Case cleaning- reloading

[Augern]

That sure crossed my mind. Now they are shinny enough on the inside to look with a small pen light. I check and smack them hard open neck down. I got careful after breaking a decap pin. Now you have me concerned enough about some of the early reloads. Hmm I pick them up off the floor with a magnet. I have some very strong magnets. Time to check my reloads with that magnet.

I've never used the pins. What kind of stainless are they? Are they magnetic?

The cob blast media doesn't clump at all. I've never had it stick in a case.

 

[PrairieGhost]

I've never used the pins. What kind of stainless are they? Are they magnetic?

Yes. They sell magnets for them. They have a lever on top you pull to release the pins. If you spill them once you will buy the magnet. I was down in my gun room and used a very strong magnet to check my reloads. As a test I put a pin in a case, dumped powder, seated a bullet and tried the magnet. The magnet will pick up and empty case with one pin inside, but it will not pick up a loaded case. It will move it laying on it's side on a flat table.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

I’m 30 plus and still using a vibrator...

What’s his name?

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Demar? Demar Enslow hears it, Demar he likes it.

 

[SupressYourself]

Winner.
You can add a couple "gloops" of the Dillon case polish or a couple squirts of Brasso if you want your cases super shiny. I just like "clean". 15-30min just to get the sizing lube off.

I've always resized after cleaning. The cases from my suppressed ARs are filthy. There's no way I could resize before cleaning. I know some throw them back in the tumbler to remove the sizing lube, which makes sense, but I worry about the case necks getting dinged while rattling around in there. Is that a thing?

 

[PrairieGhost]

SuppressYourself you caused me a lot of work yesterday. I used a magnet to check all 400 of my reloads.

Every year you learn something different. I anneal my brass because I work the neck a lot. They say you have to have Berger VLD's close, touching, or jammed into the rifling to get accuracy. Now I am back .025 and shooting under .20 inch. I found that after sizing with a .286 bushing in a RCBS Gold Metal Match die I was still getting .002 to .007 run out. So now I size with my standard die, polish, expand and neck turn, resize again to center neck, expand, and resize with the .286 bushing die. Bushings are supposed to be set to move slightly in the case. They will not center the neck with the bore. Sooooo to get .000 to .001 run out I have to go through a lot of work, but when your done once you don't need to do it again. Now it's simply neck size with the bushing die. I'll try to throw in a pic of a group from my phone in a moment. It's of three different bullets with two different powders and still a very good group.

 

[SupressYourself]

SuppressYourself you caused me a lot of work yesterday. I used a magnet to check all 400 of my reloads.

Sorry. I said that I worry about it. I didn't say you had to.

 

[Tikka280ai]

anybody ever use a rotary tumbler with walnut or corn cob media? I think my vibratory tumbler died on me the other day and Im thinking about getting a harbor freight rotary tumbler. Don't really want to wet tumble since my reloading room is in the 2nd level of the house with no plumbing on that level.

 

[PrairieGhost]

Sorry. I said that I worry about it. I didn't say you had to.

:;:thumbsup It crossed my mind before I bought the setup. I just had to find a way to recheck to be safe. It was very easy. I needed your response for motivation.

Edit: A few posts back I was trying to have a little fun and poke SDMF about scopes and simply use Tasco if you don't neck turn. Truth is some factory ammo is getting awfully good. I can't figure out how they get rounds without run out when the necks are .013 on one side of the case, and .016 on the other side. Makes me scratch my head.

 

[SDMF]

SuppressYourself you caused me a lot of work yesterday. I used a magnet to check all 400 of my reloads.

Every year you learn something different. I anneal my brass because I work the neck a lot. They say you have to have Berger VLD's close, touching, or jammed into the rifling to get accuracy. Now I am back .025 and shooting under .20 inch. I found that after sizing with a .286 bushing in a RCBS Gold Metal Match die I was still getting .002 to .007 run out. So now I size with my standard die, polish, expand and neck turn, resize again to center neck, expand, and resize with the .286 bushing die. Bushings are supposed to be set to move slightly in the case. They will not center the neck with the bore. Sooooo to get .000 to .001 run out I have to go through a lot of work, but when your done once you don't need to do it again. Now it's simply neck size with the bushing die. I'll try to throw in a pic of a group from my phone in a moment. It's of three different bullets with two different powders and still a very good group.

Uff-Da. I size the case with a bushing just enough to hold a bullet and crush-fit into the chamber. The crush-fit centers the case in the chamber as well as mating the case-head to the bolt-face mechanically controlling headspace.

