THe Dove
BOOMER SOONER!!!
In the bedroom........
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
The Dove
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
The Dove
Where do you tumble?
- Thread starter Squeaky Wheel
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Dryer sheets? Really? Have to try that.
Hondo 60
Member
I tumble in the garage.
My Lyman tumbler has a slotted cover & it's too noisy to tumble in the house.
Used dryer sheets work well, as do strips of paper towel.
They both suck up the dust & help keep the media cleaner.
My Lyman tumbler has a slotted cover & it's too noisy to tumble in the house.
Used dryer sheets work well, as do strips of paper towel.
They both suck up the dust & help keep the media cleaner.
Mac Sidewinder
Member
I use one USED dryer sheets cut in half per load. It keeps any dust down to a minimum. I tumble in my computer room and don't have a problem at all with dust on anything.
Mac
blarby
Member
Ya Dr. It really does clean up the gunk fairly well. For me its one of the "folk remedies" for reloading that actually work 
codefour
Member
In the living room
Yeah, I know it is crazy, but my living room and family room are on opposite ends of the house. The Thumlers is super quiet. I orignally used the garage but it gets too hot in No. California. The garage was in the 120 degree range. The Thumlers little motor got very hot in the garage.
I need to eventually move to a non earth quake area. One out of the Communist state of California and get a house with a good basement with air conditioning.
Yeah, I know it is crazy, but my living room and family room are on opposite ends of the house. The Thumlers is super quiet. I orignally used the garage but it gets too hot in No. California. The garage was in the 120 degree range. The Thumlers little motor got very hot in the garage.
I need to eventually move to a non earth quake area. One out of the Communist state of California and get a house with a good basement with air conditioning.
dmazur
Member
I use a tumbler in the garage. It has a solid lid which contains any hazardous dust during the operation.
When I use a media separator, I wear nitrile gloves and do it outdoors, so the dust doesn't accumulate on work surfaces in the garage.
This latter step is probably unnecessary, but it only takes a couple of minutes and then I know that the dust I'm working in is just plain ol' sawdust and not lead styphnate.
When I use a media separator, I wear nitrile gloves and do it outdoors, so the dust doesn't accumulate on work surfaces in the garage.
This latter step is probably unnecessary, but it only takes a couple of minutes and then I know that the dust I'm working in is just plain ol' sawdust and not lead styphnate.
1SOW
Member
I tumble in the garage, but I prewash range pick-ups outdoors using the garden hose set to 'stun'..
This cuts way down on the dust and crud build-up in the media.
My Cabellas 400 tumbler has good tight clear plastic lid..
This cuts way down on the dust and crud build-up in the media.
My Cabellas 400 tumbler has good tight clear plastic lid..
m6tlogistics
Member
sitting on the dryer in the basement
MrCountyCop
Member
In the garage with some NuFinish and some old cleaning patches that dont fit in any of my guns. Works great and the shop-vac cleans up the small spills.
Jaxondog
Member
I used to tumble the brass in the garage, but since getting a Hornady Ultrasonic I have not used the tumbler very much anymore. The One Shot cleaner is the ticket. No tumbler will clean the primer pocket's or inside the case like this stuff does.
You know OP take all the precautions you want and just remember that most the guys on here probably never had a blood test so them stating that they sniff tumbler dust and eat primers but have never had a problem means very little if they have never been tested.
Just a month ago I was one that would have said I tumble in my reloading room and never had a problem. Well I started to cast bullets, smelted 80 pounds of wheel weight in one session out side, cast 120 slugs and 200 .40 cal bullets in two session inside under a vent hood and about 4 days later found out I needed some blood work so I told the Doc to throw on a lead test as I thought it would be good to have a base line number. Well my lead levels came back at 9.3 which to him and the Gov are high but from what I found no one really gets worried until the level hits 20. I just got back into reloading last November and although I have been going at it hard I didn't expect my level to be much of anything, it had been 12 years since I had done any reloading. I have reloaded 5000 rounds, tumbled 15000+ pieces of brass and handled a metric ton of brass and shot shell cases since November but no where near what some of the old timers have handled.
So the question is what is causing the higher then normal level? Is this my base line level? Did the casting session 4 days before up my level? Could it be the tumbler dust I sniffed or the couple thousand primers I sucked out? I am not sure but I am being more careful with what I do and how I do it. I will get retested in 3 months when I need follow up blood work and then go from there. I am not stopping casting or reloading at this time just thinking about lead more. And yes I wash my hands, don't eat dinner while reloading and fight the urge to stick my fingers in my mouth and suck on them.
