Decided to get a little medieval to dry my brass.

After years of trying all different ways to dry my brass after cleaning with stainless steel pins I decided to try a method I'd been thinking about for a long time. Normally, I'd stand the cases up on a towel after spinning as much water out of them as possible. That is until the cats came along and knocked them over. This took a little time to make, but I hope it will make things easier down the road. Actually, I made two and each will hold 476 cases which is a good thing because I have a giant commercial tumbler.

This might have just been a waste of time, but I had a day to myself and felt like doing a little project. I just used some scrap plywood I had hanging around, cheap finish nails, some paint and sealed it all with polyurethane since I didn't feel like paying the extra for SS nails. I needed to make sure it would work with all my pistol brass as well as .17 Fireball up to .338 Lapua.

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psxn5si2xr.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...pscbsz7tso.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...pshgn06arh.jpg

Rather interesting haha. Typically I do high volume drying by simply laying on a large towel, pat them down with the ends to get drops off, and turn on a fan over night or for a few hours and they are ready to go.

Looks cool but I just put mine in the oven set at 150 for 1 hour.

Hmmm...

Have you also tried laying on that thing?

What kind of tumbling are you doing that your brass ends up wet?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chrazy-Chris

What kind of tumbling are you doing that your brass ends up wet?

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As brite and shiney as they are, I'd guess stainless media.

Nothinb beats it for blinging the brass.

How Transylvanian! I also use a warm oven to dry brass, but there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Incidentally, how have the cats taken to your invention?

Yes, I've been using stainless steel pins to clean my brass for a few years now and never looked back. The brass comes out looking "better than new" and there's no grit left on the cases to damage my dies. You'll hear some people say that the SS pins damage their case necks, but I don't believe that's the case and have not experienced it. It's the brass itself that can damage other cases as it impacts other cases while tumbling, especially the case mouths. The biggest mistake people make with SS pins is using a tumbler that turns too fast, not using enough pins or putting in too much brass for the size of their tumbler.

By the way, yes, in my younger years I used to rest on a bed of nails while my older brother took martial arts classes. It's really not as bad as it looks. I found it very relaxing. You just need to be very careful as you get on and off the bed. It really helped if you had a wallet in your back pocket because it gave you a spot to take the pressure while getting on or off the bed. I also liked to put something under my head because there weren't enough nails in contact with the back of your head to properly disperse the weight.

Boy, the things you can learn on this forum. :-)

I think you had too much time on your hands.

I agree! "This might have just been a waste of time, but I had a day to myself and felt like doing a little project."

You mean you're supposed to dry it?...

I thump the side of the brass with the reloading hammer handle.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever compared how wet tumbled brass shoots to dry tumbled brass?

While I've been tempted to go OCD on brass prep, I have resisted the temptation. I'd rather shoot it than clean it. Different strokes.

How did you build the nail bed?

Shoot some clear on to the nails and they will remain shiny ...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sparky123321

After years of trying all different ways to dry my brass after cleaning with stainless steel pins I decided to try a method I'd been thinking about for a long time. Normally, I'd stand the cases up on a towel after spinning as much water out of them as possible. That is until the cats came along and knocked them over. This took a little time to make, but I hope it will make things easier down the road. Actually, I made two and each will hold 476 cases which is a good thing because I have a giant commercial tumbler.

This might have just been a waste of time, but I had a day to myself and felt like doing a little project. I just used some scrap plywood I had hanging around, cheap finish nails, some paint and sealed it all with polyurethane since I didn't feel like paying the extra for SS nails. I needed to make sure it would work with all my pistol brass as well as .17 Fireball up to .338 Lapua.

