Tray Ideals

[RP]

I see some are having problems finding trays or want more trays and a few have posted their ideal on how to fix the problem. I have found PC without foil or wire the boolits stick to the tray. There is your glue. Now for trays nothing says it has to be a oven tray that comes with a oven right. I have used old signs they are thick enough to hold the weight and work just fine just use the back side or the bare side. I have also used just plain old sheet steel I had laying around. It just has to be able to with stand the heat and bear the weight. You can cut the signs with most wood saws and blades but WARNING it will kick back so a skillsaw or table saw would not be the safest thing to use a jig saw or band saw is a lot safer. I would place lets say the raiser if they are nuts or washers or nails on the sheet with some PC between the two and cook it. That's my thoughts on it and maybe it help some out with finding a way to have several trays waiting for the oven.

[Beagle333]

I'm using JB-Weld for the glue. It's working pretty good. Thrift stores have lots of aluminum cookie sheets cheap, and tin snips make them fit the little ovens. (safer than an electric saw)8-)

[Anyracoon]

I've been thinking along the same lines. In the process of shearing some 14 gauge sheet metal to slide in the toaster oven with holes drilled to be able to set gas checked bullets up right. Also could be used to PC spray with bullet tips down. Do you guys think stainless metal would work better?

[RP]

Have not tried the SS so I can not say the thing about cookie sheets is how stiff they are after they are loaded that's way I lean towards the thicker sign alum. I cut it several times the warning is for people that have never mess with it.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I have not taken the plunge into PCing but have given it considerable thought. If I take the plunge, here is how I would do it.

I would take a piece of 1/4" mild steel cut to just under the width and depth of the internal dimensions of the oven... so it can slide in easily. Next I would mark out a grid on the sheet, say with the marks approxiamately 1/2" apart. Then at every mark I would drill a hole all the way through the steel with a drill bit that is just a touch smaller than the shank on a roofing nail. The hole would have to be bid enough to "nail" the roofing nail into the hole. The next step would be to place anther piece of steel under the sheet you just drilled all the holes in. This second sheet will act as a "stop" to stop the roofing nails when they reach the bottom of the hole you just drilled. Nail in all the roofing nails, being careful not to distort the heads too much.

Now that you have your tray, grab a 2x8 piece of lumber (maybe larger depending on how big your piece of steel is) and mark it out the same you marked out your grid on your steel. Drill these holes just a touch larger than the bullet diameter you intend to PC. Depth needs to be just a bit longer than the length of the boolit.

Now load your boolits nose first into the wooden tray. Once it is full, take your steel jig and place it over the wooden jig so the nail heads just go into the holes you drilled in the wood. At this point they should be in contact with the base of the boolits. Next step is the same process as using a primer flip tray. Flip the entire assembly over and carefully take the wood tray off the top. The bullets should be sitting on the nail heads nicely and ready for PC.

If the nail heads get a little PC on them I would think that a quick hit with a grinder with a wire wheel should take care of it.

Like I said, I have NO experience with PCing. Any thoughts and critiques are most definetly welcome!

[sparky45]

How about just using a hardwood block?

[Beagle333]

It appears to me, through experimentation, that anything you use will get PC on it. The stuff will creep under boolits and drift down into washers and nuts and coat nail heads, preventing the conductivity needed, and so everything must be covered in non-stick foil so you can change it easily, or you'll have to occasionally go through the brush/burn process of getting it off. I have not seen this to be nearly as easy as just swapping out a sheet of foil every couple of coats. The only exception is the HP's hung nose down on nails.
But this coating thing is kinda like tumbling and pan lubing.... there are a bazillion techniques and all of them work better for different people.

Have fun making pretty, non-sticky, easy-sizing, non-leading boolits!!!

My tray before:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/lined-up_zps8a2d4b7e.jpg



My tray after:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/HF018_zps668a6ac4.jpg

[el34]

I do it just like Beagle. It's correct that the powder will build up and make a fixture unusable unless non-stick foil is on top (see Beagle's pics). The foil gets replaced every 1-3 uses.

I thought about using powder to glue nuts to the tray but wasn't sure what would happen remelting it with every PC cycle. 24-hour JB Weld withstands 500 deg heat but not the quick-set stuff.

[C. Latch]

Has anyone tried very lightly oiling each bullet base before sitting them directly on foil?

[RP]

Well I was out in the shop today coating some bullets and learned a few things to do and not to do. I made a tray like beagle I used bullets glued with PC to a tray and alum over them. I found the more bullets is maybe not the best thing. The thing I did that varied from him was I sprayed on my raised alum tray then moved to my cooking sheet of alum plate covered with the foil until I was full. What I found is all the over spray on the first tray was fine to reuse. That fits right in with me being cheap lol. Now what I am going to do next time is set my risers on my steel table cover with foil and spray making the recovery of the over spray easier and more effective. Yes it may take more time moving the bullets from spray tray to cook tray but I like the method so far and my cooking sheet can be used a lot more times I ran 5 runs on it today and it showed no sign of needing replacing. I use the medical clamps to move them around with no damage or marks to the PC. I think this will speed up the process since I can cook while spraying more bullets and loading up another tray so production is not on hold waiting for a empty cook tray. Thanks to all that have shared their thoughts and posted pics it sure helps with the trial and error part of this process. The only thing I am having problems with now is my GCs on the 45s for my 454 I got these in a trade not sure if they are rifle or pistol GCs. When I size the bullets without GCs with very little effort but add a GC and things go south fast. They are hard to size at GC then it shaves one side of the bullet on most of them. If I run them nose first and it caves in the GC. I have no problems with my 30 cals or 44s. My thoughts are its the checks I was told they are hornady brand also I have not used a great deal of GCs and this is my first time having problems with them and first time using 45 cal.

[RP]

Well I tried a new twist to my PC process. I used a cookie sheet large oven style with the lib all away around it. I read
that the no stick sheets will not conduct the current well so I laid a sheet of foil on the tray then just set the boolits on it as my bases. Then setting the boolits I want to coat on top of them and sprayed I did this several times. After spraying I moved them to my cooking (alum signs I have cut to fit my toaster oven) trays. Then I took the bullets that I used for bases and cook those to since after spraying several bullets on top of them they also were coated. The big thing was all the powder on the spray tray was ok to reuse. I have a fine hair brush that sweeps it up well but I think I will borrow one of my wife's makeup brushes I think it will work better. After sweeping up the overspray I was able to coat three more rounds of bullets then I repeated it again for later use. Yes its time consuming but to me its worth the trouble. I think a wood block for the HP may work fine I would use a hard wood or something that did not have a lot of oils that may vapor in the oven. Thing is with me I am always trying different ways until I find something I am happy with.

