Case Processing - Made (sorta) Easy

Case processing is the foundation of all reloading. Whether you do it one at a time, or all at once, this is where both accuracy and safety start. First, a little review.

Cleaning brass can be broken down into a few different types generally, washing and tumbling are the two main ways. Since I've already touched on the nuances of how to clean, lets talk about when to clean.

When I get some fired brass, before I can turn it into ammunition, I have to process it. Processing involves a few different steps, which vary depending on type and caliber. Regardless of what it is, the first step I always take is washing the brass. The main reason for this, is dirty brass is full of dirt (yea, a little tautological) which will translate into dirt in my reloading machine, which means either cleaning the machine, or making crappy ammo. Since crappy ammo is not an option, either clean the brass, or clean the machine. Cleaning the machine is a pain, so I clean the brass. Typically, I do this by washing the brass. As it removes dirt and oils, but doesn't require the time of tumbling.

After the brass has been washed, if it's rifle brass I lube it up usually using lanolin spray lube. There are many varieties, Dillon sells the most common version, but you can make it at home (more on that later). Since I mostly use progressive presses, I will set the head up usually in the following order:

* Decapping die
* Sizing die (small base)
* Expanding die
* Trim Die (Dillon RT1200 case trimmer)

The reason I separate out the steps this way, is many progressive presses (the Dillon 1050 especially) have very little mechanical advantage except near the bottom of the stroke. So the typical expander configuration will make for very jerky handling which will slow you down. Frequently I will use a full length sizing die for my decapping die, and have it backed off a bit so it doesn't engage the case. This helps center the case and reduces crushed cases.

For pistol case processing, this is substantially simpler. Size and decap all the brass with a carbide sizing die. For brass that's cleaner, I will skip the initial washing step, for dirty brass, it gets washed.

So now you have sized and decapped brass. Time for cleaning again! Wash it (especially the rifle brass to remove case lube) and dry. Followed by tumbling (if you wet tumble, be sure to dry it).

After this, your reloading should be just like running new brass through your machine. If you are running a progressive, this will greatly improve reliability of the machine and through put. One of the chief benefits to processing brass this way, is a higher quality product when done. You don't have to tumble live ammo trying to get lube off the brass (this always makes things dirtier), in most cases brass processed this way will look as good as new ammo if you do it right.

MuzzleBrake Range Report (sorta)

Well, I didn't get to spend a whole bunch of time out on the range today like I had hoped, as I ended up getting bogged down at work. However, I did get a chance to take it back on the proof range at work and fire a few rounds. I started by test firing some subsonic .308 ammo to make sure there were no catastrophic clearance issues, and if there were, I figured this wouldn't break anything too bad.

Well, thankfully, no clearance issues were found (I fired a single round, then inspected for flecks of copper and didn't find any). and fired a few rounds, the recoil reduction was substantial, however one thing I noticed shooting in the confines of the test range, was a rather strong puff of air that would blow from the muzzle end maybe 1/4 second after firing. I think much of this was due to the small indoor range, I've fired much bigger guns with much larger brakes but all those were open air.

The brake did exactly what I wanted it to, held the gun on target and reduced the "bounce" I normally got when firing it off a bipod.

Here's another picture of the brake up close before firing:

Fun Stuff - MuzzleBrake

Felt the need to get away from the computer, get out in the shop and make something really quick that would be fun and enjoyable. So I made a muzzle brake for my .308 Winchester rifle (Savage 10FP-LE). I had the barrel threaded last year as a gunsmith friend of mine needed some cash, so rather than just loan him money he would have to pay back, I just gave him some work.

I am not a great photographer. But here it is:

Specs: Fits 5/8-24TPI threaded barrel, drilled 1" deep, threads relieved on the back (no crush washer or spacers), two baffles for directing gas away from bullet flight. Made of 304 Free Machining Stainless Steel. The bullet path hole is 5/16", was first drilled one size smaller, and then finish reamed with a .3125" reamer with the back gear engaged and lots of oil. Threaded section was first bored with a carbide boring bar, and then tapped with a 5/8-24" tap so there should be no disparity of alignment between the threads and the bore.

If anyone is interested in drawings wanting to make their own, speak up and I'll post them or e-mail.

I should get a chance to take it out to the range tomorrow, and I'll provide a range report.

Japanese Nuclear Reactors, Potassium Iodide and Radiation Safety

As a lifelong student of all things radioactive, a Disaster Emergency Services Worker, someone who has been trained in dealing with radiological emergencies (IS-00301, IS-00003) the paranoia and panic caused by the releases of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant after last Friday's earthquake, is frankly more alarming than the release of radioactive material.

Spawned by media attention, the response by the American public to stockpile Potassium Iodide tablets thinking this will be a panacea against radioactive contamination will be a comedy of failures. Due largely to the ignorance spread by the media in response to this disaster.

