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Oldgringo wrote: 1. I usually tumble the primed shells and never had a problem with detonation yet. It may be days or weeks before I charge the cleaned, belled and primed shells. Are you not supposed to do this?...
...Tell me if I'm doing it wrong, please.

Wrong is a subjective term. I don't do it because:
A. I don't want dirty/gritty brass going through my dies.
B. I don't see the point in priming and then tumbling...would encompass extra steps, but then I have a progressive reloader.
C. There's no telling what effect the crazy concoction of Turtle Wax Liquid Clay Polish and Formula 1 spray cleaning wax I mix with my tumbling media would have on the primers.

If you're having no problems with your method and have been doing it for a long time, who am I to tell you it's wrong?

Sombody else should tell you that...

george wrote: If vibrating breaks down the powder, then I suppose carrying it around in my car on a bumpy road would be just as bad.

A trip in your pocket or the back of the car even on the bumpiest of roads is nowhere near as consistently violent as a vibratory tumbler, so no, not anywhere close to as bad. But back in my early days of reloading when I couldn't afford a tumbler I used to throw all my brass in a five gallon bucket full of pecan shells, put the lid on it and let it roll around in the pickup bed for a couple of weeks. Did a pretty good job.

There are lots of folks out there that have done it for years and never noticed a problem. I'm just not going to take a chance.

And on every reloading forum I can find, there's a similar thread with half the folks saying it's perfectly safe and half (like me) saying it's dangerous. I do have a piece of paper at home that came with my tumbler that says NEVER tumble loaded ammo.

Then again, I've been filling my gas tank for thirty years with the engine running...and all the pumps say NEVER do that.

I've seen a thread at HR discussing Winchester NT brass, and the rumor is that large pistol primers do not fit...I have no idea if that's true or not.

And while we're talking about tumbling: Sooner or later someone is going to ask the recurring question: Is it safe to tumble loaded cartridges? I recently saw a YouTube video where an idiot actually recommended tumbling finished ammo to remove Alox lube from the exposed portion of the bullets.

The answer is no! You should NEVER tumble loaded ammo. The reason is not necessarily because a round might go off, but because tumbling will cause the powder to break up into even smaller bits, thus causing it to have a significantly faster burn rate. That makes it dangerous, obviously.

Best thing to do is follow the equipment manufacturer's instructions and don't go experimenting until you have amassed a lot of knowledge and experience...and even then make sure your life and medical insurance is up to date.