Problem with cleaning brass

[dave8491]

I am new to reloading , and resently purchased a Midway vibrating case cleaner with corn cob media.The problem is when I take the cases out of the vibrator they are packed full of corn cobs and I have to us a nail to clean them out. I have tried a hand tumbler that is suposed to cleanout the media, but does not work very well. I am probably doing something wrong so could use some advise.   

[The Sodbuster]

I don't have the hand tumbler, but usually, shaking the brass around in a sifter gets the media out of nearly all of 'em.  Even so, there are always some cases I have to clean media out of the primer flash hole with a 4D finish nail.  If tossing 'em in a sifter doesn't get the media out, hold the case upside-down against the wall of your vibratory cleaner.  Vibrating the case will shake the media out and back in to your cleaner.  Of course, doing that one case at a time is no picnic.

[wncchester]

Sounds like you have wet brass or media.

[davem270win]

If you media is damp, or maybe has absorbed too much case lube, you can try drying it out in a low oven for an hour. If you live somewhere humid, you want to be sure you store your media in a sealed container.

[bigjeepman]

Sounds like too much brass polishing cleaner in the media ... what are you using as a brass polish cleaner and how much are you putting in the media? When I add the brass polish, I add very little but run the tumbler for about 10 to 15 minutes for it to disperse evenly into the corn cob media before adding the brass to be cleaned.

[stimpylu32]

Dave8491

I had the same problem with the CC when using smaller cases like 223s , the peices of CC were to large to just shake out of the cases , i switched over to crushed walnut and have not had a problem since .

The CC will draw moisture alot faster and tends to swell which makes it worse , as stated you may be able to solve part of the problem by putting it in the oven on LOW for awhile to dry it out .

Being that both are the same price here i just don't use the CC any more .

stimpy

[dave8491]

Thanks alot fellows it probably is a moisture problem. I will get some walnut shells to try. The CC are even packing down tight in 45-70 cases. To much polish on the CC. Once again thanks for the input.
 

[myronman3]

i switched over to crushed walnut and have not had a problem since .

that is the solution.  i did the same.

[jgalar]

Put the cleaner with the medium out in the sun to dry it out a bit and try it again.

[ping925]

Go to the pet section in Walmart - get the bird bedding medium--crushed walnut shells and mix it with your dried corn cob media--cleans and polishes.  [Or use the walnut stuff alone - it is coarse enough.

[quickdtoo]

I use crushed walnut shells in my FA vibratory case cleaner, the local feed store sells 25lb bags for less than $10, it works great.

Tim

[dave8491]

Thanks for all good advise. Made a trip to the local Walmart and found walnut shells in the pet supplies , bird cage bedding 8# for $4.41 works great PROBLEM SOLVED!!! Thanks again .

[Redcap]

Just a heads up everyone. Even walnut shells can get packed tightly into cases.   Just had a 25-06 with about a quater inch of the stuff jamed in the head end of the case.   Showed up when I was looking over the powder charges before seating the bullets. It's always a good idea to look over the cases and make sure they all look filled with powder to the same level. The charge in this one was noticably higher than the rest.  Dumped the charge and cleaned out the cleaning media that was stuck in the case.  This probably would have caused a misfire and with my luck it would have been at a trophy buck. 

[quickdtoo]

Just a heads up everyone. Even walnut shells can get packed tightly into cases.   Just had a 25-06 with about a quater inch of the stuff jamed in the head end of the case.   Showed up when I was looking over the powder charges before seating the bullets. It's always a good idea to look over the cases and make sure they all look filled with powder to the same level. The charge in this one was noticably higher than the rest.  Dumped the charge and cleaned out the cleaning media that was stuck in the case.  This probably would have caused a misfire and with my luck it would have been at a trophy buck. 

Maybe a change in your reloading procedure is in order. I decap with a Lee universal decapper, then clean in walnut shells, then lube, size, then trim with the Lee trimmer which would reveal any issue with cleaning media still in the case. Then after champfering and deburring, while the case is still in the Lee lock stud, run a case brush in the case to give it a final internal cleaning.

Tim

[Redcap]

Just a heads up everyone. Even walnut shells can get packed tightly into cases.   Just had a 25-06 with about a quater inch of the stuff jamed in the head end of the case.   Showed up when I was looking over the powder charges before seating the bullets. It's always a good idea to look over the cases and make sure they all look filled with powder to the same level. The charge in this one was noticably higher than the rest.  Dumped the charge and cleaned out the cleaning media that was stuck in the case.  This probably would have caused a misfire and with my luck it would have been at a trophy buck. 

Maybe a change in your reloading procedure is in order. I decap with a Lee universal decapper, then clean in walnut shells, then lube, size, then trim with the Lee trimmer which would reveal any issue with cleaning media still in the case. Then after champfering and deburring, while the case is still in the Lee lock stud, run a case brush in the case to give it a final internal cleaning.

Tim 

Thanks Tim, these were old, in age not firings, 270 brass that I reformed to 25-06 because I no longer have a 270.  They were deprimed, tumbled, reformed, trimmed( with Lyman trimmer) and had the case heads grooved so they would not be mistaken for 270.  Then I polished some of them with steel wool and retumbled. This brought them back to nice and shiney again.  I don't want to steal this thread, just want everybody to know that even with walnut shell it can pack down if the right conditions are present.  This is the first time it has ever happened to me in 40+ yrs of reloading but it won't happen again.