I’m new to all this. Love your videos, especially highlighting process step nuances and decisions behind which equipment works better and identifying problems or the way equipment works. Something I don’t really get from all the other videos that are marketing for something you’ll ultimately either not be fully happy but have to compromise and nobody wants to do expensive purchase experiments. Thankyou.
I use walnut with Nu-Finish polish cut 50/50 with mineral spirits and tumble for 3-4 hours. I'm really happy with the cleaning and finish. This combination really cleans well, except for the primer pockets of course.
Interesting video. Thank-you. One big piece of information was missing. You hint at lower sd’s by dry tumbling, but you never give us a number. Compared to wet tumbling, how much lower are your sd’s when you dry tumble?
I have done the pockets by hand. It is tedious. I think the main brass being clean is important, but maybe we go too far in cleaning sometimes. I know some people that just wipe it off to get the heavy stuff off and they are good. I think that carbon buildup could be an issue for them over time.
I have seen tumbling machine parts or rusty bolts using perlite or vermiculite, would that be a good alternative or would it be too aggressive or could it shorten the tumble time?
This may have been asked and answered below, but if you didn't test the process you might want do redo your wet vs dry testing but this time do your wet until they look like new. Personally I knock off most of the carbon from my primer pockets before wet tumbling as it finishes up the job super well. Here's the possible difference, you mentioned you use imperial dry lube for your neck work. I'm wondering if you were doing that as part of the process when you were wet tumbling. The reason being one would think that dry lube should serve the same purpose as leaving some carbon residue in the neck. So yeah I'd be interested in seeing if you started with cleaned like new cases (my wet certainly makes them look like new inside and out), then be sure there's still some dry lube inside the neck when you seat the bullet which I'd think there would be unless the power charge is removing all of it left over from when you did your mandrel sizing. Or maybe do one run this way and another the same but where you do the same dry lube process right before you charge and bullet seat (dip and brush inside/outside). The difference there being that the dry lube remaining inside hasn't been wiped away in part by the mandrel. Then of course compare these results against your dry tumbling results. My point being here is that if your wet vs dry cleaning and testing data didn't include using the dry lube on those "too clean" wet tumbled cases before seating the bullets, adding the dry lube would seem it might solve the issue while allowing for wet tumbling. Granted you might not care about nice new looking cases (clean), but I don't shoot competition so I don't need to be quite so precise. I'll likely never go back to dry cleaning, but then 1/2MOA is good enough for me.
Yes, I have done all of those things. Dry lube at different points in the process. Nothing compares to dry tumbling and not over cleaning your brass. Lots of people shoot factory ammo and are happy with that. I want more. 1/2 MOA at 100 is not too hard. 1/2 MOA at 1000 is harder. Thanks for your comment.
@@precisionmatchtimerThanks, but if you’re no longer using the wet tumbler because it’s affecting accuracy, doesn’t that mean that brand new unfired brass will be less accurate than fired and dry vibratory cleaned brass? Because the wet tumbler is basically getting mine back to factory clean. (?) I always used to dry tumble, but then had to do a separate pass on the universal decapping die to get any media out of the primer pocket. I still do it for small batches of pistol ammo though. Like you I went to an ultrasonic, (which I use now only for parts cleaning) then wet tumbling with higher end SS pins, and then drying in a dehumidifier and never considered going back.
@@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo I have never had virgin brass shoot as well as once fired. Now part of that is the undersizing of virgin brass. Fireforming it to chamber in your rifle will be a big help. But I also thik there is a "clean" factor to it.
Only between wet tumbling and dry tumbling. The wet tumbling was giving me inconsistencies, so when I switched to dry tumble they went away. I did not test between the different dry tumbles.
After rotating the brass in the Hornady, did ANY cleaning compound stay in the case or primer pocket? I find I need to check each case for leftover media.
