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Thread: The hidden cost of Power Coating - your toaster oven

  1. #21
    In Remembrance Skunk1's Avatar
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    I started out years ago to save on 357 and 45 colt. Shortly after it was just a hobby cost didn’t matter anymore. Bought for more calibers and different hobbies inside this hobby.

  2. #22
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    I would do it for fun and the independence that comes from knowing I can make any ammo I might need from stuff in the "pantry" that said.... knowing what things cost and recording recipes that work or don't work offers another way to enjoy the hobby. How many times have folks discussed how elimination of a step or process worked just as well, or a less expensive source or choice of components? Other times folks will praise the advantages of a piece of equipment that speeds or eases reloading which can bring posts from others with home made or cheaper alternatives aimed at performing the same tasks. People debate (sometimes to death) the higher cost cry once items vs. the budget choice that gets the job done for less. So clearly cost and effectiveness are things we think about.

    Collecting solid data so one actually knows costs and benefits seems consistent with all of that activity. As well as consistent with having a better basis for assessing the value of different components and activities. Saving a couple of bucks a pound on powder that requires larger loads might make the powder still a winner or tip it into being more expensive than an alternative. A machine or tool for annealing vs. standing brass in a cake pan of water to hit with a torch. And how many more reloads do I get for the annealing effort in different calibers?

    Unless you know the lead goddess (not the evil fairy) there is a cost to the basic component of bullets. I sometimes sell off part of a find to offset my own purchase or recover some of the cash for other uses. It didn't take much math to figure out with what COWW's cost me selling that lead wasn't worth the effort. Printers lead, pewter, or solder are worth packing and shipping but if I hadn't done the calculations I would be hauling 65 lb. boxes of COWW's to the post office for less than 20 cents a pound to cover my considerable labor investment. 65 lbs. of printers lead has enough value to make it worth it. Takes same effort, time, fuel to make that 65 lbs. as it does the COWW's but the value of the alloy is greater.

    Oh and then there is knowing the recover point for a piece of equipment. If a 4 cavity mold will cost more than a 2 cavity and the bullets cost X amount less than store bought how many do I need to make to recover the cost of the molds? The cost recovery might not be the only factor, making same number of bullets in half the time has a value too. Still knowing the mold "pays for itself" at 1000 bullets or 5000 bullets is worth knowing. Shotgun reloading is high up front cost with little saving per round. Metallic reloading of large or magnum pistol or large rifle ammo has a much higher return. Might explain why I don't have a shot dripper but do have a supply of H110 and 2400 powder plus a good stash of brass.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

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  3. #23
    Boolit Buddy
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    I am fortunate to have found a forum of shooters, reloaders and casters with a sense of humor.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by weeple2000 View Post
    I am fortunate to have found a forum of shooters, reloaders and casters with a sense of humor.
    You mean because we can suggest saving money reloading without laugh spitting so much coffee on the keyboard that we can't post?
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  5. #25
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    You mean because we can suggest saving money reloading without laugh spitting so much coffee on the keyboard that we can't post?
    Sorry was referring to earlier posts, not yours. Your thought process is more in line with mine.

  6. #26
    Boolit Master
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    Everyone has some kind of vice or hobby. For me as a fourth generation rancher who loves firearms handloading made sense. Predators want to eat our livestock. They require above average ammunition to kill them. Handloading provides that along with enough economical shooting to enhance my ability to make use of more accurate ammo.

    I embarked on this hobby of handloading when I was a “wet behind the ears age” of 19, so I have a good ride thus far with no end in sight.

    Now as far as saving money in the strictest sense?

    Yes that is do able ... you just get a very basic set up and stick with it. No added tooling, a very few calibers and don’t shoot more rounds than you would have if you were buying all your ammo.

    You can take the time to count reloading savings and instead invest it in a vice/hobby that otherwise suits you and see how that stacks up.

    Me .... I won’t spend time counting fractions of pennies when I could be racking up cattle eaters or getting prepared to. I added equipment to my loading as my awareness about accuracy and speed of accomplishing my loading tasks evolved.

    No regrets and Best regards

    Three44s
    Last edited by Three44s; 01-10-2019 at 02:42 AM.

  7. #27
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Bean counting your hobby? Makes no sense...

    what you need to do is justify your hobby and quit with all that spreadsheet stuff...JUST GO BUY A BOX-O-BULLETS...you'll get the point.
    a m e r i c a n p r a v d a

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  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Three44s View Post
    Everyone has some kind of vice or hobby. For me as a fourth generation rancher who loves firearms handloading made sense. Predators want to eat our livestock. They require above average ammunition to kill them. Handloading provides that along with enough economical shooting to enhance my ability to make use of more accurate ammo.

    I embarked on this hobby of handloading when I was a “wet behind the ears age” of 19, so I have a good ride thus far with no end in sight.

    Now as far as saving money in the strictest sense?

    Yes that is do able ... you just get a very basic set up and stick with it. No added tooling, a very few calibers and don’t shoot more rounds than you would have if you were buying all your ammo.

    You can take the time to count reloading savings and instead invest it in a vice/hobby that otherwise suits you and see how that stacks up.

    Me .... I won’t spend time counting fractions of pennies when I could be racking up cattle eaters or getting prepared to. I added equipment to my loading as my awareness about accuracy and speed of accomplishing my loading tasks evolved.

