For those using a tumbler to coat for PC

[asmith80]

If you use a vibratory tumbler to coat your boolits in PC, how are you doing it? Just throwing them in there with some powder and letting it run? Putting the boolits and powder in containers and then putting them in the tumbler? Using ziplock bags?

[earlmck]

I just put in a batch of boolits, spoon in plenty of powder, and let 'er rip for 20 minutes or so. I suppose there are more sophisticated methods?

[Grmps]

the cleanest way is to get #5 plastic bowls (square is OK) fill 2/3 with boolits, toss some powder on top and tape them closed or secure with snap locks, screw top or?
then run 15 - so min.
I've filled freezer bags and tossed some powder in then double bagged. You can do multiple colors at one time

[Hossfly]

I just put them in old Lyman vibrator with color I want for 20 min. And they’re usually done. Kind of messy when have a leak. Freezer bag sounds like good idea. May try that for clean up and color change.

[Herb3]

I use an old Hornady tumbler and I just put about 150 boolits and some powder and let it run while baking a batch. Dump the boolits and powder into a tray, shake the excess powder off, dump the powder and more boolits in the tumbler for the next batch.

[asmith80]

I gave that a try yesterday and I was getting really thin coatings, that didn't look too good. The boolits were coated completely, just the color was splotchy. Maybe I didn't leave it run long enough or had too little powder in. I'm going to try them in some containers next and see if that does anything different

[farmerjim]

I do it in high humidity Louisiana for about 10 seconds by hand in a Rubbermaid #5 bowl with black airsoft BB's. Sometimes there is so much powder on them that I have to tap them to get some off. What are you doing to make it take 19 minutes and 50 seconds longer than a hand shake?
I do use Smokes powder, but I got OK results with HF red, just not as good.

[asmith80]

I use the hand tumble method as well, I just have an extra tumbler and was looking to to see how well it would work as a dedicated PC tumbler

[farmerjim]

I don't mean to criticize those that use a tumbler. You do what it takes to work for you. There are many here that get HF red to work great for them, It doesn't for me. I have found that the up and down shake puts more of the powder on the boolits than the swirl. Do what ever works for you. One should never argue with success.

[cwlongshot]

I don't mean to criticize those that use a tumbler. You do what it takes to work for you. There are many here that get HF red to work great for them, It doesn't for me. I have found that the up and down shake puts more of the powder on the boolits than the swirl. Do what ever works for you. One should never argue with success.

I thought it was just me...

I use shake n bake and agree with you... why the tumbler takes so long.

CW

[Herb3]

I am sure I can get away with a lot less time tumbling I just leave them going while I have a batch baking.

When I start a coating session I'll get my oven going to get it up to temp. Then throw some boolits and powder in the tumbler and let these go until my oven is up to around 350. I'll dump the first batch into a basket, shake off the excess powder and put it in the oven for twenty minutes. Dump the excess powder and another 150 bullets in the tumbler start it up and let it go for about 15 minutes. Dump these in another basket, shake off excess powder, pull the first batch out of the oven and start the next one baking. I'll keep this going until I run out of boolits.

This is what works for me and I will even start sizing the boolits once the first batch is cool enough to handle so that I am always doing something productive while I have a batch tumbling and a batch baking.

[Lloyd Smale]

same here. When I first did it I added plastic bbs and then tried buckshot and found it didn't help a thing. a good amount of powder and 15-30 minutes and there good to go.

I just put in a batch of boolits, spoon in plenty of powder, and let 'er rip for 20 minutes or so. I suppose there are more sophisticated methods?

[Dragonheart]

I tried my big Dillon tumbler back in 2012 and it worked, but the vibration was too aggressive for PC in my opinion. The old cool whip method works, but just didn't put out the quantity of bullets I needed for the effort involved. So I built my own tumbler just for PC. To construct I used a #5 plastic 5 gallon painter's bucket, a small vibrating tumbler, some scrap plywood, a couple of 3/8" all threads, nuts and some scrap sheetmetal for brackets. I tumble 300+ bullets at a time. I can adjust the amount of vibration by tightening the supporting brackets. As far as high humidity it just doesn't get much worse than the Gulf Coast and my system works. Here is the end result.
Attachment 223410Attachment 223411

[bangerjim]

Remember - - - a vibratory tumbler will scuff off Pb in the powder and darken it. And make Pb particles airborne for you to breath when you are messing with them. Not good.

I would NEVER EVER use a tumbler for coating. Way to easy to use a #5 container and 20-30 seconds of shaking up and down!

