Stuck Case after using Stainless Media

[Remmy700]

I did the same but one instance I let them go too long. The directions say for 3-4 hours and that was way, way too long and only turning necks will solve it. I trimmed to trim length with Giraud and it chamfers inside and out but I have neck thickness .003-.004 more at the very very end.

Thanks brother for that insight. Going to start really paying attention to that now!

 

[The Oregonian]

Thanks brother for that insight. Going to start really paying attention to that now!

I went to sonic cleaning...like it much better. I got the RCBS 7 liter (or something like that) and it takes 1hr for 2 batches, then lift the bastet out and dry them. No separating media, rinsing, etc. They aren't as shiny but I don't care about that.

I can do about 75 or more 280AI cases per batch, maybe 60 or more 28N per batch...a batch takes 30 mins and it takes 2 mins to go from one batch to the next.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I did the same but one instance I let them go too long. The directions say for 3-4 hours and that was way, way too long and only turning necks will solve it. I trimmed to trim length with Giraud and it chamfers inside and out but I have neck thickness .003-.004 more at the very very end.

I have let them go overnight or longer many times and had no such problems.

Perhaps it was the quality of the brass?

 

[mdvctry]

I have been ss tumbling for around 5 years, and never have had an issue, even with 338 Norma brass. I use dish soap and hot water and tumble it in my frankford arsenal wet tumbler for 2 hours, drain the water rinse set all brass up on my special cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 180° for 45 min, then use Hornady one shot lube and size away, never an issue.

I know if you leave your brass in the water for very long after its done tumbling, the carbon starts to stick to it and it gets a tacky feel and looks dirty, if I forgot it in there I always rinse it add new water and tumble for another 30-45 minutes to get rid of it. Better to get it out asap after its done.

+1

I do the same except I have an old food dehydrator that I use to dry the brass. Works great.

 

[nugentfan]

The sand blasted look has me wondering what is different in your experience than mine.
I have done enough loads in an early Frankford Arsenal unit that most would call no way but let's say when my buddy brings several kitty litter boxes of brass to clean at a time, it is 100's of full drums in it over 5 +years. Still going strong. I have run most loads for 3 hours, sometimes less some go more . Never had unpolished look with it. Water, squirt of Ajax dish wash detergent and a dash of lemi shine is all I have ever used. If they aren't pulled quickly they can darken same with not getting dry fast enough. Typically I dry on a patio table in the sun, weather permitting. I have never had a stuck case but I predominately load handgun however my rifle brass goes through it as well. For all handgun brass I use Dillon lube and carbide dies, rifle is either Sharp Shooter Royal spray(no one ever mentions this here it works excellent!) or Imperial sizing wax. Just recently read on this forum about maybe neck welding from the too clean brass but I have not noticed any issues with this as of yet.
I have seen limited case mouth damage on rifle brass. Never measured it.

 

[The Oregonian]

I have let them go overnight or longer many times and had no such problems.

Perhaps it was the quality of the brass?

It is Nosler brand 28N brass.

 

[crkckr]

I have read that it's not good to have your brass come out of a cleaning cycle looking like new. I think this is hogwash! If this were true we would have all kinds of problems with new brass. I now clean my brass with BoreTech cleaner and SS pins and it comes out looking new, inside & out with perfectly clean primer pockets (my original goal as I hate cleaning them). I wash them off with Dawn and let them dry on a towel over night before sizing. They might get washed again, depending on what lube I use for sizing.

I like having my brass perfectly clean because it makes both inspection and sizing easier. Plus your dies will last longer. The only time I've had trouble with sticky cases is when they didn't get enough lube (however, too much can dent shoulders). I lube pistol cases even when using carbide dies, usually with the lanolin/alcohol sprays. Rifle brass gets RCBS water soluble lube but one of these days I'm going to try the Imperial wax lube. Most of my bullets are moly plated, which I believe makes neck tension a little more even, plus I don't have to clean the barrel as often.
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[ntsqd]

I see lots of guys that like SS media. If it works, good for them.

I have SS media available from silversmithing where the same process is used to peen the silver. I would never consider using it on my brass cases. Shiny brass isn't important to me, clean brass is. Peened brass doesn't seem to me like the right direction to be going.

