Gonna build a shot maker

[singleshotbuff]

Gentlemen,

I just got off the phone with the local lead shot supplier. He's selling 25# bags for $29.00 right now, up from $20 last summer. He also told me that the first week of august he'll have to up the price to $39.99!!!

That's enough for me, I'm going to have to build a shotmaker. I can't afford to shoot clay targets at $40 a bag for shot. I've read a few threads here and on shotgun world, I think I can make the machine myself. I have an almost limitless supply of soft range lead I can use from an indoor range. Do you think I'll need to add anything to range lead to get good shot?

Thoughts and input welcome.

SSB

[Springfield]

Good Luck. From what I have read soft lead doesn't work too well, wheelweights or something else with some arsenic in it works better. Plan on making some sort of shotmaker myself, soon as I get a round tuit.

[singleshotbuff]

Springfield,

Thanks for your input. I have a fairly steady supply of WWs too, I was thinking that if the range lead doesn't work out, I may mix it 50/50 with WWs. This is the alloy I use for handgun boolits. When dropped into water, it is HARD. Not sure if it'll harden if dropped into brake fluid or anti-freeze, which I have read are the best for shotmaking, I guess I'll find out.

Have to do something, not gonna pay $40 for shot when I have free lead.

SSB

[manleyjt]

I don't have the time at the moment but I have a set of plans for a flamer burner model. You can also look on the reloaders guide site for my user name and there is a discussion about shotmakers.

I think you could buildone easy enough, except for the nozzles in a littleton type. But the good news is you can buy the nozzles. Send me a pm and I will forward the plans and then i will provide some comments on thoughts I have had related to this topic after using a couple fo littleton shot makers.

[Lucky Joe]

manleyjt,

I wonder if I could possibly also get a copy of those prints.

[manleyjt]

Lucky Joe,

Send me a PM with your email address and I will try to get them off to you.

Singleshotbuff,

sent you a pm and an email. let meknow if you got the info.

[singleshotbuff]

manleyjt,

Got the PM and the e-mail, thanks so much!!

Very interesting stuff. I'm fairly sure I can make something that will work.

SSB

[manleyjt]

AS far as making an electric unit I think you could do that also. you could start with a piece of aluminum plate or a pirce of aluminum channel. if you use a plate cut it to a d shape and put a rim around it. on the flat side put a piece of angle iron with a lip about 1 to 1.5 inches long for the nozzle to drip on. you can then tap a hole to hold it all to an elctric burner element. then fab up some kind of stand. If you use channel then all you need to do is make the angle lip on one end. same scenario.

Use aluminum for the heat transfer properties. you need the heat and it will not be enough lead to have the worry of using aluminum as a lead pot, which should never be done to the danger of pot failure.

for the nozzles you could make your own or buy a set form littleton or stewart. if you make your own you can use a brass pipe plug (or steel for that matter). You need a bore and a through hole. The through hole is what gives you the shot size. the nozzle on a 71/2 nozzle from littleton is the same size as the smallest tip cleaner in a standard torch tip cleaner set.

You just need to make sure that the hole drops close to perpendicular to the lip on your pot. the drop then rolls down the lip and into your coolant. Coolant choice makes a big difference as to the shape of your final shot. I made a couple of nozzles by hand using a hand drill drill and drill bit type torch tip cleaners. It works but is a tedious affair.

if you make the francis brothers shot pot the flame builds surface tension in the drop. I have not made the francis brothers shot pot so cannot attest to it's abilities. It is made out of mild steel if I remember correctly.

Anyway that is a few of the thoughts that I had.

[manleyjt]

forgot to mention that we used ww and lead mix. have also made straight lead but it is hard to get hot enough to get good shot. As stated in other posts a littlearsenic makes "magnum"shot or Hard shot. WW have some arsenic and makes good shot.

[Lucky Joe]

manleyjt ,

Thank you, PM sent.

[Blammer]

whoever gets one built, I'd happily trade 50 pounds of lead for 25 pounds of #8 shot.... It's pretty much all I'll need for a year or two...

