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Littleton Shotmaker
- Thread starter coastie
- Start date
I haven't personally used them but don't you just need to put dead soft (or close) lead in the pan and have something to catch the drips like an ammo can filled with antifreeze? Also I've heard that if you can help it not to allow the level of the lead to fall below the nipple too often, it can carry debris through and potentially clog it. (again just what I've heard)
BTW I'm jealous
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It is an older one with six drippers and it is a little beat up. I might to fire it up Sat night after drill. Will pick up some antifreeze tomorrow. Looks pretty easy. It has always been hard for me to justify loading shot as the shot is so expensive.
It was a heck of a deal. Saw it in a cart at KTP. Asked how much and the guy said 25. Grabbed it as fast as I could.
It was a heck of a deal. Saw it in a cart at KTP. Asked how much and the guy said 25. Grabbed it as fast as I could.
great price. I have a bit here on NES about my jim stewart shot maker. Same idea. You tube has a lot. Also try trapshooters.com try a search on scottk screen name. ? I have some links later.
I made up about 400lbs of good shot before my twins came ! now I hardly shoot for now.
link may or may not work.....some of the better videos out there. http://www.trapshooters.com/default.cfm
You dont want pure lead it doesnt drop well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQKlv1mQzD4&feature=player_embedded heres my very simple set up.
For what ever reason you cant link to trapshooters.com you have to send the links in email ? Send me a PM with email and Ill send you the video just about every other shotmaker vid is linked to mine on you tube.
http://www.trapshooters.com/noframes/cfpages/message_archive.cfm?messageid=974023 heres a shot maker I got from a older gent....its never been used. Claims 15+lbs hour uses a short gas tank and tourch head....
http://www.trapshooters.com/noframes/cfpages/thread_archive.cfm?threadid=201209 ahhh got it to work. Some videos are missing now. plenty of info here. Getting a good supply of lead wheel weights is the hardest part.
I had several sources when I started shot making. Now either the shops cash them in or have gone to non lead wheelweights and seeing very few now in return. We do about 60 tires a month at our shop. I get all the wheel weights. 4 years ago I was getting about 75% lead wheel weights in a 3 gallon bucket. (what we use for the oldafter that it gets to heavy) 25 iron/zinc/other. Now its close to 50/50 seeing a lot of iron WWs and also plastic. New wheel balancer technology has decreased the amount of balance weight a lot. With our new machine average good tire takes about 2 oz as old machine might have used 5.
PM me if you have anything I might help you with
I made up about 400lbs of good shot before my twins came ! now I hardly shoot for now.
link may or may not work.....some of the better videos out there. http://www.trapshooters.com/default.cfm
You dont want pure lead it doesnt drop well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQKlv1mQzD4&feature=player_embedded heres my very simple set up.
For what ever reason you cant link to trapshooters.com you have to send the links in email ? Send me a PM with email and Ill send you the video just about every other shotmaker vid is linked to mine on you tube.
http://www.trapshooters.com/noframes/cfpages/message_archive.cfm?messageid=974023 heres a shot maker I got from a older gent....its never been used. Claims 15+lbs hour uses a short gas tank and tourch head....
http://www.trapshooters.com/noframes/cfpages/thread_archive.cfm?threadid=201209 ahhh got it to work. Some videos are missing now. plenty of info here. Getting a good supply of lead wheel weights is the hardest part.
I had several sources when I started shot making. Now either the shops cash them in or have gone to non lead wheelweights and seeing very few now in return. We do about 60 tires a month at our shop. I get all the wheel weights. 4 years ago I was getting about 75% lead wheel weights in a 3 gallon bucket. (what we use for the oldafter that it gets to heavy) 25 iron/zinc/other. Now its close to 50/50 seeing a lot of iron WWs and also plastic. New wheel balancer technology has decreased the amount of balance weight a lot. With our new machine average good tire takes about 2 oz as old machine might have used 5.
PM me if you have anything I might help you with
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From what I've heard about the company the owner will offer as much help as you can handle making the thing work right. Is the shot dropped into anti-freeze? I would think you'd want to use the non toxic type. Why can't chilled water be used?
I tried buying just drippers from magma engineering-maker of the littleton, painful
Jim Stewart of The Better Shotmaker was very good to deal with. I bought a used one off of lord1234 here on nes
not sure of the science of it.
Water doesnt work well, I tried. Shot has a popcorn affect when it hits the water.
Un deluted anti freeze has worked best for me
Fabric softner works well also, I find it a bit more messy .
Jim Stewart of The Better Shotmaker was very good to deal with. I bought a used one off of lord1234 here on nes
not sure of the science of it.
Water doesnt work well, I tried. Shot has a popcorn affect when it hits the water.
Un deluted anti freeze has worked best for me
Fabric softner works well also, I find it a bit more messy .
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I made one last summer.
When the lead gets molten, tap on the edge of the shotmaker to get the drips to start dripping.
I find that I can run any clean ingots, regardless of how much lead. Just don't put un-cleaned wheelweights in the tray. That would horribly clog the holes.
Mine is 4 holes, and makes a whopping 10 pounds per hour. It's relatively un-attended however, so I can be smelting at the same time.
