Stainless Steel pins for tumbling media

I've stepped into the world of wet rotary tumbling my brass and I need to buy some stainless magnetic tumbling media. I thought this would be easy but when I search online, there are lots of sizes and quantities. I bought the frankford arsenal rotary tumbler light. I will only be tumbling 100 cases max at a time so I didn't need the large one.

My question is what size pins and how many pounds do I need? I've seen videos of pins stick sideways inside cases snapping decapping pins or worse being left in and shot damaging the barrel. Frankford recommends 1mm X 7 mm but is that because it's what they sell or a safety issue.

I believe the SS pin media that came with my FA tumbler is .040" dia x 3/8" long, maybe 1/4" long. I'm 100% sold on the process myself, brass comes out like new, inside and out, and I've never had any stuck inside a case, they rinse out easily.

Oh, and a squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid and a 1/4 tsp of lemi-shine is the recipe that works for me.

MUP":384896bs said:

I believe the SS pin media that came with my FA tumbler is .040" dia x 3/8" long, maybe 1/4" long. I'm 100% sold on the process myself, brass comes out like new, inside and out, and I've never had any stuck inside a case, they rinse out easily.

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Thanks Mup. Do you run the wet tumbler before depriming and then after to clean the pockets? I hear that the pins could ding the mouth so I was also wondering about trimming and champhering after tumbling.

I deprime, tumble, size, dry tumble to get the sizing lube cleaned off, then trim and chmfr before loading. Seems to work well for me.

MUP":1scj1uch said:

I deprime, tumble, size, dry tumble to get the sizing lube cleaned off, then trim and chmfr before loading. Seems to work well for me.

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Sounds like a good plan. I plan to dry tumble, then deprime and size, wet tumble, then trim and chmfr. If I had a way to deprime without running dirty cases through my sizing die, I could probably just wet tumble once and be done cleaning. But I also like to get the lube off and tumbling (dry or wet) is a good method.

fairchaser":6t6el00j said:

MUP":6t6el00j said:

I deprime, tumble, size, dry tumble to get the sizing lube cleaned off, then trim and chmfr before loading. Seems to work well for me.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan. I plan to dry tumble, then deprime and size, wet tumble, then trim and chmfr. If I had a way to deprime without running dirty cases through my sizing die, I could probably just wet tumble once and be done cleaning. But I also like to get the lube off and tumbling (dry or wet) is a good method.

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Get a Lee universal decapping die.

^^^^ This.

markwondi":3oztgj3q said:

fairchaser":3oztgj3q said:

MUP":3oztgj3q said:

I deprime, tumble, size, dry tumble to get the sizing lube cleaned off, then trim and chmfr before loading. Seems to work well for me.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan. I plan to dry tumble, then deprime and size, wet tumble, then trim and chmfr. If I had a way to deprime without running dirty cases through my sizing die, I could probably just wet tumble once and be done cleaning. But I also like to get the lube off and tumbling (dry or wet) is a good method.

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Get a Lee universal decapping die.

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Great idea! It adds one step but eliminates another. I'll look into it. Thanks

I prefer trimming before tumbling simply to help get out any shavings that may be in the case. Not sure it really makes a difference tho


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I've actually lowered the decapping pin in another larger sizing die to do the depriming in a pinch before.

MUP":srwqnwg6 said:

I've actually lowered the decapping pin in another larger sizing die to do the depriming in a pinch before.

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Great idea too!

I check length and if trimming is required I do that first. Then I chamfer inside. then outside.

You can and probably should dry tumble with the primer IN if the brass is dirty. Then decap.

Next I wet tumble, Dawn and lemi-shine as MUP says is the recipe for brass you can use as a signalling mirror.
I have the Frankford tumbler, magnet, and separator.

FL size is next and this is the step I spend time with each piece of brass to be sure no splitting, no cracking, nothing is amiss. Once FL sized I prime. Then stored upside down in a plastic ammo box ready to be loaded.

I do not do any of the above for a given caliber until that caliber has no more brass to load and fewer than 20 rounds to shoot. For example, This hunting season marks the end of my 30/06 stash and I will be doing all the above on nearly 600 pieces of brass.

Last year I did my 243 stash. Year before I started to do my 22-250 and realized trimming was required and since that would have been #6 I tossed them all and started fresh.

My 300 WinMag is also on the to-do list.

I deprime with my Lee universal deprime die, then wet tumble, then process the brass if it requires it, trim, chamfer, debur etc. When I first got my Frankfurt Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, FART, I did all my brass, and stored it in boxes until I'm ready to reload them.

Omega":1x9ng4lo said:

I deprime with my Lee universal deprime die, then wet tumble, then process the brass if it requires it, trim, chamfer, debur etc. When I first got my Frankfurt Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, FART, I did all my brass, and stored it in boxes until I'm ready to reload them.

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Omega, do you trim after tumbling due to the pins dinging the case mouth?

For my sequence, I just trim after tumbling and sizing, to obtain the correct size/length at the end of the cycle. Sizing can lengthen, or shorten I've heard, the OAL of the case, thus I trim afterwards if needed.

I wet tumble with pins before sizing and again without pins afterwards to remove the lube.

infoman jr.":3ngfcncg said:

I wet tumble with pins before sizing and again without pins afterwards to remove the lube.

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That's sounds like a good sequence. I've been looking at different methods for drying the cases too.

fairchaser":3ujmlapj said:

infoman jr.":3ujmlapj said:

I wet tumble with pins before sizing and again without pins afterwards to remove the lube.

Click to expand...

That's sounds like a good sequence. I've been looking at different methods for drying the cases too.

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I just lay the cases out in a disposable aluminum pan and put it in the oven at 200F for 45 minutes.
Disposable pan keeps the wife happy

Snowwolfe":2z4hnn7r said:

fairchaser":2z4hnn7r said:

infoman jr.":2z4hnn7r said:

I wet tumble with pins before sizing and again without pins afterwards to remove the lube.

Click to expand...

That's sounds like a good sequence. I've been looking at different methods for drying the cases too.

Click to expand...

I just lay the cases out in a disposable aluminum pan and put it in the oven at 200F for 45 minutes.
Disposable pan keeps the wife happy

Click to expand...

I'm trying to stay out of the kitchen and using an old dehydrator. I hear the oven can discolor the cases if your not careful. Now I wish I had a sink nearby without using my kitchen sink. This precision reloading can really be a black hole.