Home Made Lead shot attempt

[NZSarge]

After several weeks of attempts I have produced some home made shot. I just dont want to pay $NZ80 to $NZ110 for 10kg
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/235334fbb4b68bcc6c.jpg

No-where near perfect but a lot are getting there.
About size 6..I think.This is prototype Mk 4.
It made 2 oz in 2 minutes on an outside gas ring and this with only one hole, The next will have 4 holes.

Tuna can, 4 inch ramp and 10" drop into undiluted budget dishwash liquid. Water doesnt work, it puts long tails on.

Not quite round so a slightly shorter ramp and a 1/2" drop to the liquid should round it up apparantly.

The hole size is a panel nail, so if I just use the tip, not the whole nail diameter it should produce 7 1/2 to 8 shot.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/235334fbb4b8f3180a.jpg[/IMG]

[Ausglock]

G'day.
Back in the '80's I played with a littleton shot maker.
The nozzles made No.6 shot.

I used engineers chalk rubbed on the shelf and dropped into cold water with Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. Drop height was about 2ft.
The shot was dried in a low temp oven and then rolled down a sheet of glass set at a 10 degree angle. There was a gap at the bottom of the glass of about 2inches. All the good round shot jumped over the gap. Any deformed shot would fall into the gap and get remelted. I would then add a pinch of Graphite powder to a 2 liter Coke bottle that was 3/4 full of shot and tumble it around.

It loaded great and the ducks couldn't tell whether they were shot by WInchester shot or home made shot. Dead is dead.

[JeffinNZ]

I drop into antifreeze liquid and that works well. Found that soft lead would not run well enough which was likely an indication that I could not get the device hot enough. WW metal with some tin in it and awwwaaayyyy we went. The clay don't know the difference......when I manage to hit them.......

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Wonderful contraption ! Homemade and it works. That shot would cure any crow out to 25 yards !
Mike in Peru

[wilded]

Can you post a closeup of the hole in the can and the size hole? thanks, ET

[kenyerian]

Very Interesting. I just paid $39 / for a 25Lb bag of 6's. This looks like a great way to save some money. Just one question? Have you experimented with the height of the drop?

[NZSarge]

Wilded If you magnify the first picture, you will see the the tiny hole on the bottom rim just above the ramp. a little larger than a pin hole.

[bumpo628]

What are you using for your heat source?

[shotman]

you need pure wheel weights It has arcnic that acts as a surfactant . drop to coolet should be about 1/4 in
Hole for size 7 1/2 is .028 that is very small. there is a set of drill bits for a Drimall tool that has the very small sizes.
ramp should be about 1 1/4in. at about 35*

[NZSarge]

After 12 hours of frustration ( 3 hours) per evening I have tried different combinations of hole size, cooling fluid, length of ramp, drop to coolent etc. in my tin can efforts to make shot.

In my opinion and what I have observed is that the consistency of size, shape and usable quantity is more temperature dependant than anything else.

Most of the coolents I have tried work to acceptable degrees.
That list includes neat dish wash detergent, the same 1/3 water and 1/2 water, pure water ( tails), 2 stroke oil, transmission fluid, cooking oil.

Because my little tin cans are hard to keep at a constant temp using a gas ring, if the lead is too hot it turns to candy floss in all coolents.
A little cooler and the shot flattens to discs, cooler again and it rounds out nicely.
Therefore in one batch of 12 oz melt, I will or can get all three shapes.
I have rolled the batch between two pieces of timber to
round most of it up.

The reason I have kept playing with this is to try to get consistency and quantity of acceptable or passable shot of size 7 to 8.
If I could afford one of the fancy shot makers over there I would obviously just use it..

Conclusion: a thermostat or electric element will be more consistent and is the only way to go for quantity/quality.
An electric element /outside is my next try.
I don't think the hole, ramp or container is so much of an issue for home quantity anyway.
Thank you for the comments and advice, I have taken a little bit from everyone and changed things

PS I am using recovered range lead, I have collected and toiled to save and melt to muffin ingots over 300 LBs now
We have smaller ranges and less people than most of you probably have, which means less lead to collect, so this quantity has taken me almost 12 months. I also use this stuff for casting projectiles, .223. 303b, .357

[a.squibload]

Good work! Interesting technique.

Does the lead stream from the hole and drip off the ramp?
Or drip from the hole?
Does the amount of lead in the can change this?
(Thinking pressure, or "head".)

I read about shot towers, very tall, the molten lead forms a sphere as it falls
due to surface tension. Cools in the air as it falls, then water at the bottom
keeps it from deforming when it hits.
Too short a drop wouldn't give time for it to round out.
So you are replacing the long drop with a suitable liquid, in which the lead rounds out?

[NZSarge]

It drip/streams depending on the temperature. Slower gives rounder shot and yes, the liquid replaces the long drop air cool. The more lead in the can, the larger the shot I have noticed.

I believe the viscosity of the coolent and combined temperature of the lead is enough to turn the lead to a sphere. It wants to cool evenly to a round shape. Too hot and it explodes and kind of crystallises or flattens.
I was told the ramp doesn't create a round but guides into the liquid.
I am not sure if that is entirely correct. I think the rolling action along a ramp must cool and sphere the lead a little. I am not a technician however. It is many hours of hit and miss with my amateur set up.

[heathydee]

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=18389

The droplet down a ramp method is detailed here.Good results can be obtained and dependence on factory shot eliminated.