Early jump on reloading

[XtremeVel]

I just tumble enough to knock the crud off then deprime. I have never cleaned out a primer pocket on pistol brass.

Another thing you could do while waiting on your equipment is to buy a good manual or two and read it. The more info you have prior to choosing the equipment could help prevent having to "upgrade" later.

 

[peberly400]

nice idea! I might look into something like that, since cheap = good for me!

 

[mac45]

I thought the slotted top was for when you dump your media out, its almost like a pre separator?

Oh it is.
Problem is, tumblers make dust, (at least with corn cob, never tried walnut.)
If I put a dust generator 20 feet from where my wife was doing laundry, she would conniption all over me
Then there's folks that will tell you the dust can be a source of lead contamination from the lead styphnate in primers.
I'm not sure how big a source it really is, but since my blood test came back high, I switched to an ultra sonic and only use the tumbler to clean case lube off rifle cases after I size 'em.

Now just to be clear, I'm not saying you're gonna get lead poisoning from your tumbler. I'm saying over 20+ years, it might be part of the reason my lead level is high. And, that making a bunch of dust next to your wife's laundry room is maybe not the smartest thing to do if you want to stay married.

Long version, but that's why I don't think much of slotted tops on tumblers.

 

[peberly400]

Ill probably pick up a manual when I get a tumbler and some calipers and some other equipment. I will probably have close to 2-3k misc brass already cleaned before I pick up the reloader. Thanks for all the information guys!

 

[peberly400]

I was under the impression you tumbled it with a closed top, then you dumped it with a slotted top. And I have heard of a lot of people putting dryer sheets in with the tumbler? Any truth to that?

 

[XtremeVel]

Ill probably pick up a manual when I get a tumbler and some calipers and some other equipment. I will probably have close to 2-3k misc brass already cleaned before I pick up the reloader. Thanks for all the information guys!

Sounds good. After you tumble that brass, you could go ahead and inspect the casings and sort and bag by caliber. Kick out any damaged, aluminum, or steel cases.

 

[peberly400]

Yup. Im glad I have some stuff to do before I get the re-loader. Now I just have to swindle some of you gentlemen to come over to my house and help set it up

 

[mac45]

I was under the impression you tumbled it with a closed top, then you dumped it with a slotted top. And I have heard of a lot of people putting dryer sheets in with the tumbler? Any truth to that?

If that's the case, your good to go. A couple of the reviews I read on Midway made it sound like the Lyman only had a slotted top.

Tried the dryer sheets once, didn't seem to make much of a difference.
Might be that they work better with walnut, I dunno.

 

[karl77]

I was under the impression you tumbled it with a closed top, then you dumped it with a slotted top. And I have heard of a lot of people putting dryer sheets in with the tumbler? Any truth to that?

+1 on the dryer sheets. they cut down on the dust. I have found that 1/2" squares (use 7-8 of them) of it work the best.

 

[peberly400]

Ill have to remember that for a reference! I have written down so much stuff and pinned it to my board lol

 

[XtremeVel]

Dryer sheets or not, best to move the tumbler to the garage if at all possible...

Used to have a couple in back corner of my bench... Thought I was containing the dust till one day I was moving some ammo cans around that sit under my bench... My wood trim molding was covered with the red residue... My tumblers have been in the garage ever since... Another reason is simply if I need anything, it's MORE space on the bench, not LESS...

 

[bluewraith]

+1 on the dryer sheets. They come out filthy, so they are doing something right in there. I quarter mine up and toss a couple fresh ones in with each batch.

Used dryer sheets will work just as well as new ones, so save some money and keep them after you do a load of cloths. You're not looking to make your brass smell good! lol

 

[Broom_jm]

If you read through a few of the forum threads on tumbling cases you'll see different viewpoints on the subject. At the risk of generalizing, it breaks down into two camps:

1) Folks who haven't been reloading all that long tend to want their brass to be SHINY, like factory ammo, so they are all about truly cleaning and polishing their cases. They go so far as to really CLEAN primer pockets, even using ultra-sonic devices to get their brass sparkling, inside n' out.

2) Older folks who've been reloading for decades want their brass free of any debris before resizing, haven't cleaned a primer pocket in years, and focus only on what it takes to make safe, effective ammo.

