So I just ordered my first wet tumbler, a Thumler model B.  I've read through the how tos and watched the videos online. I'm just looking for little tips and tricks that people have found that helps speed things up or makes things easier. Maybe tips of what to use? How to dry? Mods to the machines? Anything that you've found to be helpful.

Thank you!

For the thumler sized tumbler I'd use maybe half a 9mm case full of lemishine and 2 or 3 big squirts of dawn

I use a Franklin armory media separator to get the pins out and then dump the brass in an old towel and shake it around. Then it either goes on a 3’ x 3' screen to dry or into a disposable aluminum pan and in the oven at 225 for a half hour. Towel drying seems to help prevent any spotting or staining of you're worried about that

If you use a lot of case lube it can build up in the tumbler. I'm that case I add a tablespoon of super clean to each load

Franklin Armory media separator is a bargain at twice the price.
Cheap food dehydrator gets them dry in a jiffy.

Try it without the stainless pins.  Decap your brass, throw in the tumbler with some water, a couple squirts of Dawn and a little LemiShine and run for a few hours.   When it's done just rinse and let dry.

This will not get the primer pockets or interior of the case shiny but the outside of the cases will be clean and it's a darn sight easier than trying to chase down all those darn pins and making sure they are out of the cases.

Sort of defeats the entire purpose of stainless media tumbling there doesn't it? Lol

I  use a rare earth magnet stuck to the side of the drum, run water into the drum as I pick out the brass, the pins stay in the drum.

I also use the rare earth magnet to confirm there are no pins still in the cases. I just hover it over a pile a finished brass, it will find a single pin wedged in a neck.

Use a Harbor Freight tumbler so it probably holds fewer cases(60 rifle cases per drum), if I  were doing several hundred at a time, I guess I would  get a separator.

I dry my brass in the oven, set it to 220 put them in on a sheet of foil for about a half hour. Done several thousand this way. 

Good info. Thanks everyone.

I do have a question though...

After resizing, with a vibratory tumbler, I usually toss the brass back in to get the lube off but I feel like if I do that after wet tumbling, I'm going to lose that pretty shine we all love with wet tumbling.

What do you guys do to get rid of lube after resizing?

Personally I use Oneshot  so I don't have to do anything to remove the lube. I have read of others that tumble in corn cob to remove lube which polishes also apparently. Shine is fun for a minute but then you get over it.

I've gone back and forth myself.  I was tumbling in corn-cob after sizing to remove the lube.  Brass was still bright, clean and shiny, but not quite as nice as the recently wet-tumbled stuff.   I think either way you go you'll be fine.  I haven't had any noticeable build up of lube in my wet-FART so for now my process is:

1)  Tumble for an hour in corn-cob media in the dry-FART to remove any dirt or soot that I don't want going through my dies.  
2)  Size and decap using Royal Case lube
3)  Drop in the wet-FART, put  a .40 S&W case of lemi-shine and a couple good squirts of dawn, tumble 2-3 hours depending on what I have going on
4)  Rinse thoroughly with tap water
5)  Towel off thoroughly
6)  Place in an old brownie pan and bake at 250deg for 1 hour to dry


I do get a few spots and every now and then a little residue in the primer pockets if I get in a hurry, but its really quick and easy to get amazing brass without much effort.

I put the brass in dry tumble media that has some Nufinish added and let it run for an hour. Comes out shinier than after just a wet tumble and shine stays longer because of the wax coating.

After you separate the brass/pins, rinse out the brass several times. I could have been using to much soap or Lemishine, but I was getting rainbow streaks/discoloration when dried out after only 1-2 thorough rinses.  I now rinse 4-5 times and it has improved the shine of the brass when dried and significantly less discoloration.

Great info here. Thank you everyone!

You'd be astounded at how clean citric acid powder and Armorall wax/soap mixture gets cases without pins.

The magnets in the higher capacity hard drives are extremely strong.  I have been using a weak ass magnet for pins, with about 20 serious nasty strong magnets sticking on the metal shelf of my desk at work doing absolutely nothing.  

I need to get them from work to my shed without frying my computer or phone. 

This was my first run with a HF tumbler.  I was immediately sold.  Lemi shine, dawn, and pins. 

Try it without pins.