Jay77
NES Member
I plan on it. Alex is a great help but he’s been tied up playing soccer so he’s been a bit busy.
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Nope. Better give them to me.
Terminals - Yes
Most ends are zinc well at least all the ones I have put on over the past 20 years
Those would be mine and thank you so much. That enfield I incorrectly measured at .313. PM inbound.Got time to print out some caliper and micrometer adapters to measure 5 groove bullets
Don't remember exactly who it was who left their slugs for measurement but here is the info
Bullet 1 (TC) - 0.309 (.3091)
Bullet 2 - 0.310 (.3096)
Bullet 3 - 0.354 (.3537)
So sizing to 0.311 and .355/.356 is good
PM me and I'll send your slugs with a couple of adapters
I’ll test them as we melt them. My buddy has been doing great starting to source lead. That bucket is about 30 pounds of free lead.Most ends are zinc well at least all the ones I have put on over the past 20 years
Like an idiot I just publish the first number I gotThose would be mine and thank you so much. That enfield I incorrectly measured at .313. PM inbound.
Nice work. Not that surprised other than the 354” that sure does seem tight! That’s what you get with new S&W barrels. They probably use the same for 38/357 and 9mm to save a buck.Like an idiot I just publish the first number I got
Took a bunch of measurements and averaged them tossing out the outlier - ramming the bullet through the bore isn't going to be perfectly symmetrical and it is hard to get the grooves well aligned
Bullet 1 (TC)
0.3091 0.311
0.311
0.3115
0.3112
Bullet 2 -
0.3096 0.314
0.3141
0.3146
0.3141
Bullet 3 -
0.3537 0.354
0.3535
0.3535
0.3538
3 coats of hi-tek and sized to .452. Loaded up some test loads with Unique: 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5gr. 4.5 was from Speer and 6.5 was from Lyman. Will see how they do.Nice!
I seat deep enough so the roll crimp follows the curvature of the ball.
I prefer to coat them. Alox works but seeing as you usually have very little bearing surface they can have little neck tension and the powder burns erratic.
I get better results with single ball loads alox lubed if I start larger and size down. Like a .451” sized to .430” so it has some bearing surface to give neck tension. That shoots well as a single ball with alox.
Looking good!!!3 coats of hi-tek and sized to .452. Loaded up some test loads with Unique: 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5gr. 4.5 was from Speer and 6.5 was from Lyman. Will see how they do.
View attachment 532339
Yes if you have good control over heat then that will help.I’ll test them as we melt them. My buddy has been doing great starting to source lead. That bucket is about 30 pounds of free lead.
Make a split dowel sanding rod. Wrap with 400 grit paper and spin that sucker in a drill.Okay. Pastera measurements are really helpful and helps to explain the leading a bit. .312 through a .314 bore. I have a .314 sizer but I don’t think I have anything bigger. Could I get away with sizing to .314?
Okay. Pastera measurements are really helpful and helps to explain the leading a bit. .312 through a .314 bore. I have a .314 sizer but I don’t think I have anything bigger. Could I get away with sizing to .314?
I run a 314299 lyman as dropped and its around .3145-.315 depending on alloy in my 303 .... I usually run straight clip on wheel weight alloy.Okay. Pastera measurements are really helpful and helps to explain the leading a bit. .312 through a .314 bore. I have a .314 sizer but I don’t think I have anything bigger. Could I get away with sizing to .314?
yes thats like plasma cutting the bullet really well, lolOkay. Pastera measurements are really helpful and helps to explain the leading a bit. .312 through a .314 bore. I have a .314 sizer but I don’t think I have anything bigger. Could I get away with sizing to .314?
What are the bullets dropping at?Okay. Pastera measurements are really helpful and helps to explain the leading a bit. .312 through a .314 bore. I have a .314 sizer but I don’t think I have anything bigger. Could I get away with sizing to .314?
Nailed it!!That mold is dropping them at .312 so I’ll be forced to get another mold. Did some coating testing last night..
View attachment 532840
13-15 mins looked good. A little bit of color came off the 12 min…. The yellow was from the work glove.
Smelted these down with some range lead this morning. As an FYI, don't add your old skimmings/dross from past sessions thinking that THIS TIME you can smoosh the dirt out and reclaim more lead and tin. @Michael J. Spangler makes it look easy and I thought I figured it it out this last seminar. Nope!Not a lot but it is all lead WW... now. 1/2 of 5 gal bucket and only 1/3 was lead.
View attachment 527483
So that ring the pot sits on helps to keep the heat directed at the pot I assume?Smelted these down with some range lead this morning. As an FYI, don't add your old skimmings/dross from past sessions thinking that THIS TIME you can smoosh the dirt out and reclaim more lead and tin. @Michael J. Spangler makes it look easy and I thought I figured it it out this last seminar. Nope!
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