Posted By: Dan B.
My new best friend...ALCOHOL!! - 10/22/2006 4:25 AM
I hate cleaning cases. 
But unfortunately it's part of the process for reloaders! 
I used to be a tumbler user but mine needs new media and I just keep forgetting. For a while I would take and clean each case by hand...later I thought I was smart and utilized the cordless drill and shellholder. I'd spin the cases on high speed and clean them with a rag one at a time but at least this allowed me to chamfer the mouths at the same time (at a slower speed of course)...but the process was slow.
So while performing the dreaded chore tonight on a batch of 7-08 and 7mm-270WSM cases I had a moment of enlightenment!! An epiphany!!
I use the Dillon Case Lube which consists of Lanolin suspended in Isopropyl Alcohol (IA). Earlier in the evening I had just used some IA the wipe down a stock before painting. So why could I not use the IA to soak the cases then wipe them off?? Hhmmmm!!
I took a small container about 2" deep and 4" square...laid a batch of cases in the bottom and poured the IA into the container to just cover the brass. Then I began cleaning them by hand using a clean rag. I literally did a batch of 100 cases in less than 15 minutes! The IA thins the Lanolin and makes it super easy to wipe off...I was careful to fold the rag frequently to keep using a clean area so as not to reapply any lanolin from the rag back onto the cases.
This was faster than using the drill and much faster than a tumbler...heck it took me 10 minutes just to dump the media from the cases and clean the flashholes.
After the wipe down I set the cases (mouth down) in a loading block and took my air gun and blew out what little IA was left in the primer pocket. It would have surely evaporated over night but I did it anyhow. They are ready to go now but I'll leave them over night and load them tomorrow.
So..from now on...I'll always have a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol on my reloaing bench!!
But unfortunately it's part of the process for reloaders! I used to be a tumbler user but mine needs new media and I just keep forgetting. For a while I would take and clean each case by hand...later I thought I was smart and utilized the cordless drill and shellholder. I'd spin the cases on high speed and clean them with a rag one at a time but at least this allowed me to chamfer the mouths at the same time (at a slower speed of course)...but the process was slow.
So while performing the dreaded chore tonight on a batch of 7-08 and 7mm-270WSM cases I had a moment of enlightenment!! An epiphany!!
I use the Dillon Case Lube which consists of Lanolin suspended in Isopropyl Alcohol (IA). Earlier in the evening I had just used some IA the wipe down a stock before painting. So why could I not use the IA to soak the cases then wipe them off?? Hhmmmm!!I took a small container about 2" deep and 4" square...laid a batch of cases in the bottom and poured the IA into the container to just cover the brass. Then I began cleaning them by hand using a clean rag. I literally did a batch of 100 cases in less than 15 minutes! The IA thins the Lanolin and makes it super easy to wipe off...I was careful to fold the rag frequently to keep using a clean area so as not to reapply any lanolin from the rag back onto the cases.
This was faster than using the drill and much faster than a tumbler...heck it took me 10 minutes just to dump the media from the cases and clean the flashholes.
After the wipe down I set the cases (mouth down) in a loading block and took my air gun and blew out what little IA was left in the primer pocket. It would have surely evaporated over night but I did it anyhow. They are ready to go now but I'll leave them over night and load them tomorrow.
So..from now on...I'll always have a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol on my reloaing bench!!
