@Almar:
Starline makes 45-90 brass, and it's very good brass. They have a rather high minimum, but sometimes you can find smaller lots elsewhere.
Vettepilot
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@Almar:
Starline makes 45-90 brass, and it's very good brass. They have a rather high minimum, but sometimes you can find smaller lots elsewhere.
Vettepilot
"Those who sacrifice freedom for security, have neither."
Benjamin Franklin. (A very wise man!)
I know, but its just that its out of stock everywhere i checked online.Originally Posted by Vettepilot
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
― Winston S. Churchill
These guys CLAIM to have it in stock. Who knows? https://www.raniersec.com/shop/starl...ss-50-per-bag/
Three or four times in the past year, I've thought various things were in stock. Actually, was lead to believe they were. Then you order, pay your money; everything a "done deal", and you're happy. Then you find out they never had it in the first place, and the wait is weeks to months!!
Oh man, that makes my blood boil!!!!!! I waited over four months for some 243 j bullets I bought and paid for, and they never did come. Finally got my money back. It's a screwed up world now guys! My LGS hasn't gotten primers in over a year!
Last month I bought some loading dies. Estimated delivery date? February of next year! Really??
Vettepilot
"Those who sacrifice freedom for security, have neither."
Benjamin Franklin. (A very wise man!)
Yes I know your pain. I've been looking for a few molds to play with a Lee 50cal 320 REAL and a 50cal Minie. I finally found one obscure website that said they had it in stock. I wouldn't put in my order until I called first and asked if they actually had them in stock. They said yes, so I pulled the trigger. When in doubt call first!
Yes!!! Very good advice in today's screwy world!
Vettepilot
"Those who sacrifice freedom for security, have neither."
Benjamin Franklin. (A very wise man!)
there was a hundred sitting in our LGS last time I visited - was tempted to buy them cept that would need a new gun to go with em - I think he was about $150 aussie for the bag - reasonable I thought at the time.
I see in stock in some online stores in canada and europe but ITAR is what it is...cant re import
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
― Winston S. Churchill
For 45-90 brass, you might also look for Jameson brass. I found mine earlier this year on GB through, I think it was LG Outdoors. It was $1/piece, but if only shooting BP it should last a lifetime.
It's almost time for me to start making some BP again!!!! Getting excited.
I think I'm good on brass and bullets now. Thanks for all that helped out. I'll be getting the rifle monday and will be making 1.5f this weekend.
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
― Winston S. Churchill
I made another ball mill that I think will be more efficient than the one I have been using so far. it is a 9 inch OD jar, 7.5 ID and 8 inches long. The ideal RPM should be 68, I have it at 60. This is simply because of what was available for pulleys, I can increase it to exactly 68 by adding some electrical tape to the shaft where the jar rests but I think its pretty good now. As you can see though, the jar isn't half full with media so I will have to cast some more of those balls or maybe fill the rest with ceramic media. This is a very nice jar.
You cant see them in the pictures but there are stoppers on the driving shaft preventing lateral movement so the jar wont slip off the casters. The 1/2 drive shaft has a plastic tube sleeve that fits over it to ad friction. I gave it a run and the rubber lining in that jar makes things very quiet.
Last edited by almar; 12-11-2021 at 01:44 PM.
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Wait. Did you make the jar?? How so? I've often thought I wanted a jar like that, but they are dam pricey!
My 6" x 9" PVC jar is really noisy. Ya know, just a thought... I don't know how the non-round shape might affect best mill rpm calculation. The critical speed might be about the same, as it's related to centrifugal force. The best actual milling speed however, might be influenced by the interior shape/configuration. I've wondered about this for mine, for example, because I have 3 "trippers" inside.
Vettepilot
"Those who sacrifice freedom for security, have neither."
Benjamin Franklin. (A very wise man!)
No I bought it it was on sale. It's all about radial speed,the shape doesn't matter too much. I initially thought about making one out of 8-inch or 9-inch pipe , but the fittings on that thing would not have cost much less than this entire jar already made.
Last edited by almar; 12-11-2021 at 05:21 PM.
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
― Winston S. Churchill
My tumbler is about like the one above. Uses the Model B Thumblers Tumbler hexagon shaped rubber lined barrel with a 15 lb. or so capacity. I think I have more weight than that in it though, but it is powered by a 1/4 hp motor. Mine turns 20 rpm and polishes brass in just a couple of hours using the small stainless steel needle bearings, but I normally mill my Black Powder mixture for 8-10 hours. I am not sure I want to increase the rpm all that much as the hexagon sides do allow the lead ball media to fall six times per revolution at that slow speed which would be 120 times per minute. I am not sure what it would do if I increase the speed, but it would only require a slightly larger gear on the motor or a smaller one on the rotation axle to change, so I may experiment with that a bit if I can find a gear or two in my scrap junk pile. All in all I have been happy with the results of my milled powder. About every hour or so I do pull the drum off and drop it on both ends to bust up the caking that collects on each end.
