Tumbler or Sonic Cleaner

[amadeus76]

I'm trying to decide which to go with... For the reloader out there, which do you prefer and why?

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[browningautorifle]

I've used a vibrating tumbler for decades after starting with a rotary. They work much better with corncob that walnut and jeweler's rouge. The sonic cleaner is a different animal all together. i know guys that use them for firearms cleaning and they tell me there's all sorts of small stuff brought out by them. Still, vibra tumbler will be where I stay.

[CINDERS]

I guess its horses for courses really depending on how thorough you want to be with cleaning the shells if your just varmint shooting the vibe is adequate if your wanting to get everything cleaned back to almost brand new inside and out the sonic is the way to go but a bit more effort.
I have both using the vibe one until the insides of the cases look fairly carboned up (can alter neck tension) then bash them in the sonic cleaner to do the inside the case & it will do the primer pockets as well (Primer has to be out) you use distilled water for both the cleaning & rinsing but what I do is when the brass first comes out I wash it under a hose then rinse it in the distilled water (tap water will leave the brass stained).
I then with the distilled water used to rinse the shells pop that back into another spare container and this I use in the sonic cleaner when doing another batch sorta preserving the water a bit.

When your shells come out of the vibratory tumbler they have a very fine coating of walnut or corncob/carbon powder from the process this has to be wiped from the shells before they go anywhere near a re-sizing die either neck or FLS as when you lube your cases your just making a grinding paste that after a good while wrecks the sizer, its the fine carbon that will do it, also you may suffer a stuck case in the die not easy to get out if you do not have the correct gear to pull it from the die.

With drying the shells I made up a peg base (see pic its behind the 303) and sit them neck down on the pegs (angled so the primer hole is not blocked by the peg) place them in the sun for 1/2 day to dry them completely out you can use a heat gun but be very careful not to get the shells too hot and of course never put the shells in an oven to dry them.
Jim is correct Corncob is the best to use in the vibe the walnut I have tried and it seems to take ages, you can if you want knock the primers out before the placing in the vibe but be warned the kernal particles do get jammed in the flashole and primer hole bit tedious to get out better to leave them in and use a primer pocket cleaner.

[browningautorifle]

the kernal particles do get jammed in the flashole and primer hole bit tedious to get out better to leave them in and use a primer pocket cleaner.

When this happens, I dump out the corncob green and run the empties in the tumbler for a few minutes. This rattles out most of the particles.

stainless steel pins in soap and water

I too have acquaintances using this method. It works 100%, except it's the messiest thing known to man.

[CINDERS]

Yep its good if you like picking up all those S/S pins all the time there are now ceramic balls as well its like everything do the leg work ask around and choose what you feel is the best suits your purpose most new time reloaders start with a vibe tumbler as they are cheap to own & run then when you perhaps want to get into the inside of the case make a choice either sonic or S/S pins they both use water & chemicals.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

If your brass is REALLY dark and dirty, there is the "el-cheapo" chemical "pre-wash" method I use.

De-prime the cases with a specialized decapping die, (Lee make one).
Dump the de-primed brass in vinegar; "cleaning" grade is MUCH cheaper than the fancy stuff from the deli.
Slosh it around for a while until you see the "brown" fading to "yellowish".
Rinse in HOT water and drain.
Drop them into a strong, hot solution of "washing soda". This is an old-school substance (Sodium Carbonate, sometimes called Soda Ash) that is used as a water-softener in clothes washing, a kitchen grease and grime remover, etc.
Stir with a plastic paddle etc. and watch as the cases go a nice "brass" colour. Rubber gloves are advised as this stuff is caustic.
If, after this process, some cases are still stubbornly "brownish", simply run them through the process again.
Another thorough hot rinse, drain and then spread out on an old sheet in direct sunlight. Snow-bound reloaders may need to seek alternative methods, but, DO NOT just shove them in the oven and forget about them unless you want cases that are TOTALLY annealed and dangerously soft at the head.
Clean / de-crimp primer pockets as required and for that "extra shine" run through your tumbler of choice. Because of the work done in the chemical prep, it will only take a short time to make them look pretty.

[enfield303t]

Have done thousands with the vibrator I still use, it does a acceptable job. Have a couple friends that use the tumbler and steel pins and IMO it is the way to go. Their cases come out looking better than new, I intend to get one very soon.

The walnut shells are very dusty and brass needs to be cleaned before any next step.

---------- Post added at 04:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 PM ----------

Yep its good if you like picking up all those S/S pins all the time there are now ceramic balls as well its like everything do the leg work ask around and choose what you feel is the best suits your purpose most new time reloaders start with a vibe tumbler as they are cheap to own & run then when you perhaps want to get into the inside of the case make a choice either sonic or S/S pins they both use water & chemicals.

One of my friends picks up the pins with a strong magnet, he showed me how it works, probably gets 99.9% first attempt.

[browningautorifle]

picks up the pins with a strong magnet,

Right, I forgot about that. Use one of the on/off magnets and you pick them up and then deposit them where you want without effort. Yes, it makes brass perfect.

[TDH]

I have both and use both. I take my fired brass and put it in the sonic for thirty minutes and let them dry overnight upside down in the plastic trays from the cartridge boxes. The next day they go in the vibratory tumbler for between 6 and 16 hours which depends on the corncob. If the media is at least fairly new 6 to 8 hours if it's been well used longer. I find that when the cases start coming out very dusty it's time to change the media. I take the dusty brass and roll it on an old towel. Then it's on to the sizing die. That's my process anyways.

---------- Post added at 05:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:21 AM ----------

Oh and I find that running them through the sonic first makes the media last a lot longer.

[cipherk98]

I use a vibratory tumbler, corncobs, and a half cap of NuFinish polish. This will last me a fair amount of time before I will dump like half and put in fresh media. Works great though I do agree it doesn't do a great job on the insides, but I never have issues running them through my dies. Only crappy part is the time to fish them out, I want to get one of the media separators but I feel that opens me up to a lot of media loss.