Chamber Casting Question for a BSA Martini .310 Cadet

[Black Beard]

This might be useful to if in original calibre:

http://www.cip-bobp.org/homologation...idge_type_id=2

[DuncaninFrance]

A lot of very helpful info gentlemen for which I thank you.

I will report the results when I have done the job

[DuncaninFrance]

Cerrosafe is by far the best material for the purpose, and you can buy it - at a price - from Brownells France, who claim to have it in stock.

http://www.brownells.fr/epages/Franc...1&SearchButton=

It melts at around 71 degrees centigrade, so you can prod the surface lightly with your finger. It is no more inclined to wedge in odd corners than other substances, is less adhesive than most, and you can get it out with boiling water. It can also be reused as often as you like. Sulphur is more troublesome, and must not be overheated in the melting. If it is, you can get a blue flame on top which isn't enough to be much of a health hazard, but besides being harmful to the lungs, will rust any steel items nearby which later attract condensation. If you really want a substitute for cerrosafe, a good one is car body repair filler such as Isopon or Plastic Padding. For these two though, you need to lightly oil the chamber. You feel a fool if you don't.

A very similar or identical metal is termed Woods metal, Lipowitz's alloy or Cerrobend, as it is used for bending thin walled metal pipes without buckling. melting point is about identical, and although I don't know if it has precisely the same properties of brief shrinkage and then expansion to exact size, you might save quite a bit of money by trying it. It wouldn't be the first common material to have its price greatly inflated for the gun hobbyist market. For example the sticky sort of case sizing lubricant virtually is STP petrol treatment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood%27s_metal

Here is someone selling Cerrobend on eBay UK. He only offers postage to the UK, but very often they agree to change that if asked the right way.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cerrobend-...item3cfcfb9e69

That is a very nice Cadet. I don't know if you have found this thread, where there is a lot of good information from some very knowledgeable people:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ore-Cadet-Talk

Brownells are what was Midwest and they are apparently owned by Midwest.
Their items are not stocked in France and once ordered they are then imported. The same seems to be true of Tecmagex ( also owned by Midwest ) and Frankonia.
The French are useless at customer service. Where possible I buy from the UK..............

[DuncaninFrance]

Just got around to slugging the barrel and it comes out at .316" / 8.03 mm. I have some Cerrosafe in the post so should be able to do a chamber cast soon.

[dromia]

Have you got the correct shrinkage/expansion times for the stuff, I have found it very unreliable and haven't used it now for years. My impact cast measurements are quiet different from the cerrosafe casts even using the different sources of expansion/shrinkage times none agree with the impact casts, or each other, dodgy stuff from my experience.

[Geezer in NH]

How in the **** do you impact in a martini action. I can see how when there is room from the rear but in a martini I am lost

[dromia]

Same way as you impact cast any other rifle, just chamber a lead filled cartridge, drop the slug down the barrel and hammer away.

If the rifle won't chamber a cartridge then it has more problems than a chamber cast will sort.

[Geezer in NH]

Thanks I was lost there.