Is Tumbling Brass Inside Safe?

[gwpercle]

Garage or workshop is best , more so for the noise .
If your media is dusty ... it needs an case polish additive or dryer sheet and run with the cover on .
Don't make media too wet ... but it should not be dusty and the cover keeps most everything in the bowl .
Lead in primers is being slowly phased out and after firing the primer the compound is mostly expended ...
Lead dust will not fill the air when vibrating / polishing if you keep the media slightly moist (Not Dusty) but not wet ... and run it covered .
Set the machine on a rubber mat ... that dampens the noise ...which to me is what's bothersome ... the sound !
Gary

 

[johngalt]

Do it outside. Even if the dust stays contained while tumbling, it won't when you separate it.

I quit dry tumbling and switched to wet. The only downside to wet tumbling is drying the brass.

 

[GypsmJim]

I recently had some blood work done and had my lead levels tested. I am slightly elevated. Not like I have lead poisoning or anything, but I am at a 16, and my doc would like to see it at 10 or less.

I have been racking my brain as to where it's coming from. My protocols for casting bullets are pretty rigid since this is an obvious place where you would think of. But I only recently learned of the potential for exposure from tumbling dust. It's surprising, every bullet mold etc. has a warning on it, but I have NEVER seen any sort of warning on tumbler instructions, bottles of media, etc. I am switching to an ultrasonic cleaner, not because I think they clean better, but since it's totally wet there should be no dust.

FWIW I am concentrating on the tumbling, wearing nitrile gloves for all reloading and gun cleaning, avoiding my club's very poorly ventilated indoor range, and in general seriously upping the whole hand washing with Dlead type soaps. I'm hoping that will reduce the levels to where I'd like to be.

Maybe that's smart, or maybe it makes no difference. I dunno.
Just be advised that once you got it, you got it. No matter how you improve your procedures, don't expect the numbers to go down.

If I had to guess, I would say your indoor range is the biggest culprit, not your own personal habits.

 

[max503]

Maybe that's smart, or maybe it makes no difference. I dunno.
Just be advised that once you got it, you got it. No matter how you improve your procedures, don't expect the numbers to go down.

If I had to guess, I would say your indoor range is the biggest culprit, not your own personal habits.

When my indoor range closed my numbers went down. However. We only have one body and I'm taking care of mine. My body is more important than having shiny brass. I won't tumble brass. It cleans up just fine with water, salt, soap, citric acid. I even wear ear muffs when I run the vacuum.

My lead numbers have been around 5, with 5 being the new limit. The old limit was 10. I'm a caster and lead scrounger.

 

[glenwolde]

This is why I went to wet tumbling. I've also heard a couple of times (on forums) where a tumbler overheated and burned the garage down. Think about that.

I wonder if a wet tumbler caught on fire, would it burn through the drum and put itself out?

I like it in the house where I can check on it frequently. The wet ones are pretty quite. I also won't run the tumbler anywhere near powder and primers. Just in case.

 

[Empe]

I started reloading about a year ago and after much reading on various forums decided to go with wet tumbling rather than dry .
My main concern was contaminated dust all over ...not a problem with wet tumbling.

 

[SMSgt]

Jeeze, some of you must think you'll live forever if you tumble outside.

 

[smithra_66]

Somehow I got the idea years ago that I should tumble my brass in the garage instead of my workshop (or a living space). Is lead or any other harmful substance projected into the air by a vibratory case tumbler?

I've been doing it inside for about 35 years (and I'm 45).

No issues yet.

I will usually open the garage door when I empty it, though.

 

[twodog max]

I do all my tumbling in my outside building where I do all my gun and reloading stuff. Principally to keep peace by not introducing smells and noise into the house.
I have never been to concerned about lead contamination. Even though I shoot and reload a fair amount I always considered the lead exposure to be minimal. I get blood work annually and no lead problems as of yet.
IMO the lead exposure thing is just another example of information bias to make a concern sound catastrophic.

 

[johngalt]

The slowest part of wet tumbling is drying when done. I've read about some who heat their wet brass in the oven.

I'm thinking of a modification - buy a cheap pot and heat on low on a stovetop burner. Of course no food would go in that pot.

 

[Model19man]

I use a wet FART tumbler on very dirty brass (not often). If the brass has been fired once with smokeless powder it gets tossed in my vibratory tumbler with pecan shells and a bit of Simichrome. I am 66 and have been reloading for maybe 40 years or a bit more. I shoot at an indoor range that does not require anything special. I have bloodwork done every year and all my cleaning has been in my garage. I have normal blood lead levels.

 

[Patrick L]

Numbers can change. Over the last 15 years, my numbers have vacillated from 9ish to 15ish. The health department had the results of all the tests I've done over the years.

A good buddy was at a 22, and 6 months of taking extra precautions dropped it to a 15.

 

[desi2358]

I've used a dry tumbler for at least 35 years now. I run it with the lid on, not too noisy and no dust escapes. If any media gets spilled when removing cases I clean it up with my small shop vac........... I don't think it's any more hazardous than my other hobbies I indulge in. My basement workshop has seen wood working (from raw wood to finished product), small parts welding, painting and a few other things. Keeping a neat and clean work area is important and neither I nor anyone else in the household has ever had any issue that can be traced back to my hobbies.

 

[ggibson511960]

After a few years without primers, I'm back in the reloading business with a big backlog of dirty cases. I broke out my vibratory cleaner and cleaned a bunch of brass with treated walnut media. The red dust got into everything when handling "cleaned" cases. What a mess. It took multiple passes through an ultrasonic cleaner to get the fine red goo out of the brass. I threw away the walnut media and bought corncob at the recommendation of my local reloading shop. They have a small ammunition reloading business in the back and use wet pin tumbling exclusively. When I use up the corn cob stuff, I'm switching. They showed me the results and I'm sold.