I just wanted to show a few pictures of some brass I've been working on the past couple of weeks. I say weeks, because of being able to work on the brass in stages as I get a chance.

First, I was sent some brass from a generous AR member and I had a few odds and ends laying around from factory loads of my own.

Here is a picture of the brass prior to cleaning.


The brass after cleaning in my tumbler with stainless steel media.


Running the brass thru my annealing machine.


The brass after annealing. You can see the annealing marks just below the shoulder.


The brass is now ready to be sized, prepped, etc. and used as needed.

Beeman's gonna love this

Great looking rig

Some folks reload to shoot; others shoot to reload. All that work and you still don't know if the stuff'll shoot. While I much prefer CLEAN brass, I subscribe to the notion that shiny brass don't get you any extra points nor does it kill stuff deader. BUT, if'n that's what peels your nanner, go for it. That is a intriguing machine. Did you make it? I thought I had topped out on thingies when I bought a "see if your ammo is straight" thingie. Which sits, gathering dust, on a shelf over my reloading bench.

Beeman, you're a funny guy!

I'll give ya a run down of how much time I got in this little project.

Deprime about 140 cases = 20 mins

Fill up tumbler and get it going = 5 mins

Clean up after tumbling = 15 mins

Run brass thru annealing = 30 mins

Giving me a grand total of 70 mins, or so. Let's just call it an even 1.5 hrs to be conservative.

Really not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things.

To answer your question, no, I did not make the annealing machine. I purchased it. And, does exactly as it is designed to do.

I'll go back to peelin' nanners, now.

Sweet! Now you have to do more typing!

So do tell about the annealing machine. I may be wanting one. And the SS media. I'm using lizard cage liner stuff. (crushed walnut)

Hell, I'd like to know more about the stainless media as well as the annealing machine!!!

Here in sunny SA, we're about a lifetime behind you guys with availability of toys - maybe I can nag the odd dealer into action.....

wasbeeman, Keep my straight cartridge thingie in the same place as you, along with the "had to have" neck turning tool.

I think I've paid way too much for the little smarts I've boughten.

Thingies for Sale

Tools are just tools. If you don't need them or don't use them or don't use them correctly they add nothing to anything. People have long used Lee's hammer tool to make quality ammo so I suppose we could say that lever operated presses and threaded dies are trivia but they peel my 'nanner. So do a lot of other tools.

You can't sail new seas if you never lose sight of the shore.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
Some folks reload to shoot; others shoot to reload. All that work and you still don't know if the stuff'll shoot. While I much prefer CLEAN brass, I subscribe to the notion that shiny brass don't get you any extra points nor does it kill stuff deader. BUT, if'n that's what peels your nanner, go for it. That is a intriguing machine. Did you make it? I thought I had topped out on thingies when I bought a "see if your ammo is straight" thingie. Which sits, gathering dust, on a shelf over my reloading bench.

Graybird...or better yet, how much do you charge for a clean and anneal of say 200 cases?

I'm interested in your "thingies" too.

All,

I purchased the Tumbler as a set from this company: Stainless Steel Tumbler

I usually let my tumbler run 3.5-4 hours. So, I set it up in the garage and let it go at it while I do other things. Many times, I set it up in the afternoon after work and turn it off prior to going to bed at night. Wash the brass that evening and let them dry during the night.

Here is an old post on AR that might of interest to you. Stainless Steel Media

I purchased the Annealing Machine from this company: Annealing Machine

Sure, these are additional "thingies" but unlike others, I've been putting my "thingies" to work!

Yep, I found plans on the AR site and through a tumbler together with mostly stuff I had in the shop already. Here's a pic. http://flic.kr/p/kytc5n Fast and simple to clean brass, and cleans all but the hardest carbon out of the primer pockets, and the media never wears out.