I ladle the clean stuff from my smelter, and right into the shot maker.
You also should keep the level of melted lead pretty high (close to the top edge). The weight of the lead helps push the lead through the holes.
Rub soapstone (welders shop) on the drip edge to keep the balls of lead rolling.
Keep the cooling liquid (undiluted fabric softener from the dollar store) as warm as possible to get better round balls and avoid the popcorn effect. The water level should be about 1/4" below the edge of the drip iron. (the angle iron looking part) IN other words, you cool it immediately as it rolls off the edge.
buy.com sells some micro drill bits that can be used to produce your own shot drippers:
http://www.buy.com/prod/mini-micro-drill-bit-set-61-80-swivel-pin-vise-combo/225198290.html
When the lead gets molten, tap on the edge of the shotmaker to get the drips to start dripping.
I find that I can run any clean ingots, regardless of how much lead. Just don't put un-cleaned wheelweights in the tray. That would horribly clog the holes.
Mine is 4 holes, and makes a whopping 10 pounds per hour. It's relatively un-attended however, so I can be smelting at the same time.
I ladle the clean stuff from my smelter, and right into the shot maker.
You also should keep the level of melted lead pretty high (close to the top edge). The weight of the lead helps push the lead through the holes.
Rub soapstone (welders shop) on the drip edge to keep the balls of lead rolling.
Keep the cooling liquid (undiluted fabric softener from the dollar store) as warm as possible to get better round balls and avoid the popcorn effect. The water level should be about 1/4" below the edge of the drip iron. (the angle iron looking part) IN other words, you cool it immediately as it rolls off the edge.
buy.com sells some micro drill bits that can be used to produce your own shot drippers:
http://www.buy.com/prod/mini-micro-drill-bit-set-61-80-swivel-pin-vise-combo/225198290.html
Duke, you have plans for the shotmaker? I can make everything metal but the electrical/heating part I really don't know much about. Guesswork usually costs too much!
Well, I made some decisions about heat that were based on observations of existing products.
It was very obvious that one of the shot maker producers was using a "HOT PLATE", and the brand name was spot on (exact match). Proctor-Silex.
However, the normal 1000 watts output (less than a hair dryer!) of the standard model wasn't enough heat to make the unit serviceable. I only paid $20 for the hot plate, and so didn't get too upset to destroy it trying to make the temperature control get hotter. I ended up tossing that out, opting for heating the shotmaker with my propane burner.
The shot maker itelf was welded up from a piece of plate steel (1/4" thick) and some angle iron I had. I had to do some adjusting on the angle of the drip edge to get that right. And, I found that the drippers had to be right at the bottom of the plate to get enough heat and to allow the head pressure of the lead to assist with pushing the lead out.
I'd also suggest that you re-visit this thread for more details:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=122566
The guy who sold me the drippers ($10 a for a set!) is selling shot makers on eBay:
His listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AFFORDABLE-...-HR-MAKE-LEAD-SHOT-SEEN-YOUTUBE-/110763588929
Look closely at his youtube videos, and notice the heater he's using.
It was very obvious that one of the shot maker producers was using a "HOT PLATE", and the brand name was spot on (exact match). Proctor-Silex.
However, the normal 1000 watts output (less than a hair dryer!) of the standard model wasn't enough heat to make the unit serviceable. I only paid $20 for the hot plate, and so didn't get too upset to destroy it trying to make the temperature control get hotter. I ended up tossing that out, opting for heating the shotmaker with my propane burner.
The shot maker itelf was welded up from a piece of plate steel (1/4" thick) and some angle iron I had. I had to do some adjusting on the angle of the drip edge to get that right. And, I found that the drippers had to be right at the bottom of the plate to get enough heat and to allow the head pressure of the lead to assist with pushing the lead out.
I'd also suggest that you re-visit this thread for more details:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=122566
The guy who sold me the drippers ($10 a for a set!) is selling shot makers on eBay:
His listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AFFORDABLE-...-HR-MAKE-LEAD-SHOT-SEEN-YOUTUBE-/110763588929
Look closely at his youtube videos, and notice the heater he's using.
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The section of the Magma instructions, showing the details of the drip edge, are important.
You want the top edge of the drip plate to be a sharp edge.
Standard angle iron (for those who want to make their own) has a rounded over edge, like the third example.
Take a file or grinder and make that top edge sharp, as shown in the second drawing.
That was the detail that made mine work perfectly.
BTW, I have some plate stock, but no angle iron, if anyone wants to make a few of these. I bet I have enough material to make about 5-6.
You'd have to pick up. Too heavy/long (3 feet long) to ship, and I no longer have any way to cut the pieces.
You want the top edge of the drip plate to be a sharp edge.
Standard angle iron (for those who want to make their own) has a rounded over edge, like the third example.
Take a file or grinder and make that top edge sharp, as shown in the second drawing.
That was the detail that made mine work perfectly.
BTW, I have some plate stock, but no angle iron, if anyone wants to make a few of these. I bet I have enough material to make about 5-6.
You'd have to pick up. Too heavy/long (3 feet long) to ship, and I no longer have any way to cut the pieces.
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