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Posted: 2/16/2017 11:58:43 PM EDT
[#1]
Of course.
I care about my dies and want them to remain scratch free. |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 12:24:43 AM EDT
[#2]
Nope! May wipe them off if visibly contaminated with dirt, but otherwise just lube them up and size away. I then tumble them in either corncob dry media or in my new fancy wet tumbler.
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Posted: 2/17/2017 12:35:03 AM EDT
[#3]
Yes you clean cases before sizing. Dirty cases will scratch your sizing die.
Once scratched, every case that goes through that die will come out scratched. This is a sure sign of careless reloading practices. Whether it's tumbling or wiping off with a clean rag, cases must be grit free. Wiping with a rag is old school, as in before we had tumblers available. |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 12:43:11 AM EDT
[#4]
Yes. I sort cases when I come home from the range and when I get enough for a load I tumble them and put them in their respective storage containers.
When I get ready to load all my brass is clean and ready to start loading. |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 1:02:23 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Of course. I care about my dies and want them to remain scratch free. Point taken, but aside from semi-auto brass/cal (which I'm just starting to get into) my cases aren't really dirty in a way that would scratch the die. |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 7:22:51 AM EDT
[#6]
99% of the time. Probably one exception would be new brass fired in a revolver where there is little or no carbon and the ammo goes from box to gun then empty's back to box.
It's very hard to damage a carbide sizing ring. Motor |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 7:45:59 AM EDT
[#7]
Yes, I tumble prior to sizing every time
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Posted: 2/17/2017 7:52:43 AM EDT
[#8]
I've been sizing my bulk 223 reloads for a while now without tumbling. Several thousand rounds done this way and no issues so far. If I end up scratching my cheap Lee sizing die, I'll buy another one.
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Posted: 2/17/2017 7:58:21 AM EDT
[#9]
Yes, tumble before sizing.
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Posted: 2/17/2017 9:14:28 AM EDT
[#10]
I tumble them all before resizing and then after to get lube off the rifle cases for sure.
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Posted: 2/17/2017 10:06:11 AM EDT
[#11]
Absolutely.
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Posted: 2/17/2017 11:14:47 AM EDT
[#12]
It depends.
On my rifle brass that is fired from my guns, that never sees the ground, I will size it without tumbling. I tumble this brass post sizing and trimming. On range pickups, I generally pop the primers out, then wet tumble without pins to make sure I get the grit and trash out of them. After that I cut crimps, size, and trim, inspecting during this step for defects. They can be tumbled with the brass that comes from my rifles at this point. Pistol cases just get decapped and tumbled. Sizing is all done on the progressive during loading. I have yet to scratch a die. |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 1:58:50 PM EDT
[#13]
Yep, most definitely. All cases, all calibers. Like dryflash mentioned keeps my brass scratch free. It also maintains my investment and keep my equipment clean no matter how cheap sizing dies are.
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Posted: 2/17/2017 4:19:58 PM EDT
[#14]
Thanks for the replies. As I mentioned, not sure i see a need with my bolt gun and revolver brass as other than the burnt powder the cases are mostly clean anyway. Now that I'm starting to load .223 and .308 for SA rifles I'll need to explore an approach for cleaning off dirt. I don't have a dry tumbler and just use a rock tumbler for wet tumbling, but maybe I can just get some walnut media and use the same tumbler (different drum) for quick, pre-sizing cleaning.
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Posted: 2/17/2017 5:16:31 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Thanks for the replies. As I mentioned, not sure i see a need with my bolt gun and revolver brass as other than the burnt powder the cases are mostly clean anyway. Now that I'm starting to load .223 and .308 for SA rifles I'll need to explore an approach for cleaning off dirt. I don't have a dry tumbler and just use a rock tumbler for wet tumbling, but maybe I can just get some walnut media and use the same tumbler (different drum) for quick, pre-sizing cleaning. You dont have to get into wet tumbling to get some of the benefits of it. If you are looking to just get it good enough to size, then just wash it. Brass 5 gallon bucket with lid Dish soap Lemishine Hot water Fill bucket up no more than 1/4 full of brass Add hot water to 1/2 Add soap and Lemishine Lid it and shake vigorously Left sit and soak for 10 minutes Shake again Rinse well with cold water Spread out and let it dry or cook it in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. I do this with really scroungy pistol brass that has mud in it before I run on the decapper. Would work fine with rifle as well |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 5:24:46 PM EDT
[#16]
I tumble, De-prime, wet clean and dry. Then Lube & Size, Prime, Powder, Seat Bullet, Crimp. Done!
