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Folks,
I have bought aluminum plain base 35 cal checks twice now.....
NONE of the ones look even decent to try using... they look like ripped bottle caps wrinkled around the bowl and so rough you cannot seat them on a miha 9mm Penta point 125gr boolits base they tear and shred
Anyone else run into this?
I have contacted the vendor and sent pics as they look nothing like the picture they show done the 60 degree polish and bevel also
Any thoughts welcome
Gutpile
I’ve heard seating them base up/ nose down if your using a lee size system works good. I’ve also heard that annealing the checks also helps them from maybe shreading.
Saw your post first day in my feed and when I tried to open it on my phone it would give me error. Found it now on my computer. When I first heard of pop can gas checks I though it was gimmick for the same reason, how they looked. Well it wasn't until I made several I realized the secret was not to make sides too long and the clearance has to be close, I made my die is specifically for it with forming pin in .360 - .362 range where as a regular forming pin is .344 or so, with tighter pin and low clearance they form much nicer GC without jagged edges.Quote:
Originally Posted by gutpile
The seating is tricky. Simply running through Lee/NOE die nose up will result in torn / disfigured gas check. The lead hardness plays a big role, the deformation happens even with traditional GCs if the material if the sheet is thin and lead is hard. If you run it base up, it works but it forms a "bubble" bottom which is probably fine but I don't like it. The best way to seat it is with lubrisizer. No torn gas checks and nice flat bottom. Also I found out that if you seat it on top of powder coated bullet it has a lot less grip power but if you put it on bare lead it grips it hard but than powder coating might not stick due to contamination and stuff. You want to install your gas checks either right after powder coating or after casting while the lead hasn't hardened unless your alloy doesn't have any antimony or arsenic to harden with time. Like a pure / tin mix.
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Same problem, I've got a thousand PB 9mm checks sitting here that I cant use. They almost always get ripped when seating.
Looking like bottle caps is normal for PB checks.
I've run into tearing at times, I think it's a matter of the check material too thick for the job or too hard.
I make 4 calibers of PB checks from pop cans, never a tear. 35, 40, 45, 50
Bought some from Sages for a .44 (no check maker that caliber yet), they tear even when pre-sizing the boolit. I think they had a batch of too thick / hard.
BTW, talked to Sages, they offered to make it good, wasn't worth messing with it for the few I bought - great folks !
I've been using PB Checks from a member here, in 40, 10mm, and 9mm. Running through a Lyman 450, with carnauba red. No problems, and great performance.
I buy my PB checks from a member as well. They are made of soft drink cans and they work well when seated backwards through a Lee push-thru die or NOE push-thru die. Then after they are seated, they go through my lubesizers with no issues.
I make .35 cal. PB gas checks from soda cans. Yes they have a wrinkled edge out of the forming die but they are perfect when seated. I use a Lyman 450 for sizing/seating. PB checks need to be seated base-first. I have had no issues.
sorry, but, i'm confused. what is meant by seating pb gas checks base first?
Put the check on the boolit and push it backwards through a push-thru sizer die. It works best with boolits that have a flat nose, but if your boolit is close to size already, it doesn't really deform the round nosed ones either.
I've been using Pat Marlin's PB checks since he started. My first was a 35PB set. Checks made from pop cans. The edges are rough but this seems to crimp into the side of the bullet and anchor the checks in place. Base first sizing is a must. I use a Lyman 450 and have no problems. I have .30, .35 and .44 sets and no problems with any of them./beagle
I still have a set of dies and punches made by Charlie Darnell that form gas checks out of pop cans, can't remember for sure but think I was set up for 30-32-and 35 cal I know because I shot a bunch on PB 357 loads. I need to find that set up, probably 15 years ago pre freecheck and freecheck 2, there was a guy from NZ testing same time, can't remember his name?? Purple underware something:veryconfu
Scooter, That would be Jeff Brown aka Jeff in NZ who sometimes wore purple wool tights when hunting.
Do a site search "Jeff Brown Hunt Club". Prepare to laugh your keister off,,,,,
Jeff's last visit to the States saw him become a confirmed Overalls convert.
Yes that would be the guy, Jeff in NZ, thanks.