Homemade lead dropper?

[NSP64]

I used a sharpened nail to make the hole, it's tiny. I know its smaller than a #50 drill bit. once I pounded the hole in it, it made a nipple on the bottom, so I flipped it over and used the ball peen side to make the nipple inverted. With the nipple hanging down it was dropping bigger shot, and by inverting it the shot became smaller. There is only one hole because this is the test unit. Now that I have it figured out I may make a different one with multiple holes. With one hole and full of lead it will drop 4 pounds of shot in 15 min. It drops from the hole to theramp thenslides off into the water. If the ramps not hot it can glump up there. I read about using soapstone, but didn't have any lying around so I used some drill bit lube. seemed like cold water would be the obvious choice, but it make more shot explode (looks like coral reef).

[G. Blessing]

Now I get it! definetaly worth a try.

Gary.

[garandsrus]

newsmokepole64,

Thanks! I will give it a try also. 16lb of shot an hour from one little hole is pretty impressive...

John

[NSP64]

I had some time on thursday 4/19 and figure out a way to hang the ladle under my lee 10# bottom drop furnace. the ladle sits on the ledge of a 4 qt sauce pan and the weight of the lead keeps it pulled up tight under the pour spout. then I can fill the sauce pan up with undilluted antifreeze. switched over to this and have gotten more uniform pellets! I still use a propane torch to keep the lead running, but fill it from my furnace where I preheat it. I catch the shot in the big spoon and transfer it to a cold water wash bucket.

[NSP64]

http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t74/newsmokepole64/

[scrapcan]

newsmokepole64,

nice bit of ingenuity. I may have to try your idea out. I was wondering if a person could just air drop into a pipe with cool air flowing upthrough it. you could run a squirrel cage fan and put a baffle at the top to vent air away from shot dropper. Kind of a double slpe affair, one on the ladle and the other used inside the pipe to drive air out and to not cool the molten lead.

for a way to graphite the shot you can use John Deer corn planter graphite (or other planter use graphite also) pretty cheap from the equipment dealers.

anyway nice idea.

[Netherwolf]

Newsmokepole64,

I like your idea (it appeals to my Tightwade Gazette approach to things) but I'm curious to know if there was a particular reason why you chose to punch a hole in the ladle rather than drill the hole. Wouldn't the shot size be more precisely controlled if the hole was drilled with the proper size drill bit?

Netherwolf

[Boz330]

Water soluble machine tool coolant is what a friend of mine used. He had a number of store bought machines and made shot to sell and support his Trap Habit.

Bob

[NSP64]

I tried dropping in the garage off of a ladder against the rafters with a squirrel cage fan blowing air upward. Couldn't get round shot. I started this project because the price of shot has gone through the roof, and doesn't look like it is comming down soon.(kind of like gas) Loaded some 20ga. shells last week and shot some clay pidgeons out back. 16yo son liked them better than factory loads. I didn't drill the hole, I figured I would start small and could increase the hole size if needed. Noticed that the shot size varies based on temperature of lead. over 700*F and they come out size 12 ,so I sift the small ones out first then sift the bigger ones next.

[scrapcan]

When you dropped from the ladder did you have the angled piece on your dripper? Just curious and have not tried it but have been thinking about it for a couple years.

[NSP64]

no, the ramp was added after all the other drop tests were conducted.the ramp was added and the shot was comming out so round that I didn't try the dropping from heights again.

[DLCTEX]

Newsmokepole64: Want to sell me a couple pounds of #12? Dale

[Netherwolf]

...I didn't drill the hole, I figured I would start small and could increase the hole size if needed. Noticed that the shot size varies based on temperature of lead. over 700*F and they come out size 12 ,so I sift the small ones out first then sift the bigger ones next.

OK, let me rephrase. Why did you feel that punching the hole was preferable to drilling the hole? Couldn't you have started with a small drill & "increase the hole size if needed" just as easily as punching a hole & "increase the hole size if needed"? I guess another way of asking this is, is there something about a drillied hole that would have resulted in undesireable results?

Netherwolf

[NSP64]

I could have drilled a hole, but the #80 drill bit I had is bigger than the hole I made with the nail

[Netherwolf]

I could have drilled a hole, but the #80 drill bit I had is bigger than the hole I made with the nail

OK, now it makes sense. I have drill bits smaller than #80 but things get kinda tricky when you start going below #80, i.e., broken bits, but I know I'll try it anyway.

Thanks again for turning us on to a great idea.

Netherwolf

[lar45]

I would post some pics, if I could figure out how?

Putting up pictures is fairly easy. You need a start and end tag with square brackets. The end tag has a backslash in it. I'll type it with spaces for you to look at. When you take the spaces out, the picture shows up.
[ img ] http://www.littletonshotmaker.com/sh...r/shot65_3.jpg [ /img ]
Now with the spaces taken out.

If you see a picture that you like, you can right click on it, then select properties(probably at the bottom). That will show you the URL address of the pic, just click and drag over it to highlight it, then you can copy with either, Edit Copy, or press and hold the Ctrl key, then the C (to copy), Ctrl V will paste what you've copied last.

Also if you reply with quote on a post that has a picture in it, you will see what the image tag looks like.

[ovendoctor]

I like your idea's,going to try to adapt the project that Ive been working on for a year
the best results I had was break fluid[untill it gets to the flash point ]
hot water sounds like the next test

[mazo kid]

John asked some questions I had; also, is that hole the smallest that will pass the lead? I was thinking if you welded a nut on the bottom of the ladle, drilled a hole the size of the nut opening through the ladle, then you could make various size holes in short pieces of bolt threaded into the nut to vary shot size. Has anyone tried this or is it a bad idea? If the ladle was heavy enough you could just drill and tap a hole. Emery

[Blammer]

If any body is making shot around the number 8 size and selling or trading I'd be up for a pound or two so I can load some dove hunting shells.

I could send you twice as much lead as you send shot.

I don't shoot a bunch but I ain't paying $40 for a bag of shot.

[Johnch]

I think I will see if Littleton will sell me just a set of 6 Drippers
I think I can make the rest
Mine may not look as nice
But I am cheap , the only think I need to look good are the pellets

But with my current work load , early winter will be about when I will get a chance to work on it

John