Round Ball roll around box.

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deerslayer303

New member
Ok folks, in the meantime while I'm waiting for paint to dry, I've cut up some plywood to make a round ball roll around box. I'm going to throw it in the truck of SWMBO's car and cover half of the bottom with roundball and let em roll to get rid of the sprue or flat spot. I should have asked this BEFORE I cut it out. But is it worth it? Or do folks do this just to make their balls look better?<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<... oh my gosh that didn't read well did it. I'm going to start calling them things PROJECTILES :D
 
Round balls are very forgiving !!

Some will definitely argue with this but it's been documented that the sprue shlould not be a concern. There have been posts in this forum in the past. As a rule or practice, you center the sprue pointing up. ..... :)

I run my own lead in the summer, have shot both side by side and have seen no difference between them and the factory balls.

Now then, if you feel that it does, I'd suggest and old cast iron frying pan and let them roll around in that. Would save you from having to kill a full grown plywood. .... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
Note to web surfers... the following is humor...

Them sprues is important!!! You can turn em just a bit when loading and you won't have to adjust your sights no more. The ball will go that way since it'll be heavier on that side. If you shoot em in a rifle and you used striped pillow ticking patches, be sure to line up the stripes across the grain with the sprue and it'll cancel each other out too. No problem!!!
:p:p:p
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Go for it and let us know !!

Plywood killed, roll around box idea killed too.
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Doesn't have to be so for most of the fun, comes from trying new things and ideas that comes with this great adventure called; Muzzleloading. ... :D

I know you like to tinker just like I do and this sure allows us to do so. .. :)

Enjoy and;
Be Safe !!!
 
I'd rather see the rabbit box myself. :) I have raised literally thousands of rabbits and I've had a couple of good dogs as well. I'm fond of a good rabbit dog, if you couldn't tell. ;)
 
Small world !!

Wow, I can relate to a rabbit box as well as I use to raise rabbits. I was surprised to see that you guys raised them. Could go on but rabbits belong in another forum. Sorry. ... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
Wow, I can relate to a rabbit box as well as I use to raise rabbits. I was surprised to see that you guys raised them. Could go on but rabbits belong in another forum. Sorry. ...
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LOL we are WAY off topic and gonna get in trouble :D. But the box I'm referring to is one for trapping wild rabbits, so I can put them in the pot. Yum.
 
After 45+ years of shooting traditional round ball muzzle loaders, this is the first time I have heard of someone deliberately wanting to "roll around" their lead balls to remove the sprue. Wouldn't hurt anything but I see no value in it either.
As Pahoo said, just use. Sprue up.
As for the cockeyed sprue making the shoot left or right. :p
Oh, well. It is do yer own thang game.
 
I swore I read something on here once about letting them roll around in some form of container. Maybe it was another forum. But either way, I HAD to read it somewhere, because there is NO WAY I would think that up on my own. :D
 
I loaded my round balls from Lee molds in my tumbler and ran it with a little soap and water for a while. It smoothed out the edges of the sprue cut and gave the whole ball smother appearance.
Decided that the gain (virtually none) was not worth the nasty inside of the tumbler and the dirty hands from handling the ball.
I don't do that anymore.

I do a lot of stuff like that for my own amusement and the remote possibility that they may help.
Like sanding the ears off of the grip on Piettas. No change seen.
Lowered hammers on Piettas. Very little change seen. Probably won't do them again.
457 round balls instead of 454s. Bad deal. Too much effort to seat.
Slix nipples which allow use of lighter main springs. Big change-I like.
 
Take them for a ride !!!

I swore I read something on here once about letting them roll around in some form of container.
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Yes Sir, Put them in an old cast irom frying pan, put that on the floor of your trunk and just drive around. Won't hurt a thing but the balls do look different. .. ;)

By the way, when I run my lead, I always roll test and weigh my balls. My casting pot is an older one and I get many rejects. ... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
to be on track,

if your truly serious about getting rid of sprues, you could build yourself a shot machine much like was used to make round ball from wire chunks.

basically its a rotating plate that is simply rotated about an axis, the bottom of the plate is set to be the desired ball diameter from the surface, balls are put between plate and surface and as teh plate spins it makes nice round balls.
 
Round Balls In Tumbler

When I production cast round balls we used to put them in a large tumbler for several hours to remove the sprues. I agree that it doesn’t make any difference but customers seemed to prefer them smooth.
For my own use I’ve always placed the spruces up or down.
Best,
 
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