[Jetro721]

for all you guys wondering about making shot, i've been doing this for years, and yes wheel weights are good for this but so are alot of other things, you got to know your metals and that will make alot better shot and any lead so you can use it.

[Jetro721]

and to reply to the add for making shot for people yes i do.............. if it is wheel wgt they bring me i give them half of what i get from thier stuff............. if it is other lead it depends on what i have to add to it to get it hard............. arcenic is not the harder in the shot it is called antimony

[felix]

Yes, arsenic does indeed make the shot harder, but is more toxic for the purpose than it is for antimony. The arsenic is required, however, to make the shot round by making the formed teardrops coagulate into balls on their way down from the drop point in the tower. ... felix

[Sam Carp]

I have a littleton shot maker, wheel weights work fine in it and I drop into sierra anti-freeze. Shot at the Bass Pro Shop was over $60.00 at the first of the year.

Sam

[Bullshop Junior]

Gentlemen,

I just got off the phone with the local lead shot supplier. He's selling 25# bags for $29.00 right now, up from $20 last summer. He also told me that the first week of august he'll have to up the price to $39.99!!!

That's enough for me, I'm going to have to build a shotmaker. I can't afford to shoot clay targets at $40 a bag for shot. I've read a few threads here and on shotgun world, I think I can make the machine myself. I have an almost limitless supply of soft range lead I can use from an indoor range. Do you think I'll need to add anything to range lead to get good shot?

Thoughts and input welcome.

SSB

You are lucky! I was up at sportsmans the other day and the cheapest shot was $47.99 for 25 LB of #8, and it is going UP UP UP! The cheapest shotgun ammo was estate #4 @ $8.99 a box. That stuff is junk. Will never get it again, NEVER!
At the last gun show there was a guy who had like 250 LB, for $8.00 a BAG! And to make it worse it was #2 and I had NO money! TO BAD, TO BAD!!! I hope he is at the next one!!!
Daniel/BS Jr.

[rmb721]

manleyjt: I sent a PM

[heathydee]

Here is a picture of mine.Been doing it for years. Stainless steel bolts used to make the drippers as anything else tends to erode after a bit of use. hole size is about.024" and this gives size 8 to 9 depending on the level of molten lead. Lead has to be pre-melted,fluxed and then either cast into ingots or poured into the trough. Gas fired. The burner is made from a piece of 1 inch square hollow section steel tube of which one end can be seen underneath. The trough was TIG welded up out of 6mm aluminium plate. My coolant of choice is a mix of soluble oil and water at about 1 to 20. Go for it and make one!

[357maximum]

WOW, Nice Unit ...color me impressed...what is the production rate on that bad boy?

[heathydee]

When I set up I like to devote a day to the process,beginning by removing the drippers and cleaning them.While this is happening I have lead in a large homemade pot melting on top of a large gas ring.This takes about an hour to melt and by then the drippers are cleaned,re-installed and everything is set up with about 115 pounds of molten lead in the pot, which I failed to mention is on a stand about 18 inches high. A tap in the pot is cracked and lead flows into the shotmaker which has been pre-heated by its own burner.The bib of the shotmaker( where the shot bounces down ) is well chalked and also benefits from an occasional sanding with 600 grit wet and dry paper.The bib is placed just clear of the 5 gallon coolant container which is filled to the brim and sits in an overflow tray.Shot starts to flow.Sounds like birds chirping. About 60 to 70 pounds per hour after the initial set up.
The coolant becomes err ? warmant after a couple of hours and needs changing . I have about 12 gallons which I cycle through .The coolant does not deteriorate.I have been using the same stuff for about ten years.
The shot is screened and dryed in the sun, or if it is winter I put it in stout bags which I carry around in the car for a few days until it drys.
In a day I would expect to produce about 250lb of shot.

[357maximum]

Thanks:-D


added to the to-do list[smilie=1:

[725]

Very, very impressive. You got to love the ingenuity and craftsmanship. Well done.

[manleyjt]

That is a very nice looking flame driven shot dropper. Can you tell us more about making the nozzles?

