Well I'm impressed

[GRUMPA]

After reading an awful lot of threads I figured why not give it a try. Ordered some stuff I needed from our own Vendor Sponsor Smoke4320 and it came in today. Sad thing on my part was I had to go into town today, so by the time I got back it was already late afternoon.

Patience just isn't one of my virtues so after I got done helping mom put things away and doing some chores I tore into the bag the stuff came in. I have a few of those #5 containers floating around somewhere, but where I have no clue and if I grabbed one of the Mrs. containers I would be sleeping outside in the Mother In Law quarters in no time (AKA Dog house).

So I grabbed a 1gal plastic zip-lock bag and put in some of those black Airsoft BB's and I counted out 50 boolits and put them in the bag along with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the powder. I did this in the house where the humidity is 27% since outside it's 87%. I gently tumbled them on the counter for probably 15sec and opened the bag and noticed coverage just wasn't to my liking. Around here everything I touch I get zapped from static electricity so I had an idea. Sat my fat rump on the carpet and moved the bag on the carpet for another 15sec and opened the bag and had full coverage. I guess the static electricity worked pretty good and coverage was just like I've seen in some of the posts.

I have more than a few hemostats around, even some that are bent pretty good. Getting them out and on the non-stick foil was OK. All I have to work with is a gas oven, living on solar using a toaster oven just isn't something we can do here. Pre-heated the oven to 400deg and put them in. I must admit I did peak inside about about half way through the 20min and they were already shiny, and after the timer went off I took them out to cool. These are GC'd boolits and I wanted to just try a few to see how they went. Well after flicking off slight build up of PC on the bottom in order to put the GC's on it went pretty well and I am impressed.

I was so impressed I went and tried another batch that didn't utilize a GC, only this time I used another color, same method as before, worked like a charm. I'm really impressed with not only the coverage, but afterwards just trying to get the PC off is next to impossible. That stuff is so slick, and looks to be so durable I don't know if I'll go back to lubing boolits again.

Pictures come later folks, after a full day of doing this and that I'm beat. I'll put up a couple of pictures tomorrow....

157314

[slim1836]

Welcome to the addiction, no hope for you now.

Slim

[mgread]

How bad did. It smell?

[BNE]

The Zip-lock sounds like a new method to me. You may have inadvertently started something new!

Welcome to the multicolored Boolit addiction.

[ryokox3]

Zip-lock has been done before, however I feel the containers are much easier to work with. I like the ones for liquids as they have a top that screws on to keep it from opening up during the shaking and swirling.

[GRUMPA]

How bad did. It smell?

Let me elaborate on the gas oven. We have 2 of them, one is outside and one is inside. The one outside is from a travel trailer and those are smaller but we use that during the summer to keep the heat outside. And even with my wifes Hyper-Sensitive sense of smell she couldn't smell anything.


The Zip-lock sounds like a new method to me. You may have inadvertently started something new!

Welcome to the multicolored Boolit addiction.

Just like ryokox3 mentioned, it's not new at all. I caught that method while reading 1 of the stickys and figured I would give it a go and I did. This morning I found a couple #5 containers and used 1 of them doing a batch of 230gr 45cal boolits. Only I swirled it on the carpet and the results were darn near instant, excellent coverage in a few seconds, but I did shake it up and down and swirled again before I took them out to cook.


Zip-lock has been done before, however I feel the containers are much easier to work with. I like the ones for liquids as they have a top that screws on to keep it from opening up during the shaking and swirling.

[GRUMPA]

When I did the batch of 45cal this morning I did things a bit different. First I sized them to .451 then I PC'd them, after they came out of the oven and cooled I measured them and they grew in diameter .005+ and sized them again to .452.

Last night while doing the 38cal boolits it just seemed odd that the diameters were rather large, and when I used the push through sizer it looked as if some of the PC was wearing through to the lead. I'll do another batch of the 38cal stuff later, but this time I'm going to size them then PC them and then size again when they're cooled down.

I saw in 1 picture where a person used hardware cloth and I'll be trying that out later. I'm not all that impressed with the way that non-stick foil is working. The flare of the PC at the base of the case on the GC designed boolits I don't like, although the non GC'd boolits didn't have but a hint of PC flaring at the base when done.

[bangerjim]

The BBDT method should not give you flash or flare at the base as long as you are not putting too much powder on. I pick-n-set them on NSAF out of ZipLok screw-on lid containers and coolwhip bowls. Much easier to get them picked up from a bowl than out of a plastic bag.

I tap the hemos on the side of the bowl B4 putting boolits on the NSAF racks to knock off any excess powder that will probably run down to the bottom when baked.

Some are doing the dump on hardware cloth. I have never achieved my quality standards doing that. Try it....it may be good enough for your needs.

PC is an excellent replacement for grease. Slick, hard, easy to do, and very economical.

Be SURE you have the non-stick (dull side) up. Expensive foil is embossed "non stick side" The cheap stuff at Walmart is not printed. I have used the same pieces of NSAF for over 30 bakes with absolutely ZERO sticking or tearing. Boolits just fall off when cool. There is NO PC left on the foil.

Welcome to the PC club!

bangerjim

[Smoke4320]

looking good there Grumpa .. should not have any flashing on bullets if shake and bake .. either you have too much powder one .. (simple to tap hemos on container side to knockoff excess powder) or you have wrong side of non stick foil..
like banger jim have many many batches on a single sheet of NS foil.. Actually never have changed the original foil yet
Now spraying that's a different story on foil..
either way your bullets look real good my man

[nagantguy]

Very nice looking boolits for a first go around!!!!! I figured being as ham handed as I am if I can get them looking good, it should be simple for the average joe. Like smoke said pc fairing on the gc can be avoided for the most part with a little tap and using "just enough" powder. Just did a large batch of 30 and 44 cal and had 3 or 4 rejects where the gc would not slip on during sizing, the 30 will get resmelted the 44 will get donated to my latest muzzle loading sabot project.