[el34]

Thing is with me I am always trying different ways until I find something I am happy with.

Good trait. Although using Reynolds ns foil (dull side up) over nuts or just flat works pretty well for several people, if you find another good way please post it. This is kind of an evolving science.

[fcvan]

I bought a few galvanized sheet metal flashing pieces (approx 6" x 12", .97 at Home Depot) and cut them to fit the trays in my toaster oven (approx 5.5" x 6"). I cover the sheet metal with non stick aluminum which works great. I use styrofoam ammo trays to evenly space my boolits on the foil by skipping every other hole. After loading the boolits nose down in the ammo tray I place the foil covered sheet onto the trays and invert. Voila! Lots of boolits in nice even rows.

I don't pull the styrofoam off until the tray is in my spray booth (3 sided card board box, nothing fancy). I put the sheet metal onto a plastic jar lid so the sheet metal isn't sitting on the card board bottom of the box. Someone suggested a lazy Susan but the plastic lid seems to work fine. I spray, turn 180* and spray again. After baking the boolits fall of the foil.

For my gas checked boolits I drilled holes in a tray for .22 boolits and epoxied gas checks onto a tray for .30 boolits. That worked well but I wasn't using NS foil at the time. Now I'm using fender washers epoxied to the sheet metal and covering with NS foil before placing boolits. The washers seem to work better as the gas checks would eventually pop off the sheet metal. Everything I've learned about regarding PCd boolits I learned on this website. I'm digging the performance of PCd boolits in my pistols and my AR platform 5.56 rifle. Parts are on order to finish building a 300 blk, and I already have lots of Lee 312-155 2R boolits PCd, gas checked, and sized. I'm digging PCd boolits.

[bstone5]

The best I have found to keep the bases relatively clean is to put screen wire on top of non-stick foil.

I use a powder coating gun for applying the powder coat.

The powder falls through the screen wire and very little sticks to the base of the bullet.

I cook in a small convection oven purchased at Target, make by GE somewhere in China.

Cola Can gas checks are installed after sizing with a Lee push through sizing die.

The bullets shown are for the 45 ACP.

The powder coated bullets with the Cola Can gas checks shoot very well.

[sparky45]

How many times are you able to use the screen before it needs to be cleaned?

[Beagle333]

'Gotta love the cola can gas checks! :wink:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/HF022_zps8858d813.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/HF_zpsa683d8fb.jpg

[RP]

Well I use bullets for my risers and after I coated a few the bottom ones were coated all the way to the base and looked great. I cooked them up still looking fine just a little thicker. Then I went to size and that's where my first problem showed up I noticed that sizing I got a flare on the thicker ones I do not think it will be a problem but I really did not like it the flare may burn off going down the barrel. Now working on coating the bases of some soft alloy 247 to shoot with out GCs standing those long suckers up is a pain. I been reviewing others post to come up with something I like thanks for everyone sharing their progress.

[RP]

Well again a day of trial and error to learn some more on why things just don't work. I tried some wire mess today with the 1/4 holes I used a punch to round up about every forth one thinking this was the answer to those long 247 30 cals. Well I could spray the bottoms and sides great but when the boolit met the wire no coating and what did coat was not to my liking. So I baked them then stood them on the base and sprayed again and bakes to get a fair coating. I read somewhere a fellow was using a micro nail gun and shooting the base of the boolit and bending for a hanger may try that out.
On a positive note I have found a way to make tray to spray my HP bullets that was easy and worked good. I took some plywood I had on hand and some alum siding coil cut a piece for the top and bottom of the plywood and shot 2 in brads in a grid. I figured with one sheet of alum on the top and one on the bottom it would make a good current path. I loaded it up with some HPs grounded on of the brads and sprayed getting a nice coat with little effort and cooked the entire thing. I got some smoke not sure if it was from the alum having a pvc coating or the wood but not to bad. I baked three times with them and all seems to be working fine. The sides of the wood did not show any signs of burning and they were easy to make. If anyone else wants to try it keep your eyes out for someone having siding installed and I am sure if you ask the guys they give you some scrap I would nail it coating side towards the wood.
The other thing I learned today is its not the air flow or the bullet being right on the foil that keeps it from getting coated as I thought but the current flow when they are up on the nails it draws the PC to the bullet. I should have knew that but did not click until today.

[C. Latch]

Part of me thinks the best solution to easy PC'ing is just to switch to all-hollowpoint molds and just go to harder alloys if you don't want expansion. I realize that this isn't a workable solution for everyone, but I'm only shooting cast in pistols right now, so it'll do for me........if the mold group buys I signed up for ever go through.

[Russel Nash]

Part of me thinks the best solution to easy PC'ing is just to switch to all-hollowpoint molds and just go to harder alloys if you don't want expansion. I realize that this isn't a workable solution for everyone, but I'm only shooting cast in pistols right now, so it'll do for me........if the mold group buys I signed up for ever go through.

I am right there with you. About to sell my regular non-hollow pointed moulds.

I haven't done any powder coating yet. My Harbor Freight electro-static gun is still in the box.

But this is my tray, the first tray I made:


http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt112/gryphon1994/D9DFE2D1-78ED-4FA5-A323-205E73BE4C8A-1770-0000046806DA1260_zpse47229e6.jpg

http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt112/gryphon1994/3E0E41F5-1FF9-42BB-B0D6-705D1DD38780-1770-000004649FF7F469_zps1bb26ab1.jpg

For that tray ^^^, I was planning on using the non-stick Reynolds foil.

I have another piece of that same sheet metal. I figure once I get the hollow point moulds, I will lay out a staggered pattern like before. However, there is a drywall screw with a self-cutting or self-tapping point used for hanging drywall on metal studs. I would use those, driven through the sheet. With the tray pointey side up, I'd just set my hollow pointed boolits down onto the points.

[Beagle333]

You should spray a few before you build too many of those trays.... I really believe you could tighten up on the grouping and get more boolits coated nicely with that same area. :-D

[kbstenberg]

Beagle What spacing do you use? Kevin

[kbstenberg]

After I posted I got to thinking. If you used Russel's plate inverted from how he photoed it. Covered the top with AL. non stick foil. Punched the noses through the foil so the basses were up. Wouldn't the bullets get the electrostatic "sp" charge, and be less susceptible to tipping, and be faster to load a tray.

