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Posted: 4/28/2013 8:00:52 PM EDT
| do the SS rods in wet tumbling "wear out" after a while...or is buy once and be done? |
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Hi, from what I understand they don't really wear out however some of their sharp ends from production may smooth out a bit over time. The stainless steel is harder than brass, so it is the brass that should wear and this is evident once you see the 'gold dust' at the bottom of the waste water. You may need to top off your pins someday after you lose enough. I use a cheapo media separator and a sorting tray (just a pan from goodwill)and I feel this has minimized pin loss. After each batch I find about 10-20 pins that attempted escape. I really am pleased with the stainless results with water in a rotary tumbler for about 1.5 hours with no more than a 45 acp case of lemi-shine and a squirt of dish soap. I really like the idea of reducing consumables although I still use my vibratory corncob tumbler once in awhile and plan to try it with nu-finish on some of my higher end stuff. I also use a $15 countdown timer on my tumblers in case I that they are running. That way I can set them for 1-8 hours and walk away. Just keep in mind though your cases may become discolored if you let them sit in the lemi-shine solution overnight.
The cheapest pins I found last year were from Buffalo Arms but I haven't checked prices since. I hope this helped. You won't be sorry you went with the pins once you see your first batch of clean brass! :) Here is a video of mine showing the Thumlers Tumbler which I picked up from Cabela's awhile back, the stainless pins, lemi-shine, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZYlTB2NVCc |
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At the 2:12 mark of the video, you can see some of the minute bits of the stainless pins on the bottom left (on the rubber liner)- I believe it's just the sharp part of the new pins being knocked off.
I've been using the same batch of pins for two years. You'll lose them before they wear out. |
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They don't wear out or rust. You can loose them if your careless. Spill them, can pick them up with a magnet. Been wet tumbling 2 years now with my original SS pins. If it sticks to a magnet, it is a low grade of stainless and will rust. You can place a few paper towels in the drum and pour the damp pins on top for storage. If you leave some of the towels sticking out above the pins, they will wick away the moisture. This is easier than having to dry the pins. 
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Quoted: Quoted: They don't wear out or rust. You can loose them if your careless. Spill them, can pick them up with a magnet. Been wet tumbling 2 years now with my original SS pins. If it sticks to a magnet, it is a low grade of stainless and will rust. Hasn't happened yet. |
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They don't wear out or rust. You can loose them if your careless. Spill them, can pick them up with a magnet. Been wet tumbling 2 years now with my original SS pins. If it sticks to a magnet, it is a low grade of stainless and will rust. "Low grade" is a poor description and doesn't describe any stainless material. All stainless steels are magnetic, including austenitic steels that have been work hardened. Unless the wire used as stock for the pins is annealed after drawing, it is work hardened. Cutting the pins to length also work hardens the material, but I expect it's a matter of degrees and might not be detectable if the wire was annealed before shearing. In this use, the pins are subjected to a mild acid and mechanical action that keeps them clear of discoloration; which doesn't disqualify them from use anyway. Someone with more time than anything else could cut up plain ol' carbon steel utility wire to use in the same application and if it was kept in nearly constant service, rust would be kept at bay. |
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They don't wear out or rust. You can loose them if your careless. Spill them, can pick them up with a magnet. Been wet tumbling 2 years now with my original SS pins. If it sticks to a magnet, it is a low grade of stainless and will rust. You can place a few paper towels in the drum and pour the damp pins on top for storage. If you leave some of the towels sticking out above the pins, they will wick away the moisture. This is easier than having to dry the pins. <a href="http://s369.photobucket.com/user/bags533/media/photobucket-48836-1367263331443.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo134/bags533/photobucket-48836-1367263331443.jpg</a> You dry them? I haven't dried pins ever. I just leave them in water. |
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They don't wear out or rust. You can loose them if your careless. Spill them, can pick them up with a magnet. Been wet tumbling 2 years now with my original SS pins. If it sticks to a magnet, it is a low grade of stainless and will rust. You can place a few paper towels in the drum and pour the damp pins on top for storage. If you leave some of the towels sticking out above the pins, they will wick away the moisture. This is easier than having to dry the pins. <a href="http://s369.photobucket.com/user/bags533/media/photobucket-48836-1367263331443.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo134/bags533/photobucket-48836-1367263331443.jpg</a> You dry them? I haven't dried pins ever. I just leave them in water. My OCD won't allow me to keep a metal submerged in static water for any length of time. 