As to the stuck case, peened brass will be work-hardened on the surface. Think of it as a low grade shot-peening process. Surface stress should be pretty uniform, but will be higher than brass not subjected to the process. That probably was a factor in sticking the case. That more lubrication would be required isn't a surprise.

 

[J E Custom]

Well I resize before I tumble as I want the primer pockets clean. I have a pretty big tumbler and use just a tablespoon of Sonic Clean per batch. I have never noticed and peening. The cases are not totally smooth like they have been buffed but look good. I have noticed that larger cases beat the heck out of each other. 50 BMG cases look beat when I take them out of the tumbler. My 338 Lapua don't look like that nor does my 300 RUM. I tried tumbling a single 50 case and it looked good. I tried the 50 in treated walnut and it looked beat to heck also. I do however use a lot of pins, the big tumbler has 25 pounds and the smaller one fifteen.

When possible I like to do the same thing. After sizing and solvent cleaning I find that the tumbler cleans better and the cases come out ready to load after rinsing and drying. Only tumble as much as needed to clean brass and any other issues will go away.

The main advantage to using SS pin tumbling is that there are no possibility of abrasive polishing media left in the case to accelerate barrel wear. You are after "Clean cases" not polished cases, so like others I will never go back to polishing cases because they are not as clean as SS tumbled cases in my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I periodically clean my cases with the STS SS media tumbling kit. I run it for about two hours. I have never encountered a problem of any kind.
However, I have read that it is NOT productive to completely remove the carbon from inside of the necks, which SS tumbling does. Has anyone noticed a problem related to the removal of carbon?

A little off topic but ….. don't put your brakes in a SS tumbler. They get very clean but the threads can get damaged. Guess how I know.

 

[The Oregonian]

I periodically clean my cases with the STS SS media tumbling kit. I run it for about two hours. I have never encountered a problem of any kind.
However, I have read that it is NOT productive to completely remove the carbon from inside of the necks, which SS tumbling does. Has anyone noticed a problem related to the removal of carbon?

A little off topic but ….. don't put your brakes in a SS tumbler. They get very clean but the threads can get damaged. Guess how I know.

My experience is that cold welding can happen much more quickly. I had it in left over hunting rounds from last season. I'm going to be much more liberal with graphite powder in the neck.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I periodically clean my cases with the STS SS media tumbling kit. I run it for about two hours. I have never encountered a problem of any kind.
However, I have read that it is NOT productive to completely remove the carbon from inside of the necks, which SS tumbling does. Has anyone noticed a problem related to the removal of carbon?

Imperial dry neck lube prior to powder and seating will fix that problem, if there is one. I use it routinely and have no problems.

The key, as always, is to do the same procedure every time. Either always leave them clean, always dry lube them, or whatever your preference may be.

 

[hunter0528]

I have read that it's not good to have your brass come out of a cleaning cycle looking like new. I think this is hogwash! If this were true we would have all kinds of problems with new brass. I now clean my brass with BoreTech cleaner and SS pins and it comes out looking new, inside & out with perfectly clean primer pockets (my original goal as I hate cleaning them). I wash them off with Dawn and let them dry on a towel over night before sizing. They might get washed again, depending on what lube I use for sizing.

I like having my brass perfectly clean because it makes both inspection and sizing easier. Plus your dies will last longer. The only time I've had trouble with sticky cases is when they didn't get enough lube (however, too much can dent shoulders). I lube pistol cases even when using carbide dies, usually with the lanolin/alcohol sprays. Rifle brass gets RCBS water soluble lube but one of these days I'm going to try the Imperial wax lube. Most of my bullets are moly plated, which I believe makes neck tension a little more even, plus I don't have to clean the barrel as often.
Cheers,
crkckr

I agree with crkckr. I might be a little anal but
1) decap only first
2) then Ultra sonic the cases (I have a unit that processed a Gallon of liquid) to clean inside, outside, and primer pockets
3) then lube with Dillon spray, and resize
4) tumble in my old Lyman tumbler

Cases look like new and when loaded look like factory ammo.