Enjoying a cup of coffee while handloading !!

[dogdoc]

Just brewed a delicious cup of strong coffee and am headed to my shop to load some cast 158 grain swc 357 mags. I know, I know I am breaking all the rules and am at risk of death from lead poisoning but I do have a covered thermos cup and am careful not to touch the drinking area when I imbibe. Anybody else have this bad habit and willing to admit it??�� I remember some old handloading ads that had a steaming cup next to the press lol.i guess there are worse proclivities

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I do the same, if it's in the morning. That's why mugs have handles. :D

DG

[2TM101]

Just brewed a delicious cup of strong coffee and am headed to my shop to load some cast 158 grain swc 357 mags. I know, I know I am breaking all the rules and am at risk of death from lead poisoning but I do have a covered thermos cup and am careful not to touch the drinking area when I imbibe. Anybody else have this bad habit and willing to admit it??�� I remember some old handloading ads that had a steaming cup next to the press lol.i guess there are worse proclivities

I powdercoat everything for cartridge guns. No mess, no lube - and no exposure to lead. I wear gloves and a respirator when casting - still wear gloves when powder coating. Once that is done its safe, so I also drink coffee when reloading. I even make my coffee in a Keuring using refillable pods with coffee I ground myself - so thats reloading too.

[Barry54]

326084

This is my current favorite until someone gets me a Vihtavuori one.

I’m not too worried about lead exposure. According to Richard Lee dust from dry tumbling brass is the biggest culprit. I wet tumble now.
Spent primers drop down a tube on the bottom of the ram and directly into a trash bag with a rubber band holding it in place. I shoot outdoors.
Blood level was barely measurable a couple of years ago.

[charlie b]

I am a soda jerk so a can is always around (unless I am around a pot of melted lead).

[cwtebay]

I run my blood work once a month and do lead levels once a year. I cast more than most but less than some. I drink coffee and chew Copenhagen the entire time I cast.
Been casting for a shade shy of the past 5 decades and I don't pop up with anything. Betting the caffeine and nicotine kill me before the Pb

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[Kennibear]

I don't normally stick my fingers into my coffee since I gave up cookies for Keto. I cannot think of how you cross contaminate the coffee with the lead from your fingers. Most lead poisoning is from paint or coatings (think red lead primer) and really went down in the environment when they took the tetraethylead out of gasoline.
I wouldn't eat anything like finger foods as that would pick up lead for sure. But no coffee? Shoot me now!

KB

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[JimB..]

I generally have a beverage at hand, coffee in the morning, water in the afternoon.

Other bad habits, I anneal plinking rifle brass and I roll size pistol brass. Oh, and I seem to have an affinity for less popular calibers, excepting 45GAP, 357sig, and 40S&W all of which I dodged.

[WRideout]

Coffee and reloading makes life worth living.

Wayne

[Half Dog]

I watch the birds and squirrels eat while I drink a cup in the mornings. I get up early and this lets the wife sleep in.

[gns4me]

Wife say it seems like I've been cutting down on coffee. Don't know, but always enjoy a good cup or pot. Coffee and water are drink staples when doing anything!!!!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I don't eat or drink while reloading or casting. But I'm not gonna tell someone else what to do or what not to do. I like having a reason to take a coffee break, wash the hands, and have a snack.

[murf205]

I tried drinking something while loading but had to stop. I would get busy and the coffee got cold and the beer got warm!

[Froogal]

The coffee is usually gone BEFORE I go to the reloading bench, but there is always a bottle of water within easy reach.

Everything I have ever done to earn a living required me to get my hands dirty so why would I be concerned about a little passive lead exposure?

[Larry Gibson]

I don't normally stick my fingers into my coffee since I gave up cookies for Keto. I cannot think of how you cross contaminate the coffee with the lead from your fingers. Most lead poisoning is from paint or coatings (think red lead primer) and really went down in the environment when they took the tetraethylead out of gasoline.
I wouldn't eat anything like finger foods as that would pick up lead for sure. But no coffee? Shoot me now!

KB

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Exactly......

Unless you inhale or ingest the lead residue off your fingers you won't get lead poisoning from handling cast bullets when reloading them or from handling the cartridges after loading.

[lightman]

I do the same thing except that I usually switch over to beer in the afternoon. I don't drink when I'm charging cases but I will have a beer or two while casting or doing case prep. I also like to have a cup while sitting in the loading room looking out of the window and watching the birds and squirrels.

[dogdoc]

Glad to know I am not the only one who lives life on the edge lol.

[Hillbillyhunter]

Coffee, iced tea, or a glass of water is almost always within arms reach when I'm loading. Not on the bench, but not far away either.

[Bull]

Black coffee in the morning, water the rest of the day. Always have a cup close by while I am doing anything.

[Shiloh]

Your fine. Don't stir with your fingers.
Shiloh

[405grain]

Two things: First "engineers coffee". That's coffee with the aspirin already in it. (to be used only when coming up with last minute solutions to impossible problems)
Second coffee rule: A properly proportioned coffee mug should be able to hold half a pot of coffee. :smile:

[Three44s]

Exactly......

Unless you inhale or ingest the lead residue off your fingers you won't get lead poisoning from handling cast bullets when reloading them or from handling the cartridges after loading.

After I read about the hazards of lead ingestion, I quit lickin' my grubby fingers whilst hand loading and related activities and I figure I am off the hook now.

Three44s

[Minerat]

I tried drinking something while loading but had to stop. I would get busy and the coffee got cold and the beer got warm!

Me too. I then forget the cup and find it days later when I go back to load the next time.

[2TM101]

Just last night I had coffee while reloading - knocked over the cup all over the table and into a tray full of unprimed brass. So...no irreversible damage, just a big mess.

[whisler]

I judge the size of my coffee mug using my fist. If I can get my fist in it, it's big enough.