Hey............we ALL need the exercise!!!!!!!!

Or............ESPC..............my now-favorite way of getting perfect coats every time - every powder, even with HF matte black!!!!

Do whatever works for your needs. Just be sure, if you are using a vibrator for coatings, to have your lead levels checked regularly!!!!!!

banger

[Advil]

You have any proof or evidence of any kind for that statement? It's not like we're putting abrasive media in the tumbler. And it's running for 5-10 minutes. Just how much scouring are you imagining? In tumble cleaning of fired brass the worry is the residual powdered lead styphnate from the primer compound. Freshly cast bullets being coated don't even have a decent oxide layer built up.

[bangerjim]

I tried tumbler coating (20-30 minutes as others had tired) early on during our development of viable coating processes on here. The white, red, and yellow colors I used ended up significiently darker that doing 20 seconds of shaking. It was from the Pb sluffing off. And that Pb will be in the powder dust you might breath when processing the boolits. And the Pb will build up with incremental coats.

It has NOTHING to do with PbO2. It is the elemental Pb comming off in a powdered state from the severe banging around for 20+ minutes in the vibrator. Do what you want and breath what you want!

Proof enough for me!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bangerjim

[Advil]

Ok. I understand what you saw. We havn't seen a notable change in powder color even after many tens of thousands through the tumbler.

But we aren't tumbling anywhere near 20+ minutes, more like 5-6. And 2 would probably do it.

Plus a box filter does run on the workbench next to the tumbler. We don't want to breathe the powder dust one way or the other.

You have my interest though. Maybe we will run a couple of torture tests and see if we can replicate your results. If there is a point where the lead starts to break down it would be good to know.

[Lloyd Smale]

I tumble all the time. Never saw a bullet get darker tumbling it longer and by the way I tumble for 15 minutes to a half hour depending on how much of a hurry im in or what else im doing at that time. . I also don't stick my face right over my tumbler and suck in paint dust. When I powder coat I put the tumbler outside the garage and let it do its thing. I guess if I was worried about that id either put a cover on the tumbler or wear a respirator. If I was that paranoid id probably do the same when taking the lid off a plastic container I shook the bullets in and I surely wouldn't touch lead bullets without gloves on and id surely not bake my bullets indoors where the paint fumes could cause trouble. Show me one scientific study that proves it. Or is this just an opinion? If I was that nervous about it id quit casting altogether and shoot jacketed bullets. Id probably be a vegetarian too and wear a respirator in public and carry a bottle of hand sanitizer with me everywhere.

[10sandxs]

I use a tumbler with the following attached.

https://m.uline.com/h5/r/www.uline.c...Lid-125-Gallon

It's pretty clean untill you dump the bullets, then you get the normal amount of dust, depending on care taken. There are more elegant ways, but I simply drilled a 1/4" hole in the bottom center of the bucket and used the stud that held on the bowl. You have to buy in packs of 5, but that's just 5 color changes for me. Simply tape the hole shut and your ready to store.

I tumble for 3-5 minutes only and have great coverage using prismatic or powder by the pound nonmetallic powders.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Dragonheart]

Being a federal & state certified lead risk assessor, now retired, I will state a know fact; anytime there is friction on a surface containing lead the possibility of generating a lead dust hazard is highly probable. This is the reason I have posted many warnings on this site, most of which I would assume are ignored, as to the hazards of our hobby.

As far as the tumbling vs shaking to PC lead bullets I think I can safely say there is no empirical data on the subject. But personally, I can not see an increased hazard using a tumbler to generate one large batch vs shaking numerous batches of lead bullets by hand. As far as a lead dust in my tumbling process I have never analyzed the residual powder, but I would assume there is lead dust in the powder regardless of which method used. Spraying would not generate lead dust, but the airborne powder generates another type of hazard.

In my photos of my homemade tumbler, I did not show the lids to my buckets. I simply use the factory lid for the painter's bucket, which seals in everything during the process. The only time I tumble for 20 minutes is if I get busy doing something else, typically my 300+ bullets are ready in minutes. Additionally, a benefit of my homemade tumbler is I can adjust the amount of vibration so the action is not as violent as a regular tumbler or shaking by hand for that matter. Since the powder is immediately attracted to the lead I do not see lead coming off and discoloring the powder. In fact the tumbling is actually vibrating powder against powder.

I think a lead dust hazard of one coating process vs another is pretty much moot point since the hazards of the casting process many times outweigh the possible hazard of lead dust remaining in residual powder.