Hillbilly Shot maker

[jixxerbill]

Thanks to a few people on here i was able to put this together...





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyCxNsbyMAk

[ffg]

amazing

[wch]

Very nice work, and a good idea.

[Geoffrey]

That is fantastic!

[alrighty]

Very nice idea and design , congrats!

[scarry scarney]

I'm envious of your skill and ability!

[eck0313]

Nice work Devil Dog!

[camaro1st]

nice set up!!

[ffg]

Remarkable the fact that you have your very own foundry to make parts , wow .

[possom813]

That's pretty slick!

I have a question about the lip that the drips hit? What's it's purpose?

Myself and a buddy want to build a shotmaker, not as elaborate as this one(at least not yet) and we haven't found reasoning behind the lip? Wouldn't it dent the shot coming out?


And if you're up for answering a few more questions, I have plenty about the specifications and how it actually works, mainly the drippers, and lead level and all that jazz, coolant?

I can go on for a few minutes with questions :mrgreen:

[kenyerian]

Very nice!!

[jmsj]

Very Very Cool!!
Don't you just love it when a plan comes together
jmsj

[nodda duma]

Awesome!

[LUBEDUDE]

Very impressive Bill!

[I'll Make Mine]

I have a question about the lip that the drips hit? What's it's purpose?

[...] Wouldn't it dent the shot coming out?

The shot is still liquid when it rolls down the lip; the idea is to ensure that the shot is round (from rolling) before it hits the coolant. Without the lip, you'd need a free drop of at least a hundred feet to let surface tension round out the lead drop (hence why shot was made in towers), but with the lip, and good drip rate with the right coolant, you can get good round shot in a setup that doesn't require a fall harness to manage.

[Agent1187]

That is one pretty unit!

Were you noticing any problems with the shot clumping together in the coolant after it starts to pile up?

[jixxerbill]

The shot is still liquid when it rolls down the lip; the idea is to ensure that the shot is round (from rolling) before it hits the coolant. Without the lip, you'd need a free drop of at least a hundred feet to let surface tension round out the lead drop (hence why shot was made in towers), but with the lip, and good drip rate with the right coolant, you can get good round shot in a setup that doesn't require a fall harness to manage.

Actually the shot bounces down the lip, it doesent roll down it. Mine bounces about 3 times, and i guess it is still round from the last bounce when it hits the anti-freeze and cools instantly..

possom813 --The drippers are made from 3/16 bolts. If you do a search in this thread another person has a picture of how they are made.
The level of the lead is personal preference and shot size desired, but if you get too high with it the drops will become a steady stream..
Coolant used was 100% anti-freeze, other coolants can be used from what i have read.

The design and workings of the shot maker have been around for a bit, i actually just wanted to see if i could use cast aluminum to make it work. I'd love to take full credit, but the design has been done several times. I only added my spin on how it all comes together, and casting the dripper.

Thanks to all for the kind words...Bill

[helice]

How do I get that radio station?
All I get here is ****.
Amazing set up. I love to watch a problem solver at work. DANG!

[LUBEDUDE]

BTW- your unit is far From Hillbilly!

[Castaholic]

That setup is impressive to say to least! Good work!

[Lonegun1894]

Way to go!

[EMC45]

Great set up! Last song playing was Johnny!

[Awsar]

are you kidding me:shock: very cool the casting came out great love the setup. keep it up man .

[Tucker]

Great job man that is sweeeet!!

[bbs383ci]

sweet, looks great

[mtgrs737]

Great job making your shotmaker, few men have the equipment or talent to do what you did. I was wondering about the shot you produce, is it round? does it have any flats on it? The reason I ask is that I use laundry soap as a coolant and my tank is very deep at around 22". When things are just right my shot is within .004" of being perfectly round, worst case it may be .006" out of round, and I do get some footballs which I recycle. I also get a few with flats maybe 1/2 of a percent and I don't know why, I just live with them. Again very cool shotmaker, you are talented.