[Beagle333]

It really depends on boolit size, as to the spacing. I only coat .357 and .45 slugs on mine, so 3/4" works for me. I actually have a little too much space between the .357 boolits at that spacing, but I just haven't gotten around to making two different trays.

These are .45s.
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/green_zps76f1defd.jpg



With the boolits shoved through the foil thing... I found that the powder will migrate down through the hole and make the nose quite ugly, and also cause some flashing on the nose.
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/HF007_zpsc1f98f2c.jpg

One fellow said he wiped his foil with PAM or something similar before poking them through and got good results with reduced flashing, but I have not tried that. There is probably a better way than stacking them on nuts, but it is working pretty good for me. Good enough that I'm not actively testing other methods. :)

[Russel Nash]

That right there on the nose of the bullets:

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/HF007_zpsc1f98f2c.jpg

Is what I am trying to avoid.

[Anyracoon]

Just cut some 12 gauge sheet metal into 8" by 11" for trays. I'm doing gas checked rifle bullets so I place 1/4" washers in a couple of rows, than covered in regular tin foil. Seems to keep them from tipping over pretty well. Thinking of tack welding the washers to a tray and try the non stick foil or maybe some silicone on the tray it self. Yes I did spray powder coat. FYI, HTF has red, white and black powder for $3.99.

[slim1836]

I used a piece of sheet metal to make a couple of quick trays, drilled 19/64 holes in them for my gas checked .30 boolits which sit inside the holes even after putting non stick foil over the tray. Used the boolit nose to punch out the holes in the foil. 92590

Slim

[Beagle333]

I do need to make a tray with some holes for my GC .35 cal boolits. I like the ideas coming up about ways to make GC boolits stand up better. :grin:

But I did cast and coat some PB boolits and this is why I like to sit mine up on the nuts, versus just standing them on the foil. I get just a little bit of wrap-around effect and it lets me know that the entire side is coated. 8-)
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/tb2022_zps525034f3.jpg

[RP]

My latest way to PC boolits, Wire rebar racks for footers holds the rebar up when concrete is poured. 14 ga electric fence wire wrapped around a rod and clipped at sharpest angle to form points. I took two racks tied together and flipped upside down placed rings on and clipped them to the boolits. I can not spray today since the moisture way up and I have them place tightly on the rack to test on how many I can spray at a time. So no test results as of yet but thought I share the way my thinking is headed.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/powder%20coating/DSC02471_zps341376eb.jpg

[Beagle333]

Pretty interesting. Will you use a new wire rack each time to make sure the rings contact a bare spot on it? I 'spose there would be a bare spot on the underside of the top of each ring and you could reuse those? We do have a bazillion of those rebar racks sitting around on the jobsites. :-D

[RP]

Well I was thinking of that also not sure how I am going to deal with that right now still tinkering.

[Russel Nash]

My buddy that does the powder coating for my AR500 targets and target stands hangs all his stuff from rebar wire, basically. He has a trolley that hangs from the ceiling. So he runs another rebar wire "leader" from all the other rebar wire hooks, then he clamps the ground wire to that. Then he wheels the trolley with all the stuff hanging from it into his oven.

There is a green plastic type tape he uses to mask off certain areas. In my case, so my stuff can get assembled at the range without tools, I will weld the bolt heads to keep them from spinning. Then he has to cover the threads with that green plastic tape.

Maybe if you could cover some spots with the green tape now, before the first spraying of PC. Then when it gets sprayed again, cut the tape back a 1/4 inch .

[Russel Nash]

I still like this idea:

http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg.html?&_suid=138952171859505997561162803322

http://rs80.pbsrc.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg~320x480

[Beagle333]

I still plan to build something like that, Russell. I do coat a few flat nose .45s for my Peacemaker, but 90% of my cast boolits are HPs. And that tray would completely remove the "pucker factor" when transferring a freshly sprayed tray to the oven and also the suspense of the dreaded "domino effect". :wink:

[RP]

Nash for HP that's has to be the best way of spraying them well I think. What I did was plywood with alum siding and trim nails shot threw it all. Oh the plywood has been baked a few times got some glue or sap out the edge on one of them.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/powder%20coating/DSC02468_zps6447daeb.jpg

[Russel Nash]

Trim nails... Like a 15 gauge or 16 gauge nailgun for like baseboard and door casing???

[RP]

Yes nash 16 ga trim nails I use in my cordless trim gun. Now if your thinking along that line here is another ideal for you. Alum sheet also know as renewed street sign add some pc and thumbtacks and bake the PC holds them in place.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/DSC02480_zps24fc27b3.jpg
Now as far as my other racks I posted here is the results.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/DSC02476_zpsa8a0361a.jpg
I found the spacing was not ideal and was a pain to coat that many at a time. Also yellow is not a very good color to coat with I went back and dumped in some mixed powder I had on hand which was white red. They did not seem to want to take a second coat well but that's what they looked like after two coats.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/DSC02482_zpse5f302ef.jpg
This shows how much better they coat with less bullets and just yellow.
Today was more of a test to see how the racks worked and some other stuff
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/DSC02483_zpsa7c7b9d2.jpg
You can see the points of contact with the rings on the bullets which is not bad also you can notice the coat thickness.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/DSC02484_zps9b04be7f.jpg
If you look at these you will notice some darker then others. The dark ones are just yellow the others are when I mixed some white in with the yellow. One thing I have found mixing colors is not as easy as one may think for some reasons one of the two colors stick to the bullets better and not in a mixed or blend. So far I have found is red is the best color for coating the fastest and easiest if you mix yellow for a orange its not to bad either. But plain yellow or white is the hardest to coat with.
Another thing I need to double check my temps I think I got a miss reading when I first started up my ovens. I think my temps are running higher then I think causing the colors to be darker then they should be (burnt) has anyone else noticed this?

[crawfobj]

Really like the thumbtack idea. It doesn't get much simpler than that!

[gefiltephish]

Hmmm...thumbtacks. Not at home right now so can't try it, but I'm wondering if ya can push the bullet base onto the points just far enough to hold the bullets up. I don't imagine that tiny hole will affect accuracy, but I'm just thinking hand guns.

As a sidenote: Yesterday I was ES PCing and was being lazy so elected to spritz some one-shot on the foil between loadings. Let it dry well before placing bullets. I hate messin' with that darned foil! Anyhow, it greatly reduced the tendency for the bullets to stick to the previous paint coat (on the foil). I only have one tray made up so far, and this was a lot faster than redoing the foil.