If you are truly concerned go get tested now so you have a base line number then make a test part of your yearly physical. I know a yearly physical is more like 5 or 10 years but at least you have a base number.
Just a month ago I was one that would have said I tumble in my reloading room and never had a problem. Well I started to cast bullets, smelted 80 pounds of wheel weight in one session out side, cast 120 slugs and 200 .40 cal bullets in two session inside under a vent hood and about 4 days later found out I needed some blood work so I told the Doc to throw on a lead test as I thought it would be good to have a base line number. Well my lead levels came back at 9.3 which to him and the Gov are high but from what I found no one really gets worried until the level hits 20. I just got back into reloading last November and although I have been going at it hard I didn't expect my level to be much of anything, it had been 12 years since I had done any reloading. I have reloaded 5000 rounds, tumbled 15000+ pieces of brass and handled a metric ton of brass and shot shell cases since November but no where near what some of the old timers have handled.
So the question is what is causing the higher then normal level? Is this my base line level? Did the casting session 4 days before up my level? Could it be the tumbler dust I sniffed or the couple thousand primers I sucked out? I am not sure but I am being more careful with what I do and how I do it. I will get retested in 3 months when I need follow up blood work and then go from there. I am not stopping casting or reloading at this time just thinking about lead more. And yes I wash my hands, don't eat dinner while reloading and fight the urge to stick my fingers in my mouth and suck on them.
If you are truly concerned go get tested now so you have a base line number then make a test part of your yearly physical. I know a yearly physical is more like 5 or 10 years but at least you have a base number.
jcwit
member
Currently I have mine tested three times a year. Twice a year is for std blood work and heavy metal testing. Once a year is for my cancer which for all intents and purposes is in remission. My lead level runs between 4 and 6 for the last 12 years.
I tumble inside in my shop with a lid on my tumbler. I cast normally inside with no vent, I keep the temp. in the neighborhood of 800 to 900 degrees. Lead does not vaporise to any significant extent till you get to over 1,000 degrees.
Do Not Eat or Drink while Handling lead and WASH YOUR HANDS, never could understand what is the problem with men washing their hands.
As always YMMV
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USSR
Member
For several years, I was selling once-fired M118 LR brass straight from a Marine firing range. I would tumble them for about an hour in my non-ventilated basement, before packaging them up and shipping them. I did this for well over 100,000 cases in a relatively short period of time. I also cast bullets in the same unventilated basement environment. I had my lead blood level checked several times, and as I recall, it was at ~3, in which a level of 25 called for some kind of medical intervention. Keep your fingers out of your mouth and nose when tumbling or casting, and you will have nothing to worry about.
Don
Don
Had my lead level tested this past fall, and it was high.
Not bad enough for any sort of treatment, but enough the doc wants to keep an eye on it.
I switched to an ultrasonic cleaner because it was one way to cut down on exposure.
We'll see if it makes any difference when I get retested in a couple months, but in the meantime , it does a pretty nice job on the brass.
Not bad enough for any sort of treatment, but enough the doc wants to keep an eye on it.
I switched to an ultrasonic cleaner because it was one way to cut down on exposure.
We'll see if it makes any difference when I get retested in a couple months, but in the meantime , it does a pretty nice job on the brass.
Lead poisoning is no joke. You don't get it from lead bullets. You get it primarily from primer dust and primer smoke. There's primer dust aplenty in your tumbler, and the lid doesn't do squat unless you take the tumbler outside to empty it!
I don't even sort my uncleaned brass indoors.
I don't even sort my uncleaned brass indoors.
Fishslayer
Member
I tested high in February. I shoot indoors but also had been pretty cavalier about cleanliness with my indoor tumbling.
I've started tumbling outdoors & am much more cautious about post shooting and brass policing routines. My hands are usually black after a range session. I always wash my hands immediately but never even considered my beard & mustache. Pretty sure I got some exposure from smoking through my leaded up 'stache.
Gonna get retested next month.
I've started tumbling outdoors & am much more cautious about post shooting and brass policing routines. My hands are usually black after a range session. I always wash my hands immediately but never even considered my beard & mustache. Pretty sure I got some exposure from smoking through my leaded up 'stache.
Gonna get retested next month.
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