Actually it is not all that different from the francis brothers document sthat were sent to me and that I have passed to others. The main difference is that the francis uses the flame to create surface tension in the lead drop to make it round.

Anyway tell us more about your flame driven shot maker.

[heathydee]

There is not a lot more to say about my shotmaker.13 drippers wide.The width of the device is the same as the rectangular coolant tank.The framework is made out of 1" angle iron and the shotmaker is free to pivot up and down in order to bring the bib down to be almost touching the surface of the coolant.
I will try in the next couple of days to assemble the whole kit and caboodle and post a few pictures

[Lucky Joe]

Nine posts!!!!!! where in the heck have you been. That is a nice rig, thanks for showing it to us. Looking forward to the pictures.

[heathydee]

Here is the setup.

[heathydee]

In the above picture the lead in the cauldron has just begun to melt . 5.00 PM local time.Here is another picture with a 12 inch ruler to give an idea of scale.

[heathydee]

Okay the time is 5.30 local time and all the lead I have is melted and fluxed in the cauldron .It is a mix of roofing lead ,wheelweights and range scrap.I estimate about 65 pounds.

[heathydee]

The burner under the shotmaker is activated.

[heathydee]

Local time 5.40 shot begins to flow.Very hard to see.I have to apologise for my cheap digital camera.

[heathydee]

Local time 6.10.It has been running half an hour and the coolant is just warm.The lead has almost ceased flowing.

[heathydee]

Local time 6.15. Coolant drained.

[heathydee]

The shot is rinsed under the garden tap and then run through this homemade screen which is drilled full of 2.5mm holes. Shot size is dependant first of all on the size of the hole in the dripper and secondly by the level of lead in the shotmaker.The higher the level the smaller the shot ,however if the level is too high the droplets run into one another and a large misshapen blob results.The screen is simply to remove those.

[heathydee]

Here is the shot bagged and on the bathroom scales. I read 26.1 kilograms which translates to just over 57 pounds of shot .Not bad for an hour and a halfs work and 5 bucks worth of propane gas. After it has dried I rumble it with a pinch or two of graphite powder and it is ready to go. This batch counted out to 450 pellets to the ounce. I have been using this shot for skeet shooting for the last 10 years and have never felt as though it has been responsible for a missed target.I hope these few posts help.

[Lucky Joe]

heathydee,

Thank you for taking time to take and post the pictures. The fact that you have been using this for 10 years speaks for it's value. I'm sure you will have more questions from me and others here. That is a nice setup.

[PatMarlin]

That's the coolest rig I've seen so far... :drinks:

You could easily make a coolant cooler to by cycling the coolant throught a radiator with a fan blowing through it for instance.

I wonder how the non toxic pink glycol would work?

PLEASE keep posting!!!

[PatMarlin]

One thing that would be a great help is if you could take a closer pic of the nozzles mounted on both sides.

One way to get a good or better picture out of a cheap camera is mount it on a tripod, and then hold the tripod as an extension and steady yourself. Breath deep, let half out and squeeze.. :mrgreen:

[heathydee]

The drippers were made from stainless steel bolts. 8mm shank ,13mm across flats.The closest imperial equivalent would be 5 sixteenths with a half inch head.First the head of the bolt was gripped in a 3 jaw chuck in a lathe and they were drilled nearly all the way through with about a 5/32 drill.
Next a simple jig was made out of a piece of angle iron which allowed me first, to run a 1/4 endmill across the head of the bolt at a 45 degree angle in order to give a flat surface on which to drill the bleed hole ,and then drill the bleed hole itself to a size of .024".I broke quite a few drills in this process.The drill press I have only does about 2000 rpm and the sums indicate 5000 rpm would be better.
Brass spacers hold the drippers away from the trough. The shot drops about 5/8 of an inch on to the bib ,bounces two or thee times and into the coolant. Too fast to see individual pellets.
No dimension appears to be critical other than bleed hole size.