[Russel Nash]

Thanks RP!

Those yellow hollow points look good!

[Russel Nash]

How close to the element are the darker ones?

I helped my buddy powder coat an aluminum trailer that gets pulled behind a motorcycle. The lid for it was hi ged kind of like a car's hood. The heating elements for my buddy's walk in PC oven are near the floor/bottom. We got the lid wheeled in there but the way it was hanging one corner was too close to the element. So we wheeled it out after about 15 minutes thinking it was done. It was supposed to be orange. We shine a drop light on it inspecting every square inch, we get to the bottom and see where it is more like a brown. "FFFFFUUU...!!!"

[RP]

The thumb tacks started off to hold my 247 by sticking them on the points. Well it worked ok made my hand cramp up a little doing it but not to bad. The problem comes in when you place it in the oven the temp change will loosen up the boolits and a few will fall off the tacks. I was trying to do the same thing with some of the trim nails that I sharpened and got the same results. Also if you push to hard or uneven you can fold the tack over easy.
As far as how close I have them to the elements that may be a problem but its not looking like it and I really cannot move them farther away with my little stove I am using. I hope my post on the trays or racks inspire you guys and all ideals on the matter would be helpful.

[birdadly]

I perhaps went above and beyond with this (even made 2), but I'm no machinist (graphic designer) so it was something completely new and fun to do. It also allowed me to bond with my machinist friends (tools and knowledge). However, I will NOT be tapping anything again any time soon...

So it's 1/8" steel, 100 drilled and tapped holes 1" on center, staggered rows of 10 x 10. 1/2" flathead screws. I figure one side will be for HP's and the other for non-HPs. So far I've only tried the flat side and worked flawlessly.

-Brad

[Beagle333]

Great idea, Brad! I'm jealous of that nice big tray! :-D

[RP]

That is a great ideal I may have to make one of those for double duty. Btw my rack I made which I hang the bullets with the rings worked great the first two or three times but last time I use it I had a current flow problem from build up. I have not tried to clean it off any to see if that helps. I have thought about making something with two lets say post to hold a new clean wire each time I use it but not sure if the rings will stay clean enough to reuse many times. If that fails I will mark that method up as a failure.

[crawfobj]

Great tray idea. I might do the same thing but with self tapping screws.

[Hang Fire]

]

For that tray ^^^, I was planning on using the non-stick Reynolds foil.

I have another piece of that same sheet metal. I figure once I get the hollow point moulds, I will lay out a staggered pattern like before. However, there is a drywall screw with a self-cutting or self-tapping point used for hanging drywall on metal studs. I would use those, driven through the sheet. With the tray pointey side up, I'd just set my hollow pointed boolits down onto the points.


I am considering a set up similar to yours. But instead of the NS foil, use a paper cookie bake sheet with holes punched out in place, (using a tapered round drift, tapped gently with hammer) insert the boolit nose first in hole (making boolit contact with metal tray) and ESPC. The paper top cover should keep the powder from sticking to the metal tray and any loose powder on the paper should blow right off and leave boolits ready for baking.

[Hang Fire]

I still like this idea:

http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg.html?&_suid=138952171859505997561162803322

http://rs80.pbsrc.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg~320x480

That do look slick.

[Maximumbob54]

I like the screws through the steel so they set on the flat heads of the screws.

Here's a thought about the foil... Like many, I switched to the non stick foil and that did help. BUT... They slip and slide across it. I'm going to try the regular foil next time to see if that stops them sliding around and being raised up I think it won't matter being regular foil. Maybe. I hope.

[BIGRED]

Brad nice looking tray. Looks very close to mine.
How did you get the foil down around the screw heads that far? I made 5 trays. With 6/32 1/2" flat head screw's. 1/8" aluminum Plate is drilled and tapped for the screw's. 1-1/4" spacing. They stick up 5/16" and the other side of late has nuts. This way the page is dual propose. I cannot get the foil down around the screw's very well. Do you have a technique for this?

[birdadly]

I guess I worked from the center of the tray, out. I think I used my thumb and first 2 fingers, pressing down around the screw head. Once I'd go to the next screw though, it wanted to pull what I already had done, so sort of keep hold of the done stuff while you continue forward. You definitely have to go in one direction though, either center - out, or maybe from a corner to corner. -Brad


Brad nice looking tray. Looks very close to mine.
How did you get the foil down around the screw heads that far? I made 5 trays. With 6/32 1/2" flat head screw's. 1/8" aluminum Plate is drilled and tapped for the screw's. 1-1/4" spacing. They stick up 5/16" and the other side of late has nuts. This way the page is dual propose. I cannot get the foil down around the screw's very well. Do you have a technique for this?

[GunFun]

Interesting thread. I've been looking at an approach much more like the commercial casters do: Tumble them while baking to ensure even surface texture. Here is an inexpensive way:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coffee-Peanut-Chile-Cacao-Roaster-Drum-Fits-Ronco-Showtime-Foreman-Rotisseries-/171219317299

[JASON4X4]

I would think that when the powder starts to melt it would rub off if tumbled while baking.

[GunFun]

Possible. However that is the method used with commercial casters and two part liquid epoxy. I've been told that tumbling powder onto the bullets gives pretty even distribution. I haven't tried it yet, but I will with my next batch.

[Maximumbob54]

Was thinking about the thumb tack idea. I wonder if you set a nut over the tap so only the tip was exposed if you could push the bullet base onto it. Not so much to hold it tight but just enough to keep it from sliding during transport. I may have to try that one.

I went back and tried regular foil and they slide just as easy and of course they stick after baking. Waste of effort.

I am in love with the rotisserie idea of baking and tumbling. Tumble them in the bowl and then pour them into the coffee bean baking contraption. Once filled just turn it on and let them tumble and bake. I assume you would need to keep rotation going until they cooled so they didn’t melt to each other. I’m just not willing to drop the money for the contraption and risk funking out the BBQ grill with chemical X. But if it does indeed work then a cheap grill with electric rotisserie rolling wouldn’t be a terrible expense for mass bullet production. Mabye…

[RP]

At first my ideal was to push the bullets onto the tacks since the nails I sharpened seem to show promise but they will fold over easy and fall off when cooking. My next ideal is to nail them with a micro nail gun and then hang them off a rack I will post some pics as soon as I get out to the shop for a run. That's a 23 ga nail more like the size of a hair so far my testing it has not effects on the bullet just a small hole .

