NF1E Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 Have been using a Thumler tumbler for years using SS pins, Dawn and lemishine. Separating pins after tumbling has become quite simple. Used to get 1 pin left in 500 brass and found a simple solution. The Frankford Arsenal media separator is my choice. For years I separated before rinsing using the water and pins directly from the tumbler and turned the separator handle for 20 revolutions, dumped the dirty water and added hot water up to the fill line and cranked another 20 turns. Result were darn good by not perfect with 1 pin left per 500 cases. Now, by adding and additional 10 turns making it 30 for initial separation and again for the rinse, I have gone 15k cases with no pins left. That's 10K of .308 and 5K of .223 over the last year with not a single pin left in the brass before putting the cases in a Frankford Arsenal case dryer. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magwa Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 back when I cleaned brass I tried SS pins and I found that they dinged the case mouth and I had to re chamber them have you had this issue? and now days I do no brass prep work at all except annealing and for me it made zero difference in group size..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted February 6 Author Report Share Posted February 6 Never noticed any dinged case mouths. I usually anneal after the brass is out of the dryer and before running it over a Giraud trimmer which dresses the mouth anyway. Last step before priming and loading is to run the brass over a tapered carbide mandrel to set the neck tension. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magwa Posted February 11 Report Share Posted February 11 yes i have used neck tension mandrels for years a great piece of the puzzle.......i may have left mine in the pins to long i used to love shiny brass i do not even own a tumbler anymore. Do you still size and decap with the decapper ball in the die? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted February 11 Author Report Share Posted February 11 3 hours ago, Magwa said: yes i have used neck tension mandrels for years a great piece of the puzzle.......i may have left mine in the pins to long i used to love shiny brass i do not even own a tumbler anymore. Do you still size and decap with the decapper ball in the die? I have a timer on my Thumler set for 1 hr. Nope, I removed the de-capping pin and expander ball from my dies long ago. I hand de-prime. Let's me know when a pocket is getting loose and the brass needs to go to the bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magwa Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 20 hours ago, NF1E said: I have a timer on my Thumler set for 1 hr. Nope, I removed the de-capping pin and expander ball from my dies long ago. I hand de-prime. Let's me know when a pocket is getting loose and the brass needs to go to the bin. I agree 100% you get a feel for each piece of brass, good idea on the tumbler having a timer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 I picked up a few of these timers some years ago on Amazon for under $10. each. I have one on my tumbler and I use 1 hr and one on my brass dryer and use 2 hrs. They each run multiple times per week and have never given a problem. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 On 2/11/2025 at 9:42 AM, NF1E said: Nope, I removed the de-capping pin and expander ball from my dies long ago. I hand de-prime. Let's me know when a pocket is getting loose and the brass needs to go to the bin. Let's not bullshiit people, and just let them know that there are tools out there that actually measure primer pockets, Go and No-Go. Gonna be way different than your 60 years of experience, hand de-priming, and "how you know" about all your primer pockets. Let's not fuk about with "feel" and "your feel" and "your experience" and actually check primer pockets with gauges - and now for real. Large and Small, Rifle and Pistol, Go and No-Go. In these two pieces. Confirmed, whether they're good or not. Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 Well, don't that beat all. A guy is simply sharing a knowledgeable opinion of what works for him and another calls it BS. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted February 14 Report Share Posted February 14 17 hours ago, NF1E said: Well, don't that beat all. A guy is simply sharing a knowledgeable opinion of what works for him and another calls it BS. Whatta Hobby! Nope, not at all - you're calling perfection in what you practice. Opinions are like aSsholes, by the way... So, how to you transfer that "feel" to someone else? You can't. Buy the tools. Check primer pocket Go and No-Go - not some bullshiit "I like how it feels, and I can TELL when pockets are bad." Do the real work, and confirm it. Don't tell people something that you can't describe, replicate, and prove, every single time. That THEY can repeat, without fail... That - is you "opinion." In a nutshell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted February 14 Author Report Share Posted February 14 Simple, while hand de-priming, if you " feel " a primer that comes out substantially easier than others, it is starting to get loose. May pass your go/no go, but if it's starting to loosen up, it might be time to survey the brass. All the tools in the world may not be any better than an experienced hand at the bench. Then again, all the fancy tools in one's possession may not make a good shooter or loader, but experience "TRUMPS" the tools along with practice practice practice. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted February 14 Author Report Share Posted February 14 Question for the antagonist. How do you use pocket go/no go gauges , if not by feel? Think about it, all is relative. Same with chamber go/no go, it's is done by feel. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted Sunday at 03:54 AM Report Share Posted Sunday at 03:54 AM On 2/14/2025 at 7:05 AM, NF1E said: Question for the antagonist. How do you use pocket go/no go gauges , if not by feel? Think about it, all is relative. Same with chamber go/no go, it's is done by feel. Whatta Hobby! Nope - and that's an ignorant statement. No Go gauges only work one way. I won't explain it to you, since you don't even understand - and I certainly won't be able to "understand" it for you. There's absolutely NOTHING about a No Go gauge, that's about "feel." You just don't get it. And probably never will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted Sunday at 09:08 AM Author Report Share Posted Sunday at 09:08 AM I see we are making great progress on this subject. I have seen students with this type of attitude over the years. Usually they need help across the finish line. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted Monday at 01:29 AM Report Share Posted Monday at 01:29 AM You are an absolute idiot. My Opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NF1E Posted Monday at 10:00 AM Author Report Share Posted Monday at 10:00 AM I love you too. We all have opinions and none are worth any more than another. Life would be boring without them. Whatta Hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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