Since I posted on 5 May that I’d cleaned all my primer tubes, I’ve fielded PM questions about how I did it, so I figured it’d be useful for everyone for me to just post the details.

Within measurement tolerance, all of my Dillon and Hornady tubes have a 5/16” OD.  The small primer tubes have a thicker wall, so the ID is 0.183”, while the large primer tubes have a somewhat thinner wall for an ID of 0.215”.  This makes a difference in how you swab them out, but it’s visibly obvious, so it would be REALLY hard to confuse which was which later.  I believe RCBS tubes are essentially the same, but I haven’t measured any of them, since I don’t use the primer feed on my Rock Chucker.

First, get all the “attachments” off the tubes - tips, pins, etc. all get in the way.  Once all the attachments are off of the tubes, cleaning is easy.  

I cut a square .22 caliber patch in half, soak it in isopropyl alcohol, and place it in one end of the tube.  Then I use a 5/32” or 1/8” dowel to push the patch through the tube.  Repeat a couple of times, and if the patch comes out with any “color” on it, add more alcohol and repeat.

Small primer tubes will be harder to put the patch into and harder to push it through, so I take care to get the patch rolled up to fit in, then gently push it into the tube before I shove it through.  That’s it.

Now here’s the more complicated part: getting stuff off of the tubes so you can clean them.

Dillon and Hornady have specific tubes to feed the press.  I’ll call these primer feed tubes, and the other tubes primer pick up tubes.  The two brands have some differences in how they work, but they’re essentially so similar that they can be cleaned pretty much the same way.

Dillon’s feed tubes have a “flexible orifice” tip that dispenses one primer at a time.  I take the flexible orifice tip off the Dillon tube before cleaning.  Hornady’s feed tubes don’t have any attachments to take off.

Hornady’s pick up tubes have a white plastic “pick up” tip on one end - they can be taken out with a pair of fine pliers or hemostats, and they’ll go right back in - make sure to put the right size tip into each tube.  These tubes have a hole through the tube for the retaining clip that keeps the primers from falling out; it doesn’t cause any issues.

Dillon’s tubes have a “pick up” tip at one end that’s easy to remove, and a “dispense” tip at the other end - this tip has holes for the primer retaining clip.  The dispense tips are pretty hard to remove if they’ve never been off, but there is potentially a space between the inside of the tip and the end of the tube that could collect primer dust, so I take those off.  Dillon recommends this: “Hold the tube upright, colored tip pointed upward, against the edge of your bench. quickly slide the tube down, so that the edge of the plastic tip catches the edge of your bench and flips off.” *

Once I’ve cleaned the tubes, I let them stand at an angle for a while so they can dry thoroughly.  Reassemble each tube as appropriate.  Dillon’s dispense tips might take some extra effort to fully seat onto the tube.

I’ll be happy to field any questions about the details.  Honestly, aside from getting parts off of the tubes, it’s pretty simple.

*https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/214722-primer-pickup-tube-tip-change/
5th post, by Dillon on 5 May 2015

Good reminder OP.   I did all mine recently when I got a new bench and press, and they were full of primer compound dust.

I have two methods:

Method 1

dip both ends of a Q tip in rubbing alcohol, push the Q tip down the tube with the primer following rod

Method 2

.177 airgun cleaning rod and alcohol soaked patch

I use the q tip method.
Use my 17 cal cleaning rod to push them.
And yes I am due to clean them.
I so don't want a hole in my trailer mansions roof or a face job.

Are we not men?

Make a spitwad with paper towel and acetone/alcohol such that it obturates the bore. Apply compressor blowgun nozzle. Squeeze trigger on the blowgun. Repeat. Shoot various items in the shop or garage. Do not shoot near shop cat's feet. Shop cat is precious to your children. Blast shop cat with compressed air. Shop cat loves that.

I just fashion a spit-ball out of paper towel, dab in in some iso-alcohol and ram it a few times, down my Dillon tubes.

Works for me.

Chris

I’m more than a little anxious about using the primer follower rod to push that patch down the tube.  I don’t want to break the follower if I manage to get the patch stuck.  So I use a dowel.

I’ve never come close and when in doubt, I just slam another beer and the shakes go away!

Dowel, cleaning rod, or anything along those lines should be sufficient, but just to be clear, it’s not a wad of Double-Bubble.

Chris

I used canned air designed for electronic components.

You can push these off using a small open or closed end wrench, use the flat part of the wrench end in lieu of bench edge.

This technique works for smaller rubber automotive hoses

I just wash'em in hot, soapy water, rinse and let air dry.

It ain't rocket surgery.

I’ll have to try that.  The bench-edge technique was “not consistent” for me, and the tips tended to try to escape.


I am surprised that this hadn’t come up before.  Your technique eliminates the need to take the tubes apart, reducing wear and tear (on parts and the user!), and should be pretty much as effective as the alcohol at getting stuff out of the tubes.

Additionally, (which I just thought of), alcohol is one of the solvents used in primer production, which means that when the alcohol evaporates, the priming compound left on patches might still be sensitive.  Yes, I’m being extremely cautious here, but I have had a primer go off at an inopportune time, so I give that priming compound a LOT of respect.

I think I’d still run a dry patch through the tubes after washing to get residual water out and speed drying.  I have a lot of calcium in my water, so for me it would be as much to reduce/remove calcium as speeding drying.

I just can't help myself....

What nasty primers are you folks using that makes you need to clean the tubes?  Am I missing something?  Pet hair/dander?  Sawdust and metal grindings?

I haven't cleaned a primer tube, ever.  30 years of primer tube use. I only had one stuck primer because it managed to turn sideways.

primer compound dust builds up, so cleaning is to prevent primer compound dust not to facilitate the flow of the primers

Clean one of your tubes and you'll see how much gunk builds up

That is beyond brilliant. I'm actually looking forward to cleaning some primer tubes.