[kryogen]

I might try to epoxy nuts to an iron plate. looks like the easiest option isnt it?

[GunFun]

I've been checking ebay periodically for rotisseries. I'll get one sooner or later and let you know how it goes.

I'd preheat the rotisserie while I tumble the powder on. I think you are right about tumbling as they cool, but you could also probably dump them out onto a sheet quickly and stir them around so that they are spread out and don't stick together. I think the coating would be hard enough after 10 minutes at 400*F not to get flat spots while cooling.

[AverageJoe]

I was trying to think of a way to coat my rifle bullets without coating the gas check area. I had made some .45acp shot-shell cartridges out of .308 brass, I cut 1.200" and used the bottom for the shot-shells and had the tops leftover. I took the tops and soldered them to a small wire rack. I got 90 on the small rack and they hold the .30 caliber bullets perfect. I full length sized them prior to cutting/soldering that way the bullet rests just right in the top. Very stable when moving around.

Lesson learned: solder doesn't hold up at 375/400 F. Now going to braze or come up with another attachment method. The ones that didn't fall over came great. Great concept just need to improve.

[RP]

Now that's thinking outside the box you may have to change your name to unaverage Joe

[Maximumbob54]

JB Weld them.

[RP]

If you use a rack instead of a tray you can glue your tacks washers or nuts down by using the PC arrange how you want them and just bake they are then stuck in place.

[kbstenberg]

Is there a way to soften the mixed JB Weld so its easier to apply? Kevin

[RP]

Thought this would be a good spot to put this to help keep the board neater.
These is a alum plate with sheetrock nails held in place with PC no PC is between the heads and the alum keeping a good contact for the electricity.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/powder%20coating/P3290055_zps372b61d3.jpg
The more you use it the more PC builds up holding the nails stronger each time.
The other ideal that was shared with me is the nail gun trick. I use a cheap pin nail gun from HF
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/powder%20coating/P3290056_zpsee8b5750.jpg
now the trick is to put a nail in the bullet and not your finger right ? Ok I use a arrow shaft since I had one handy but any tube will work. Place the bullet in the tube then fire a nail in the base of the bullet. But before doing so understand the bullet is going to go flying out the other end at a good rate of speed. You will need to have it pointed towards something to catch the bullet some sort of padding or tape a sock on the end of the tube what ever works for you.
http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/powder%20coating/P3290058_zps417e265d.jpg
There you see some 247 grs with nail bent to hang on my rack now you can coat the entire bullet with a PC gun and bake with out touching them to much.

[DrtRacr09]

Pin nailer looks very interesting, mite be making the 200 mile drive to HF today. They are on sale for $19.99

[GunFun]

So every single bullet will have an almost certainly off-center void or clipped off piece of steel in order to have a more uniform surface finish? And it greatly increases the labor? And apparently you are actually holding the bullet so there is a risk of a glance hitting your finger???!?(unless that was a joke)

What's the upside?

[LubeckTech]

Here is what works best for me - ES coating HP boolits on a $1 plated steel tray I get at a local dollar store which has some self drilling screws I got at Lowes installed;

http://i1043.photobucket.com/albums/b437/LubeckTech/9MMHPoncoattray320_zpsadced402.jpg (http://s1043.photobucket.com/user/LubeckTech/media/9MMHPoncoattray320_zpsadced402.jpg.html)

I can flip the tray over and use it for non HP pistol bullets.

http://i1043.photobucket.com/albums/b437/LubeckTech/TrayBottom_zps2d364ba0.jpg (http://s1043.photobucket.com/user/LubeckTech/media/TrayBottom_zps2d364ba0.jpg.html)

These trays will hold 98 boolits and really work well for all pistol calibers 9mm thru .45 but you have to coat carefully when doing non HP .45s to avoid "shadowing". When I don't completely fill the tray I use a wire brush on a drill after coating to remove the coating from the posts or platforms. Using this method I can bake 295 boolits at a time.

[Beagle333]

Good looking work!
I do need to make a HP holder, using one of those ideas.
It'd be much easier than standing them on the nuts, since 95% of the boolits I cast are HPs. :D

[RP]

Yes Gunfire every single bullet has a hole or wire clipped off in it but if have ever tried to stand a 247gr bullet up then move it to the oven without it falling over you have some real steady hands. If you have ever seen the pin nails they are not much bigger then a hair so the void would not be a big deal. And its a yes and no on holding he boolits I put them in a old arrow shaft and fire a nail into them my hand is not holding the bullet. I understand looking at the pic things seem to be a lot bigger then they are in life. The nails are so small they print a arrow on the nails so you know which end is the head.
Its all in what you want to do and how you want to do it just sharing another way to PC the longer small base bollits.

[Beagle333]

I just got a .278 push-thru sizer from Buckshot, a couple of 270 molds and some GC's,... and PC'ing them is going to be an issue very shortly. :coffeecom

[lockinload]

I am right there with you. About to sell my regular non-hollow pointed moulds.

I haven't done any powder coating yet. My Harbor Freight electro-static gun is still in the box.

But this is my tray, the first tray I made:


http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt112/gryphon1994/D9DFE2D1-78ED-4FA5-A323-205E73BE4C8A-1770-0000046806DA1260_zpse47229e6.jpg

http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt112/gryphon1994/3E0E41F5-1FF9-42BB-B0D6-705D1DD38780-1770-000004649FF7F469_zps1bb26ab1.jpg

For that tray ^^^, I was planning on using the non-stick Reynolds foil.

I have another piece of that same sheet metal. I figure once I get the hollow point moulds, I will lay out a staggered pattern like before. However, there is a drywall screw with a self-cutting or self-tapping point used for hanging drywall on metal studs. I would use those, driven through the sheet. With the tray pointey side up, I'd just set my hollow pointed boolits down onto the points.

