Stainless Pin Tumbling

by bmize, Sunday, April 07, 2013, 12:23 (4251 days ago) @ John K.

I bought the Kit from Brownells.
Model B highspeed tumbler with 5lbs of pins.
Corncob/walnut cleaned fine for me, not looking for new, just clean.
Then I got into F Class and expensive Brass(Lapua) and trying to load the best/most consistant ammo I can.
Doing my homework I decided I need to start annealing my brass. First for consistant neck tension. Second to extend the life of my brass.
So I started studing about annealing and the first thing I learned was carbon resist heat, so all the carbon must be removed from the case neck to get consistant annealing.

So now along with an annealing machine I bought the SS tumbling setup.
They work as advertised. I normally run about 200 case at a time, not sure about the weight.
When I have cleaned large amounts of brass for a friend I run them in batches using a Folgers plastic coffee can(1lb 13oz size) as my gauge.

I use a shot of Dawn DW liquid and 1/2 tsp of Lemon shine DW cleaner(powder) and hot water.
It is a little messy if not careful.
I take the finished tumbler to the kitchen sink, pick out the brass 2-3 at a time and give them a shake to get any pins out that are inside then drop them in a bucket of warm water. Never had a problem with the pins sticking in the flash hole.

Rinse a few times then pour them out on a towel on the bench under a ceiling fan.
Usually they are dry the next day.
Spotless inside and out including the primer pockets.