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Prepping your cast bullets
- Thread starter BJung
- Start date
I never seriously lubed bullets but have watch a YouTube video where the person melts the lube and pours it into a pain with bullets. When the lube solidifies he takes them out. If I have extra time, I'll try that along with paper patching. I like to experiment..
I also have a few bottles of Lee Alox. I might compare cast bullets with this to pc bullets.
Right now, I don't want to invest in a lube-sizer.
I'm new to casting.. I bought molds and a pot decades ago but only made a few bullets for fun. I didn't want to invest in a lube-sizer.
I also have a few bottles of Lee Alox. I might compare cast bullets with this to pc bullets.
Right now, I don't want to invest in a lube-sizer.
I'm new to casting.. I bought molds and a pot decades ago but only made a few bullets for fun. I didn't want to invest in a lube-sizer.
I melted down about 300 cast bullets with the Harbor Freight pc today. Fortunately, these all have flaws and I my skill level casting bullets has improved, so it's no big loss.
The Harbor Freight pc'd bullets had globs of paint on it, was uneven and rough, and had bare spots. I tumbled a lot of these in my tumbler and warmed a lot. It just didn't work out. Quality pc is the answer.
The Harbor Freight pc'd bullets had globs of paint on it, was uneven and rough, and had bare spots. I tumbled a lot of these in my tumbler and warmed a lot. It just didn't work out. Quality pc is the answer.
armoredman
New member
Go read up at castboolits.gunloads.com for some really solid info.
Big Al,
I read the article you linked to with interest. Thank you for that. It wasn't until the fellow mentioned high humidity making sticking more difficult that it convinced me there really is a static mechanism involved, even if I can't see what it is. I am also perplexed that PP (recycle #5) would be necessary. PE (recycle #2) has nearly identical electrical properties and PE is also famous for picking up static charges, as is styrene (recycle #6). All three have been used as the dielectric material in commercial capacitors for decades. Indeed, I once replaced a missing belt on a Van de Graaff generator in my college's physics lab by making a new one out of heavy (like 6 mil) PE sheet. It worked a treat. I demonstrated the repaired apparatus to a class at its start one day, immediately after the students had filed in. We observed its ability to achieve an impressive charge and discharge deteriorated rapidly as all the breathing students in the room humidified the air.
I have been using a denatured alcohol slurry to PC bullets. I will have to see if I can do some experiments with tub rolling, though I'll need a low RH day, it seems. If the dust is actually removing an induced charge from the inner surface of the tub and dragging it to bullets, some other details, like the role of the airsoft pills need to be understood. I can think of a couple of tests that might show it, and if an induced charge is the mechanism, it can be forced using a high voltage supply and a capacitance around the turning tub. Time to play.
I read the article you linked to with interest. Thank you for that. It wasn't until the fellow mentioned high humidity making sticking more difficult that it convinced me there really is a static mechanism involved, even if I can't see what it is. I am also perplexed that PP (recycle #5) would be necessary. PE (recycle #2) has nearly identical electrical properties and PE is also famous for picking up static charges, as is styrene (recycle #6). All three have been used as the dielectric material in commercial capacitors for decades. Indeed, I once replaced a missing belt on a Van de Graaff generator in my college's physics lab by making a new one out of heavy (like 6 mil) PE sheet. It worked a treat. I demonstrated the repaired apparatus to a class at its start one day, immediately after the students had filed in. We observed its ability to achieve an impressive charge and discharge deteriorated rapidly as all the breathing students in the room humidified the air.
I have been using a denatured alcohol slurry to PC bullets. I will have to see if I can do some experiments with tub rolling, though I'll need a low RH day, it seems. If the dust is actually removing an induced charge from the inner surface of the tub and dragging it to bullets, some other details, like the role of the airsoft pills need to be understood. I can think of a couple of tests that might show it, and if an induced charge is the mechanism, it can be forced using a high voltage supply and a capacitance around the turning tub. Time to play.
big al hunter
New member
Unclenick, I studied the internet and YouTube pretty hard before I decided to start casting my own. I didn't like the idea of greasy lube, and all of the mess that I could make with it. Most sources said a plastic tub or bottle. A couple said to use recycle numbers to determine which is best. So I checked out what the numbers refer to for materials, and what material would be likely to cause a static charge friendly environment. Like you said, there are several that will work. I found a chart that showed levels of static for each type of plastic. The material in recycle #5 was the highest on the list. So, I tried that first. Mostly because I have a ready supply of tubs. Never had an issue with it, so never tried any others.
I thought about making the slurry too. But that involves another product to buy, store and keep out of reach of my kids.
I thought about making the slurry too. But that involves another product to buy, store and keep out of reach of my kids.
I will have to see if I can do some experiments with tub rolling, though I'll need a low RH day, it seems. If the dust is actually removing an induced charge from the inner surface of the tub and dragging it to bullets, some other details, like the role of the airsoft pills need to be understood. I can think of a couple of tests that might show it, and if an induced charge is the mechanism, it can be forced using a high voltage supply and a capacitance around the turning tub. Time to play.
The impact humidity has is highly dependent on the powder being used. I've had a hard time getting Harbor Freight powders stick even with low RH. The higher quality PC's seem to have minimal impact. I have no problems even at 75% RH with most of the powders I use. I use a section of 3" PVC pipe for the plastic tub. I have no idea what # it would correspond to, but it works as well if not better than the #5 tubs I started with and it holds 15 lbs of bullets without falling apart.
PVC is recycle #3, and, per Al's approach I looked it up on a triboelectric table and it is actually slightly higher in (-) charge propensity than PP on that chart, and PP is followed by PE, followed by PU, followed by Saran (polyvanilidine chloride, or PVDC). So you may have picked a winner. If you want to maximize charge from rubbing, you would pair that with something that is high on the (+) charge side of the table. Glass beads might be a good candidate. I may well try that experiment.
Needless to mention, you don't want humidity and you certainly don't want conductors like graphite around. You want the plastic to be free of dirt or grease that might affect the insulating properties and charge accumulation.
Needless to mention, you don't want humidity and you certainly don't want conductors like graphite around. You want the plastic to be free of dirt or grease that might affect the insulating properties and charge accumulation.