Brass Prep/Noobie

[KeepTryin]

Okay, I've run a series of .30-30 and .30-06 brass (20 or so apiece) thru my new Lee full-length sizing/decapping progressive die using the hand press I was given and placed them carefully in some little clear 'tuff' boxes I had laying around. According to the Lee instructions, they tell you to wipe lube on them by hand and that should remove any grit that could trash the sizing die as your fingers will wipe whatever grit that be there away. There was a bit of discoloration and such from firing but I couldn't feel anything. There are some uniform (all alike) traces of marks on the .30-30 brass that I attribute to the ejector spring. Not much on the .06 cases. A source on the internet says to rub/twist stuff down with 000 steel wool first, I happen to like the red Scotchbrite stuff, but really didn't do any of that... none of the marks on the cases are 'fingernail detectable'. Maybe you can feel a tiny bit on the .30-30 cases...I did use a very non-aggressive sink sponge which is a green knockoff Scotchbrite to clean things up a tiny bit but I don't think it did much. If you were trying to reload this stuff on a budget (and I may start picking cases up at the range) what would you do? It seems to me from my admittedly limited machining background that any kind of aggresive scouring is gonna bring up grit. I peeked into both dies using a bright LED light and my reading glasses, they looked fine. Am I over-thinking this?

[mechanic]

Outside discoloration does not matter.  Make sure the inside of the case and especially the flash hole area is clean.  Polishing the outside might make them pretty, but it isn't that big a deal.  As long as dirt and grit are not on them, they will not damage the die.  I use RCBS spray lube instead of the tray lube.  On my carbide dies, I don't use anything.

[KeepTryin]

What are you all using to clean the inside of the neck? My sad little first batch of brass here consisted of running a Q-tip (per the Lee instructions) with lube around the inside. It didn't seem to pick up much crud so maybe there wasn't much there... The primer pockets look cruddy and I don't have a thing to deal with that. RCBS has a little wire brush bundle tool, Lee has some knurled $1.99 thing that looks like Russians made it, not sure about that... what do you use?

Thanks
Tryin

[necchi]

0000 steel wool and a little rubbing, soap and water and dry'm, shake'm out or use compressed air and let'm dry overnight

""If you were trying to reload this stuff on a budget (and I may start picking cases up at the range)""
BAD IDEA!
BAD IDEA! unless your there and know the feller don't want his new once fired factory brass,, you could end up picking up somebody's carelessly tossed wore out dangerous cases.

[securitysix]

I use the RCBS case neck brush on the inside of case necks.  That, or I chuck 'em in the tumbler and let them run.  Gets them nice and pretty inside and out.

[trotterlg]

When I trim them to length I also just use a wet Brillo soap pad on them to clean them up on the outside.  Whatever you use will work fine, just about anything like the scochbright will do it for you.  I think you are way over worrying this, just polish them up with what you have and move on.  Larry

[Dand]

to clean out the primer pockets, use a small flat blade screw driver that will fit in there. Give a gentle quick twist and the crud should come out. To clean the inside case necks I use a bronze bore brush. I have a Hornady handle is screws into but you could cobble up a handle that works. I just give it a back and forth with maybe a little twist to it as I pull out.

[mechanic]

A small flat tip screwdriver will clean the primer pocket.  A small torch cleaner or drill bit will clean the flash hole.  A small bristle brush will clean the inside of the neck.

Woops! someone was posting the same thing at the same time...anyway...ditto.

[KeepTryin]

Thanks all for the tips, I appreciate it. necchi, ROGER THAT, any brass I find at the range goes to the SCRAPYARD. Safety advice gladly accepted!

Tryin

[johnjohn]

You fella's might can all that range brass,but I look it over and if it don't look bad it goes in the tumbler and gets looked at again, and then if it's defective it gets canned. One man's trash etc etc.

[cwlongshot]

 I've got to say, I have picked my share of range brass. I found my share of scrap as well, but most times its perfectly good brass. Look at what your doing, shiny new looking brass is at least worth picking up. Just keep it seperated until you get it cleaned and inspected.