Would not slightly lubing with something like One Shot or Dry graphite not make up for the carbon deposits that are lost during wet tumbling? Thanks a lot
It's not so much that the brass is "too clean" from wet tumbling, but more so the abrading of the brass via wet tumbling removes it's oxide layer and it ends up galling the brass with the bullet. As long as you have a barrier preventing contact from the freshly cut brass with the bullet, there should be no difference from "less cleaned" brass. Now unless you want shiny brass, wet tumbling is almost exclusively a cosmetic affair. But one way to have your cake and eat it too, is to anneal after you clean your brass and instead of lemishine (or any chemical cleaner) use something like ONR Carnuba car wash to do your wet tumbling. It will deposit a thin film of wax and when you anneal your brass it will help oxide the inside of the neck.
Seems to me “this guy” is taking the time to share his experience of learning by trial and error so others don’t have to do the same. Perhaps rather than non constructive criticism you could add some value or at least be appreciative there are still people who care enough to help those who will listen.
His point is your comments, Zhida Zhou, are pointless. If you disagree with something or feel you have a better method, please share, but stupid comments help nobody, including yourself.
@@StuninRub I know what antithesis means, but your use makes no sense for this guy that has clearly invested a lot of time and money into the reloading process.
I’m new to all this. Love your videos, especially highlighting process step nuances and decisions behind which equipment works better and identifying problems or the way equipment works. Something I don’t really get from all the other videos that are marketing for something you’ll ultimately either not be fully happy but have to compromise and nobody wants to do expensive purchase experiments. Thankyou.
I use walnut with Nu-Finish polish cut 50/50 with mineral spirits and tumble for 3-4 hours. I'm really happy with the cleaning and finish. This combination really cleans well, except for the primer pockets of course.
Great video and info Joe, thank you for sharing your insight!
50/50 New Finish Car Polish/mineral spirits. See the shine!
Dillon rapid polish in all my dry media for years. Not too much. Never tried car wax.
Interesting video. Thank-you. One big piece of information was missing. You hint at lower sd’s by dry tumbling, but you never give us a number. Compared to wet tumbling, how much lower are your sd’s when you dry tumble?
Right now I am at 5-7 SDs. I was double digits with wet.
What drawbacks are experienced if you don’t clean brass and skip this step altogether, and just manually clean primer pockets?
I have done the pockets by hand. It is tedious. I think the main brass being clean is important, but maybe we go too far in cleaning sometimes. I know some people that just wipe it off to get the heavy stuff off and they are good. I think that carbon buildup could be an issue for them over time.
I have seen tumbling machine parts or rusty bolts using perlite or vermiculite, would that be a good alternative or would it be too aggressive or could it shorten the tumble time?
Don't know. I've never tried them. Would be interesting to see.
wondering if using some automotive 3m cutting wax compound would clean better.....since it does have slight abrasive properties.
This may have been asked and answered below, but if you didn't test the process you might want do redo your wet vs dry testing but this time do your wet until they look like new. Personally I knock off most of the carbon from my primer pockets before wet tumbling as it finishes up the job super well. Here's the possible difference, you mentioned you use imperial dry lube for your neck work. I'm wondering if you were doing that as part of the process when you were wet tumbling. The reason being one would think that dry lube should serve the same purpose as leaving some carbon residue in the neck. So yeah I'd be interested in seeing if you started with cleaned like new cases (my wet certainly makes them look like new inside and out), then be sure there's still some dry lube inside the neck when you seat the bullet which I'd think there would be unless the power charge is removing all of it left over from when you did your mandrel sizing. Or maybe do one run this way and another the same but where you do the same dry lube process right before you charge and bullet seat (dip and brush inside/outside). The difference there being that the dry lube remaining inside hasn't been wiped away in part by the mandrel. Then of course compare these results against your dry tumbling results.
My point being here is that if your wet vs dry cleaning and testing data didn't include using the dry lube on those "too clean" wet tumbled cases before seating the bullets, adding the dry lube would seem it might solve the issue while allowing for wet tumbling.
