stm question

[cobyb]

i just got my thumbler's tumbler and set up from stm, what im wondering is can i tumbled already sized and processed brass.
i had this brass sized up and relized how dirty the inside of the cases were, hints the new tumbler

thanks

 

[former naval person]

Re: stm question

Yes. Just check the flash holes for pieces of stuck media. If already primed, forget it.

 

[Temp9]

Re: stm question

Yes, you can, but you may need to chamfer and deburr again depending on how much your case mouths get burred from the tumbling.

 

[cobyb]

Re: stm question

ok, thank you. the brass is not primed of course. very stoked to check this thing out.

thanks again

 

[Deadshot2]

Re: stm question

I tumble prepped brass all the time but will run a mandrel expander through the case mouths to make sure they're uniform.

The key to avoiding the case mouth peening issue is to tumble full loads and only as long as necessary to clean them.

A "loose load" will bang up the cases more while a full one tends to cushion the cases more.

Even scuzzy old military range brass cleans well in no more than 3 hours.

Best way is to deprime then clean before processing though. When loading for my bolt gun I use a Lee Collet die to neck size only. No lube required so my cases don't need any more cleanup.

For the .223 brass, which I run through a sizing/trimming process with a Dillon Rapid Trim, I clean in stm first, then lube with Dillon spray. After running through the trimmer, I put the brass back in the tumbler with some Dawn only. Half an hour or so and again it's all clean and once dry, ready for loading. Of course drying for me isn't a big deal for .223 brass as I keep between 5k-8k of brass ready to go for later loading sessions.