Why tumble brass other than to make the case look pretty? Is there any benefit to tumbling your cases?

You get them clean so they don't gunk up your dies, don't scratch up your chamber, etc. Yeah, and pretty, too.

It's also much easier to see (and cull) cases with flaws (potential head separations, neck splits, etc.) when they are clean & shiny.

Curly,
The only one Hobie and Paul missed was that dirty cases sometimes will not extract from the chamber when fired.

[ 03-09-2003, 01:35: Message edited by: BigBob ]

That's a good one Bob. It's been so long since I was that, er... dumb, I just didn't think of it.

Of course Paul is right as well. It makes it tremendously easier to see what the actual condition of the case is.

Hobie,
You had already used the good answers and that was all I could come up with. Have a good one all.

IMHO, a tuft of "Never Dull" and a piece of "4-O" steel wool will yield better results in a fraction of the time it takes to tumble and get the cases ready to begin the loading process.

OK. What's Never Dull?

kk

Never thought I needed a tumbler either but after getting one for Christmas I LOVE IT. After resizing several cases just throw them in for about an hour, no need to give each case individual attention to get the lube off. Besides I can allways throw a bunch of my revolver cases in with them just to shine them up and as mentioned it does make split necks and such more readily visible.

Before it was common for handloaders to polish their brass, Jack O'Connor many moons ago wrote about the "odd fellows" who shined up their cases with steel wool.

He saw nothing wrong with it, but decided he had more fruitful ways to spend his time.

All of the above posts give reasons for shining up the brass, but if the cases are quickly washed in soap and water (not polished), they won't scratch your dies, will extract fine, etc... no matter how dark they are.

I got along without a tumbler for years, never had a problem. I use one now, because it makes the ammo looks pretty.

If my cases get dirty, I clean them up with the vinegar, soap, salt treatment. If I had a tumbler I would use it, but everytime I get $100 in my pocket there is always something more useful to spend it on.

There is no downside to tumbling your brass.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness!

B

This stream is about choked with good reasons to tumble clean your brass but I'll dare to add one more.

PRIDE

I take pride in the ammunition I load. I want it to perform good and I don't mind taking the time to make it LOOK good.

kk,
I guess you were never in the U.S.Navy. NeverDull came in a can about eight inches in diameter and six to seven inches tall. The primary colors of the can were, you guessed it, red, white and blue. The good stuff inside was "impregnated cotton fiber" according to the can. It was sort of like flattened cotton fiber wad, rolled up to fit in the can and saturated with metal polish.
When I was still in the Navy, we used it to polish the turnbuckles, sound-powered phone boxes, alarm handles, etc. Essentially everything that wasn't painted was polished. The nice thing about NeverDull was that it wasn't abrasive and you didn't have to look for a rag to apply it.
Kind of makes old sailors think about going out and catching a sea-bat.
Regards,
HockeyPuck

Tumbling will also speedup the cleaning process. I have a tumbler, but seldom use it since I only handload maybe 40 .338 cases each year. I brush the inside of the cases with a 25 Caliber nylon brush to remove any trash, size the necks/decap, then I wash the cases in hot soapy water (I scrub the inside of the cases with the same nylon brush), and finally rinse them with plenty hot/clean water to remove the soap. After that, I place them upside down in a special metallic rack or block I built, place them in the oven at the lowest temperature setting (about 150 degrees) for about 20 minutes, and finish drying them with a hair blower. I let them cool off overnight, and use them the next day.

The block or rack consists of two rectangular flat pieces of aluminum that are held together with four 5" spacers and screws at each corner. It looks like a table. I drilled holes to the aluminum pieces to hold the cases, and just large enough so that the cases won't fall through. Both plates have holes, but I can only use one plate at a time. The cases hang on the rack from the belts, and if any water is trapped inside, it drains out or evaporates.

I use both nickel-coated and brass cases, but the coated ones always look shiny.

I use a tumbler to save time.

It might take longer for the tumbler to do it's job than it takes for me to clean them myself, but it's working, not me.

And it looks pretty!

Vinegar, soap and especially salt isn't condusive to metal of anykind although we used it for years mostly in the corrisive era.

Today I would use detergent and water followed by a boiling hot water bath and dry...

But I just use a viberating RCBS tub cleaner and walnut shells, it cleans while I sleep...

...plus the cases enjoy the ride! Wheeeeee!

I use a universal decapper to decap first thing. It gets the stuff left in the primer out and then the tumbling cleans the primer pockets. Then carful inspection Then reload.

PS I was in the "Old Navy" We tried covering all that brass work with turks heads.

I don't have a tumber, and I am very happy cleaning with the steel wool on the outside of the necks and the primer pocket with a wire brush and Lyman Uniformer.

But the place that is a pain for me to clean is the inside of the necks. If I put steel wool on a bore brush and shove by hand or spin in a mini lathe, the steel wool is only good for a couple cases.

If I clean the inside of the neck with just a bore brush, it lasts about 50 cases [2 cents each] and is fast enough. This does not get the inside of the neck very clean, but I am gettin great groups, so it much be good enough. If I thought those groups would improve with a tumbler, I would get one.