Brass Cleaning With a Tumbler

During my last doctor's visit I had my lead levels tested and it was high (59) which isn't a good thing. I suspected it would be a bit high, but not nearly that high. Knowing how bad lead poisoning is, I decided to start looking for ways to minimize exposure. One area of concern for me was in brass cleaning. I use a vibratory bowl with crushed walnut shells. During the summer I would put that outside the garage door but during Winter, it is on the floor in the garage. There is a fair amount of lead dust from the primers on these cases and of course the walnut shells rub that off and being a dry process, all that dust is free to escape for you to ingest while breathing. After the tumbling process, the next step is to shake all the media out of the cases and tumbler - once again putting my nose in close proximity of the lead dust. A lot of exposure that could be eliminated or minimized. I could wear a respirator but don't like wearing one all the time, plus, that only minimizes exposure through inhalation. All that lead dust settles somewhere in the shop and at some point I will get it on my hands and ingest it in other ways.

A few months back I tried an ultrasonic cleaner - it worked but not as well I would have hoped. I had to run the cleaning cycle many times to get the brass to a point where it was as clean as from the vibratory tumbler. If it was a "set it and forget it" process, that would be okay, but walking over every 10 minutes or so to check the brass and restart the cycle isn't my idea of enjoyment.

I had read about people using an old-fashioned rock tumbler along with some stainless steel pins as media to clean brass. Being a wet system you eliminate the dust exposure which is a big plus. After thinking about it for a while, I purchased the media and tumbler from Sinclair (shooting supply place) while at Camp Perry. After the first batch of brass through it, I was convinced this was the way to go - but I had to work through some details to make it work better.

The drum holds a lot of brass - I would guess around 500 rounds of 45. You put the brass in the drum, then pour in the 5 pounds of stainless steel pins, pour in some water to cover the brass, and finally a few squirts of dish washing soap. Put the lid on it, set it on the base and let it run for a couple of hours - "Set it and forget it". I don't de-prime first, I just wash everything. That is all the easy part, just a bit more work than a vibratory tumbler. The next steps are the problem areas....

The stainless steel pins will last forever if you don't lose them, however, separating them from the brass can be a big problem! However, I have a process which seems to work reliable and it fairly simple. After the tumbling is done, you need to separate everything and rinse off the brass....

What you need:

• • Brass separator/sorter

  • Media separator

Rinsing and separating process

• 1. Remove drum from motor & remove cover

  2. Run water (from hose or utility sink) into drum for about 5 minutes to get most of the dirt rinsed away

  3. Tip drum to empty as much water as possible without losing pins or brass

  4. Poor drum contents into separator slowly

  5. Spin the media separator till all the pins fall out

  6. Dump the pins back into the drum for the next batch

  7. Fill the media separator base with water and rotate basket to rinse brass

  8. Spin the media separator till most of the water is shaken off

  9. Put brass on a towel on a bench till dry (use a fan to speed up process)

While this may sound like a lot more work than a vibratory tumbler with walnut shells - it is! . It may also sound like it is much more expensive than a vibratory tumbler with crushed walnut - it is! It is also a bit more messy to do, however, the point is to reduce my exposure to lead which it will do. So a bit more work and a bit more initial investment is easily justified to keep me healthy.

Here are some photos of the process...

Clean on left, pins in middle, dirty on right - click for larger image

Dish soap, brass, pins, and drum - click for larger image

Fill about 3/4 with brass - click for larger image

Cover brass with water, add a squirt of soap - click for larger image

Put on the lid and start the washing cycle - run about 2 hours - click for larger image

Stick a garden hose in the drum, run water for a couple minutes till the water is clear - click for larger image

Dump into media separator and rotate till all the pins are in the bucket - click for larger image

Dump pins and water back into drum. You can rinse the brass again at this time - click for larger image

Place brass on a towel to let dry - click for larger image.