While I won't say radiation is not dangerous, excessive doses of iodine rich compounds can also be dangerous to health. The biggest issue arises from a false belief that Potassium Iodide will protect the whole body against radiation. What KI (chemical symbol for potassium (K) iodide (I for iodine)) does is saturate the thyroid gland with stable isotopes of Iodine, preventing the uptake of Iodine-131, a short lived radioisotope with a half life of about 8 days.

Iodine-131 is dangerous because it undergoes Beta Decay giving off an electron, when it does this inside the tissue (of the Thyroid) it may cause mutation, cancer, or cell death. Since the thyroid is so essential to managing the body's systems, damage to this gland may be catastrophic to the body.

However, since the devil is usually in the details. Here's the rub with KI, Japan, it will be a several day journey for any radioactive contaminants released at Fukushima to reach even the west coast. That delay will give many of them a chance to partially decay, greatly reducing the quantity of radioactive materials which reach the west coast. Also, most of these materials are heavy, meaning they will drop out of the air column sooner than other materials, and they are all readily absorbed in sea water, where they will be greatly diluted.

The next issue, Iodine-131 is not the only dangerous component of a nuclear release. There is also Cesium, Strontium, Barium, Xenon and other materials which are substantially more dangerous than Iodine. Strontium, Barium, and Cesium are readily taken in by plants, and animals and incorporated into bone and other tissues, as an analog for Calcium or Potassium (in the case of Cesium). All of these are longer lived isotopes, and many have higher energy decay processes including alpha and gamma, which can be much more deleterious to human health.

A general rule taken from Civil Defense, is that for every 7 fold increase in time, a 10 fold decrease in radiation will be measured. So when you measure 50Rad/hr (100 Rad = 1 Sievert Sv = 1 Gray), 7 hours later only 5 R/hr should be the measurement. With a given travel time of 2 days, or 48 hours, the amount of radiation arriving will be 10^-7 or 1/10,000,000th the amount of radiation. Some US experts have suggested longer travel times, insisting radiation will be more on the order of 1/1,000,000,000 (one billionth). So even a release of compounds at the plant exceeding 500Rad/hr by the time they arrive on the west coast, the amount of radiation you may receive will be 5x10^-7, or less radiation than you get having a smoke detector in your house. It is important to understand radiation is all around us, a site with good information on this is the EPA's Radiation Dose Calculator.

If you are still scared, radiation monitoring is thankfully an exact science, it is very easy to measure the quantity of radiation in a given sample of material, in fact it is easier to find radioactive contamination than it is to find any type of toxic contamination, as radioactive isotopes give off particles which common Geiger Counters, Scintillators and other simple equipment can detect. Additionally, Japan and the Fukushima plant is a great distance from the continental united states, and while the jet stream is more likely to carry contamination here, it will take days, days in which short-lived radioisotopes will decay off, and become much less dangerous. Additionally, keeping a high level of hygiene will aid greatly in removing any radioactive particles from the skin, clothing and hair. Wash your hands frequently, wash fresh produce, avoid foods that concentrate radioisotopes, and given time there is nothing to fear.

Education is the most important issue when dealing with radiation there are three main defenses against radiation: Time, Distance and Shielding. Here in the on the West Coast, we have distance, and time on our side. Until we see that those are insufficient there is no need to run out and seek shielding, which our houses are quite capable of providing us with.

If you are really looking for something to stockpile right now, don't stockpile KI, stockpile food, water, medical supplies (bandaids, antisceptics). The next disaster we face probably won't be nuclear fallout from Japan, it will probably be an earthquake on our own shores that gets us.

End Daylight Savings!

So I'm not normally politically active, aware yes, active... eh I vote? does that matter?

Anyways, after 30 years, I am officially pissed off enough about the time change to do something about it! And because we live in a representative democracy, I fully intend to do something about it, and frankly, it is a bi-partisan issue.

I will be calling, and writing my senators, and other elected representatives every day until I get this changed and I invite all of you to do the same.

To start you off with some boiler plate. Here's the letter I sent to my senators this morning.
Good Morning Senator,

I am writing you today to express my frustration with a policy that was originally implemented during wartime, that kills untold numbers of Americans, and greatly threatens the health and safety of the rest. I am talking about the change from standard time to daylight time.

Every year numerous people are killed or injured in traffic accidents caused by drowsy drivers after the time change. Farmers and farm animals are upset by the change in routine, not to mention untold millions of other Americans who are forced to be awake earlier, causing undue stress in their home and work lives.

It behooves you as the champion of public safety you purport to be to end this menacing practice. Whether DST becomes the permanent time or not, it does not matter. The only factor that matters is that from now, till forever the only time I am forced to change my clock is when I find myself in a different timezone on purpose!

End this practice now!

Sincerely,

Your Constituent

I added this to my addresses to my state reps:
Daylight Saving Time, as is well known, is a federal statute requiring people to set their clocks one hour ahead between the first Saturday in April and the last Saturday in October. Under Federal law, any state may by law elect to exempt either the whole state, or all of the area within that state that lies within any one time zone, from Daylight Saving Time.
Some important information about DST, and some more ammunition you may be able to use:

Unhappy Hour
Daylight Saving Time: A bad idea.