Ok gentleman, I have the setup. I have a tray similar to the one here. It was cut on a plasma machine and has 110 holes and fits in my toaster oven. I actually have two of them. I also had my guy cut me a plate that is the same size. I load the boolits nose down. Place other plate on top of bases. With both hands I flip the tray. I now have all of the boolits sitting straight up, bases down. Powder coat, put original tray back over the noses, flip and powder coat again. 100% coverage. This is all made out of 18 gauge sheet metal. I will post some pictures on my next run. I have tried a lot of different techniques and this is by far the best. I am powder coating 220 at a pop. I have two trays for 40 and 2 for 9 so I can coat 440 at a time. If you can't do this in some kind of volume IMO it isn't worth the time and effort. This is the ticket.
I'm reading that some of you guys are using glue, I posted earlier about the aluminum tape for heating and it works real well but I didn't like the burning of the glue and the adhesive transfer to the boolit so I looked for something else, which I have found. Pics coming

[lockinload]

101768
Boolits in tray

101769
Plate goes over bases, firmly grip both sides and flip

101770

Remove original tray, I shake the tray a little to get the boolits settled and gently lift straight up

101771

Boolits are now standing straight up and ready for coating. When complete carefully drop original tray back down and flip again.
All of this is done at the bench where the coating will take place. These pics are from an new 9 mil that I haven't used yet.
I have been coating 40s in the same fashion and it works well. Pics from cell phone, sorry if they aren't great but you should get the idea.

[lockinload]

One last thing, the guy charged me 20 bucks per tray and 7 dollars for the plate. I have two plates and will use them
with all four trays.

[JASON4X4]

I like the trays are you using ns foil on the bottom tray so the plates wont get coated

[lockinload]

I like the trays are you using ns foil on the bottom tray so the plates wont get coated

No, I am not concerned about coating the trays. If they build up too much I will take a belt sander to them. The plates
never hit the oven so I just wipe them off.

[RP]

locknload you may try the belt sander out before you get to much PC on them it may not remove as easy as you think. Also the thickness of your tray and the belt sander building heat my warp them. Also not sure what sandpaper sells for and your time a new tray my be easier.

[lockinload]

locknload you may try the belt sander out before you get to much PC on them it may not remove as easy as you think. Also the thickness of your tray and the belt sander building heat my warp them. Also not sure what sandpaper sells for and your time a new tray my be easier.

I also have access to a sand blasting system. At this point I'm not too concerned about the build up. As always, time will tell but thanks for the feedback.

A follow up on my technique, The 40s come out almost flawless because the boolit sits on the cutting edge of the boolit. The nines sit on the front side of the boolit and when removing from tray will leave a little ring. I don't see any downside other than cosmetics and I'm not doing this to win a beauty contest. As long as the surface to barrel area is clean and coated...they're getting loaded. No doubt this process is just that...a process of trial and error. All and all I am happy with the progression I have made and am satisfied with my current technique.
My next session, I am going to quench the whole batch in order to save time waiting for the trays and boolits to cool down and maybe offset the softening of
lead during the baking process, if in fact that is occurring. I would think, at some level, the molecular structure of the lead is changing during the baking process.

[BIGRED]

for my 308 & 35 rifle boolits i drilled holes in an aluminum plate slightly bigger than the GC shank so once it punched thru NS foil it would be just lightly snug (Press Fit). they stood up very very well with no tipping. there is flashing at the base of bullet on last driving band but after i seat the GS and resize it shaves it off. adds more paint particles to sizing die but i just blow it out with air.
http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/demersii/TRAY_zpsd310b6da.jpg (http://s1336.photobucket.com/user/demersii/media/TRAY_zpsd310b6da.jpg.html)
http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/demersii/308Boolits_zps2dab4b33.jpg (http://s1336.photobucket.com/user/demersii/media/308Boolits_zps2dab4b33.jpg.html)
http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/demersii/freshcoat_zps68574a95.jpg (http://s1336.photobucket.com/user/demersii/media/freshcoat_zps68574a95.jpg.html)
http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/demersii/baked_zpsf221aac7.jpg (http://s1336.photobucket.com/user/demersii/media/baked_zpsf221aac7.jpg.html)

[Beagle333]

I like that. Pretty nifty! 'Beats fooling with washers!! :D

[RP]

Yes that looks great l do like the holes in the tray ideal. What I don't understand is why it seems like some can spray with the bullet not raised or punched into a hole and get the coating to cover at the base or the seam. I guess its in how you hold your mouth never seems to work for me. But it seems like nothing every goes off without a hitch for me lol . Thanks for sharing.

[TreeKiller]

I use some old AL for sale signs from United Farm. Put holes in them for the gas check shank to set in and some 1/2 inch wood runners on them so that the bases of the boolits that hang out the bottom do not contact the rack and tip them over when cooking.

[lockinload]

An update to my earlier post. I am now putting foil on the plate. I spray the bottoms first
and then flip with the aluminum foil plate, coat and then bake. Working awesome. I was baking the boolits in the
tray but this is working much better and I don't have to put the tray back on the boolits.

[Artful]

I am right there with you. About to sell my regular non-hollow pointed moulds.

I have another piece of that same sheet metal. I figure once I get the hollow point moulds, I will lay out a staggered pattern like before. However, there is a drywall screw with a self-cutting or self-tapping point used for hanging drywall on metal studs. I would use those, driven through the sheet. With the tray pointey side up, I'd just set my hollow pointed boolits down onto the points.
I'd not sell my good molds just yet...
Check out this guy's Hollow Pointy solution
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?241323-My-new-hollow-point-tool

[Beagle333]

I made a tray today to coat some .35 Whelen boolits. It's just a prototype that holds 27 boolits. I'll make a bigger one if I like it. The spacing is 1-1/2" because the HP is shallow and the boolits list to the side and were touching when I used 3/4" spacing. It is a rock maple hardwood flooring board with some finish nails driven through small holes drilled in it and wrapped with about 4 wraps of Al foil.
It doesn't matter what kind of foil you use, since the boolits don't touch it. If I make a bigger permanent one, I'll drive the nails through a thin piece of aluminum on the back side, so it'll have permanent conductivity between the nails that is more reliable than just Al foil.
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/tray_zps3f8aa35d.jpg

[RP]

Beagle that's what I did was using some aluminum siding on both sides of my boards since on the back side the nails may pass threw it and it works good.

[meicalnissyen]

I'm using JB-Weld for the glue. It's working pretty good. Thrift stores have lots of aluminum cookie sheets cheap, and tin snips make them fit the little ovens. (safer than an electric saw)8-)
heads up to others reading this, you have to use the "original" JB weld, other formulations/brands (loctite) do NOT have the needed hi temp capability
read your labels

[el34]

Beagle did you test the integrity of those nails by first simply walking on them?

[Beagle333]

I didn't have to. I stuck about 4 or 5 of em my hand during the construction and determined that they will resist bending by a 245gr weight quite easily, even when carried. :violin:


But they worked quite nicely for the intended purpose! :mrgreen:

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/trafficyellow002_zpsb4b7290b.jpg

[meicalnissyen]

So, finally had time to proceed wit my version of the beaglemans tray, just got the BFR back from MR.

