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rgchristensen
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cartridge drying rack
Jun 24th, 2014 at 9:39pm
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The handy patch cutter makes me want to share my case drying rack.   Make a rectangular bottomless box out of 1x4 pine, maybe 5x12" or so.   Saw slots across the narrow way and glue in strips of wood (ripped out about the width and thickness of tongue depressors).   Put the strips a little further apart than the head diameter of the ctg.   Beats the heck out of wooden pegs -- holds a lot more cases, and they are easy to drop in.  This was shown to me by Ken Ham of Nebr.

CHRIS
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Ray_Newman
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #1 - Jun 24th, 2014 at 10:34pm
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Another solution: take a piece of 1/4" or 3/8" plywood, draw a grid, and bore holes of the appropriate diameter for the case. Bore a large hole to hang it up. My .45 calibre rack holds about 132 cases. 

The one I made is a good 25+ years old. Need to make another one for .50-7- cases.
  

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gunlaker
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #2 - Jun 24th, 2014 at 11:33pm
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That's a project I've been meaning to start for a while now.  At the moment I'm cleaning and drying about 250 cases and it would sure have been nice to have a few proper racks.

Thanks for the ideas.

Chris.


  
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texasmac
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #3 - Jun 28th, 2014 at 2:16pm
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Hey guys,

Drying racks are completely unnecessary.  Save yourself a lot of time and effort building a drying rack.  Stand the wet cases up on the rims in a frying pan and turn on the heat.  The moisture inside will bubble and turn to steam in just a few minutes.  It only takes 5 minutes or so with gas burners; possibly a little more using electric burners.  Once the bubbles and steam disappear turn off the heat.  Move the pan to a cool burner and aim a small fan at the pan and cases.  Within 5 minutes or so the cases are cool enough to pick up by hand.  A small frying pan will hold 60 to 75 cases, a large one much more.   

I've been doing this for years.  There is no faster method I know of and it does not damage the brass unless you walk away, get distracted and forget the cases are cooking.  By the time I've cleaned up the case tumbler and stored it the cases are cool & ready to load.  If you don't have a fan handy wait a few minutes longer for the cases to cool.

Wayne
  

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waterman
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #4 - Jun 28th, 2014 at 2:20pm
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Some of us ARE older, Wayne, and may even be given to Senior Moments.  A late friend just washed & dried his using the top rack of his wife's dishwasher.
  
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shovel80
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #5 - Jun 28th, 2014 at 4:01pm
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Have never used a drying rack. I used to just set them on a towel in the sun, or on a cookie sheet on the wood stove on the tea kettle rack to keep them from over heating in the winter. I recently read in one of Paul Mathews books where he'd just rinsed out the brass very well, and then put them into the vibrating tumbler wet.I figured they would get jammed with abrasive from the moisture. I tried it anyway, and they just dried up and cleaned up the same as if I had taken the time to dry them first!
Terry Smiley
  

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gunlaker
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #6 - Jun 29th, 2014 at 10:36am
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One technique that I have used when in a hurry to reload the same brass is to use a heat gun to dry them.  Mostly I'm not in a hurry though and just set them out to dry.   A couple of nice drying racks would be perfect for the way I do things.

Chris.
  
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CajunRebel
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #7 - Jun 29th, 2014 at 11:27am
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Do a search for a wood dish rack.
  
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ClaMar
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #8 - Jun 29th, 2014 at 3:03pm
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Some grids of covering recessed florescent light fixtures sold at Home Depot/Lowe's, for example, have 1/2" grids.  For a 2'x4' section, you can cut yourself and several friends a great drying rack.

Clarence
  
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boats
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #9 - Jun 29th, 2014 at 4:11pm
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Barack would be ashamed of you guys drying cases with electricity & natural gas.  Make up a proper drying rack you can dry with sustainable energy. Natural sunlight and fresh air.

Boats
  
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uscra112
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #10 - Jun 29th, 2014 at 4:13pm
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Gee, i just collect these open-grid-bottomed pistol cartridge containers from the trash at the range.

Stand 'em in there base down, blow thru them to clear the flash hole, and leave 'em in a warm spot for a few hours.

  

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TDW
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #11 - Jul 1st, 2014 at 10:20am
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uscra112,
   Me too.... doesn't take up much space when not in use. I also use them to separate my brass while de-priming.
  

"The farther North you go, the more things you will run into that will eat your horse."
S.P. Garbe, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, 1980
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ireload2
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #12 - Jul 7th, 2014 at 9:50am
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I use 99% isopropyl alcohol for a final rinse after cleaning.  The IPA absorbs the water. 
I toss the cases in an old terry cloth towel and roll them back and forth to dry the outside. 

Then I stand the cases mouth down in a loading block and set in front of a fan. They will dry in about 15 mins and will be free of lube and grit.
  
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Irascible
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #13 - Jul 16th, 2014 at 10:28pm
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I throw mine in a vibratory tumbler with the lid off. Using treated corn cob, it drys AND polishes the cases at the same time. I started doing this with my BPCS cases and continued when I started shooting black powder in Cowboy action. No problems at all. Nothing left in the cases when done (unlike the SS rods I just tried).
  
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Skalkaho
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Re: cartridge drying rack
Reply #14 - Jul 16th, 2014 at 10:56pm
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I put mine on a towel and set in the sun. Or hit it with a heat gun, dry in a minute.
  

May the Bullet Gods be with you.......
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