ES/SD are consistenter when there's not much brass to move. I also can't say that the lack of trimming caused by the lack of an expander ball doesn't piss me off either.

 

[PrairieGhost]

Berger are picky and your crush fit solves the problem. My new rifle uses a clip magazine and to use it I have to be off the lands a long ways. That forces me to neck turn if I want accuracy. Things were ok with the standard three round internal box magazine.
I hear you on the expandwe ball too
The RCBS bushing dies came with the traditional expander ball and a simple pin holder which I use.

So I have a question. If you have inconsistent necks and you don't use an expander ball you don't have consistent neck tension. Does that affect.your standard deviation a lot?

 

[SDMF]

So I have a question. If you have inconsistent necks and you don't use an expander ball you don't have consistent neck tension. Does that affect.your standard deviation a lot?

I couldn't tell you, I don't measure necks, nor do I turn them.

With new brass I FF, set the die for a crush-fit, trim, chamfer/debur then run them until the necks crack or the pockets don't hold primers.

 

[( deleted account )]

Forgot, steel wool works good to

interesting comment. never heard of using steel wool. Do you add it to media? In bigger chunks so it wont go into the cases? More details appreciated. Thanks Bob

 

[SDMF]

interesting comment. never heard of using steel wool. Do you add it to media? In bigger chunks so it wont go into the cases? More details appreciated. Thanks Bob

Chuck a case-holder into a drill in one hand, pad of steel wool in the other. One at a time.

 

[( deleted account )]

I've never used the pins. What kind of stainless are they? Are they magnetic?

The cob blast media doesn't clump at all. I've never had it stick in a case.

Only sticks when you add Flitz and some other snake oil to really brighten them up. Turns corncob into super glue. Interesting discussion on steel pins, and neck thickness and expander balls further down. I've never not used an expander ball!?! Not sold on that idea, at least for the average reloader who is satisfied with 3/4 inch at 100. Must work OK though.

 

[SDMF]

Only sticks when you add Flitz and some other snake oil to really brighten them up. Turns corncob into super glue.

The only thing I've found to make the find corn-cob blast media stick is sizing wax. The "gloopy" blue Dillon stuff you can add to corn cob media only clumps up for a short time. Probably need an extra 30-40min on the 1st tumbling session when you add it. After that, 10-15min gets the sizing lube off of cases and gets them plenty shiny for me.

Dillon's vibratory tumblers are exponentially superior to Frankfort, Lyman, Thumblers, and everybody else's too.

 

[PrairieGhost]

I couldn't tell you, I don't measure necks, nor do I turn them.

The standard deviation I was wondering about was your velocities. After trying crimp dies and noticing an increase in velocity, but a loss in accuracy with all my rifles except an AR15 I stopped using the crimp dies. The AR15 shot much better with crimped bullets. So if crimping did it I started looking at neck thickness and velocity. I measured brass and shot three shot groups with tight necks and three shot groups with turned necks. My velocity dropped slightly with the turned necks, but my groups shrunk considerably. The standard deviation improved slightly. I noticed it most in my 308 which went from a 50 fps spread to a 10 to 15 fps spread.

 

[AR-15]

SDMF, that's what I do with the drill, or just by hand, like I said earlier, time is on my side

 

[( deleted account )]

The only thing I've found to make the find corn-cob blast media stick is sizing wax. The "gloopy" blue Dillon stuff you can add to corn cob media only clumps up for a short time. Probably need an extra 30-40min on the 1st tumbling session when you add it. After that, 10-15min gets the sizing lube off of cases and gets them plenty shiny for me.

Dillon's vibratory tumblers are exponentially superior to Frankfort, Lyman, Thumblers, and everybody else's too.

I use a Lyman, maybe I'm tumbling them too long? Sometimes as long as overnight or all day? Or too short, but they come out clean except for the gobs inside, and cant see how tumbling time would affect anything. maybe I got a bad lot? Used too much? Tried two different ones, though only skimmed the labels. Maybe just plain old bad luck - or hexed by my good fellow reloading friend whose name starts with B?? LOL Kidding you B!
SD, you ever gently tumble loaded cases?

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SDMF, that's what I do with the drill, or just by hand, like I said earlier, time is on my side

OK Thought you meant you might tear up gobs of steel wool and toss it in the tumbling media or something. How do you keep the case from stopping turning. I'm kind of old and stupid.

 

[SDMF]

SD, you ever gently tumble loaded cases?

Only all the time growing up.

Now that I tumble post-sizing and use media that doesn't catch in the flash-hole I no longer tumble loaded cases.