223 Brass Processing Mistake

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Soupy44

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Working on once fired LC brass. Wanted to experiment with trimming and letting the wet tumble process get rid of the Wilson Trimmer burrs...on about 150 of my 1000 pieces. Yes, stupid.

Brass came out and has a little burr on the outside of the case mouth. It measures .001". The deburr and chamfer tool doesn't get it. I can't detect a similar burr on the inside of the case mouth.

I'm reloading for service rifle. Is the brass done? Should I get something to turn it out? Is it practice ammo now? Just use it at 200 for SF standing?

Thanks!
 
What actually happens when you try to deburr the case? The tool should scrape the burr off. It will even cut into the case neck if you are pressing to hard.
 
Well I would not scrap the brass over it regardless, I would just shoot it. I don't understand a "burr" that the deburring tool won't handle. If nothing else just shoot it and start over with a different process that you like better. You might want to look into the Tri-Way Trimmer for 223 brass it saves a lot of time.
 
Working on once fired LC brass. Wanted to experiment with trimming and letting the wet tumble process get rid of the Wilson Trimmer burrs...on about 150 of my 1000 pieces. Yes, stupid.

Brass came out and has a little burr on the outside of the case mouth. It measures .001". The deburr and chamfer tool doesn't get it. I can't detect a similar burr on the inside of the case mouth.

I'm reloading for service rifle. Is the brass done? Should I get something to turn it out? Is it practice ammo now? Just use it at 200 for SF standing?

Thanks!

So your test using the wet tumbler to debur the brass did not remove the burr on the out side of the mouth. So all you now need to do is remove it manually using one of the many deburr/chamfer tools on the market. You still need to make sure you have some chamfer on the the inside. I prefer the VLD type over the std deburring tools.
 
Sounds like a dull debur tool or one that doesn't cut well at that small diameter. It's probably just rolling the existing bur, moving it but not cutting it. Most of those cheap debur tools are low quality by cutting tool standards and might not hold an edge for very long.
 
+1 on using a VLD deburr tool. Will remove burrs a regular chamfer tool won't. Or use a smooth file to lightly file away the burr. Takes very little time and effort to file away a sharp outside burr. The VLD will remove inside burrs.
 
I don't think wet tumbling with small pins is aggressive enough to deburr cases. But perhaps the trimmer isn't cutting well enough and pushed up a good sized burr. If one of these wont remove a brass burr, something else is wrong https://www.mcmaster.com/countersinks I use a 60 degree x 1/2" high speed steel...
 
I don't think wet tumbling with small pins is aggressive enough to deburr cases. But perhaps the trimmer isn't cutting well enough and pushed up a good sized burr. If one of these wont remove a brass burr, something else is wrong https://www.mcmaster.com/countersinks I use a 60 degree x 1/2" high speed steel...

The OP stated it was an outside burr, not an inside one. I'm still using the RCBS tool I bought many years ago and have never ran into a burr, inner or outer, that it will not remove. I don't reload a great number of rounds so it's fine for that. As a last but not difficult to use resort he can use a new, small, fine cut flat bastard file to remove the burr and salvage his brass. Never use a file on steel that you use on brass.
 
What deburring tool are you using? Has it ever worked on LC brass before? Does it work okay on other brass? Like others, I'm guessing dull tool, although I think it would have to be pretty darned dull not to at least scrape the burr off.
 
When I use a deburr tool (RCBS piloted), it spins freely and doesn't do anything. I haven't tried pushing harder, but figured I'd save that for later since I already didn't think enough about this. The tool should be sharp, it's been barely used, maybe 200 rounds. I've trimmed more brass since posting at it easily cleans them up.

The burr seems to have been rolled up a little by the wet tumbling pins. The three pictures show a close up, a measurement of the diameter of the neck, and a measurement of the diameter around the burr.

Burr might not be the right term to use, I'd almost call it a ridge. IMG_20191112_200737580.jpg IMG_20191112_200547201.jpg IMG_20191112_200756873_BURST000_COVER_TOP.jpg
 
Looks like you just need a better (sharper) deburring tool. Try spinning the deburring tool both directions. Add a little more pressure.

Your trimmer might be dull also. Try to not push so hard when trimming to minimize the creation of burrs.
 
Get a hand deburr/chamfer tool and that will be gone in three wrist strokes. If you feel it’s bad brass I’ll trade ya two to one on it ;)
 
I just don't see the issue. Will this really affect shooting Service Rifle? I would load it up, finishing with my Lee Factory Crimp Die and expect a great finished round.
 
What your seeing is the results of a dull cutter that forced the brass to the outside. I prefer the use of a high speed steel cutter over carbide when cutting soft material at slow speeds. HS and cobalt allows have a sharper edge than carbide and will make lighter cuts easier. Carbide prefers a heavier cut and requires more force, with the exception being the new micro grain carbide. Carbide will take the heat better and unlikely to dull under heavy use. We discussed this in another thread earlier this year. With HS steel cutters you can sharpen, where carbide requires a diamond stone or a special grinding wheel to do so.

The std deburring/chamfer tool will remove the burr.
 
It is true that carbide take great care during manufacturing to get a perfect edge and 98% of mass produced carbide cutters do not have great edges. High Speed Steel is the preferred material in some cutting operations. The problem with many of these little hand held debur tools is they are after thoughts, thrown in a reloading kit, and are probably not even made of HSS. If they are made of case hardened steel then the closer to center you go, the softer the material, and the edge will not last. HSS is harder throughout. Even if the tools are American made, the manufacturer is probably forced to make them for $7 each so quality is not a priority.

There is a good possibility that after 200 uses, the debur tool is dull.

Edit: Also, after tumbling, it probably will make it harder for the debur tool to start it's cut, because the little edge fractures on the brass are now radiused. So now an extremely sharp debur tool edge is required.
 
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The sharpness of my tools is not likely the issue. I've only loaded about 200 rounds of 223 and that was with brass someone else prepped for me. This brass is the first I used in the Wilson Trimmer and the RCBS Piloted Deburr/Chamfer tool. If I trim and then deburr, all tools work perfectly and the brass is what I am looking for.

I'm open to pushing harder with the RCBS tool and/or loading and shooting it so I can trim this out after. I thought of getting a lower angle tool, but I've come to realize it might just be easiest to buy 150-200 more pieces of once fired brass and relegate this lot to the practice bin. Then it's only about a $30+shipping mistake rather than something that might cause me frustration, injury, or damage to my gun. Better safe than sorry!

I was also just remembering advice I got when I moved from smallbore to bullseye and started reloading: "Any time you can save and not use reloading is time you can spend dry firing and actually getting better!"

There is still about 800 other pieces for me to process and load. Oh ya, and dry fire some too.
 
I edited my post a bit late. I agree that a radiused and polished bur will be harder to start a cut on.
 
To me it looks like simple Metal Working 101. When a tool isn't sharp enough to cut cleanly, it will form, or push the metal. Very similar to a burr, but the pic looks like the mouth has been "rolled"...
 
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