Edit: I just weighed my lead media, which is .32 cal. soft lead ball plus a couple dozen 12 gauge hard lead ball and the lead media weighs 16 lbs. My hefty motor could turn much more though. I did find a slightly larger drive pulley for the motor and although a bit of a stretch, the same belt even worked okay. Now turns at 30 rpm so I should be able to get 12 hours of mill time in 8 hours. I think it might work just fine if the media has time to fall with this slight increase in speed and I think it sounds like it is doing so. Would be falling 180 times per minute. I do not see how a faster speed than this will allow faster milling though as I am afraid that the media will not be able to fall six times per revolution at a faster speed.Click on images and they will be enlarged and oriented correctly. I store the mill next to my press. I reinforced the press a bit because the cheap Chinese cross bars did not hold up to 12 tons of pressure. I do not mill powder inside, only brass
Last edited by HamGunner; 12-11-2021 at 06:58 PM.
73 de n0ubx, Rick
NRA Benefactor Life Member/VFW Life Member
hamgunner, this ball mill is like ours, pause it and you will see, or look at his other vids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D5KxZPdpsI
it sure turns fast but look at the ball milling action.
on my Chinese press, the verticals gave out before the horizontal, I use ALOT less pressure now, like 4 tons maybe, so this thing should last awhile.
edit: here is another view of his ball mill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcPONMuxNAA
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Almar;
I'm sorry to ask you if you have posted it before, and I think I remember reading it somewhere, but not where. What is the formula to the needed tumble RPM? Your tumbler looks great and I have all the ingredients to it, but not the jar. I do, however have access to all kinds of PVC and fittings, which I could make my own. If I understand you correctly, the 'experts' say there is no advantage to the octagon inside shape? I used to know a guy who did 'Rino Liners' on pickups, and if he still is, I think I could get him to coat a jar for me.
Hamgunner;
Just a thought I had the other day looking at a 18 speed bicycle. There is a perfectly good chain and several gears and a couple of good bearings and a hub or two, on every one. haha
I done a quick calculation (guess) on that video and it looks like his mills are turning at least 60 rpm. I am surprised that the media is not just carried around without falling, but it appears that it should work. I guess I should work up another batch of powder using my 30 rpm and compare to the 20 and in the mean time I will look for some more pulleys or perhaps bicycle gears. Yes bicycle gearing from an old multi-speed bicycle should offer many combinations of gearing speeds.
I do have one larger pulley gear that fits the motor shaft except that it needs to be drilled and tapped for a set screw. I may go ahead and get that done and see how fast that will spin my tub. Probably will need a shorter belt or maybe I can fix the motor mount so that it can be adjustable.
73 de n0ubx, Rick
NRA Benefactor Life Member/VFW Life Member
HamGunner;
One more thing I've noticed. Maytags are the main ones that I know anything about, but an old Maytag washing machine probably has a good motor, with pulley and the drum pulley and a pump pulley, for the taking. I don't know what RPM a tub turns on spin, but I'm thinking two a second, or more. It may be three. Anyway, that is another option. Any appliance repair will have a load of non working machines, if they haven't scrapped them.
Edit: I just pulled the front off my washer and it spins substantially faster than two per second. I was going to count the revolutions on the transmission, and that ain't happening. It is a blur.
Last edited by DoubleBuck; 12-11-2021 at 09:24 PM.
My guess with the octagonal shape is that it acts a little like baffles? It helps throw off the balls to the center instead of them riding up the side.
The formula is as follows: optimal speed =0.65 x (265.45/(jar ID -media diameter)^0.5)
critical speed = 265.54 divided by the square root of the jar ID minus the media diameter
optimal speed= 65% of the critical speed.
I made a quick table in excel for reference:
edit: huh, turns out that in my previous post I mentioned that I needed 68 rpm, I used 7 inches as an id instead of 7.5, looks like my current RPM of 60 is pretty good as is, I wont mind being off by 5 rpm...
Last edited by almar; 12-11-2021 at 10:04 PM.
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Almar;
Man, I'm glad you included the chart! I don't know if I could cipher the formula, or not. Maybe not. LOL It is a sight easier to read the chart, for sure! Thank you!
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