[PatMarlin]

OK so you're saying the hole runs straight through the bolt right? Partially 5/32" then finished at the end with a .024.

So if that's so, this means there's always a supply of lead on the feed side of the nozzle bolts, as the bolts sit up a bit?

On the box tubing you used for a gas manifold (which was very clever by the way), how did you drill that out? Size of holes, spaced, how many?

[Three44s]

heathydee,

That series of posts with your pictures are awesome .......

...... and you are to be commended for your ingenuitity doubly more so!!!!!

Thank you very much!

Three 44s

[heathydee]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Here is arough drawing of the dripper.
There is probably no need to make a burner .I am sure a gas ring obtained from the nearest barbecue shop would do just as good a job as long as your trough is constructed out of aluminium because of its excellent heat transfer properties.
Over the next couple of days I will do a rough drawing of the trough showing the dimensions I have used .

[Texasflyboy]

Quite impressive and well done.

May I ask why you use an open trough to feed the drippers? Was there a reason for this based on experience or something else?

My guess as to why you use a trough is to keep the pressure on the .024" hole consistent and not pressurize the orifice with too much weight of molten lead.

I'm thinking I may have to build one of these as a companion to my lead pot....

Tom

[PatMarlin]

I see now. I was wondering about the holes coming out the center. You used your end mill to cut in the flat notch, then drilled it with the small bit.

Stainless and alum would be the way to go for sure, but I bet that stainless .024 was hard to drill like you say.

I sold my aluminum welder dangit!

[PatMarlin]

Still would like to see your box tubing burner. I need to make a burner, as we don't have BBQ shops up here.. :mrgreen:

[heathydee]

Here is an image of the burner.Holes are 2.5mm. I welded one end shut and the other is where the tap is held in by a set screw. The gap underneath is to allow air to mix with the gas. The tap and gas jet were purchased from the barbecue shop.

[heathydee]

Here is a rough dimensional drawing.The unit is 9" wide.The 4" extension on the back oof the trough is used to melt ingots when I am not using pre melted lead.

Texasflyboy.
Yes.The open trough is to more easily monitor the level of the melt.Too low and the shot gains size.Too high and it clumps together and forms blobs.A more consistent result is arrived at by using pre-melted lead .Generally if I have a lot to get through I begin by melting up a full cauldron and casting it into ingots.The next cauldron full is used to begin the shotmaking and the ingots can be added as the level of melt drops,bearing in mind that adding too much cold lead at one time can halt the process.
The unit will work by just adding cold ingots but you have to hover over the thing every minute to keep track of the level .

[heathydee]

Borrowed the wife's camera! Bless her.Close up of the drippers showing a frozen pellet about to drop.
CORRECTION. The pellets fall 3/8" to the bib not 5/8" as I stated in an earlier post.

[PatMarlin]

Gracias Senior.. :drinks:

[manleyjt]

very nice.

Pat,

an intersting way to make a burner feed is to use tweco wire feed tips. If you use the tip to introduce the propane into the square or round burner lik eheathydee has made the pressure from the jet will pull the airstream in for mixing. I have not made a low output burner using this method, but I am sure it will work. I have built some burners for a forge and a couple others for big heat applications.

Here is a link to a great page by Ron Reil on forge burner design. Take a look at the T-Rex burner page, these are some monster atmospheric burners for their size.

http://ronreil.abana.org/sitemap.html

t-rex burner page
http://www.hybridburners.com/

[PatMarlin]

Thanks for the Link Manley.

I've got plenty of tweeco tips... :drinks:

[clayslayer27]

heathydee what is the distance of the lip from the drippers

[heathydee]

About 3/4 inch. Not critical.An 1/8 either way would not matter.

[fallout4x4]

so if I can get about a hundred pounds of number 8 shot for about a buck twenty five a pound I should go for it huh? Sounds like its going for two bucks/pound for the rest of you guys.

[turbo1889]

Any chance you could get round buck-shot out of one of these rigs ???? I'm thinking OO size ???? or is that just way too big to ball up correctly without an insanely tall drop tower ????

