hi all, just got my tumbler/vibrator in from ups today. Prior to this I use to put them in a old set of stockings from the wife and run them through the dishwasher. worked ok. Just was tierd of waiting for them to dry out completely.I ran a 150 in the new machine today. Like it alot. Question is that I have about 200 45LC primed after the dishwasher trick and was wondering if its ok to ron them though the vibrator to clean them up better with primers in.? thanks all Bob
I have no experience with tumbling, but common sense is screaming to me don't do it!
For the simple reason that they'd be banging against each other and likely set off a few primers. Not that that would do that much damage, but it's usually not a good idea to set off primers when you don't want them going off.
I'd say, since they're already clean, you don't really need 'em shiny. Just load 'em up, shoot 'em, and do 'em up again... plus, that's an excuse to go shoot more!
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I have no experience with tumbling, but common sense is screaming to me don't do it!
For the simple reason that they'd be banging against each other and likely set off a few primers. Not that that would do that much damage, but it's usually not a good idea to set off primers when you don't want them going off.
I'd say, since they're already clean, you don't really need 'em shiny. Just load 'em up, shoot 'em, and do 'em up again... plus, that's an excuse to go shoot more!
I have run hundreds,maybe thousands of primed cases through a tumbler with no ill effects.The only thing I have found is you must use a wooden object to be sure all of the media is out.If tumbling would set them off we would all be injured by now carrying them loose in our pocket.I even cleaned loaded cartridges in a tumbler.I wasnt worried about ball or flake powder but checked extruded by pulling the bullet and seeing if the powder ground up.It didnt.If the vibration of a tumbler were great enough to set a primer off it would leave dents and scratches in the casing.Primers must be dented rapidly to excite the compound,Even a slow dent isnt enough to excite it as people that dont seat them all the way can testify to.Primers are tougher than casings.Otherwise they would blow under the great pressure of firing.I would much rather clean with primers in than put the dirt in a chamber and fire the cartridge.Primers can even be pushed out of casings and reseated and still fire. sam.
I wouldn't worry so much about setting anything off as already indicated. I would be cautious of primer contamination and or media possibly getting stuck in the pocket/anvil region of the case. Load 'em up and throw them in for a touch up.
Ihave intentionally left media in the primer pocket and seated primers to the max and never had one fail to fire and didnt see any radical fps difference in 10rds.It is when you have a lot of media in the casing above the primer hole that you have possible misfires.If you are loading the 90% to 110% you will realise something is wrong anyway.Media in the casing body can cause hangfire or delayed ignition of powder.By a lot of media I mean from 1/4" to 1/2". Primers burn hotter and build more pressure than the powder for size.
I'm with jerry on this,ain't no sense in looking for trouble.
I never asked anyone else to do anything.Until I knew I was safe I fastened the firearm to a big tire pointed at a high bank,was behind shelter,and fired with a trip.Once I knew it was safe I fired the gun in my hands.As to my reason for telling about it I was telling things that people may be curious about if they make a mistake.I have known of people who by accident left media in casings and didnt know until it wouldnt fire.This is dangerous because the media can slow burn and cause a hangfire.As to tumbling primers it is perfectly safe and I have seen highly experienced reloaders do it.But I didnt say anyone had to do it or even that they should.I just said I did it and it was safe. sam.
Here here. I wouldn't want to argure the point. I do believe it's not a needed part of the process to do so. (tumble brass with primers in them) Why not make life easy and jsut not do it. If the brasss is a little scroungy and has been resized and primed, load 'em up and give them a touch up for a few minutes.
It workes just as well to go ahead and load them and then tumble them to clean them.It works even better to do it right to start with.The only problem is somehow I dont always get everything right. sam.
There is one thing no one has mentioned. I was always taught that main reason for tumbling/cleaning the brass was to PREVENT damage to our sizing dies. Not to have "Pretty" reloads. Tumbling after sizing/repriming means you ran the cases through the die with oxidation & dirt on the cases. With carbide dies you may not damage them but you will certainly scratch cases, and with steel dies you will scratch them. Ask me how I know. if you have a decapping die you can punch out the primers before cleaning then the primer pockets can be cleaned too. Just have to make sure the media doesnt lodge in the flash hole. My 2 cents.....
Everything you say is exactly true>the situation I was refering to in my case is where I have sized casings and primed them or loaded them and then left them sit for an extended period and found I did a lousey job of wiping the lubricant off and they were filthy dirty.I have found the tumbler removes the sizing lubricant and if I store primed cases or loaded ammo it is still clean months later.It works for me,you should do what works for you. sam.
I tumble my brass with primers; SPENT primers, then I remove them and clean the flash holes by hand, reprime w/ live primers add powder and/or wads, gas checks[whichever is approprate] to the bullet base and seat the bullet. I do this in stages, clean brass remove SPENT primers and clean flash holes. Not necessarily in one day's time, add powder and seat bullet.
Over time I have built up a reserve of ammo, not enough for a national emergency but more than enough for normal activities.
Yeah, contrary to what a lot of people have said, I found that tumbling after depriming has never did didley for the crud in the primer pocket, and then I have to run it through the sizer again or use a toothpick to get media out of the flash hole. And contrary to popular belief, carbide dies can get scratched, it's just harder to do. And once you get one scratched, you will need to replace it, so why take the chance? I found that a Lee hand primer pocket cleaner fits in the chuck of my 3/8" cordless drill and cleans out the crud rather handily and speedy.
I would go ahead and load them, and then tumble. I did that by mistake before, and they ran all night. Man they were shiny! Tumble, deprime, prime and charge is the common steps.
