How do you dry your brass

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Wow, some guys get there tighty whities in a bunch fast around here...
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No one's drawers are in a bunch here. :rolleyes:

Make a post on the internet and be prepared for reponses to come from every direction. We cannot assume or infer much from a question. I never knew people washed their tumbled brass until I heard it on the internet. Likewise, I'm sure some folks didn't hear that others did NOT wash their brass until they heard it on the internet. Opinions, preferences and perspectives from every direction is a good thing. Sometimes the best solution is the one not asked for. Sometimes you have to know enough to ask the right question.
 
I wash my brass in the sink, rinse it off, and put it in the oven, or toaster oven, in a stainless colander.


Handloader’s Manual
Early Naramore, Major Ordnance Dept Reserve, Small Arms Publishing , 1937

“The best and surest way of drying cases is with the use of artificial heat, but care must be taken not to overheat them, as too much heat will soften the brass and may render it incapable of withstanding normal pressures. Most modern stoves, whether electric, gas, or coal, have oven thermometers that are, at least, fairly accurate. For stoves sold in the United States, these thermometers register degrees Fahrenheit and brass can be heated up to 428 degrees Fahrenheit without undergoing any change in its grain structure. For drying cases it is best to keep the temperature as low as 300 degrees. This heat is amply high for the purpose and offers a liberal allowance for any inaccuracy of the thermometer. If you oven has no thermometer, one can be purchased at small expense in almost any department or five and ten cent store. The thermometer should be placed near the cases as the temperature will not be the same in all parts of the oven. It is also well to place the cases on one of the sliding shelves or racks, away from the bottom of the oven, or the heating element if it is an electric stove.”
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I doubt anyone has coal fired ovens anymore; this was written in 1937.

From reading Major Naramore’s book, it is obvious that the gentleman had a technical education in materials or materials engineering. He also worked in an era when the Army actually made rifles, cannons, cartridges and had research labs. Today everything is contracted out and data sharing just does not exist between contractors or anyone else. But then, he could call up an Army buddy and find out who and whom had material data on cartridge cases.

I am surprised that brass will anneal at 428 F, I would have thought, based on the diagram I have, that it is much higher. Still, I put my oven on low, and in a half hour or so, my “five and dime” store thermometers read 212F, and don’t go any higher. Since water boils at 212F (at sea level) I know my brass is dry. I don’t set the oven any higher than warm because all the grease in the oven evaporates on my brass, if the oven temperature increases by much.

BrassAnnealDiagram.gif
 
I have that red media, name escapes me at the moment and the brass comes out reddish, I wash in water with dawn and place in wood shell holder upside down overnight as the holes have a slight hole in the bottom and the wood soaks some water. This after a good shaking in a terry cloth.

Works for me anyways.....
 
After ultrasonic cleaning, I put mine on a cookie sheet with a wire mesh rack. I light the oven for a few minutes and turn it off. Leave the brass in the oven with the light on overnight. Works everytime.

Ps, I love my Lyman untrasonic!
 
OK here's my problem. I was drying my 223 brass in the oven about 250 degrees. Had to go to work and asked my son to watch them and take them out in about a half hour. 8 hours later, I get home and the brass is still in the oven and dark orange. Are they any good or should I dump them?

Thanks

P.S. He's on my **** list now.
 
^Probably just fine. BTDT, down to the awful discoloration, the caliber, the exact temperature setting, and the approx time frame! Wow!

Crush a piece with pliers. Repeat with one that didn't go through the oven. I'm sure they're the same hardness. I've reloaded said cases maybe 3-5 times since then, and not a single issue. Except maybe a couple cracked necks. So no, even the necks aren't annealed!
 
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I have a convection oven in my basement in which I bake my brass at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 to 60 minutes, the longer time is planned for bottleneck cases when I get to rreloading 'em.
 
OK here's my problem. I was drying my 223 brass in the oven about 250 degrees. Had to go to work and asked my son to watch them and take them out in about a half hour. 8 hours later, I get home and the brass is still in the oven and dark orange. Are they any good or should I dump them?