[jixxerbill]

mtgrs737-- After i made the shot i just rinsed it off and had to hit the road for work, im still out right now lol.. Ill do some checking when i get back home on the roundness of it...Since you make shot also i was wondering where do you get whatever you use to seperate out the shot sizes ? I have called several places to get perforated metal with the size holes i need and WOW it is crazy high priced !! i guess i could spend a few days drilling holes in some light guage metal ! lol..Bill

[mtgrs737]

Bill,
I had the same problem, finding sieves to size the shot with. I got some test sieves off ebay but they are kinda slow. I got a #8 which is .0937" openings and a #9 and a #10 but they are not very fast and are expensive. What I have done is to order some 302 stainless wire cloth in 12" squares from industrial supply houses like Graingers, and MSC. You have to look up the opening size on them I got one of each of the following: .097", .093", .090", .088". I use the first one .097" to remove anything larger than a 7.5 size shot pellet. Then I use the .093" to remove the smaller shot, and what I have left in the screen is 7.5 shot. What dropped thru the .093" I consider "Big 8's" as they are almost 7.5 (.095") shot but I like them a tad big to better deal with the wind here in Kansas and for cold weather shooting. If I want a little larger pellet count in my reloads for say 1 oz. or hot summer day loads then I will go ahead and sieve them thru the .090" sieve to remove the slightly larger pellets and get closer to a true #8 (.090"). If your shot is not completly round and mine arn't then you will have slightly larger shot as the shot will pass thru the sieve on the smallest dim. so a pellet that is .004" out of round will pass thru a .090" sieve is on average .092" dia. pellet. Factory shot tolerance is +/- .005" so they can vari 1/2 size each way from nominal. I make a frame out of 2x4 wood and mount the screen in the bottom with staples and epoxy, then I put a cap over the edges to protect the screen mounting area. I suggest that you order wire cloth with wire diameters of more than .025" as they are more durable than the smaller wire that some of the wire cloth uses. I use a vibratory brass tumbler to graphite my shot in, to 10 lbs. of shot I add no more than a pea sized amount of powdered graphite. Resist the urge to add more graphite or you will make a mess of things. I let mine run for about 1/2 an hour and the shot comes out well polished and shiney black. In the last three days I have made 200 lbs. of #8 shot for 16 to 21 yd. trap shooting, I have shot many 25 using this shot so if I miss it is that fool that connects the shotgun to the grounds fault. I only use clip on wheel weights for my #8 shot and add 2% antimony to the ww alloy for 7.5 shot I use for longer yardages than 21 yds. If I could find some arsenic I would add that to the alloy as arsenic will create surface tension on the pellet and help with the roundness, the Factory alloy has .2% and clip on ww's have .02% or so I am told. Good luck with your shotmaking, it is not a science but a quest!

[Stephen Cohen]

That is fantastic well done Sir.

[bpratl]

mtgrs737....thanks, great write-up and you answered many of my questions. Bob

[Lloyd Smale]

any chance youd make them to sell?

[mtgrs737]

