dryer lint for filler

[olafhardt]

I don't use fillers. But I was looking at the lint off the dryer screen and wondering if any one has tried it as filler in reloading?

[zuke]

It's flamable

[Sweetpea]

I believe that you want to use something less flammable.

[Lead Fred]

With a wad in between, the lint should never catch fire.
My dacron, which melts, has never even gotten heated.

BTW dryer lint is the number one emergency fire starter around.

[runfiverun]

I have used a lot of it.
it works just fine,you will see a little snow storm if you use too much.
follow the same rules as Dacron.
it doesn't leave that little ring behind on the case mouth that Dacron will sometimes.

[Larry Gibson]

It's flamible as mentioned and really; is dacron (batting polyester) really that expensive at Kmart, Wally World or any fabric shop? My wife bought me 10 yards of it on sale a couple years back and I've not used 2 yards of it yet......expect it to last quite a while and I use a lot of dacron for fillers. Dacron is proven stuff, doesn't burn and works.......

Larry Gbson

[John Allen]

Larry, how do they sell the Dacron filler at Wallmart? What do I look for? Thanks John

[runfiverun]

quilting batting.
it comes in rolls.
you just cut off little squares about the size of your thumb from the joint forward.
I have used the pillow stuffing filler stuff too, but the rolls are much easier to deal with.

[Larry Gibson]

Larry, how do they sell the Dacron filler at Wallmart? What do I look for? Thanks John

As mentioned some Walmarts sell the batting. It comes in sheets of various thickness in rolls 1 yard x how ever many you want. I get 5/8 to 1" thick if available. Thinner is ok as you just adjust the sisze of the square for the right amount to fill the air space in the case w/o a lot of compression. It also comes in plastic bags as stuffing for pillows, toys, etc. With that just pinch off the right amount for each case. Not hard and you'll quickly get used to "eyeballing" the right amount.

The amount of dacron used does not have to be exact as in weighing to the nearest .1 gr. I have varied the amount in the .308W from 1/2 gr to 1 gr and could see no discernable difference in fps, psi or accuracy at 100 yards. Trick is to fill the air space in the case with minimal compresion. I use the batting and cut it into 3/4 to 1" wide strips. I then eyeball it as I cut the squares to the amount wanted. The thickness varies along the strip so I adjust the amount cut accordingly. Sounds a whole lot more difficult than it really is. I'll cut a bunch of chunks of 1/2, 3/4 and 1 gr while watching TV and store them in coffee cans with lids and mark each can what size they are. A smaller cardboard box works well also. That way I always have some ready for loading.

Larry Gibson

[35remington]

Since drier lint is comprised of very short fibers, it has no springiness, and once compressed occupies a smaller volume that it did formerly.

It is inferior in pretty much every way to dacron, and with dacron being practically free I see no benefit and several downsides to using drier lint. There are better choices equally cheap.

[detox]

Would a cotton ball work?

[303Guy]

Would a cotton ball work? Now that is a fire starter! Not every time - in fact, very rarely but .... it can and apparently, occasionally does. It did take me a bit of experimenting to find a load combo using cotton wool/balls to find one that does ignite the cotton but find one I did! So why use it when Dacron is so much cheaper? The wife won't even notice when one of her multi couch cushions disappears and if she does, just look innocent - why would she suspect you?[smilie=1: Anyway, how much does a cheap Dacron filled pillow cost? It's a lifetime supply for a few dollars.

I've looked at lint but only because some folks have reported using it and successfully. I just don't see it as a viable alternative for me.

[dakotashooter2]

Another note about dryer lint might be inconsistency of material........ I'm not sure if that would make any difference or not.

[olafhardt]

OK the inconstancy I'll buy; however dacron and cotton meet the same standards of flamability as dryer lint ( I was a fuels engineer during my mispent youth.) The question I asked was has any body used it. Runfiverrun has, 303 guy has used cotton balls, dakotashooter brought up the inconsistancy which is a real question. All this about flamability, cost etc is irrelevent and some even incorrect. I am sure that two of the principle constituents of my dryer lint are polyester (dacron) and cotton.But I don't plan
To use fillers any way.

[BruceB]

In my experience, which now extends to many years and many thousands of rounds, Dacron does NOT burn or melt.

On breezy days, I've often seen the tufts blowing around the firing line, and the carpet which covers the benchrest in Der Schuetzenwagen is littered with strands of the stuff. It's not even discolored.

The ONE time I've seen it melt occurred when I failed to include a powder charge (!) in the load. The primer fired, the bullet did not move, and I found the Dacron melted to a blob when the bullet was pulled. It must have been related to time-of-exposure, as the Dacron had time to absorb ALL the heat from the primer.

My Dacron is used in the form of tufts pulled off a loose mass that comes in a big bag....not cut from a batt. It works well for me, and I have no difficulty with consistent size for whatever combination of case/volume/powder charge that I may be using. This is purely a matter pf choice, and obviously either method will work.