clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

To learn and introduce new loaders. Tips and tricks from old timers.

Moderators: Chuck, Mustang380gal, Coordinators, Moderators

Post Reply
ddj324
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 10:56 pm

clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by ddj324 »

I was reading a recent thread on the new tumbler and (not wanting to hijack that one) decided to ask a question that is on my mind.

I have been tumbling my brass with the primers still installed and then popping the primers out inspecting and repriming. I have been doing this because I remember reading in manuals that "dirty" brass will scratch/damage your resizing dies. But in that thread they were showing pictures of primer pockets and they looked shinny like new or better and talking about the primer pocket getting cleaner this way or that.

Are you cleaning the brass twice? One "rough clean" before the depriming process and then after. If so what process are you using there?
Are you putting the dirty brass into your press and depriming and resizing?
Have you separated you resizing and depriming into 2 steps? Is it a matter of the Lee Dies I am using not making me understand other ways of doing it? How are you depriming?

I have actually been thinking about this for a while. Every time I look into my media and see bits of rock or look into the brass and see clumps of dirt I decide what I am doing is working and I should not change what works. But when I have a primer that did not completely seat or seats difficulty I think I should deprime and then clean again.

Am I thinking too much?
Thanks
User avatar
JustaShooter
OFCC Coordinator
OFCC Coordinator
Posts: 5800
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:08 pm
Location: Akron/Canton Area

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by JustaShooter »

I run the brass through the Lee Universal Decapping die to pop the primers out, tumble, inspect, then run them through the sizing die.
Christian, Husband, Father
NRA Life Member
NRA Certified Range Safety Officer
NRA Certified Pistol & Rifle Instructor

Want to become more active with OFCC and help fight for your rights? Click Here!
User avatar
WY_Not
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 2435
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 10:15 pm
Location: Miami County, OH
Contact:

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by WY_Not »

Same. Deprime. Tumble. Inspect. Trim flash hole. Resize. If rifle, tumble to clean lube off. Trim to length. Prime. Charge. Seat bullet. Crimp case as needed.
Learn how Project Appleseed is supporting freedom through Marksmanship and Heritage clinics.
Samuel Adams wrote:If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.
User avatar
Klingon00
Posts: 3824
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:47 am
Location: Columbus, OH

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by Klingon00 »

I just tumble, then deprime/resize at the same time and don't bother cleaning out the primer pocket before priming, unless I'm really bored.

I know that the depriming pin has ensured that the flash hole is clear of obstructions. If I tumble after depriming, I must inspect to be sure nothing has clogged the flash hole, which could possibly cause a squib. Just a lot more work than I feel is necessary for most of what I'm doing.

If you absolutely must tumble after you deprime but are worried about dirty cases damaging dies, you could buy a universal decapping die which won't care if the brass is dirty since the only part that touches the brass is the end of the pin that pushes the primer out.

Image
User avatar
Klingon00
Posts: 3824
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:47 am
Location: Columbus, OH

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by Klingon00 »

Also A Lee precision primer pocket cleaner is cheap (less than $2.50) and will do a good job of cleaning up carbon residue in your primer pockets if you are having trouble seating primers if you don't want to go to the trouble of tumbling twice.
User avatar
WY_Not
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 2435
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 10:15 pm
Location: Miami County, OH
Contact:

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by WY_Not »

For pistol cases, yes.

For rifle, the reason for the second tumble is to remove the case lube used when resizing.
Learn how Project Appleseed is supporting freedom through Marksmanship and Heritage clinics.
Samuel Adams wrote:If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.
User avatar
Klingon00
Posts: 3824
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:47 am
Location: Columbus, OH

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by Klingon00 »

I just use lubricants which don't require removal.

I also often neck resize only, which doesn't require lube, increases case life and supposedly improves accuracy.

I have heard of some folks who even tumble a third time after the cartridges are complete to give them that extra bling... I personally don't bother with that either. I don't like the idea of a pointed end of a bullet possibly bumping a live primer in my tumbler. Maybe I worry too much.
User avatar
WY_Not
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 2435
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 10:15 pm
Location: Miami County, OH
Contact:

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by WY_Not »

Guess I'm just too cheap. :D Time in a tumbler is free. I just use plain RCBS case lube and their lube pad.

Agree on the craziness of tumbling after done. Not so much from the pointy end impacting primer aspect. More of a thinking it can't be a good thing for the powder to be subjected to that kind of vibration. Just seems that all those powder granules bouncing off each other would tend to make cause some wear and tear and change the grain size and thus the burn rate. Probably just me thinking too much but agree, a box of freshly loaded cartridges is pretty enough when done that I don't see the need to put that little bit of extra bling on them.
Learn how Project Appleseed is supporting freedom through Marksmanship and Heritage clinics.
Samuel Adams wrote:If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.
The German
Posts: 323
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:39 pm

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by The German »

For necked cases, I use water based/solvable lube, the decap, resize and then clean. For pistol shells, I just tumble with the primer in and then decap and resize - the primer pockets stay dirty, but I never had any problem with doing that. It also was never a problem resizing the not-cleaned brass.
User avatar
JediSkipdogg
Posts: 10257
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:03 pm
Location: Batavia
Contact:

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by JediSkipdogg »

For handgun it's just tumbler and then deprime/resize.

For rifle, it's tumbler, then RCBS lube pad, then deprime/resize, then back into the tumbler for another 20-30 minutes.
Carrying Concealed Handguns - Signage Answers

Ohio Concealed Carry Classes in S/W Ohio
http://www.ProShootersTraining.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am not a lawyer. My answers are based on research, knowledge, and are generally backed up with facts, the Ohio Revised Code, or the United States Code.
BigV
Posts: 1555
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:29 pm
Location: Akron, OH

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by BigV »

I never clean primer pockets on my brass. Tumble then de-prime and re size.
Never had any problems.
BigV
User avatar
Sevens
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 7526
Joined: Thu May 07, 2009 8:30 am
Location: Far East Side of CBus

Re: clean twice or don't clean pirmer pockets

Post by Sevens »

I have never found any tangible gain from cleaning primer pockets so I quit that nonsense entirely probably fifteen years ago. And there are pitfalls to depriming before tumbling -- besides more work and more handling, you can easily end up with small pieces of media stuck in flash holes. And trust this... when the little piece is precisely the right size and in exactly the right place, it can and will displace and/or break a decapping rod.

No gain to cleaning pockets and only possible pitfalls to tumbling with primers removed.

Furthermore... if you are doing dry media vibratory tumbling, no amount of it is even going to clean that stupid pocket.
I like to swap brass... and I'm looking for .32 H&R Mag, .327 Fed Mag, .380 Auto and 10mm. If you have some and would like to swap for something else, send me a note!
Post Reply