    No regrets and Best regards

    Three44s
    Sounds like you have a pretty good case for a tax write off.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by OS OK View Post
    Bean counting your hobby? Makes no sense...

    what you need to do is justify your hobby and quit with all that spreadsheet stuff...JUST GO BUY A BOX-O-BULLETS...you'll get the point.
    Amen to that! Reloading doesn't really save me any money; it just lets me shoot more for the same amount of money. Especially compared to the cost if I were to buy my ammo in stores or (gasp!) at the range!

    I admit I will do a quick calculation in my head at times when looking at bulk ammo prices, knowing that I can load 50 or 100 rounds for x amount of money, and sometimes at least for jacketed bullets it's becoming a toss-up for some calibers. But by and large, my cost per round with boolits I've cast is still pretty darn good and it's fun when I come across a stash of lead or WW's (non-zinc, that is) at a good price or sometimes free!
    "Silence is golden. Duct tape is silver. "

  10. #30
    Boolit Master
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    If my shoes cost $50 and I can make 1,000 trips back and forth to the toaster oven, each bake requiring 2 trips, each bake making 300 bullets. How much additional cost should I add per bullet for the wear and tear on my shoes?

  11. #31
    Boolit Buddy
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    You are getting exercise now so you're saving on the gym membership.

  12. #32
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by weeple2000 View Post
    I hadn't caught anything on this so I decided to look into it. I have a number of spreadsheets that I put together to figure out how much every aspect of my casting and reloading costs. I try to do what I can to shoot quality components as cheaply as possible. I realized that spreading the cost of ~$20 for a lb of powder over 7-9k boolits makes the cost insignificant on a per boolit basis. But what about running the oven to powder coat them?

    I have an energy monitor. I plugged my toaster oven into it to see how much power it uses. It is a smaller model. It uses $0.07 per hour. I have been standing my boolits on their base to bake them. I counted the last batch I did, I had close to 100 boolits on my tray. I figured that I am able to coat 7-9k, a lb of powder's worth, for about $1.63-2.10. Realistically I am probably using closer to $3. It takes time to preheat the oven. I also am losing some efficiency because I only have 2 trays. It takes a little while for a tray fresh out of the oven to cool. About 10 minutes. It also takes me close to 20 minutes to stand 100 boolits on their base using a pliers.

    I did try using a wire basket and dumping them on top of each other. I found that to be less efficient as they would stick together and I would have to cull some after breaking them apart.

    Figured I'd try a click bait title. Did it work?
    Get a bigger oven? I can do 600/9mm a pop in my conv pizza oven. I have no idea how much power it draws, do not really care. IF it was the same 7c an hour, I am getting more than 1200 bullets done for that. 1# of powder will easily do 5-6K bullets, a far greater cost item than the few pennies of elec.
    EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
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  13. #33
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by reddog81 View Post
    If my shoes cost $50 and I can make 1,000 trips back and forth to the toaster oven, each bake requiring 2 trips, each bake making 300 bullets. How much additional cost should I add per bullet for the wear and tear on my shoes?
    To heck with them shoes...how about the wear and tear on those knees? Knee Doctors ain't cheap either...gotta factor the Doctor.
    a m e r i c a n p r a v d a

    Be a Patriot . . . expose their lies!

    “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” G. Orwell

  14. #34
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    Relaxing, enjoyment, honing our hand eye coordination= Priceless!

  15. #35
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    How about how much the food costs to keep my energy up to make this post
    [SIZE=4][B]Selling Hi Quality Powdercoating Powder

    I carry a Nuke50 because cleaning up the mess is Silly !!

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=nuke50&...7ADE&FORM=QBLH

    I am not crazy my mom had me tested

    Theres a fine line between genius and crazy .. I'm that line
    and depending on the day I might just step over that line !!!

  16. #36
    In Remembrance - Super Moderator & Official Cast Boolits Sketch Artist

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    Spending time in the shop away from everything PRICELESS Thinking of putting a lock on my shop oh that locks on the inside only lol
    Reloading to save money I am sure the saving is going to start soon

  17. #37
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    yup I don't meter the cost of my modem being on all night or how much it cost me per hour to watch tv or build a wood fire to cook over to save electricity or take cold showers to save a few pennys. Ive probably got 3ok worth of loading and casting gear out in the barn and another 10k building the loading room section of the barn. If I factored all the money I have there and in powder primers lead gas checks brass ect I could probably have bought factory ammo and it would have been cheaper in the end. but what fun is that. PC is just a small part of my big picture. Theres advantages to it and if it cost twice as much to heat my oven id still do it.

  18. #38
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    Weeple2000 ...know we are having some fun at your expense.
    Studing the expenses is not a bad idea. Your study just shows the baking expense is very minor
    [SIZE=4][B]Selling Hi Quality Powdercoating Powder

    I carry a Nuke50 because cleaning up the mess is Silly !!

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=nuke50&...7ADE&FORM=QBLH

    I am not crazy my mom had me tested

    Theres a fine line between genius and crazy .. I'm that line
    and depending on the day I might just step over that line !!!

  19. #39
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by weeple2000 View Post
    I am fortunate to have found a forum of shooters, reloaders and casters with a sense of humor.
    And I for one, am glad to see you have a sense of humor as well.




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  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smoke4320 View Post
    Weeple2000 ...know we are having some fun at your expense.
    Studing the expenses is not a bad idea. Your study just shows the baking expense is very minor
    Exactly. And I'm thankful he did it. I can now be sure that my fraction of a penny rounding is covering that cost. Wonder if we can get him to see how much our ten and twenty pound pots are using per hour.....

    Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check