

 

[Taffbats]

Some before and after hornet brass after an hour on the treadmill.

 

[Taffbats]

 

[Taffbats]

 

[Bo Diddley]

View attachment 421595View attachment 421596View attachment 421597View attachment 421598

Super clean, and some exercise as well. Lovely little calibre.

 

[GGC96]

So I ordered the tumbler - it’s definitely not 3kg (which should equate to 3L if talking volume) maybe 1/1.5kg, much smaller than expected.

Still managed to fit 50 rounds of 30-06 in with a good handful of stainless steel ball bearings that came with the machine. Waiting on pins to arrive.

Difficult to appreciate in the photo but I tried two batches, one with lemon rinse aid and another without (obviously in the interest of science and not because I’d forgotten to add to one batch). I found the one with rinse aid came out cleaner and with fewer marks.


At first glance would I recommend it?

Sure - if you’re a stalker like me (and I’m assuming most of us are) who has time and will be reloading in batches of 50/100. But if you’re a PRS shooter who is shooting 100+ rounds a day I’d invest in something bigger. They do have a 5kg version but they seem pretty hard to find in the UK.

I’ll post in a few months time to give another update in terms of longevity

 

[GGC96]

it’s definitely not 3kg (which should equate to 3L if talking volume) maybe 1/1.5kg, much smaller than expected.

In response to this - I complained about the size to eBay and they have issued a full refund. WINNER

 

[GGC96]

Having used it a fair bit over the last week or so - I can say they work very well. Doing batches of 50 x 30-06 and 6.5creedmoor. If you haven’t done so yet, go buy one

 

[Taffbats]

Nice!.. how are you drying them?

 

[GGC96]

Nice!.. how are you drying them?

Food dehydrator - looking at the ones available for reloading they’re the same thing except this one cost me £10 on Facebook

 

[hairlesshunter]

I just put about 20 at a time in a tea towel on the radiator

 

[25 Sharps]

Nice!.. how are you drying them?

Roll in a towel to get the outsides dry then in the oven at 60-80 degrees or if the sun’s out on the shelf in the greenhouse.