Granted you might not care about nice new looking cases (clean), but I don't shoot competition so I don't need to be quite so precise. I'll likely never go back to dry cleaning, but then 1/2MOA is good enough for me.
Yes, I have done all of those things. Dry lube at different points in the process. Nothing compares to dry tumbling and not over cleaning your brass. Lots of people shoot factory ammo and are happy with that. I want more. 1/2 MOA at 100 is not too hard. 1/2 MOA at 1000 is harder. Thanks for your comment.
@@precisionmatchtimer good info, thanks for the follow-up. If I ever get into competition I'll keep this in mind.
@@precisionmatchtimerThanks, but if you’re no longer using the wet tumbler because it’s affecting accuracy, doesn’t that mean that brand new unfired brass will be less accurate than fired and dry vibratory cleaned brass? Because the wet tumbler is basically getting mine back to factory clean. (?)
I always used to dry tumble, but then had to do a separate pass on the universal decapping die to get any media out of the primer pocket. I still do it for small batches of pistol ammo though. Like you I went to an ultrasonic, (which I use now only for parts cleaning) then wet tumbling with higher end SS pins, and then drying in a dehumidifier and never considered going back.
@@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo I have never had virgin brass shoot as well as once fired. Now part of that is the undersizing of virgin brass. Fireforming it to chamber in your rifle will be a big help. But I also thik there is a "clean" factor to it.
Great Video, love the attention to detail, Did you shoot each of these to see if there was a difference in group size amongst the various methods?
Only between wet tumbling and dry tumbling. The wet tumbling was giving me inconsistencies, so when I switched to dry tumble they went away. I did not test between the different dry tumbles.
After rotating the brass in the Hornady, did ANY cleaning compound stay in the case or primer pocket? I find I need to check each case for leftover media.
None. I can usually see some here and there with the other media separator. This one does a great job.
Would not slightly lubing with something like One Shot or Dry graphite not make up for the carbon deposits that are lost during wet tumbling? Thanks a lot
I think the graphite has the potential for that. My tests still show better results with dry tumble AND graphite.
It's not so much that the brass is "too clean" from wet tumbling, but more so the abrading of the brass via wet tumbling removes it's oxide layer and it ends up galling the brass with the bullet. As long as you have a barrier preventing contact from the freshly cut brass with the bullet, there should be no difference from "less cleaned" brass. Now unless you want shiny brass, wet tumbling is almost exclusively a cosmetic affair. But one way to have your cake and eat it too, is to anneal after you clean your brass and instead of lemishine (or any chemical cleaner) use something like ONR Carnuba car wash to do your wet tumbling. It will deposit a thin film of wax and when you anneal your brass it will help oxide the inside of the neck.
Have you tried wet tumbling with no pins? I'm trying to reduce dust from corn cob.
I did. Still not a fan for Match ammo. I do not dry tumble in my reloading room. I do it in my workshop. There is always dust in there!
But you use dry neck lube wouldn't that take care of the to clean problem I'm just wondering
It doesn't seem to matter. At least on MY tests. Test it for yourself!
This guy is the antithesis of buy once cry once.
Seems to me “this guy” is taking the time to share his experience of learning by trial and error so others don’t have to do the same. Perhaps rather than non constructive criticism you could add some value or at least be appreciative there are still people who care enough to help those who will listen.
@@davidarnold3944 What's your point?
His point is your comments, Zhida Zhou, are pointless. If you disagree with something or feel you have a better method, please share, but stupid comments help nobody, including yourself.
@@areynolds35 When did I disagree with anything? Is English your second language? Maybe the words I am using are too big for your comprehension?
@@StuninRub I know what antithesis means, but your use makes no sense for this guy that has clearly invested a lot of time and money into the reloading process.
How long were you wet tumbling your precision brass?
I tried everything from half hour to three hours.