[rogn]

If you are using a bag type vacuum and work with small volumes of powder and dont pick days of low humidity you probably will have no issues. I keep fire extinguishers in several places around the house, but thats never a bad idea. Carpeting compounds the issue but getting the bulk of it out is a good idea. Ive never seen any problems in doing this. Be sure to empty the darn vacuum promptly. A dusting of graphite would be good insurance against static electric.

 

[DWB57]

I

Has anyone tried one of those bearing kits on an RL550? I find the shell plate sticking occasionally, and then if not careful, when it finally moves, it can bump some powder out of the case as it moves from station 2 to 3. I suspect the proper fix is to just remove the shell plate a little more often and clean it and the top of the ram.

I don't do it this way but I guess you could put the bullet on at station two after the down stroke before turning it.

 

[Gary W]

Thanks good advice

If you are using a bag type vacuum and work with small volumes of powder and dont pick days of low humidity you probably will have no issues. I keep fire extinguishers in several places around the house, but thats never a bad idea. Carpeting compounds the issue but getting the bulk of it out is a good idea. Ive never seen any problems in doing this. Be sure to empty the darn vacuum promptly. A dusting of graphite would be good insurance against static electric.

 

[njl]

I

I don't do it this way but I guess you could put the bullet on at station two after the down stroke before turning it.

I don't do that either. I've tried it, and find it awkward. Also, when loading coated bullets, I think it'd be a bad idea. Those need to be seated relatively straight, and the same bump that can knock powder out of the case I suspect could affect how the bullet sits.

 

[Taterhead]

A few kernels spilled on the bench, dry rag is used to scoot the kernals onto the trash. I once spilled an entire bottle of Retumbo. It was on the top shelf of the closet. Bumped it and it fell. That was more than the lid could stand so extruded kernals scattered every possible direction. Broom and dust pan, then sprinkled onto the lawn.

I don't like the idea of canned air. Just don't like the thought of unnecessarily scattering gun powder thoughout the room. I keep an inexpensive set of craft brushes of various sizes that I use to clean small nooks and crannies of powder (like priming assembly and under the shell plate), then sweep those into the garbage.

Once in a while I'll use a broom and dust pan to tidy up the concrete floor around the bench. I never use a vacuum. I make it a practice to put everything away and clean my bench and presses after each use.

 

[unclebob]

I don't do that either. I've tried it, and find it awkward. Also, when loading coated bullets, I think it'd be a bad idea. Those need to be seated relatively straight, and the same bump that can knock powder out of the case I suspect could affect how the bullet sits.

https://www.doublealpha.biz/mr-bulletfeeder-powder-funnel
These really help. Also along with the Redding competition bullet seating die

 

[njl]

https://www.doublealpha.biz/mr-bulletfeeder-powder-funnel
These really help. Also along with the Redding competition bullet seating die

Enough to be worth $80 for a pair of funnels? At least they don't gouge for shipping.

 

[unclebob]

Enough to be worth $80 for a pair of funnels? At least they don't gouge for shipping.

I have 9mm and 45. And the Redding competition bullet seat.

 

[NAZG26]

I drove like a maniac when I was younger... still here. Does than mean it was safe?

Well, I guess I am wrong... just like the powder manufacturers who say a vacuum should not be used.

But why risk it when other methods are OK?

That is garbage. What is unsafe about it? Black powder yes. Live primers yes. Not modern smokeless powder. Static does not light it off. Please espouse to me how using a shop vac on smokeless powder is dangerous. Especially when it is a bypass design. Sprinkle some on a paper plate and light it. Common sense.

The lawyers made your firearm manufacturers state that you should NEVER carry the weapon loaded and always unload it for transport. Do you do that too?

 

[Noponer]

That is garbage. What is unsafe about it? Black powder yes. Live primers yes. Not modern smokeless powder. Static does not light it off. Please espouse to me how using a shop vac on smokeless powder is dangerous. Especially when it is a bypass design. Sprinkle some on a paper plate and light it. Common sense.

The lawyers made your firearm manufacturers state that you should NEVER carry the weapon loaded and always unload it for transport. Do you do that too?

Calm down, man!

OK - you win. :notworthy:

Do anything you want with your powder. I apologize for getting you so upset.

 

[Gary W]

I appreciate all the input very helpful. "A torch, bucket of water & a fire extinguisher should do it, ha just kidding"

Thanks again, I'll end this thread here.:flamingdrpep::drillsgt:

 

[picker.]

I appreciate all the input very helpful. "A torch, bucket of water & a fire extinguisher should do it, ha just kidding"

Thanks again, I'll end this thread here.:flamingdrpep::drillsgt:

You cranking em out Gary ?

 

[SteveTree]

Vacuum has an electric motor. Must have sparks and flashing going on somewhere in the machine. If a grain of powder gets by the foam filter- go boom. Same for vacuum and gasoline. Probably not a good idea to reload around carpeting. Tile floor or cement seems safer. I like the tape idea.

 

[Stevekozak]

A vacuum should never be used to clean up powder!!!

Cause we will all die? I guess I have been dead many times over, for many years. Doubtlessly, any state I have lived in is just a smoldering glass parking lot now.....

 

[CPotts]

Loading with a Dillon RL550C.

I use an old Kenmore canister vacuum cleaner. Uses a bag with a second foam filter on the fan intake. No way for the powder to get to the motor. Works great with a crevice tool to clean up the loading bench; standard head for the floor.

 

[unclebob]

Vacuum has an electric motor. Must have sparks and flashing going on somewhere in the machine. If a grain of powder gets by the foam filter- go boom. Same for vacuum and gasoline. Probably not a good idea to reload around carpeting. Tile floor or cement seems safer. I like the tape idea.

Put one or two grains of smokeless powder in a ashtray. Light a match and put it on top of the pile. Don’t worry it is not going to explode. When it finally starts burning it looks like sparklers you use on the 4th of July.

 

[Noponer]

Cause we will all die? I guess I have been dead many times over, for many years. Doubtlessly, any state I have lived in is just a smoldering glass parking lot now.....

Where did you get the idea that I was suggesting death or total destruction?

I guess burns or a missing eye is OK with you if you don't die.

People do foolish things every day & get away with it... like filling a gas tank while smoking. A few have not been so lucky.

 

[tcn4wpp]

I've been cleaning up powder spills with a vacuum cleaner for 49 years, and have never had a problem. MOST vacuums are designed so the turbine is sealed off from the motor, and the debris lands in the bag or canister, and never makes it anywhere near the motor.
I'm not talking about any major spill. Just the small amount that gets spilled if a case falls over, or that ends up on the shell plate as the press cycles during the loading of a thousand or more rounds.

 

[Noponer]

Put one or two grains of smokeless powder in a ashtray. Light a match and put it on top of the pile. Don’t worry it is not going to explode. When it finally starts burning it looks like sparklers you use on the 4th of July.

A pile of powder is fairly harmless & will not explode, but powder fluffed up & confined in a chamber of air is another thing.

Take a handful of sawdust & toss on a burning candle. Doesn't explode, but makes quite a flash. For that matter, even metal shavings will flash when tossed loosely on a flame. Why would nitrocellulose (or other type of powder) not flash if there is enough of it?

Bob - Going to the Dawsonville match this month?

 

[unclebob]

Smokeless powder does not explode it burns. Primers and black powder on the other hand are explosives. Those are not a good Idea to vacuum up. And can be set off with static electricity.
Gasoline and smokeless powder are two different things.