I think they really did me right, and I am back in bizineeezzzz, gun feels good again



so,
I made two trays, one for the 500, and one for the 45, using 3/8 and 5/16 spacers respectively.
they will be covered with a fresh sheet of NSRW every shoot (really guys, it gotta be less than a nickel to change the foil, let it go, its worth the conductivity assurance)
the sizes should give a good combination of base wraparound coverage, and stability for transfer

[Beagle333]

Those are some neat lookin' trays. :drinks:
I change my foil every time. I think it came to about 16 boolits coated per penny if I use a square of fresh foil every time. I can live with that. 8-)

My biggest concern with savings on shooting supplies comes from plus or minus 8 dollars per pound of Unique, depending on where I find it.

[meicalnissyen]

Those are some neat lookin' trays. :drinks:
I change my foil every time. I think it came to about 16 boolits coated per penny if I use a square of fresh foil every time. I can live with that. 8-)

My biggest concern with savings on shooting supplies comes from plus or minus 8 dollars per pound of Unique, depending on where I find it.

Thanks man, vanity dictates I PC prior to use to cover my hasty torch job

I burn 4759 4227 w296 aa7. in that order, though, I gotta say, I am trying really hard to fall in love with that uptown girl......... N110. but she be a pricey bitch at like, 44bux a lb and 28gr a shot

[jwber]

Not sure if I missed it or not...but what size nuts/washer should I use for 9mm/38? I'm using the 358-125-RF it drops about .360 out of my mold.

Just ordered my gun today, gonna prep some trays. DT proved it self now I'm stepping up :bigsmyl2:

[Beagle333]

I like 6-32 nuts for my .38's
They work good on the .45s too, as long as it isn't a tall .45-70 boolit. The .45 pistol boolits work really well. But I did do a bunch of NOE 9mm on the 6-32 and was very happy with that size at 3/4" grid spacing. :grin:

These are 9mm done on 6-32 nuts.
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/tb2008_zpsf323ca92.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/135004_zps9938be34.jpg

[meicalnissyen]

so here is the first batch of 440's, sprayed and ready for the oven with gloss clear.120141 i had a few 45's left that i added at the corners, not worth a seperate spry and bake

[meicalnissyen]

so stable they you can spray em vertically :bigsmyl2:

[Beagle333]

That looks great. You should be getting perfect coverage with no flashing the bases with a nice tray like that. :-D

[Huvius]

Here is my solution for small caliber hollow points.
A small wire mesh screen from a restaurant supply store ($1.50). Cut every other wire and bent up at 90deg.
Will give it a go in the next week or so.

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg312/Huvius/C75B1690-8EAD-42D2-B875-C9E7D4C95F98.jpg (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/Huvius/media/C75B1690-8EAD-42D2-B875-C9E7D4C95F98.jpg.html)

[Beagle333]

That sure doesn't look as labor intensive as me drilling a grid of pilot holes and driving all those nails through my board. :veryconfu
I may have to try a version of this! http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/images/smilies/new/viking.gif

[bigarm]

Here is my solution for small caliber hollow points.
A small wire mesh screen from a restaurant supply store ($1.50). Cut every other wire and bent up at 90deg.
Will give it a go in the next week or so.

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg312/Huvius/C75B1690-8EAD-42D2-B875-C9E7D4C95F98.jpg (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/Huvius/media/C75B1690-8EAD-42D2-B875-C9E7D4C95F98.jpg.html)
Do you mind posting a link?

[fcvan]

I looked it up at restaurantsupply.com and sure enough, there they were. I plan to use them when I ASDT the Lee TL309-230 5R on parchment paper. Those trays look like just the ticket to keep the boolits from touching during baking. Slick idea!

[Huvius]

Glad you found a site.
I just bought mine at a supply store and to tell you the truth, I don't even know the name of the place. I would think that any local restaurant supply joint would stock them.
Mine is pretty small to fit into the toaster oven but if one were using a full size oven to bake, you can go much larger up to cookie tray size. Would be pretty dang heavy loaded up with boolits though.

[RP]

bump to move it up front for another member

[gpidaho]

My newest plate idea is this. I took two 3/16th aluminum plates and drilled holes the size that fired 22 cases would just fit through in one plate, this on a grid of about 1&1/2 inches. I expanded the cases so the gas check shank would just fit in them.(22 Bator mould) Then pinching the rim between the drilled plate and the solid plate. This gives the electric ground. Spray them up and bake. When ground is lost punch or drill cases out of plate and install new ones. Somewhat labor intensive, but in retirement I have the time. Has anyone here found a paint remover that works on PC? I've just been sanding it off when it starts to build up on the plates. GP

[crawfobj]

Great idea to use spent LR cases. Why not just cover your top plate with NS foil?

[gpidaho]

Crawfobj: I must think your all mind readers with my incomplete posts! I do put nsf over the top plate, but some gets in around the base of the 22 casings, not much and it's pretty easy to punch out the used cases, sand off the PC so I should just go with it and forget the chemicals I guess. Battery drill cleans out the holes pretty well if some gets in there without going back to the drill press. Thanks for your comments. GP

[popper]

My steel plates glued together finally broke - glue gave out. Sooo, I just bent the ends of flat lic. plate so it would fit in the oven. Put the same sheet of NS foil to cover. I spray on the other plate, no foil. I only coat 30 cal FN 145-165gr. so spray base down, turn them over & spray nose down. Place on oven plate with hemostats. Takes about 3 sprays to fill the oven tray, 150-200. Every once in a while I knock some over. Just re-spray. Takes about 3 hrs per 4-500 boolits, depending on how hurried I am. Now that I got the 1:10 BO upper boresighted, I'll be shooting a lot of these. SIL shot ~ 100 last Fri., going to give him the 1:7 upper. He liked - a lot.

[RP]

Acetone will remove the PC

[Yodogsandman]

Two trays...3 calibers, 6.5mm/30cal and 30 cal/35 cal on opposite sides of 3/8" aluminum plate. Made to fit the GC shanks down in the drilled holes. When I don't PC the noses, I use pistol cases opened up to the appropriate diameters to cover them.

[gpidaho]

Yup, works good huh.

