AusVarmint

I was wondering what people are using to clean their cases and how you go about it.

I de-prime mine, then clean in liquid case cleaner in my Lyman 1200 tumbler.

Dry them on top of the fridge( nice warm flow of air there).

I then lube and size.

Then I put them into the walnut in the tumbler to get rid of the oil. The walnut is a pain in the ass as it jams up in the case and the damn red shit that comes off it..

Hence I was just wondering what else is out there and breifly how you go about it.. (I dont shoot benchrest or at a range.)

Ta Much..

Dave

this is what im planning on doing

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

got the same sort of US unit as listed in the article from Aussie ebay for about $125 delivered.

got to get a beaker and some plexiglass to make a cover to suspend the beaker in the liquid so it doesn't touch the bottom of the unit and it's even more effective at cleaning brass- or so I'm told

later
p

I lightly use polishing (super fine) steel wool on the necks to remove the excess carbon, then into the Midway tumbler for a few hours. Shells come out looking like new.

What a bloody good tip, i was guna by a tumbler but think that looks much more effective.

Thanks for the heads up.

G'Day all,
I use a small square of Birchwood casey lead out cloth to polish the necks, and a clean rag to remove the black greasey residue. This leaves a nice thin film of greasey cleaner that helps in resizing (I use wilson dies -no expander button)

I then use a primer pocket uniformer to clean out the carbon in the primer pocket. This does 2 things, ensures the primer is properly seated against brass and if brass is moving due to pressure then i'll see that as it removes brass when cleaning. this alos ensures uniform depth of pocket at all times.

I sometimes get a worn bronze brush to clean the inside of the necks but as i'm lazy I usually dont bother

Cheerio Ned

I like to deprime with one of those Lee universal dies. Then cases go into the Lyman tumbler with the corn cob media and a squirt of that liquid polishing rouge designed for cases. After the cases have filled up with media. Don't care for the variety of liquid media/cleaners I've tried. Over here we can go to a pet supply store and get a BIG bag of the right size ground corncob bedding material on the cheap. A grit in the flashhole is still a pain in the ....,though.

Ogre, was the ebay deal from a store or you got a lucky one off. I will do that when I get some more $$$. Are we still on for that deal? I will be able to give you definite "yes" by end of week. BIL has a job now but wont be in his own house for 4 or 5 weeks. we might talk about building safes then.

Currently, I spin the cases in the shell holder that comes with a lee trimmer on a cordless drill while holding one of those green scouring pads on them. Very shiny but very slow. Would be impossible if I shot more.

I lube and resize then clean in diswashing detergent to remove the One Shot lube. Then dry in an oven on very low heat. Then do the pockets.

Cases neck sized with a collet or bushing die arent lubed so miss the washing phase!

G'day All,

The powder/primer residue around the necks may easily be cleaned with a cleaning cloth and some brakeclean. Probably better before inserting dirty case in your nice clean reloading dies.

To clean the rest of the case white vinegar with detergent, agitation helps, rinse and follow up with cream of tartar x 1 teaspoon in a litre of water. Once again agitation helps. Leave overnight, rinse and air dry.

Shoot safely

Roscoe

G'Day all,
Ive got to ask..........why does everyone clean all of the case body?
I'm only worried about the carbon residue wearing out the dies so if the case is essentially free of carbon, then why carry out the extra work?
Just curious.......
Cheerio ned

trevort wrote:Ogre, was the ebay deal from a store or you got a lucky one off. I will do that when I get some more $$$. Are we still on for that deal? I will be able to give you definite "yes" by end of week. BIL has a job now but wont be in his own house for 4 or 5 weeks. we might talk about building safes then.

Currently, I spin the cases in the shell holder that comes with a lee trimmer on a cordless drill while holding one of those green scouring pads on them. Very shiny but very slow. Would be impossible if I shot more.

I lube and resize then clean in diswashing detergent to remove the One Shot lube. Then dry in an oven on very low heat. Then do the pockets.

Cases neck sized with a collet or bushing die arent lubed so miss the washing phase!

Aussie ebay deal I'll see if I still have the link.

Yep the deal is still on if you want it(have you spoken to SC yet- as they are at his shop now.)- email me or call the mobile mid to late morning or all arvo.

later
p

The 1st Long Range Match that i attended in Cantberra a well known point blank benchrest shooter told me if i didn't shoot clean and polished cases that i would "never get anywhere".. I have beatin that shooter a number of times now ,i still don't clean the outside of my cases ,as i have with a number of my wildcats tended to run quite high pressures ..The last thing i need is a nice polished ,slippery case to increase the bolt thrust..JR.. Jeff Rogers.. beside it pisses certain people off

I shoot a lot of 223 in semi autos so the cases get pretty smutty from the gas operation and flying into the dirt. For me clean cases full length a bit easier as I must do so to control headspace in the gas guns. At minus 1 to 2 thousandths case headspace compared to chamber I've no problems with bright or shiney cases. It does not matter for me in that respect. Now if you want a CHEAP case tumbler, find an old palm sander, reciprocal saw, something of that nature, bolt it to the bottom of a strong plastic bucket, suspend the bucket by spring from the joist in the shed or garage, toss in media and cases and git-er-done. I had such a rig before tumblers were common. I never tried a rotary rock tumbler though. Big cases, big tumbler. I use a Lyman now though. I try to batch process fired cases to keep track of firings, and the need to do something to the whole batch, trim, flash hole pockets, anneal, etc. If I only shot a small lot of cases in a bolt gun I would just wipe carbon off necks with a little of steel wool. You can also make a vinegar/degreaser/ detergent solution if you like liquid cleaners. Some shooting forums can advise a recipe. pogy

G'Day a.JR,
yeah, I agree, I've never thought I was giving away performance in SR BR or F class by having tarnished cases.........I reckon only the conditions and my ability to read them, oh and of course my self belief have ever beaten me in competition!
Cheerio Ned

Then I put them into the walnut in the tumbler to get rid of the oil. The walnut is a pain in the ass as it jams up in the case and the damn red shit that comes off it..

I use rice in my tumbler, cheap and it does work ok. Bit smaller than walnut too.

300RUM wrote:

Then I put them into the walnut in the tumbler to get rid of the oil. The walnut is a pain in the ass as it jams up in the case and the damn red shit that comes off it..

I use rice in my tumbler, cheap and it does work ok. Bit smaller than walnut too.

how to you find the service life of rice? i have an image in my head of ground rice after a few uses. Do you have problems with that at all?