Tips for a wet tumbler and SS media?

[CDR_Glock]

I have been using the FART (Frankford Arms Reloading Tools) wet tumbler since I can tumbler a large amount of brass : 600-800 revolver brass, for example. I use SS MEDIA AND Lemishine with water.

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I find it to be tedious and cumbersome, though.

I pour my brass through a media separator into a Home Depot bucket followed by rinsing the brass under a utility sink. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180906/10d0542363c59a6fefe7f1d88318b28a.png

Then I use a transfer magnet to collect my SS media in the bucket. Finally, I pour my brass into SS pan, collect the rest of SS media. I pour my brass onto a rubber mat to let them dry.

I’ve been doing this for over a year.

There has to be a more time efficient method.

I just ordered a tumbling sifter to facilitate this process of separating media. But I know I can only work at half capacity of what I’m tumbling...

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[Tigereye]

I use the same system in a similar way but with a couple of differences. After tumbling, I put the sifter caps on the tumbling drum and put it in a bucket. I rinse the brass and drum in the bucket. Then, I put the brass and ss into the media separator. Brass goes on a towel. SS media comes out of the media bucket with a magnet and gets placed on a towel to dry. I roll the brass around in the towel for a couple of minutes and then place the brass into a brass dryer.

[Bill Murray]

I am another user of the Frankford Arsenal system. My process is also slightly different. All my wet tumbling is performed on deprimed brass.

I wash using two tablespoons of Dawn detergent, along with 1-1/2 teaspoons of Lemi-Shine. The quantity of Lemi-Shine seems to have a definite effect on the color of the brass, and I have to periodically adjust the Lemi-Shine amount due to changes in our water quality.

I recently added another 5 pounds of stainless steel pins (beyond the pins originally received with the tumbler). This has improved the cleaning action.

I initially use the Frankford Arsenal sifters to pour off the water from the tumbler. I pour through a sifting pan purchased from Amazon (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BP3D50S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) into a Home Depot bucket. I then take small batches of brass from the tumbler and shake those over an aluminum turkey pan using a colander.

After separating the pins, I rinse my brass using colanders under cold water. I then tumble the brass on a towel before placing the brass on baking pans. I added the towel tumbling after finding my brass was spotting when taken from the water rinse to directly drying in the oven. The baking pans go into the oven for about 60 minutes at 200 degrees, to complete drying.

The whole process is a bit more work, but I am much more satisfied with the cleaning and appearance than with dry tumbling (which I did for many years).

[markm]

I have a sifter over a piece of awning shade over a bucket. Water, media, and brass are all separated in the same station.

I do however hand shake all the brass out and drop it into a clean water rinse to get the detergent off of it. I dump the water/brass into another sifter over a drain. Then I'll either anneal (large rifle brass) or poor onto a towel (.223 brass/pistol brass) and then dry tumble for 45 min to dry.

[BoxySatch]

I use the Frankford Arsenal Tumbler but gave up on the SS pins. Too much overhead. I tumble the brass without the SS pins and it polishes them just as well. Use a brass dryer that is similar to a dehydrator for jerky or fruit.

This is for pistol brass so your mileage may vary with Rifle Brass.

[markm]

I tumble the brass without the SS pins and it polishes them just as well.

You know? I ran one of my Thumlers with most of the pins in the strainer once, and with a small fraction of the pins in the rinse, the brass came out just the same. Seems that the agitation is most of the cleaning factor in the process.

[Tigereye]

I'll try it with less pins today. Thanks

[markm]

I'll try it with less pins today. Thanks

I still run mine with the standard pin load. I just happened to notice that less pins didn't make a big difference.

[Waylander]

I still run mine with the standard pin load. I just happened to notice that less pins didn't make a big difference.Did less pins still get your primer pockets clean?

Maybe it's like adding too much soap. At some point it just isn't any more effective.

Less pins would put a little less strain on the tumbler motor.