Why gamble on grit getting into the sizing die..? |
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Posted: 2/17/2017 5:44:26 PM EDT
[#17]
To clarify, I've only been wet tumbling after sizing to remove lube, clean and shine. Works great. No real issue with dirt/grit when sizing so never worried about it.
I didn't really want to wet tumble 223 before sizing given the extra time and drying time and unless I also get a decap die (yet another thing) water would get in around the primer. I just picked up some walnut media and going to try it in the rock tumbler drum (dry of course) for just long enough to clean grit and dirt then size and tumble wet as usual. |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 2:27:29 PM EDT
[#18]
Well, have to say I'm not overly impressed with dry tumbling before sizing. After 90 mins in the tumbler they aren't really any "cleaner" than before. A bit shinier, but as far as being free of dirt I don't know that it helped any. They really weren't dirty to begin with. I bet rolling them around in a damp towel would be enough to remove the odd piece of grit and I need to do that anyway to make sure there isn't any walnut bits/dust hanging around.
Now, the once fired 30-06 stuff I bought locally was in bad shape and tumbling those would have been an easy way to clean them. Rather than an all or none approach probably just need to sort and tumble those that need it. Anyway, thanks for the feedback and ideas. Always good to get new perspectives. |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 3:17:48 PM EDT
[#19]
Yes, walnut shells because I like mine to be clean. After sizing I run them in corn cob.
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Posted: 2/18/2017 4:36:43 PM EDT
[#20]
Absolutely 100% of the time I tumble before sizing. This will undoubtedly save your sizing die in the long run. The only exception is when I buy virgin brass.
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Posted: 2/18/2017 4:39:29 PM EDT
[#21]
Always, since I don't want to mar/scratch the hell out of the inside of sizer.
Will take it one step father, and if the brass is to be wet media tumbled, will decap the primers out of the brass with a decapper only die, so the spent primers do not chemical bound into the primer pockets; ending up with shit ton of ringers as well. |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 5:20:39 PM EDT
[#22]
The carbon on case exteriors is abrasive too. If you see even very fine scratches on the exteriors of your cases the strength of your cases is likely compromised. At that point, all you can really do is replace the sizing die and the scratched brass. I've had carbide dies with grit embedded in them, and especially Hornady Tn plated sizers. It took awhile, but I finally bought a tumbler. Then another and another.
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Posted: 2/18/2017 9:26:50 PM EDT
[#23]
Tumble in walnut (30-40 minutes)
Decap Polish in corncob for at least an hour Resize |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 10:22:56 PM EDT
[#24]
Always.
Danny |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 2:23:53 AM EDT
[#25]
I tumble and polish overnight in corn cob media, and my brass comes out clean and very shiny. After I decap and resize, I tumble again for about 30 minutes to remove the sizing die wax.
I don't think I could bring myself to resize dirty brass. |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 2:49:28 AM EDT
[#26]
I deprime brass.
Wet tumble. Resize. Wet tumble again. Trim/chamfer etc... Load Dry tumble completed loaded cartridge in clean walnut media that has been treated with NuFinish. NuFinish lightly polishes the brass and keeps it from tarnishing. If I'm going to shoot the ammo and not store long term I skip the dry tumble method at the end. |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 3:04:17 AM EDT
[#27]
Yes, always.
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Posted: 2/19/2017 9:12:58 AM EDT
[#28]
I do now.
But I loaded for 20 years before tumblers were commonplace. If the cases had dirt (from the ground) on them, I wiped them off. Otherwise, they went straight up into the die. I've loaded 10's of thousands of rounds without tumbling. |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 10:38:57 AM EDT
[#29]
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Posted: 2/19/2017 10:45:17 AM EDT
[#30]
For rifle brass I tumble in corn cob for 1 hour then de-prime, size and trim.
After the processing trip through my press it goes back in the tumbler for 2 hours to polish up and clean off the lube. I have yet to start loading pistol on my press but that is going to happen real soon. For that it will go in for 2 hours first before hitting the press to be de-primes, sized and loaded. I tumble in my detached garage and use a timer that has 1hr, 2hr, 4hr and 8hr settings. I reload in my basement workshop. |
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