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psxn5si2xr.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...pscbsz7tso.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...pshgn06arh.jpg

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Sparky, excellent. I just upgraded to the Thumbler and SS media. I've only had to run the 243 AI brass for 2 hrs to get it clean inside and out (and the primer pockets). How long do you run your tumbler? You can get an el-cheapo digital timer at Lowes for < $10......
Do you use Dawn and Lemishine?
Although I currently reload 38 different ctgs, I'd rather reload than shoot.... Too hot here in Fl at the present..... ha ha

ron
N4UE

Depending on how dirty the brass is I run them for 2-3 hours. I just check the brass every now and then and when it looks good to me I start my rinses. Yes, I always use Lemishine and a liquid dish soap(various brands). I've tried laundry detergent, as someone recommended on a forum, but felt liquid dish soap did a better job. If your brass ever looks dull or slightly tarnished after cleaning just add a little Lemishine to your rinse water and they'll look shiny as new.

I also enjoy reloading. I find it very relaxing, my ammo is a much higher quality than anything I can buy and since I normally shoot a lot I save a boatload of money. I've been reloading for around 37 years now, started when I was 14 or 15 years old, and I've never had a round not go "bang" when I squeezed the trigger. Using SS pins is one of the best change I made to my reloading procedures in a long time.

Is it better to tumble after depriming so the flash holes get a scrub? What if my depriming die is my neck-sizing die and my case necks are pretty dirty?

Get a.universal.depriming die cheap and keeps.dies clean as mentioned here frequently! Well worthwhile investment.

You mean you're supposed to dry it?...

Frank, don't fret yourself over that... you have to clean it before you worry about drying it. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ibex

You mean you're supposed to dry it?...

Frank, don't fret yourself over that... you have to clean it before you worry about drying it. :)

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I used to get OCD to the max when it came to brass cleaning. After a while I found out shiny clean brass doesn't shoot any better than dull ugly brass. The only benefit to making it shine like gold was it looked purrty.

I don't think a hog or deer would care if the brass was shiny and clean.

Whatcha been up to Mr. Ibex? Finally get things settled in?

Frank,
Thanks to your guidance I am now a reformed brass washer. I haven't baked any brass in months!
I am currently shooting more than I can load, like a kid in a candy store. Rimfire, service rifle, mid range prone, team shooting. Work interferes with my free time hobby. I need to get Blondie Ibex a better paying job!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by foxx

hmmm...

Have you also tried laying on that thing?

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lol

Sometimes I'll clean several thousand cases at once. These are often spent cases that have spent weeks or months piling up in the bed of my truck and are filled with dirt and badly tarnished. I give a bath in a tub filled with water, a mild soap and a touch of vinegar (acetic acid). They usually come out sparkling clean except for the toughest tarnishes. I use a heat gun that you can buy at home depot for $50 to do most of the drying. The only downfall to this process is the smaller cases sliding inside the bigger ones and trapping water--but no big deal--I doubt most people clean that many cases at a time. Then I inspect and sort, putting them in sealable jars (why I eat tons of pasta sauce, peanut butter and pickles).

I use a food dehydrator. 1 hour and done! You can also leave them out in the sun.

Food dehydrator?

How do you season your brass?...

Sama idea. Bought it from target. $20

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/a...psbmzvzlz2.jpg

Bach,


Great idea. But, what is it? Gotta know where to look at the Target store.



Snipe

Its called boon lawn. Should be in the baby section

http://www.booninc.com/products/Lawn/377

after tumbling my brass, I lay them on a towel and roll them across it to dry the outside and leave them sit outside in the Arizona sun for 15-20 minutes.

Bruce

Well Sparky's Idea got me thinking, I haven't found a way to dry my brass that works well for me. So I improvised on Sparkys approach and came up with this. Costs less than a few bucks and took me about a hour or so to knock it out.

[IMG]http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/...ps78f493b6.jpg[/IMG]

Honestly, it took way toooo much time just to place each case on a nail for me. Remember, I do batches of 400-600+ at a time. I'd still consider this method for lower volumes. I went back to my old method of rolling them around on a towel in front of the dehumidifier in the basement(or I use a hair drier in the winter) after spinning a couple times in a Dillon media separator. Actually, I didn't even let them completely dry this time around before throwing them on the annealer as someone mentioned they do. Yes, they were completely dry after that.