[charliez]

Does anybody make such a thing?

[SLM]

Not that I've ever seen. All the ones I've seen say not to use them with liquid cleaner. I think the RCBS Sidewinder and similar units are designed to be used with liquid cleaner.

[Jeff686]

Yea, it's called an ultrasonic cleaner!

[CSEMARTIN]

I believe RCBS makes one called the sidewinder.

I suspect in the very near future we're going to hear more and more about people using vinegar and liquid detergents to clean brass. Just a gut feeling.

Edit: Check out this link: http://www.rcbs.com/...nstructions.pdf

This post has been edited by CSEMARTIN: 25 July 2009 - 09:09 AM

[charliez]

Urk ... the RCBS sidewinder is the one ... but for a tumbler it's very expensive is it also dual-use for polishing diamonds or something?

[Jman]

 tupper.jpg (2.51K)
Number of downloads: 57

[charliez]

ROFLMAO

Actually that's not bad, made me think of packing the brass and liquid media in a ziploc bag and stuff those into the vibratory tumbler.

[Para 16]

Over at one of the other sites....http://www.ar15.com/...&...42&t=286777

[AGGIE85]

The RCBS Sidewinder is all I use these days. Place the cases in the drum fill with warm water to a level just below the case level put in a 1/4 cup of vinegar and a splash of Zep citrus cleaner and let it run for an hour. Rinse the cases 3 or 4 times using the drain cap and pour them out on an old towel to dry overnight.

No more lead dust caused by the vibratory cleaner and separator. All the nasty residue goes down the drain.

[Brian Gonsalves]

Try here:

http://www.lockstock...ts.asp?dept=534

[Jim M.]

I use an RCBS Sidewinder case tumbler, and it is great. They do have two disadvantages: they are expensive, and they have a fairly small capacity. I just have to start a new load of brass in the tumbler whenever I am in the shop and doing something else anyway.

I use "Ajax Lemon dish liquid". It has just enough citric acid to do a good job removing tarnish, and the detergent gets the cases clean inside and out. Deprime the cases first, then fill the tumbler drum about one-fourth full, and add enough hot water to cover the cases by about one inch. I use a fired .45 ACP case as a detergent measure. Add one .45 case full of the liquid dish detergent, and tumble until the cases are shiny enough to suit you. If the water is really dirty, you might drain it off and put in clean water and another case of the detergent and run again.

The liquid dish detergent can just be poured down the sink. It is no dirtier than dishwater.

After cleaning the cases, rinse well in hot water, then get as much water as possible out of the cases. I use a media separator for that, but just pouring the cases back and forth between two plastic buckets will do a good enough job. Then, dump the cases into cardboard flats such as used to hold a case of beer or dog food, and set out in the sun to dry.

I recommend against using vinegar. Acetic acid (C2H4O2) is the acid in vinegar, and zinc is soluble in acetic acid. Since brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, the acetic acid will dissolve a part of the zinc, leaving the copper, with resulting weakened cases. Citric acid does not damage the brass.

[Erucolindon]

Paint can and shaker.

[Para 16]

Do you suppose a "Rock Tumbler/Polisher" would work ?....http://www.google.co...i...le&resnum=4....and I didn't know that Thumlers Tumblers made them also...

This post has been edited by Para 16: 21 September 2009 - 09:57 PM

[Xrunner]

Para 16, on Sep 21 2009, 10:56 PM, said:

Do you suppose a "Rock Tumbler/Polisher" would work ?....http://www.google.co...i...le&resnum=4....and I didn't know that Thumlers Tumblers made them also...

I have the dual-drum Chicago electric rock tumbler mentioned in the AR15 thread and it works pretty well. The drums have a relatively small capacity and take a bit of time to secure closed after loading, but it's a inexpensive way to get started with water tumbling ($35 on sale for the dual-drum unit).

I usually run it for 30 minutes for basic cleaning. The brass comes out clean and relatively shiny but not unltrasonic clean. The primer and primer cup do take a while to dry... I let them sit on a dry towel for a few days minimum before loading.