Sleep Deficit, Fatal Accidents, and the Spring Shift to Daylight Savings Time

Cleaning Cartridge Brass

Cleaning cartridge brass is one of those topics in reloading where just about everyone has a different method of doing it, and to an extent they all work, some work better than others, some have different results.

Generally cleaning brass can be broken up into a few different methods: Chemical washing, Wet tumbling, Vibratory cleaning/polishing, and rotary cleaning/polishing. Vibratory process is very similar to rotary cleaning, the major difference is in rotary cleaning the bowl spins (like a cement mixer) whereas in vibratory the bowl vibrates, and usually has a toroid shape in which the vibration causes the media to turn over. Chemical washing can be combined with Wet Tumbling, but generally isn't. Wet tumbling usually is similar to the rotary process except it uses a media that is water friendly.

Chemical washing goes by several names, and uses many different compounds for achieving the same results. Typically, chemical washing involves an acid, a soap, an emulsifier, and occasionally a light abrasive. There are two chemical washing formulas I have used over the years with varied degrees of success, and they are easy to make at home. The first, is what I call the "Matryoshka" as the ingredient list follows a series of russian nesting dolls. The second is a more common solution which is a mix of CLR (calcium lime rust remover) and hot water with a 1gal to 1pt mix ratio.

Matryoshka Formula*

• 1 gal warm water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon powdered laundry detergent
• 1 teaspoon table salt

This formula works very well, and I have used it for years for a pre-cleaning solution. The laundry detergent does a great job removing oils and dirt from the casings, the vinegar attacks the lead deposits on the inside of the casings, and the salt breaks up the surface tension of the water and helps things get cleaner faster. Typically, I will let dirty brass sit in this solution for about 5-20 minutes, occasionally stirring it up. Wash the brass with clean water and either set it out in the sun to dry, or use forced air drying.

CLR Formula*

• 1 gal warm water
• 1 pint CLR (Do not substitute for other brands, use CLR brand)

This formula works great as a post-sizing rinse, as it gets off most lanolin case lubes, it also does a good job of shining up the brass.

* Usage Note: Both of these solutions if used for too long will remove enough zinc from the surface of the brass to turn it pink. While this is not implicitly destructive to the brass (you can still use it) who wants to go to the range with pink brass?
 
Wet tumbling, is something of a cross breed between the chemical methods discussed above, and the physical methods discussed later. For those familiar with it, it is essentially the same process used to make rocks shiny in a rock tumbler, add some water, put into a drum, and spin it for hours, days or weeks. In certain circumstances, a chemical solution may be added to improve the speed or the results. 

An interesting variation on wet tumbling is the use of stainless tumbling media. A new company showed up recently selling 5lbs of stainless steel pins just for this purpose http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/ I have not tried them personally, but the pictures look good, and some people on the internet swear by it. I will tell you, this is a tried and true method for cleaning all sorts of work in many industries, everything from jewelry to doorhandles is tumbled in steel pins or shot.

Before delving into the finer points of rotary and vibratory case processing, it seems necessary to draw a distinction between cleaning and polishing, as they are different processes, you can combine them, but that usually takes too long.

Cleaning brass is best done with a more abrasive compound. To take an example from most home users, walnut media is a substantially more aggressive compound than corncob media. However, walnut is a cleaning media, so it will strip off grime, stains and other blemishes on the brass but will never bring it to a high shine.

Polishing is the final process of cleaning, and is best done with small grained corncob with a burnishing compound and a wax. Dillon's turbo polish is a very very good example of this, as it combines both a burnishing compound and a wax. The waxy layer left behind by polishing compounds does a lot to protect the brass and keep it from oxidizing. A good example of a burnishing compound is the common frankford arsenal polish sold by midwayusa. While it works well for polishing up the surface, the lack of wax means the cartridges will tarnish fairly quickly. One trick, when you have older media, that still has polish in it, but isn't coating the cartridges in as much wax as it did, is to add several teaspoons of mineral spirits to the tumbling media before adding brass as it tends to draw the wax out.

Now lets watch some videos. First up is vibratory polishing on a big scale:



Unfortunately I can't find the youtube video that had a rotary deburrer, so I'll have to take some video of mine next time I fire it up.

I hope that sums up pretty well the differences and answers some questions about cleaning, polishing, and the different methods people use to achieve the same results.

On War

the story is apocryphal at best, but it stems from turn of the century in a conversation between a visiting german commander and swiss commander

"How big a force do you command?"

The Swiss general confidently replied, "I can mobilize one million men in twenty-four hours."

The German asked, "What would happen if I marched five million men in here tomorrow?"

The Swiss replied, "Each of my men will fire five shots and go home."

the quote is often credited to General Henri Guisan, but one will never know