I tumble pistol cases 100-200 at a time in a Lyman tumbler with walnut media for maybe 30 minutes. I then resize, deprime, prime, bell, charge and seat the bullet, in one continuous process. I never even look at the primer pocket because I know there is no media in the flash hole and I know there is no reason whatsoever to clean the pocket. After loading thousands of pistol rounds in this fashion, with not even one misfire, so far, I can't begin to think of a reason to change.

Your "early jump" is a good idea, but aside from collecting brass and tumbling it, there is really nothing more to do until you have the press. Frankly, your time would be far better spent reading Lyman's 49th or the ABC's of Reloading, instead of cleaning cases.

When you are ready to buy a press, the Lee Classic Turret is almost certainly going to be the right unit for you. For less than $200 you can be set up to load at least one caliber. Depending on how much you shoot per month, you could recoup that cost fairly quickly, but I will share something with you that every reloader learns pretty quickly: You don't save money reloading...you just shoot more, for roughly the same cost.

I hope you have the means to get the equipment soon. Check out Craigslist and other places and you might find what you're looking for used.

 

[peberly400]

I washed around 600 pieces of brass today and have them drying on a pizza rack. I will probably be picking up either a lymans or RCBS tumbler and some manuals here this friday or sooner.

As for the actual reloader I have been doing some research. I don't think a full blown progressive is what I want. I dont need automatic case feeder, and all the bells and whistlers. I also do not want the single stage with only one die at a time.

I have seen some where its all 4 dies and you manually place the casing and the bullet. It still automatically spins and places the powder and each casing goes to the next stage. I do not remember what it was exactly called, if some one would enlighten me

 

[mac45]

I washed around 600 pieces of brass today and have them drying on a pizza rack. I will probably be picking up either a lymans or RCBS tumbler and some manuals here this friday or sooner.

As for the actual reloader I have been doing some research. I don't think a full blown progressive is what I want. I dont need automatic case feeder, and all the bells and whistlers. I also do not want the single stage with only one die at a time.

I have seen some where its all 4 dies and you manually place the casing and the bullet. It still automatically spins and places the powder and each casing goes to the next stage. I do not remember what it was exactly called, if some one would enlighten me

Coincidentally, I was flipping thru the latest propaganda from Graf & Sons after dinner tonight and saw this one.
Graf & Sons - GRAF VIBRATORY TUMBLER 110v w/SWITCH & CLEAR LID
Thought you might be interested.

Also, the press you're describing is the Lee Classic Turret that Broom_jm just recommended. I'll second that. Bought one a few years back as a second press, and I really like it.

 

[mdemetz]

I was under the impression you tumbled it with a closed top, then you dumped it with a slotted top. And I have heard of a lot of people putting dryer sheets in with the tumbler? Any truth to that?

The Lyman 1200 Pro only comes with a slotted top. It didn't work well for me for media seperation. It will also not turn the media much unless the the top is fastened on. You can buy a extra smaller bowel with a clear top.

 

[coyn]

I have this tumbler: "NEW" Case Tumbler w/ FREE Media Holds 600 9mm Brass | eBay It's low cost and seems to be holding up well even after forgetting about it and leaving it on all night and day during work. I'm fairly new to reloading but i've put a few thousand through the tumbler for at least 3 hours each and it works great everytime. I use the lizard litter from Pet Supplies Plus in Warsaw. It's crushed walnut and is very inexpensive. With a little metal polish it does the job pretty well.

 

[coyn]

Another pointer that I failed to read/learn beforehand when tumbling is not to tumble 45 with 9mm. It seems common sense after the doing it but I failed to think... lol The 9mm fits nicely inside the .45 and after tumbling and having the media get compressed in the 45 brass along with the 9mm, it is a pita to get out but can be done with tweezers. Then the 9mm brass gets to get tumbled a 2nd time because it never got cleaned the first. Yep..noob mistake.

 

[peberly400]

Hey that's great advice about pet litter. What reloader are you running?

 

[coyn]

I bought the lee anniversary kit to start with. I thought about getting the turret press but I decided that the price of the single stage was too good to pass up when it was on sale awhile ago at Midway. I'm really only in it as a hobby and not to do huge volumes so the single stage works great for me. I may upgrade to a progressive in the distant future but I have no intentions of that right now. It's easy to learn the basics on a single stage and move up later. If you need any advice, i'm not too far from you. Message me and i'd be willing to answer the best I can even though I still consider myself a noob with only a couple thousand reloads under my belt.