Load workup results - Uberti 1858 with Round Ball and Conical

To date I have been using powder + cream of wheat filler directly on top, and seated the ball to compression. I still worried about the filler diluting the charge. This weekend I experimented with "wads" cut from gasket material punched out using a hole punch. You could also probably use manila folder material. I put this over the powder and under the filler. I did not notice much if any difference in accuracy.

I could see lubed wads making it downrange but I don't think a disk of paper will.

Steve
 
Rookie21 is right. I have had numerous lubed wads hit targets up to 20-25 yards away.

I use an dry cardboard over powder card on my BP .45 Colt loads and have even seen them hit a target 15-20 yes away. They are seated under a PRS big lube bullet and I wonder if they somehow stick to the base of the bullet for a while.
 
Manila paper or something thin enough to separate the filler and powder yet still burn up upon ignition or not have enough mass to act as a projectile would work fine to insure the filler not mixing with the powder but from a competitive stand point where things like this are crucial and there is no room for error or chance, I still see other competitors as well as myself, not putting anything in between the powder and filler. If your heart is set on finding a suitable material and practice then good luck and keep updating us. I'd love to hear about the test results. But honestly I don't feel it's a problem. Interesting to see if it helps with accuracy though with the idea that it could make the loads and its burn or how much powder truly gets burned more or less consistent by insuring no mixture. Next time I get a chance, I'll video my loading procedure for the revolver and post it.
 
They are seated under a PRS big lube bullet and I wonder if they somehow stick to the base of the bullet for a while.
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I could see that but if the paper wad is between the powder and the cornmeal I think it will just flutter away as the cornmeal disperses.

Steve
 
Rookie

After reading one of your post, I acquired a #1 arbore press and set it up to seat balls to a uniform depth. WOW, what an improvement, group size tightened up quite a bit. Thank you for sharing that.

My question is, how do you deal with the ring of lead that is shaved off of the ball and, on my press, ends up between the cylinder and the shoulder of the seating plunger ? I've been seating the ball part way, removing the ring, then seating all the way. Is there a better way to do this ?

Thanks for sharing,

Rich
 
No Rich sorry. I seat all five balls (competitively we're only allowed five loaded chambers of six at a time - safety rule I think) then I clear the lead rings away from either the face of the cylinder, press or both sometimes (depends on where the leads decides to stick to) and then I give all the balls a second push. The second push only pushes it down as far as the lead kept it from going but the idea is consistency. Get the balls seated all the same way every time.

My press was not an arbor press that was modified. A machinists years ago fabricated four of them and a friend of mine own two. The one I use is on loan to me from my friend. I believe the idea for the press was borrowed from an arbor press but my press did not start out as one.
 
My question is, how do you deal with the ring of lead that is shaved off of the ball and, on my press, ends up between the cylinder and the shoulder of the seating plunger ? I've been seating the ball part way, removing the ring, then seating all the way. Is there a better way to do this ?
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My loading stand does not have a positive stop that bottoms out on the cylinder face, so the lead ring just ends up choked around the plunger.

If you have one with a positive stop, the way to do it would be to machine a groove around the plunger portion of the piston that goes into the chamber. That groove will receive the lead ring and not stop the bottoming-out of the mechanical stop of the plunger. This will need to be picked out from time to time or it will build up until it fills the groove.

If you have a regular arbor press and you are just pushing a flat surface against the ball to seat it flush with the cylinder face, then you are just out of luck as you can't see where the ball is as you are pressing it. So just seat until shaved, raise the ram, remove the ring of lead, and seat again.

Steve
 
Rookie

I started with a "GREENERD No 1 ARBOR PRESS" that was a gift from a friend.

I turned the seating plunger from Delrin, it has a shoulder to limit it's travel, and a 5/16" dia. shaft that is inserted into the ram of the press and held with a set screw. I used a spherical stone from my Dremel Tool set to make a pocket on the end of my plunger, just chucked it in the tailstock of my lathe.

Next, I used a 3" X 4" piece of Delrin to form the base. The press had two drilled and tapped holes in its base so I used them to mount my Delrin base.

Then I turned the shank of a bolt to a diameter that would form an axel for the cylinder, threaded it then screwed it into a hole that I had drilled and tapped in the base.

The system works quite well, and as an extra, the Delrin is easier on the cylinder than metal would be.

Thanks for giving me the idea,
Rich
 
Instead of Delrin my end piece is brass. But the rest is metal. It's a wonderful idea design for a loading press. And the use of it shouldn't ever harm the press. Ought to last longer than any of us on this earth. Glad you like it and was able to get something made and working. Enjoy!
 
Here is my idea for a positive-stop ram with relief for lead shavings:

The cutout in the side is so that you can reach in with a pocket knife awl or whatever to pick out the lead rings down in the groove.

The groove gives the shavings a place to go without impeding the bottoming-out of the ram.

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Steve
 
I bet that would work! But one thing to keep in mind: the bigger the ball, the more lead you'll shave, leaving a lead ring either taller and/or wider. I'm speaking in regards to the 451, 454, and 547 family. So my caution would be to make the grove wide enough to except a heafty amount of width in the lead shaving to be sure nothing jams up.

But also another thought... And this may take testing to investigate, but if you make the end piece wide enough to have the grove and so on, then it may take up too much space on the face of the cylinder and you'll only be able to place one ball at a time at the mouth of each chamber. As my press is now, I set all five balls on top and seat and rotate and seat and rotate. I can get the gun loaded quicker this way and on a limited timed fire target time matters.

Those were my only two thoughts or concerns with the design. Testing would tell you how to go about those things. Otherwise I find it an interesting idea and if it works then I'd see its use welcomed on a competitive line easily. Nice work Steve! Very nice idea!
 
Yup, I suspect you could only load one ball at a time.

I tried setting balls on all the chamber mouths and then just rotating around and ramming but I find that jostling the cylinder causes the balls to roll around and knock the sprue off of its upward orientation. Of course if you use swaged balls this is not an issue. Pressing the balls slightly into the chamber mouth by hand might keep them from jumping around, too. I just gave up and now just ram them one at a time.

Also I think I'd modify the design to make the slot go all the way down the side - make it easier to zip a knife down it to cut the lead rings away from the mandrel so they will fall off easier.

Steve
 
Rich - seat deapth

Rich to be honest I have no clue how far they are being seated but I could measure with a micrometer and find out. Flush may or may not be ideal for those who try to achieve that. My set up pushes it several thousandths or a small fraction of an inch. This provides enough space for a good amount of bullet lube or grease. I actually use white lithium grease. But any deeper is unnecessary and harmful to accuracy. You want the shortest amount of jump possible with enough room for a good or proper amount of lube.
 
I seat mine nearly flush. But I control it by the amount of filler I put in over the powder. I've got a pretty good eye for it. Sometimes I have to put some extra oomph on the ball to make sure it is not over-flush - I check before I put the cylinder back in the gun.

Only the first shot gets a full snoot of lube anyway - the adjacent cylinder gets most of the lube blasted out of it by the previous shot. So the remnant that can fit around the perimeter of the ball is sufficient.

Steve
 
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