You can get powdered graphite from a farm supply store or implement dealer in 1 lb. bottles for less than $10. I made a wash bucket out of a 5 gal. bucket that I drilled 1/4" holes in the bottom and epoxied window screen into the bottom to keep the shot in. I use cheap sheet cake pans from wally world to dry shot in, I put a towel in the bottom of the cake pan, pour in shot 3/8" deep, even it out, then let it set for a couple of hours. I remove the towel and let the sun and air finish the drying of the shot, or put a fan on it to speed up the process. If you are making shot in the summer the sheet cake pans will dry the water off the shot in about an hour when I set them on the hot concrete of the driveway. I store my shot in 2 liter pop bottles that have been washed out and dried, each one holds about 31 pounds of shot and you can clear tape a label to them. A infared temperture scaner is really nice to keep track of the coolant temp at all levels of the coolant tank. I warm my coolant to a minimum of 75 Degrees before dripping shot as too cold will cause the pellet to deform more. I quit dripping when the top level of coolant reaches 120 degrees for the same reason. I made my coolant imersion heater from a 120 volt electric water heater element and a 4" square electric box, it works like a charm, I can bring my coolant up to temp in 15 to 20 minutes. You do need to stir the coolant so that it will heat evenly and for that I use a rotory paint stirer driven by a cordless drill, three or four times during the heating cycle will do it. Keep the lead as close to 650 degrees as you can and make sure your alloy is clean for best results. Try to maintain the same lead level in the ladle which can affect pressure at the dripper or you will get larger size variances in pellets. My coolant tank is a army mortor can that I have welded on a pipe fitting for an overflow tube and a drain valve that is a 1/2" ball valve at the bottom. I made a V shaped sheet metal funnel to funnel the shot inside the tank to the drain hole in the bottom, this makes getting the shot out a snap. I have a two gallon plasitic bucket with holes drilled into it and a window screen epoxied over them that I set in a plastic tub to catch the shot/soap mix coming out of the bottom drain ball valve. I then set the 2 gallon pail in a five gallon bucket that has had a hole in the lid cut to hold the 2 gal. bucket and this lets the rest of the soap drain off the shot. My shotmaker runs the lead about 650 to 700 degrees in the ladle and that seems to work well. As best as I can figure taking into consideration the cost of propane, lead WW's, soap, electricity, etc. I make a bag of shot (25 lbs.) for about $12 to $13. Add about $4 a bag for the +2% antimony 7.5 size shot, I do not count the cost of my time as it keeps me out of trouble and I do enjoy making shot most of the time.

Keep good records of each run of things like: air temp, lead temp. coolant temp at three or four levels in the tank and starting and finishing temps and you will soon see a pattern for what best works in your shotmaking quest. Good luck!

[JIMinPHX]

Very nicely done sir.

I'm curious as to just how round your shot comes out. I've never seen a rig with that small of a drop distance before.

[trevj]

Mister. Next time you make a vid, unplug that damnable radio, please.

Couldn't manage to watch it with sound. Terrible.

Not a bad looking shot dripper though.

Cheers
Trev

[wtfooptimax200]

Awesome shot maker. Is that a steel foundry....very cool. When I finally get to build my shot maker it will definitely not be as nice as yours!

[Ken B]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chrisw]

wow- just amazing! Um, where in WV are ya? I love to trade lead?:twisted:

[jixxerbill]

wow- just amazing! Um, where in WV are ya? I love to trade lead?:twisted:

I live near Princeton, WV..Southern part of WV

[coydogsniper]

try Glycol FR40 or any other water based hydraulic oil that is fire proof.....lots better that antifreeze...I have run well over 14,000 pounds of shot ...this stuff is the cats meow

[coydogsniper]

I tumble my shot in a plastic cement mixer that I purchased from Harbor Freight new. I can tumble 200 to 250 pounds in less than 1 hour. the graphite is kind of a guess to the amount...depends on the type you get....once the cement mixer is coated well it wont take near as much.....the stuff comes out very round after polishing. I made a simple ramp to short the shot on....kind of looks like one of the old shuffle boards...it has adjustable bars to determine the height of the shot that can pass under them...the pellets that are not round enough to roll straight will fall to the side and can be added back to the pot for another try. you can cull your shot by simply adjusting the height of the bar ...pretty simple...and it all funnels down to my catch bucked at the end....will try to get some pictures out here for all of you.....Don

[coydogsniper]

oh yeah...forgot to mention....I have 2 heat guns pointed into the cement mixer...i wash the shot to remove the Glycol, I have several army blankets i bought from Goodwill I pour it on ...let sit a few minutes and dump in the tumbler...turn on the heat guns for a about 15 minutes while it starting to tumble...drys 200 to 250 pounds in less than 15 minutes...add the graphite and run another 45 minutes and your done....shoot me a message if you want to talk shot making .....I have ran about 14,000 pounds to date.

[chrisw]

I live near Princeton, WV..Southern part of WV


Wow, I'm down in Dublin! Bout, 45 minutes I guess.