Getting rid of tumbler media dust

[brisb]

Hi all,

I haven't read anything about this elsewhere so not sure if I got a dud batch of tumbler medium etc. or if it's just a part of reloading to be dealt with...

Question is... I'm using a nut shell based tumbler media. I'm not 100% sure exactly what brand it is as a mate gave me some of his excess. He bought a 4kg bag of media and is only going through about 500g a year at this rate, ha. I think it's Lyman, but not 100% sure.

Anyway... As far as cleaning goes, the tumbler media does a great job. My brass comes out sparkly clean.

The problem is, as part of handling the brass, like holding it against the tumbler to vibrate out the media stuck on the inside and so on, I get caked in red dust from the media.

My fingers look like I've been doing pottery or something with clay buy the time I've emptied a hundred clean brass.

The dust is coming off the media as it rumbles around and breaks down I guess, but any times for managing this?

Thanks.

[Streamline]

Haven't done it myself, but I've read of people sifting their media over fly screen to shake out the finer particles of dust etc.

Give that a go?

[Streamline]

Also running the screen and media under the shower till the water runs clear is another one.

Give the media a day or two in the sun to dry out 100% and apparently that's pretty good too.

[Aster]

Also running the screen and media under the shower till the water runs clear is another one.

Give the media a day or two in the sun to dry out 100% and apparently that's pretty good too.

Interesting idea...

Definitely give it a few days to dry out thoroughly though.

Tumbling your brass with any moisture in it could be a recipe for disaster.

[Lorgar]

Sounds like the "tufnut" media if you're confident it's Lyman tumbler media.

Lots of red fingers after handling brass...

I've recently started putting 2 sheets of paper towel into my tumbler with the dirty brass - cut up into about 1" x 3" strips.

Only done it twice so far but each time the pieces of paper towel have come out with tonnes of dust rubbed into them, and has been better on the fingers each time.

Hopefully all the dust is gone with another 2-3 loads.

Give that a go.

[Blackened]

I've recently started putting 2 sheets of paper towel into my tumbler with the dirty brass - cut up into about 1" x 3" strips.

Only done it twice so far but each time the pieces of paper towel have come out with tonnes of dust rubbed into them, and has been better on the fingers each time.

Hopefully all the dust is gone with another 2-3 loads.

Give that a go.

Hmmm, interesting. I'm going to give that a go too.

[artimu]

Also running the screen and media under the shower till the water runs clear is another one.

Give the media a day or two in the sun to dry out 100% and apparently that's pretty good too.

That sounds like a pain in the ass :/

Rather just wash my hands once every few weeks...

[Norton]

Tumbler media is cheap.

Buy a small bag from another brand or two and try it out. Probably an easier way to solve your problems than showering with your media...

[Aster]

Buy a small bag from another brand or two and try it out. Probably an easier way to solve your problems than showering with your media...

You'd need to invest in a new rotary tumbler, but you could also look into stainless steel tumbler media.

No dust there...

[Lorgar]

Probably an easier way to solve your problems than showering with your media...

Sound like trading red fingers for red feet