Tumbling cast buckshot?

[lkeppinger]

I tumbled some 00 buck today. [II don't have a tumbler, so made a tube from 4" PVC pipe a food long with a cap glued on one end and a screw on cap on the other, split a 1" dowel in 1/2 and screwed the two pieces into the pipe. Put in about 5# of 00 buck and 2 pieces of pencil led about 2" long. Them to further the redneck engineering, I placed the pipe on my tread mill and turned it on..... 1 hour later I had the prettiest round buck shot you could want. Here Texas Ranch Country we do with what we have.

[kullas]

I use a homemade tumbler but i use homemade charcoal powder instid of graphite. what is the purpose of graphite in buckshot?

[HiVelocity]

After I cast buckshot I just toss into my regular case tumbler with whatever media I used previously. Usually about a pound for 30 minutes. Then I put into an old plastic container with a dab of JPW and give a good coating. Pour out onto a butter tub lid to dry. Makes em' slick!

Then after they're dry, load as usual.

HV

[NZSarge]

I tumble mine is this home made container with a drill

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=156423

[Hawk78]

I tried a vibratory with no luck they just sat in the bottom and did not circulate to made them rounder or to coat them. Use a rotary you will be happy you did. I coat mine with ultra fine graphite 2 days and no sprue nice and round and ready to blast away with. Oh yea I was using a Lee .311 ball mold. Casting out for straight alloy no tin or soft lead added and man do they do a job on a car. 10 pellets is about 1 oz.

I just bought me a rock tumbler specically to remove the sprue from my lead buckshot. Is the graphite mandatory, and where is the best place to order it? How much of ir do I use with 3 lbs of buckshot? How many hours do I let it run? Thanks in advance. I have some pencil lead replacements for those mechanical pencils. I will use that for my first batch.
I can add a little hardener alloy to my next batch, but not too much because I only shoot muzzle loaders.

[Conditor22]

DIY tumbler using a windshield wiper motor, computer power supply a couple salvaged wheels and some scrap


Bucket adapted to windshield wiper motor


Bucket adapted to hold square peanut jar


as cast - trimmed


tumbled for a while in square peanut jar with a pinch of graphite

[garrisonjoe]

what is the purpose of graphite in buckshot?

Although graphite and charcoal are both almost 100% carbon, so is diamond. Due to their different atomic bonds and molecular structures, they have much different properties.

Charcoal is not a lubricant. Graphite is. Lubricating properties help a little while loading and a little when firing buckshot. Graphite also tends to prevent rapid oxidation of the lead surface
(turning light gray with age).

[LeonCarr]

I use a Harbor Freight Rock Tumbler.

I fill each drum about half full with buckshot, add a tiny bit of graphite (Like half an empty .22LR case full), run it for 3-4 hours, and the buckshot comes out looking like black pearls.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr