Brass Cleaning, Steel Pins vs Corn Cob/Walnut Media

Last year I had a rude awakening. Big Brother gave me a call after a blood test showed elevated blood levels.  Since then I have managed to 
get my lead levels back down.  One of the areas of concern for me was handling the media while cleaning brass.  I have always used walnut media with flitz.
The results have been fine.  When separating the brass and media, you can't help but generate dust.  My question is do the steel pins and solvent eliminate this problem?
What do you do with remaining liquid?  Should I ask?
Thanks for any advise.
Alex

I can't see how S/S pins wouldn't at least help. I've been running them for years. The only exposure to dust may be the depriming of the fired cases since you don't want to try and clean brass with old primers as they trap water. After that its all contained by the water.

if you are worried about lead,  and want to say with what you have, 

you may want to use gloves, 
wash  your hands before and after
use a mask (simple dr's type) when processing the brass
run the tumbler outside, 
put a dryer sheet or 2 in the tumbler when running (helps trap the dust, ,I use the ones that I find in my tshirts and pant's legs,, as in used)

also wear gloves when reloading (simple latex or vinyl) and handling the lead bullets

Thanks for responses.  From what I am told.  Lead dust is most likely the culprit, from either tumbling, or discharging rounds in poor ventilation.  One of our local ranges is under investigation for deficiencies/lack of maintenance in their air system.  The one I frequent is new and has great air circulation.  The health dept folks said that ingestion/inhalation is the primary path to elevated levels.
I guess I better quit eating those paint chips.  
Alex

Switching to steal pin wet media will reduce your exposure to lead dust and other contaminants by a huge factor.  all contaminants are trapped in the water, and you can handle using those cheap blue nitrile gloves to minimize your exposure. Steel pins also get the brass much cleaner, 2-3 times faster than other media and they never wear out. All you need to buy is dish soap and powdered citric acid.

Andrew,
That is exactly what I was looking for.  How many pounds of pins does a large Dillon tumbler hold?
2lbs, 5lbs, more?  Do you fill with enough liquid to cover the pins?
Thanks

I switched over to Stainless Steel media a couple of years ago. I de-prime the spent casings first using a universal de-priming die. The stainless steel media cleans the primer pockets beautifully and because the inside of the casings are very clean, there is much less wear on the full sizing die. No dust at all. I always wash my hands with de-leading soap after I handle any lead rounds or when I de-prime the spent casings.

tceva wrote:Andrew,
That is exactly what I was looking for.  How many pounds of pins does a large Dillon tumbler hold?
2lbs, 5lbs, more?  Do you fill with enough liquid to cover the pins?
Thanks

I don’t recall the exact amounts, it’s not super critical. I usually fill it up about 3/4 full with water.  probably 2 to 3 pounds of media should be fine. The only thing you should pay attention to is not exceeding the weight limitation of the Dillon tumbler.

Ultrasonic works, but the cases are not as gorgeous.  

I do a few things because of high lead from an indoor range.

1) n-100 mask and nitrile gloves when depriming
2) spray with Hornady one shot to keep dust down further before depriming
3) ultrasonic clean with store solution and car wash&wax and then rinse and dry
4) nitrile gloves when handling spent rounds, lead rounds, bullets or cleaning guns
5) de-leading soap and scrub-brush are in my range bag for clean up before leaving
6) only go to indoor ranges with good ventilation
7) tacky-mat leaving basement reloading area to avoid tracking anything onto the carpet

I found that my body's hanging onto lead was also related to the kidney stones I was growing.   I have been taking calcium and drinking a lot of lemon juice, it will be interesting to see if my numbers have dropped further.

Best of luck getting your numbers down.

Look at the Frankford Arsenal stainless tumbler, comes with everything you need except Dawn soap and Lemishine. You can get it for about $165 from Optics Planet if you can round up a 10% coupon code.

I use STM and have been very pleased with that system for years. 5lbs of ss pins with the size I have.

There is no relation to lead and kidney stones as far as I know, I've had them before shooting. It's usually from concentrated urine so drinking more fluids helps. 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-stones/symptoms-causes/syc-20355755

Joel

My wife asked me to switch since we just had our first kid in October.  I don't have any lead level data, but I simply feel cleaner after switching.  I used gloves and a mask with dry media and saw a buildup after a big batch.

With my FART, I only touch the dirty brass loading the tumbler.  After that, I can sift and drain without touching the dirty water.  Heck, seeing how dirty the water is made me wonder about what I was dealing with before.

I don't remember the weight limit on the FART, but I know I don't get close to it.  I only do a few hundred 45 cases at a time.  It came with 5lbs of media, but I only use half in any one load after my initial experiments.  The bonus of this is you can dump an old load and immediately get another one started while you process the first.  Smaller loads get them cleaner anyways!  VERY shiny brass!

5# 304 as pins come with the Frankfort kit

I am in the same boat as you with a slightly elevated lead level in the last year.  Thinking it's the dust from the vibratory tumbler.  Tried gloves and masks but decided to bite the bullet and go wet with a Frankford Arsenal Platinum.  So far I like it.  Cases are like new when done.  Haven't completely gotten my process down for separating the pins at the end though.

spyer40 wrote:I am in the same boat as you with a slightly elevated lead level in the last year.  Thinking it's the dust from the vibratory tumbler.  Tried gloves and masks but decided to bite the bullet and go wet with a Frankford Arsenal Platinum.  So far I like it.  Cases are like new when done.  Haven't completely gotten my process down for separating the pins at the end though.

It will help you greatly if you get Franklin magnet.

Bill

Bill,
You read my mind.  Not that I would ever drop a pin. LOL
Alex

I agree on the magnet, its a must. I forgot about that. The tumbler comes with strainer end caps that will help you to separate the majority of the pins but a magnet is good for getting the remaining pins out of the brass and is good for transferring the pins. I use about a 15 gallon plastic storage container for draining and transferring waste water, if you've got a utility sink handy you could use it but I don't have a drain in my basement. A couple old towels are handy too for laying on to dry.

How about drying the brass?  Air dry or wait till my Wife leaves and use the oven?

I air dry on the old towels I mentioned. The only problem I've had with stainless pin cleaning is that over time my brass dulls in color. I've tried cutting way back on citric acid so it may also be my water chemistry, I just use my tap water.

I use tap water and  a little dawn soap drain and separate pins then put them clean corn cob vibrator with nufinish car wax or Dillon polish and it dries and leaves polished finish that works better in reloading dies

Yes on the magnet, I use the cheaper Lyman separator, and dry on an old kitchen stackable drying racks for drying fruit

Greetings,

For drying wet brass, go to the local Thrift Store and buy a "bee hive" food dehydrator.

https://media2.picsearch.com/is?YWD5af-d63HVDZ3YYrOuF7JbaI5wRnnqZtFyzKHnl4I&height=341

Set the temperature as low as it goes.

Cheers,

Dave

I actually stumbled upon this wonder juice by accident. Throw away all of your internet concoctions and get you some of this. Then send me a note after your first batch is out of the pool.

Paul, Thanks for the note.  I kinda got that after a few posts. Dillon makes a great product, but I guess I'll have to try someone else.  I did find the Franford Arsenal kit for $150=/- after a wikibuy coupon search.  Seems like a pretty good deal.  I would like to buy just one.  My Dillon is over 10 years old. Many hours of vibrating on it and still ticking.
Thanks 
Alex