Anyone wet-tumbling w/ stainless steel chips instead of pins?

[Skgreen]

I've got pins. Considering chips.

Any easier to remove 'em from small bottleneck cases? (I'm not experiencing any flash hole problems, but "easier is easier")

More or less aggressive cleaning action? (Peening, and/or small bit's of brass at the bottom of your batches?)

I use several bath towels throughout a day of tumbling,,, Are chips more prone to imbed themselves / resist a magnet if a few of them end up on a bath towel?

Where did you purchase them?

 

[Texas10mm]

When I wet tumble I use the chips. No more pins stuck in cases. They also seem to clean faster.

 

[Allen One1]

I've never heard of them, where are you sourcing them from? My pins are just the right length to stick in a 6.5 case.

 

[Skgreen]

Here's an example: https://www.ebay.com/i/142579010902?chn=ps

 

[Skgreen]

5 lbs for $26 shipped through a Vendor on Facebook. (Southern Shine Media)
I'll 'take one for the team',,,

 

[Termite I]

I have been using them for about two years and feel they do as good or better than the pins in less time ( three hours, down from four ). I bought mine from Sleeping Giant Brass. The small pieces do sometimes get stuck in towels but I have dedicated towels for brass. I use a RCBS Media separator to remove tumbling media ( pins or chips ) and always get pins in my 5 gallon rinse pail but have yet to get any chips so I feel they are less likely to stay in the case. I still check every case for media no mater which media I use. I built a custom tumbler and routinely use 40 to 50 lbs of pins or chips. Some guys recommend a one to one ( media to brass ) ratio, I use more like 2-1 or even 3-1, the more media the better. I rarely use the pins any more and as Allen One1 said the pins get stuck sideways in the neck of 6.5 cases. I hope this helps.

 

[2011redrider]

I tried them but they rust if left wet in the tumbler, pins had no problem being left wet. They had to be dried after each use. They are also much lighter than the pins and seem to float off when draining the spinning separator.
Went to .047 pins and they don't stick in the primer flash holes.

Didn't see any difference in cleaning. Wasn't happy with them.
Aalso come with coating of oil on them that the vendor (southern shine) didn't mention. Took a few runs with purple power to get them clean.

 

[Skgreen]

UPDATE:

Pro's:

Seem to 'flow' better than the pins when handling them,,, (flow vs avalanche)
No chance of them getting caught sideways in your cases.
When purchased where I got them, they are generally less $ than the same weight of pins.
They do clean your brass.

Con's:

I was aware of the 'oil' and tumbled them in a strong solution of simple green and water before using them. (Not much of a 'con' but not something you encounter w/pins)
Perhaps 'all chips are not created equal', but,,, I received chips, flakes, shards, slivers, teeny-tiny filings,,,, I can deal with 'chips', but all the shards/slivers/microscopic filings are not something I want floating around anywhere near my firearms,,, (or anything else for that matter!)
If you think pins are hard to keep corralled, keep in mind a single pin is at least 10X larger than a 'chip',,,
I have yet to figure out a `reasonably quick` way to dry them. (Going on 24 hours now and still not dry, whereas same method w/pins would be dry,,,)

My Opinion:

They have a couple benefits over the pins, but all the different sizes, from 'chips' down to tiny filings, is my 'deal-killer'. I'll be going back to pins.

As always,,,, YMMV!