What I posted above is just my best trade off between drying the pins, and keeping them wet. |
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They don't wear out or rust. You can loose them if your careless. Spill them, can pick them up with a magnet. Been wet tumbling 2 years now with my original SS pins. If it sticks to a magnet, it is a low grade of stainless and will rust. You can place a few paper towels in the drum and pour the damp pins on top for storage. If you leave some of the towels sticking out above the pins, they will wick away the moisture. This is easier than having to dry the pins. <a href="http://s369.photobucket.com/user/bags533/media/photobucket-48836-1367263331443.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo134/bags533/photobucket-48836-1367263331443.jpg</a> You dry them? I haven't dried pins ever. I just leave them in water. My OCD won't allow me to keep a metal submerged in static water for any length of time.
What I posted above is just my best trade off between drying the pins, and keeping them wet. Shoot more and tumble more brass. Problem solved 
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I do not think "all" stainless steels are magnetic.
Some are and some are not. The magnetic properties of SS depends on if the metal Nickel is added. Adding Nickel changes the physical properties of the steel. I have many SS items that are not magnetic. I have many SS items that are magnetic. The corrosion resistance of SS is proportional to the higher amount of Chromium added. Quoted:
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They don't wear out or rust. You can loose them if your careless. Spill them, can pick them up with a magnet. Been wet tumbling 2 years now with my original SS pins. If it sticks to a magnet, it is a low grade of stainless and will rust. "Low grade" is a poor description and doesn't describe any stainless material. All stainless steels are magnetic, including austenitic steels that have been work hardened. Unless the wire used as stock for the pins is annealed after drawing, it is work hardened. Cutting the pins to length also work hardens the material, but I expect it's a matter of degrees and might not be detectable if the wire was annealed before shearing. In this use, the pins are subjected to a mild acid and mechanical action that keeps them clear of discoloration; which doesn't disqualify them from use anyway. Someone with more time than anything else could cut up plain ol' carbon steel utility wire to use in the same application and if it was kept in nearly constant service, rust would be kept at bay. I would be interested to learn which alloys containing nickel that you consider to be stainless steels. The 300 series or "18-8" alloys contain 8% nickel! So I guess the question becomes, "how much nickel is required to insure the alloy is never magnetic", and then whether that alloy is still considered a "steel", or something else. |
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Heres something I found while searching
The level of magnetism that stainless steel exhibits has nothing to do with the "quality" of the stainless. It is not a question of the "quality" of the stainless, but rather what type of stainless. Many types of stainless are highly magnetic, it is only the "Austenitic" stainless groups that are not magnetic. The austenitic stainless group is 18-8 steel, AKA "300" series like 301, 302, 304, 316 etc... Most stainless steel average folks run into (appliances, store bought bolts, etc..) is a 300 series steel, hence the myth that "ALL" stainless steel is not magnetic. The 400 series of stainless is magnetic, so an object made with 430 stainless will be attracted to a magnet. It is by no means a "lesser" grade, it is just a different grade. Interestingly, if you coldwork a piece of 304 stainless (like a medical instrument), it will become magnetic. So if you are constantly bending or flexing the instrument it will gradually become magnetic and hold a magnetic charge. If you stress relieve the material, by heating it (over 700 degrees,) it will once again lose its magnetic properties. If you need to avoid the cold-worked magnetism quality, use instruments made from 316 stainless not 304 stainless.
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