I send a lot of buch-shot down range and I'm getting tired of either paying high way robbery prices for an itty bitty box or casting it two darn balls at a time.

[PatMarlin]

You need to get you a "Do-it" mold for those buckshots.

[shotman]

you can make buck shot but the cooling tank would have to be deep and the lead temp would be more of an issue also hole size would increase in dripper guessing about 4 times? rick

[6pt-sika]

you can make buck shot but the cooling tank would have to be deep and the lead temp would be more of an issue also hole size would increase in dripper guessing about 4 times? rick

Now I would be intrested in making one of these things to make OO or O buck !

And I think perhaps it could be of 2 to 4 holes , as 25 pounds of this at a time would be plenty !

[6pt-sika]

I just talked with my friend from the gunclub that has the pair of Littleton Shotmakers !

And he's up for letting me try to make some new drippers for buckshot to use in his setup !

So what size hole should I make for OO buck ? .098" maybe ?

If #8 shot is .024 . That times 4 would be .096" and a little extra just to be safe would be .098" or am I off a bit ?

[6pt-sika]

Now I am also wondering ?

In the past I have read about and shot Hevi Shot buckshot . If I am not mistaken this stuff is supposed to be harder then normal shot , hence the reason it patterns better from lack of deformation .

So I am thinking if I use Linotype which is supposed to be about 20 on the hardness scale , that should be better then WW's which usually are about 9 or 10 !

Now am I looking at this thing correctly or not ?

[HTRN]

I think that shot size vs. hole size will require some experimentation - Remember, 7 and a half is approx. 350 pellets to the ounce, while 00 is 8. That's about 43 times the volume per pellet. So start there, but it may be that shot that big is too large to make in these small shotmakers.

You can however, cast them - Lee makes .330 sized molds (http://www.grafs.com/product/190498)

This has got me very interested. It should be simple enough to machine a ladle out of aluminum stock, and then attach a ring or disc heater(Mcmaster Carr has a good selection of 'em) and controller (http://auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14) to regulate heat. You don't even need to make the nozzles as Magma will sell them. Use a cheap bottom pour pot like a Lee(if you don't have one on hand already) to feed it as a premelt...

Dammit! I didn't want another project!


HTRN

[heathydee]

The largest shot I have ever made successfully is sized about .110". This needs a set of drippers drilled about .040". The level of molten lead in the tray has to be as low as is practical . If there is too much flow the droplets run into one another and form mis-shapen blobs.
As regards the height of the lip from the coolant I have found the closer the better is the way to go . Raising the lip will result in molten droplets flattening and being less round , as will coolant overheating.
Coolants are a whole story in themselves. I have used diesel fuel with electrically powered shotmakers and it works well - cleanup being the problem . I have heard that near boiling water can be used but I could foresee a very nasty accident happening in my workshop .
Soapy water is another one I have not tried. My current coolant is a soluble machining oil "Shell Fedaro M "mixed at about 20 to 1 with water. That is one litre of oil to twenty litres of water. I have been using the same batch of coolant for 15 years .It is stored in plastic drums under the bench and brought out as required. It does not appear to have deteriorated at all over the years.

[beyersgrt]

I see a new building project in the making.
I want to make no 7 and 71/2 shot. What would the size of the dripper be?

What flux would you use?

__________________________________________________ ________

Cartidges aint fun 'til they go BANG

[Mister Tom]

Just a note on the drilling of stainless. Try to use cobalt (or M42) twist drills and you will have much greater success over HSS drills. Stainless is soft but is considerably abrasive when being cut and tends to build more heat on the cutting edge. Cobalt tool steel is not much more expensive and adds to the toughness and hot-hardness of the drill considerably. Make sure to slow down RPMs, use gentle steady feed pressure and use plenty of cutting oil or coolant. Pecking the drill also helps to clear the chips. Cutting stainless at 50sfm with a 5/32 drill should be around 1200 RPM. For the .020-.040 drills, most equipment will not run fast enough, as Heathydee mentioned. I hope this saves some broken drills (and well placed cuss words)!