[Yodogsandman]

Yes, the boolits won't tip over. I taped both plates together to drill the 1/8" pilot holes to center all the holes, first. I used a drill bit of the exact size of the gas check shank and let the run out of the drill press provide some clearance. The non stick aluminum foil snugs the boolit GC shanks into the holes. When I quench for HT'ing, very few will fall off. The plate is heavy enough to prevent me from bobbling them, too. I think 1/4" plate would have worked just as well.

[cga]

So far, I haven't powder coated anything. I just ordered powder from Smoke, and it hasn't got here yet. Haven't decided on the Harbor Freight gun, or the dual voltage gun from Eastwood. But I'm thinking Eastwood. For now, I'll just swirrell them around in a #5 tub and see how it goes.

Going to try this set up for 45-70. The space, width wise is 7/8'', so the screw heads don't interfere with the rack. Depth wise, there 3/4''. The flash hole was drilled to 1/8'' to accommodate the screw. May have to go one size smaller.

125916

The 45 ACP case was inserted into a 44 mag sizing die, just enough to grip the gas check shank, and firm enough to hold the bullet. Tried the same with a 30 cal bullet in a .308 case, using a lee taper crimp die. They also held nicely, but I'll probably use 7.62x39 cases.


125917

45 brass, mouth tapered and ready for bullets....... What do you think?

125918

[Beagle333]

I don't know why it wouldn't work great. It's quite a fancy tray, but it should make some nice smooth boolits! 8-)

[cga]

Thanks for all of your research on powder coating. Lots to learn when your a first timer.

I was trying to get an idea for spacing. I'll cut and drill a proper size piece of aluminum, once I get this figured out. Been busy reading hundreds and hundreds of posts.

[Beagle333]

I think that your 7/8" would work nicely for 45-70 boolits. I use 3/4" for my fixed nut tray, but it is a good combination of a little too far apart for 35 cal and a little too close together for 45 cal, but works acceptably for either one. If I were making a specialty tray for one caliber, I would adjust it accordingly. Here are some that I did for my 45-70 and they were a little too close at 3/4". (this pic just to show how tall and fat they are)
I had to do a lot of angled spraying to get the driving bands on the bottom fully coated. They want to "shadow" each other when too close.
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/march2004_zpsa36091b4.jpg

[cga]

Very nice looking bullets, they were worth the extra effort.

My 45-70's will be first attempt at this, so I will try the 7/8'' spacing. How far apart you say that 30 cal. should be spaced? Last year I got into a group buy with Ranch Dog, for a 6 cavity, gas checked 311-165. Now I'm actually motivated to use it. Any day now I should be receiving a mold from Accurate. (has been shipped) It's a two cavity with one each, 460-405v and 405vg, these will be the ones that get coated first.

[Beagle333]

I haven't made a dedicated 30 cal tray yet. I have a serious shortage of aluminum plates in this area (no scrapyard access to public) and so I have been using the fender washer method. It isn't efficient as far as powder usage, but it does coat well and fast. Maybe somebody else has a dedicated tray and can tell you how close you can get without shadowing.
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/PC-101006_zpsb6f11c10.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/PowderCoating/PC-101004_zpsfc10cb31.jpg

[cga]

I have a good amount of thick fender washers. I can try those.

Somewhere in all of the powder coating posts, was an air pressure regulator that was recommended for use at the gun. Was it the H.F. #68219? After reading all of the less than stellar reviews on the Eastwood guns, I'm placing an order with Harbor Freight. Just need the number to complete the order.

[Beagle333]

BangerJim would know, you might send him a PM. Mine is regulated at the tank. Maybe somebody else has a reg at the gun and can give their part number.:coffeecom

[Gunslingerdoc]

So far my most universal tray has been frames made to hold 1/4 or 1/8 inch hardware cloth. You can use the racks that came with your oven. I also used the included drip tray...after it worked I made some frames out of 1/8" x 1/2" flat stock. For Pistol bullets I just set on them and rifle bullets (I've only done 30 and 22 cal) I just poke thru the cloth and PC the bases/bands - the tips aren't touching the bore so I don't care if they have PC on them. When the racks get covered with baked on PC, my orbital sander cleans them up (all 5) in about 2 minutes total.

Ive tried tinfoil in all flavors and I can't ever get anywhere close to as successful as others...what a mess. I tried a rack of nails for hollow points - again I was not as impressed as the hardware cloth racks.

I set the hardware cloth racks over a cake pan (it's about 3 inches deep) and spray - it collects about 70% of the over spay as well so I can reuse it.

[alfloyd]

cga
This is the one you want.
http://www.harborfreight.com/150-psi-air-compressor-regulator-kit-with-gauge-68223.html

The 68219 regulates the flow not the pressure.

Lafaun

[cga]

Thank you.

[Gunslingerdoc]

Just found this place...looks like a great solution without having to locate plate and drill holes...I still need to explore more but it looks very promising


http://www.mcnichols.com/products/perforated/round-hole/

[robertbank]

I found Loctite "Superflex" Red High Temp RTV silicone adhesive Sealant and used it to anchor my fender washers on the tray I will use for gas check bullets. Seems to glue the washers down OK. As soon as my HF powder gun shows up we will see it the sealant works.

Bob

[Ian Robertson]

I am going to try some Frekote 700NC mould release on Alu sheet trays. I have never found anything that would stick to this stuff at any temp.

[popper]

Tried a new approach, using the cut off case necks from 223 (for BO), big side glued to a yard sign plastic, wire attached. Turned the pressure down to barely see the powder come out. Coated great, nose down, NO overspray noticeable except that which stuck to the not completely dried gorrilla glue. Coated all the way to the case mouth - no metal plate underneath to shield the powder & collect over spray. Got lots of cut-offs to use. Don't have to drill holes in plexiglass sheet. Meplat on these is 0.18, Glue mouth down for larger. I pick up with the hemostats to place in oven. I'll recoat the nose & rebake. When they get done cooking I'll check for ridge on the nose.
128070
No ridge. Marks are from picking up - look almost shiny as sized. Little lite on the PB, GC'd was pretty beat up to start with. Now to find some 1/4" alum. tape for the ground.
128135
First prototype, just used some fine wire. Nose down, spray, move to flat tray base down, spray noses, then move to oven. Faster than digging out boolits from DT, better coverage. easy clean up as powder doesn't get cooked to this plate, just brush it off.
128174
Did these in 1 1/2 hr. including set up, picking up with hemostats is easy as nose is easy to get to. After nose coating, easy to move to the oven. I stopped using the cardboard shield, not really needed. Easy cleanup, excess powder brushes off the plastic easy, metal plate is worse.