Tumbling dust control

Anybody have any solutions, ideas, or pointers?

Separate it outside. I also add a capfull about 1/4 ounce of mineral spirits. I use wax lubes so media was sticky. Less dust. I'm washing now, with a bowl vibrator unit. Cleaner

Toss in a (or two) dryer softening sheets.  Replace them every time. Eventually they’ll absorb the dust.

The Dryer sheets work well, a paper towel also works.

I do my reloading in the basement, so dust isn't really an issue.

I’ll give a third recommendation for the dryer sheets. I put two in at a time and toss after every use.  It wasn’t mentioned, but I’m using sheets that have already been through the clothes dryer so it’s a really cheap solution.

John

I put my tumbler in a big plastic box and put the lid on it lightly. I have it set up so I can turn it on and off from out side the box. Typically let it sit after turning off for a while before opening the lid. I also typically wear a respirator when I manipulate the media to help mitigate dust inhalation.

I haven't noticed any significant dust pickup from used dryer sheets. And I tried. Wanted it to work.

Tried pouring the media out into a box from 2-3 feet above, with a fan to blow the dust away. OUTDOORS is best but you know your situation best. About three "pours" reduced the dust a lot. Or was it five?

Then there was putting the media in a cloth bag and rinsing the h-e-double hockey sticks out of it. Tedious, quite effective. Drying the stuff was a drag. Low heat in the oven on two cookie sheets is best. Out in the summer desert sun at anything less that 20% humidity is slower, more "natural" like with raisins, but you gotta watch out for the wind picking up.

I'm sure that someone is about to invent some $500 machine to do it thoroughly and in an hour or two, unattended and you either do it outdoors or with a dryer-style vent.

Right now, with a new batch of ground walnut shells, I'm just living with the dust.

GrumpyOldMan wrote:I haven't noticed any significant dust pickup from used dryer sheets. And I tried. Wanted it to work.

Tried pouring the media out into a box from 2-3 feet above, with a fan to blow the dust away. OUTDOORS is best but you know your situation best. About three "pours" reduced the dust a lot. Or was it five?

Then there was putting the media in a cloth bag and rinsing the h-e-double hockey sticks out of it. Tedious, quite effective. Drying the stuff was a drag. Low heat in the oven on two cookie sheets is best. Out in the summer desert sun at anything less that 20% humidity is slower, more "natural" like with raisins, but you gotta watch out for the wind picking up.

I'm sure that someone is about to invent some $500 machine to do it thoroughly and in an hour or two, unattended and you either do it outdoors or with a dryer-style vent.

Right now, with a new batch of ground walnut shells, I'm just living with the dust.

I am really surprised you didn't get results with the dryer sheets.  I only use Lyman Corn Cob Media which is treated with some sort of green chemical and my dryer sheets come out filthy with dust and have a heavy green tint to them.  When I dump the hopper, I don't get much of a dust cloud either so I'm convinced it's working.  Maybe there is a difference when using the walnut shells.  Makes you wonder anyways.

John

Wet tumbling creates zero dust and the media lasts forever.

When I've put dryer sheets or paper towels in, they get dirty, but there's still dust on top of the machine (and I assume the surrounding driveway) after an hour or two. My tumbler has the vented top, so it's probably worse than those with closed tops.

update;

The lid to my tumbler is somewhat hogged out by the mounting screw, so I undid all the screws and washers holding the lid on and stuck the shop vac over the opening with the tumbler running.  It helped some.

I rarely use walnut anymore... Corn works well enough for me, and there seems to be less dust.

Plus, I use the Dillon polishing goop, which also helps.

Does anyone but me using chemical cleaning? For me, quick soak in cleaner followed by rinse and dry in dryer tied in towel is pretty efficient and cases are pretty.

Olde Pilot wrote:chemical cleaning?

 
What kind of chemical?

Iosso cartridge case liquid cleaner. Or better even is Birchwood Casey concentrated liquid mixed with tap water. Done in 3 minutes. Both usually available on Amazon, Brownell's, etc. Dryer tumbling in towel polishes brass nicely. I don't add any polish.