First run through the tumbler

[romulus]

Okay, It's the real beginning to a reloading career. I just ran the brass through a thumler's tumbler for about an hour. Brass looked like it was getting clean on the outside, but still fairly black inside. I thought maybe the walnut was to low, so I pretty much filled up the reservoir till I could no longer see the brass coming to the top, though the cyclonic movement is still strong. Another half hour, brass is getting shinier on the outside, but the inside is still black...is this normal?

I began by soaking with Simple Green, I did rinse but shouldn't all the black inside be removed before running it through the press?

Thanks in advance

 

[Dave R]

Nobody I know of cares whether the insides of the case are shiney or not. I don't think its possible to get the insides shiney after they've been shot.

 

[romulus]

I'm not looking for shine on the inside...I'm just wondering if that carbon residue that refuses to come out can affect the cartridge, i.e. could it not fire, can it affect the performance etc...could it scratch the dies, for that matter...

Just asking, it's my first batch ever

Thank you, Dave

 

[Steve in PA]

There is no scrubbing action of the media on the inside of the case, as compared to the outside. Media fills the case and thats about it, while media is constanly rubbing/scrubbing against the outside.

Like everyone else has said, who cares how shiny the inside is.

 

[romulus]

I take it then that the remaining carbon crust inside the case won't affect the reloaded cartridge with regards to charge contamination, ignition, accuracy, etc...that right?

Thank you again

 

[Smokey Joe]

Dirty inside the cases. . .

RomulusÑLook at it this way: Before we cleaned cases by tumbling, we never did a thing with the inside of the cases, unless they were so awful on the outside that we washed & dried them. Did this cause problems with reloading??? Not on your tintype! Was the old way of cleaning cases a lot more work??? You betcha!

We clean cases for 2 reasons, as I see it: (1) So that the outside of the case isn't dirty and scratches our sizing dies, and (2) To pretty them up. Both perfectly valid reasons, IMHO.

Given the case isn't full of mud or sand (if so, I'd probably scrap it anyhow), the leftover crud on the inside of the case that doesn't fall out from handling, and tumble-cleaning, isn't going to fall out, ever, and isn't going to affect the next firing, either.

I once found a fairly large spider in a range pick-up case, much to my surprise. But THAT came right out, no tumbling necessary!

 

[Dave R]

romulus, the carbon crust inside the case will NOT affect ignition, accuracy, etc. I suppose I'd better add a disclaimer that NORMAL levels of soot won't....

All reloaders reload cases with the soot in them. I uderstand your concern. I worried about cleaning the insides first time I reloaded, but the ol' timers around me told me not to worry. So I didn't.

Your reloading manual(s) will give you all the info you need on case preparation--examining, checking length, chamfering & deburring, cleaning primer pockets, etc. They will not mention cleaning the insides of the cases.

 

[romulus]

Muchas gracias, I feel better now. I was worried that this extra step might make the process more cumbersome, and eventually burdensome.

Thank you again

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Tumbling

The purpose of tumbling is to extend the life of your reloading equipment so only concern yourself with the outside. However handle the used tumbling media carefully and dispose of it carefully as it contains lead residue from the fired primers. Also do not raise any dust in handling it I wear a nylon shop apron, long sleeve shirt, and gloves that remain in my reloading shop.

Treat it as a serious lead contaminant.

John Paul

 

[JPM70535]

Romulus

Just a suggestion, but have you tried washing your cases in a strong solution of hot water and Greased Lightening. I generally let mine sit for about 10 minutes, then agitate, rinse several times and dry in the oven at low temp. until they are dry. The inside of the cases won't completely clean like a new case looks but it definitely makes a difference.

With a Thumblers tumbler, the method I found works best is to use treated corncob media treated with a polishing additive. If you let them tumble overnight (something you can do with the Thumblers, thanks to its low noise level,and still sleep) the brass comes out looking like new on the outside.

 

[g56]

I have always read that the roller type tumblers are much slower than vibrators, most rollers need up to 24 hrs to do what a vibrator will do in an hour or so. That's the downside of a roller, the downside of a vibrator is the noise, I put mine on the counter in the bathroom and close the door.

 

[Peakbagr]

Someone mentioned 2 good reasons to tumble...let me add a third.
Clean brass lets you more easily see cracks, so you can discard them before loading, firing and discovering the crack that way.
The crud inside doesn't affect anything.