Just starting to get into reloading and getting things together. I am trying to figure out whether to go wet or dry when it comes to a tumbler and am looking for advantages and disadvantages of each?

That is almost a Ford vs. Chevy question.

I've been reloading for a few years and dry has been perfectly satisfactory. It is relatively inexpensive, works well and delivers decent results in an acceptable period of time. The only real fault I find with it is that you will not get the inside of cases clean. No big deal, but this method only gets the outside clean and shiny. Also, don't do it after you have deprimed the cases. Little pieces of media will get lodged in the primer pocket which creates a tedious, time wasting chore. For the record, I tried that ONCE to see if it would help to clean the primer pockets. (Im not one to repeat a mistake or retry a bad idea). I've read some people who theorize that the crud + walnut residue left inside the case add to smokiness. A few think that the walnut junk shortens barrel life. I doubt it, but when it comes to clean, I'm anal. For separating media and brass, use a dollar store colander. It is perfect for me!

I also tried using an ultrasonic cleaner. The costs are higher, especially for the special brass cleaning detergent. It gets used up pretty quickly. The process itself is quick, but somewhat messier than dry tumbling. The results are not as good, nor am I convinced it is better at actually cleaning the casings.

I'm about to go to using a wet tumbler with stainless media. I'm getting serious about long range shooting, and one of the universal truths is that the better the condition of the brass, the better. These guys even segregate cases by their empty weight in the quest for uniformity. Many of those reloaders swear by this system. One virtue is that the inside, outside and primer pockets get cleaned, the media is infinitely reusable and otherwise trouble free.

In other words, if ease and value are the goa, dry is great. If you are after a little more and want to spend a little more, wet is a good bet.

 

I think wet tumbling with stainless steel media is superior. See below for my before and after pics of some fired .45 ACP brass. It comes out looking brand new, and it will go through your resizing die a bit easier.

 

I've seen many examples of wet tumbling with SS media being above and beyond superior to standard vibratory tumbling methods.

I've seen some homemade versions, but with the materials required, I think you'd be better off buying a retail version, since it'll cost just about the same.

I could be wrong though, and I would love it if someone could prove me wrong (read: please find me some plans to make one! I'm too lazy to look lol)

 

I think wet tumbling with stainless steel media is superior. See below for my before and after pics of some fired .45 ACP brass. It comes out looking brand new, and it will go through your resizing die a bit easier.

What kind and size tumbler do you use?

 

It depends on where I get my brass and the condition. If I pick up and the outdoor range where it’s been in the dirty and muddy, I wash (wet tumble) that brass and then dry tumble. If I get it from and indoor range I just dry tumble.

 

What kind and size tumbler do you use?

I use a Thumbler model B tumbler. It will clean up to two pounds of brass at a time.

 

Like you, I have just started to get into reloading. A year or so ago there was a great post on this site about using an ultrasonic cleaner, followed by a short media tumble. I have searched for it to give you a link; but, I cannot find it. I have used the process that was set forth and found it to be excellent and inexpensive.

I purchased a ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight (unless you are cleaning huge batches, it should be sufficient) the price will vary a bit depending on sales and discount coupons. I used warm water and the units built in heater with Oxacilic acid (do not hold me to that spelling, it's available at Ace Hdw. was a wood bleach). Run that for two or three full cycles (just over 1/2 hour total).

Next I used a dry media tumbler (again purchased at Harbor Freight) for an hour. I used crushed walnut shell media; both it and corncob are available at PetSmart as bedding for reptiles (same stuff the gun shops sell, but way cheaper).

I did a batch of a few hundred 9mm shells they came out perfect. Showed them to my father-in-law who is an long time reloader (real perfectionist); now he wants to adopt this process.

 

I tried about everything on the market (just ask my credit card) The Wet tumbler with the stainless pins is the way to go. Its faster and cleaner with the added benefit of cleaning de primed cases like new. I also found one of the food Dehydrators works very well as a brass dryer. Brass this clean and shiny may not be a must do but it is easy and rewarding to work with reloading. Clean and slick never seems to be a problem in the press. The only possible down side is disposal of dirty cleaning solution but the same problems exists of used and contaminated dry media. It all has to go at some time somewhere.

 

+1 on wet media.

15 minutes to open the tumbler with just cleaned brass to next batch starting up.
It isn't free but no hunting for media materials. Just a little Dawn and lemma shine, they look good as new.

 

After a lot of debating (in my own head anyway) I am going to start with dry. I ordered a Lyman Pro. I may go with wet later on, but for now this will do.

Thanks once again for everyone's help!

 

I've seen many examples of wet tumbling with SS media being above and beyond superior to standard vibratory tumbling methods.

I've seen some homemade versions, but with the materials required, I think you'd be better off buying a retail version, since it'll cost just about the same.

I could be wrong though, and I would love it if someone could prove me wrong (read: please find me some plans to make one! I'm too lazy to look lol)

I spent slightly less than a Thumbler by building my own, but I can clean close to 20 lbs. of brass per session. I usually clean about 8 lbs. at a time because it's easier to lay out and dry.

This is a video I took a while back. It was turning too fast so I changed the larger pulley to a 9" http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/bbacis13/media/005_zps8065f729.mp4.htmland now it runs at a consistent 40 RPM.

 

I tried about everything on the market (just ask my credit card) The Wet tumbler with the stainless pins is the way to go. Its faster and cleaner with the added benefit of cleaning de primed cases like new. I also found one of the food Dehydrators works very well as a brass dryer. Brass this clean and shiny may not be a must do but it is easy and rewarding to work with reloading. Clean and slick never seems to be a problem in the press. The only possible down side is disposal of dirty cleaning solution but the same problems exists of used and contaminated dry media. It all has to go at some time somewhere.

I usually air dry. When I have small amounts, or I don't feel like waiting, I'll use my dehydrator. Mine is running as I type this. Getting ready to size some freshly cut 5.56 brass into 300 BLK. Using a 4 tier dehydrator.