Around here the ranges are quite clean. Either the stuff is scauffed up by brass pickers or its about to be. 

CW

[Badnews Bob]

I shoot piles of range pickup brass, I look it over same as any. Works great.

[necchi]

You fella's might can all that range brass,but I look it over and if it don't look bad it goes in the tumbler and gets looked at again, and then if it's defective it gets canned. One man's trash etc etc.

Ya, and cw is right too. And like his, our ranges are pretty well picked up. My point is/was , it's not good advise to give a new loader. There are do's and don'ts about checking over brass,,just look at my baked brass thread,,I crushed the neck and tossed that stuff, Bill himself locked it up before bad choices where made. I'll take no chances.
 Our KeepTryin friend ain't even got a book yet.
 I checked out from the Library "Precision Handloading" by John Withers, he mentions picking up range brass, but has a total of about 20 pages and 10 photo's discussing just the brass case. He starts with 150 cases and rejects 55.
Well times have changed a bunch since he wrote in 1985, people are keeping expensive brass, heck even the scrap yards are buying it, like aluminum cans!

[cwlongshot]

Necchi,
 I did read thru that thread and if memory serves, the fact that that was or was not range brass was immaterial. Again IIRC and with all due respect, you "cooked it" by leaving it in the oven when momma cooked something... An honest and simple mistake, but nothing to do with range brass or not.

I have washed hundreds upon hundreds of pounds of brass with no ill effects. Some went into the oven, still more just got set out in the sun. In the past few years, I haven't needed to pick up any brass. I am lucky enough to have a couple friends that do not reload, like to shoot and even shoot most popular calibers... ALLOT!! SO, once fired brass is a steady flow into my tumblers. 

CW

[Dezynco]

I rarely polish my brass, even though I have a nice tumbler.  What I do most of the time is use a appropriately sized bore brush to brush out the inside of the brass, lube the outside with a little case lube, then resize/decap it. If it happens to be one of the bottle-necked cases that is "stiff" going into the die, I use a little graphite, or case lube to make it slide into the die easier.  Clean the primer pocket with an appropriately sized flat blat screwdriver or a "primer pocket cleaning tool".  Then I put all of the brass into a jug or bottle of some sort that has a tight lid, add some really hot water and soap, then shake it like a martini.  Rinse it and let it dry overnight or dry it in the oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Once the brass has dried, load it up with my favorite recipe.

To shine them up, use some Windex w/vinegar or Zippo lighter fluid on a soft cloth and wipe it to shine it up a bit after you've loaded all of them. If you have some really dirty brass, use 0000 steel wool, just be sure to clean any dust off the cases with Windex and a soft cloth before you use it in your gun (you might do this before you load the cases).

[gypsyman]

KeepTryin, I've picked up range brass for years. My thinking is, if a reloader was shooting it, he would have picked it up himself. Even old worn out brass, as I've done that myself. If it's no good, it goes in a coffee can, and about once a year I make a trip to the scrap yard. (I just turned in a gallon milk jug,about 6 weeks ago,of brass my boys picked up at Camp Perry last summer, and got $18 for it.Actually they did)
You might want to spend about $4-$5 bucks, and get a handle that has 8/32 threads on it. Everybody makes one,Lyman,RCBS,Redding, and get a brush to screw into it. A standard bore brush will work. You can polish out the inside of the case neck with this. I do have primer pocket uniformers and cleaners, but probably use a bent paper clip more than most. I found a couple big paper clips 20 years ago, straightened out one side, and that's what I use to clean primer pockets.(When you get a tumbler, and you will, this also works to knock out the media that lodge's in the flash hole!)
About the only thing I would tell you to be careful about, is when you polish the outside of the brass, stay away from anything with amonia in it. It can weaken the brass. If your not doing that many cases, a steel wool pad would work, or a Scotchbrite pad.
If your going to keep using a Lee hand press, do your self a favor. Get some Imperial sizing die wax, it's made by Redding now. A 1oz tin will probably last you 15-20 years. Barely touch your finger in it, wipe it around the case, and go to it. Makes it alot easier to size your cases. gypsyman