Thanks

P.S. He's on my **** list now.
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That temperature should not anneal brass no matter how long the soak temperature. A soak for infinity and beyond might cause issues.

What the heck made them orange?
 
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I used to use Birchwood Casys Case Bright consentrate with good results.I mixed it in a tall pickel jar.After about ten minuts soaking, rinse in sink,shake out as much liquid as I could,blow the primer pockets out with compressed air and pop them in a pre heated oven,250 degrees or lower,for ten minuts.They always came out dry and very clean,but not polished.The pickel jar was good to save solution for next time.If trimming was needed,I'd hit them with 0000 steel wool to shine them up.After getting my SA 1911 dark stainless Target modle I've gone to a Hornady Tumbler and walnut media.Its all good.biker
 
Wow! Some fellers get real O.C. (Obsessive Compulsive) about attaining ultra shiny brass (intricate formulas for washing, distilled water, and other labor intensive methods). All that's fine, but often new reloaders get the wrong idea about case prep. thinking tubling/polishing is a must do right from the start. Tumbling/polishing brass is largely cosmetic, not a necessity. They may even believe a tumbler is part of a beginner's kit. Just ain't so. No, dies don't wear out any faster with "brown" brass as long as there is no grit/dirt on them. No, defects aren't any easier to spot if you just look. Reload or shoot easier/better, nope. "Pride of workmanship", mebbe, but 99.9% of the time I am the only one to see my reloads and I know how good they are.

FWIW; I reloaded for over 12 years before I found it "necessary" to get a tumbler. I wiped each case with a lightly dampened rag (mineral spirits) as I inspected it before any other prep./reloading. If I wanted "BBQ" brass, I polished each case by hand on a hardwood mandrel chucked in a drill, using very fine steel wool/brass polish (and no, the polish didn't corrode/weaken the brass). I can remember going to the range and I could tell which shooters reloaded their own ammo; those that shot dull, brown brass. The only shooters using shiny, virgin brass were cops and new shooters...

C'mon, water spots on the inside of the cases? Ya gotta be kidding...
 
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I just towel dry and then put them in a mesh laundry bag and hang them over the dryer door and close it. I run the dryer on medium heat for 30 minutes and lay them out over night. Ready to load.
 
slamfire1,

be careful! that graph shows temp in celsius, not fahrenheit. your brass anneals at 428 degrees celsius. about 750 degrees fahrenheit.

the stress relief temp for brass is about 500 degrees fahrenheit. 300 degrees farenheit should be no problem for cartridge brass.

murf
 
Use some citric acid (Lemi shine) and a few drops of Dawn. Makes brass super shiny and spot free. Shiny won't make it shoot any better. You only need it clean to reduce wear and tear on your dies.
 
After I pull them outta the sonic cleaner I let them air dry for about an hour, then they get tossed in the walnut for a couple hours to polish and finish drying. Any remaining moisture evaps surfing that time.
 
after the sonic cleaner I wrap them into a towel and use a nylon wire tie to secure them into the center 'bulge'. Then they go into the tumble drier set low with other non-sensitive washing. they come out dry and polished in quick time. Keep the temperature LOW.:D
 
I dry tumble mine. They come out dry, dust free, clean as new on the outside and nothing stuck in the flash holes. Tumbling wet is just too much extra work for me.
 
Soak the cases in Rubbing Alcohol, The water is absorbed by the alcahol and it evaporates in minutes. Then just to be safe I blow each case out with a can of that de-duster air.
 
I thought because of the long time in the heat is why the turned a drak color. Almost orange in color. But you don't think 8 hours in 250 degree heat would effect them?
 
jbradley said:
Leaving the brass out after taking it out of the rotary tumbler and rinsing it off, the get water spots really bad.
Rolling them on paper towels works ok, bt not the inside.
How do you dry your brass if you use a wet method of tumbling/cleaning?

John Bradley
Sanger, TX
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Why do you put water on them when they are clean?? I use the corn cob and did not need to clean them with water. I know use the ultrasonic cleaner now. I use a blow drier one the wife did have. Then I let them set over night that way they will cool good and not draw moister!
 
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