[markm]

Did less pins still get your primer pockets clean?


I can't remember exactly. It's been over a year. I've also forgotten to include dish soap. That was like stainless oat meal.

I did do a tumble experiment that was interesting. Hard water vs. Soft water. Phoenix area has really hard water. 19 grains hard at my house. (zero being soft water) So I ran a batch of brass with hard water, and a batch with soft. The hard water brass looked a little shinier. Almost like the soft water smoothed out the pin tumbling action too much. The hard water was a little harsher on the pin action, and made the brass cleaner.

[Tigereye]

I ran a load of brass with half the pins. Couldn’t tell the difference in the brass but probably knocked 5-8 minutes off the separation/clean up time. I didn’t notice a difference in the primer pockets but I haven’t loaded them yet.

[DCB]

Hard water vs. Soft water. Phoenix area has really hard water. 19 grains hard at my house. (zero being soft water) So I ran a batch of brass with hard water, and a batch with soft. The hard water brass looked a little shinier. Almost like the soft water smoothed out the pin tumbling action too much. The hard water was a little harsher on the pin action, and made the brass cleaner.

Yet another reason to continue to not put salt in my water softener :cool:

[TxRaptor]

I stopped using the pins for my wet tumbling altogether (pistol and rifle brass). I got tired of having to inspect rifle cases either manually or with a magnet for the pins that would get stuck/left behind. I was using the Frankford rotary media separator too.

I now use automotive car wash and wax soap along with lemishine. Like others, I also have hard water and if I allow my brass to air dry, water spots will get left behind. I use the Frankford brass dryer and I am satisfied with the results.


My process now is as follows:
1. De-prime brass, remove primer pocket crimps, and load into F.A.R.T.
2. Run the F.A.R.T with car was soap and lemishine
3. Drain water and brass into the rotary media separator to remove as much water as possible
4. Load clean brass into brass dryer

[markm]

I stopped using the pins for my wet tumbling altogether (pistol and rifle brass). I got tired of having to inspect rifle cases either manually or with a magnet for the pins that would get stuck/left behind. I was using the Frankford rotary media separator too.

I grab 5 or 6 pieces of brass at a time and tap the pins out on the sifter, then drop them into rinse water. It's a pain for .223 because there's more brass and they're smaller. .308 and up isn't too bad.

[Dannybot]

I pick up ranhe brass after 3gun matches and there is a lot of dirt and debris, so I have to use the pins to clean out the dirt and such.

How shiny are you getting your brass? I realize it doesn’t make much difference, but when I was using a Harbor Freight double drum tumbler the brass was much brighter than I get it with the FART...

[markm]

I've noticed that brass fired through a gas gun with a suppressor doesn't come out very shiny. I'm running 3 hour cycles on average.

[TxRaptor]

I too am using range brass. However the brass has not been on the ground/dirt for very long.

I run mine for about an hour to an hour and a half and the brass comes out shiny enough for me. It does not look like brand new brass but pretty darn close. There is a company that sells a product called "Brass juice". They claim their brass cleaning product does not require the use of pins and that your brass comes out looking new. Once I use up my current car wash/wax solution, I may give it a try.

[markm]

The shiniest stuff I've ever seen is from that brutal dry media with Jewlers' Rouge. That stuff is nasty, and stick inside the casings. I think sinister (here) thought it had damaged a barrel, and I believe it.

[fedupflyer]

With the FART, I also stopped using the pins and noticed that normal range brass comes out clean. Must be all the agitation from the bigger tumbler as I started out on a harbor freight model.
Also, don't use to much Lemishine or within about six weeks or so your brass will tarnish.

[bp7178]

The shiniest stuff I ever made was wet tumbled with SS media a touch of Dawn and lemishine. Rinsed then put into very hot water with a touch of lemishine in it. From there they went into a strainer were I tossed them until most of the water ran out, then dumped onto a towel and tossed around until dry. Not only were they ridiculously shiny, they stayed that way.