Cartridge Case Cleaning

If you are getting ready to enter the world of reloading, you need something to clean your cartridge cases prior to loading them.  Granted, if you purchase new brass for everything and never recycle it, you don't have to worry about this step.  However, reloading provides you the ability to reuse your brass, which is an expensive component in an assembled cartridge.  Doing so reduces the cost of your reloads significantly.  Yes, you still have to purchase new primers and powder....and you'll need to either purchase or cast your bullets.....but it does reduce the cost of reloading.

Reloading dirty brass is....well, it just isn't right.  I take pride in both the accuracy and the appearance of my reloads.  Pulling a box of reloads out of your range bag that looks like rejects from WWI just doesn't work for me.  Also, running dirty brass through your resizing die won't help it at all and could scratch the resizing surfaces.

When I started reloading some 30 years ago, I used what everyone else used back then, a Tom Thumbler rotary rock tumbler.  It had a hexagonal shaped barrel (with circular rings welded onto the ends) with a removable lid.  Brass and crushed walnut shells (with bit of polishing compound) when into the tumbler, you turned it on, and several hours later your brass was clean (albeit it had a red tint from the polishing rouge).  To reduce the noise, the barrel had a rubber liner that did deaden the clinking brass sound a fair amount.  I still have the Tom Thumbler sitting on the shelf and used it about 15 years ago to actually tumble some rocks.  (I quickly discovered I liked tumbling brass better.)

With the recent purchase of some new reloading equipment, I opted to upgrade my brass case cleaning equipment too.  I stopped by Dillon Precision and picked up their CV-500 Vibratory Cleaner (as they call it).
 

Unlike my old rotary tumbler, the CV-500 doesn't roll the brass round and round through the cleaning media.  Instead, it sits there and vibrates.  The power cord has an inline switch to turn on and off the electrical motor that is mounted in the base.  The base has rubber feet on it, I assume to prevent it from "walking" around but I've noticed that mine will very slowly work its way across the floor.  When set on a rug (as in the above photo), it doesn't move during operation. 

The CV-500 also has a big brother, the CV-2001.  Essentially, the capacity of the larger unit is between 2 and 4 times that of the CV-500....depending on the type of cartridge being cleaned. 

To clean your brass, first fill the bowl about 2/3 full of cleaning media.  The two most common medias are ground corn cop and ground walnut shells.  The later is recommended for really dirty cartridges while the corn cob is used for lighter cleaning or final poslish (if walnut shells were used initially).  I've been using the corn cob media with good results.

With a fresh batch of corn cob media in the bowl, you add several ounces of Dillon's Rapid Polish 290.  I didn't use it initially and quickly found my cleaning time was greatly increased and the finish on the brass wasn't as good.

With the polish added, turn on the power and let the unit run for several minutes to absorb and distribute the polish, then just add the brass.  You won't need more of the 290 polish until you have "used" the media and replace it with new.

The photo above shows some .30-06 brass ready for cleaning.  It was in a box that has been sitting on a garage shelf for the past couple of decades. 

After about 90 minutes in the CV-500 cleaner, this is what those same .30-06 cases looked like.  The vibration cleaning makes for notably shorter cleaning time when compared to the old rotary tumbler method.  I can go through quite a few batches of brass in a day using the Dillon cleaner.

When the media changes to a dark gray color (and it will), it is time to replace it.  Before putting new media in the cleaner, wipe down the bowl with a damp soapy rag.  (Do not pour liquid into the bowl)  When the bowl is a nice blue color again, add new media, some 290 polishing juice, and you are ready to get started again.
 

So now that you have all that media inside of your cases, how do you remove it?  Easy.....use the CM-500 Case/Media Separator.  I picked this up at the same time I got the cleaner.  After your brass is clean, just pour the entire contents into the plastic bingo cage, close the top, and crank the separator a dozen times or so.  The cases tumble around and dump the media which falls out of the slots in the bingo cage.  The big blue tub is supplied with the separator which makes it super easy.  Pour the slightly used media back into the cleaner and you are ready for the next batch.

The CM-500 separator also has a big brother to go with the CV-2001 cleaner.  Each of the separators will handle a full load of brass from their corresponding cleaner. 

I've found the smaller cleaner to satisfy my needs just fine.  Even though I had a pretty good supply of once fired brass (kept since my time in the Navy) that needed some attention, I didn't see a problem doing a few extra loads because of the smaller capacity.  I couldn't justify the price difference between the large and small cleaners (and separators) when I looked at my anticipated use.  If I were collecting range brass and cleaning it before selling it, I would certainly have opted for the larger setup....in that case, time is money.

Well, there you have it.  It doesn't get much easier than that.  A number of companies have vibratory cleaners on the market.  I did some research on the net before making my decision as to which one to purchase.  One prominent reloading company seems to have changed brass cleaner manufacturers and their cleaners have been going belly up in short order.  Do your homework and don't get a crappy unit.  A few hours of research can pay big dividends in the end.

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