[GRUMPA]

The BBDT method should not give you flash or flare at the base as long as you are not putting too much powder on. I pick-n-set them on NSAF out of ZipLok screw-on lid containers and coolwhip bowls. Much easier to get them picked up from a bowl than out of a plastic bag.

I tap the hemos on the side of the bowl B4 putting boolits on the NSAF racks to knock off any excess powder that will probably run down to the bottom when baked.

Some are doing the dump on hardware cloth. I have never achieved my quality standards doing that. Try it....it may be good enough for your needs.

PC is an excellent replacement for grease. Slick, hard, easy to do, and very economical.

Be SURE you have the non-stick (dull side) up. Expensive foil is embossed "non stick side" The cheap stuff at Walmart is not printed. I have used the same pieces of NSAF for over 30 bakes with absolutely ZERO sticking or tearing. Boolits just fall off when cool. There is NO PC left on the foil.

Welcome to the PC club!

bangerjim

On the first batch it appears I put to much PC on, but heck I'm still learning the technique. I'm still finding out that the further I proceed using the same PC for the 45cal the thinner the PC is after I bake them

So far I've done 350pcs on that 1 1/2 teaspoons with a little left over still in my little container, which tells me a person gets a lot of mileage out of a teaspoon of that PC.

I used the hardware cloth on the last batch, after cooling they just snapped right off, no real effort and the bottoms look the same using the non-stick foil.

When done those things remind me of M&M's, hard exterior and a soft interior.

[dilly]

Did anyone else think that .005 was an awful lot of bullet growth?

[newton]

It is for sure an addiction. After trying them my first time, I have yet to lube another boolit since. You'll love how they load in your dies so much easier without any mess.

If you are just tumble coating, I would use parchment paper, if the hardware cloth leaves marks you don't like. Its cheap, and no need to worry about what side is up. It does get crisp and has to be replaced every now and again, but lasts for several baking sessions.

[rsrocket1]

When the weather is dry out here, I use the gallon Ziplock method and gently massage the bullets and powder (no BB's needed). In wetter weather, I use the margarine tub with BB's and shake the heck out of it. The static electricity is generated when the powder makes and breaks contact with the lead. I then use Nitrile gloves dusted with powder (like you do with flour and a rolling pin), pick the bullets up and tap them on a separate surface to knock off excess powder before placing them on the parchment paper. No powder remains on the paper after baking and the bullet bases are crisp and clean.

[Artful]

I saw in 1 picture where a person used hardware cloth and I'll be trying that out later. I'm not all that impressed with the way that non-stick foil is working.

Try parchment paper - my prefered base

[OS OK]

Yes parchment is the answer and tapping the tweezers is another to combat too much PC…I like to dump my tub onto a large cookie sheet right in the middle then push it back and forth slightly enough to get the pile to settle and get the boolits to start rolling back and forth about an inch or so. They will pick up more PC around their circumference where they might have been sparsely covered or bare from banging in the tub…then I pick and tap before lining them up like good little soldiers in formation on the parchment parade grounds. If you notice the cookie sheet…all the boolits are lined up paralell to each other and pointing right or left…being a lefty, I pick all the right facing boolits first, tap and stand them on parchment then spin the cookie sheet 180 degrees carefully and pick the rest of the boolits ( now all facing to the right ) tap and stand them.
This stops the awkward picking of boolits facing in all directions, makes it simple to grasp them exactly where I choose and is much easier on my wrist also it proceeds rather quickly…the only drawback is that you must be especially careful at pouring the BB's and PC back into the tub…with care and a little practice you can get pretty efficient at it.
Welcome to the PC crowd…oh by the way, that thick coating translates into sized perfection: where some of our Lee moulds should be beagled because of a couple of ten thousandths out of roundness or possibly something I do wrong during casting…Idunnoh…but they are great afterwards, load like a dream and shoot like crazy. Just make sure that you get all the excess powder off their noses or you will get some seating depth issues especially when you seat to a crimp groove.
Semper Fi...charlie

[Artful]

Actually I like my convection oven because the top lifts off leaving sides free to manipulate boolits and I no longer have to move/drop trays.
http://cs.franklin.edu/~smitht02/MIS320/8-1/images/NuwaveParts300.png

[mgread]

Actually I like my convection oven because the top lifts off leaving sides free to manipulate boolits and I no longer have to move/drop trays.
http://cs.franklin.edu/~smitht02/MIS320/8-1/images/NuwaveParts300.png
I love to see more picture on how you do your. Any picture of it working

[jcren]

157463
I use the same set-up. The heating element is in the top, so just set the bullets in the tray or on an appropriately sized piece of wood covered in nsaf and place heater over the bullets.

[mgread]

157463
I use the same set-up. The heating element is in the top, so just set the bullets in the tray or on an appropriately sized piece of wood covered in nsaf and place heater over the bullets.

How how many can you get in one size. I'm asking because I just buy a PC gun from HF.

[Artful]

It's 12" across and if my math is still right PI*6 Sq = 113 sq in

So if your doing 45 cal bullets each one would be about 1/2 in so 225 boolits or so if your real good stacker
or if your doing 22 cal bullets about twice that, and 35 cal would be in between the two :kidding:

[jcren]

Pretty much as tight as you can set them without knocking anything over. I have cooked over 200 38/357's at a time, and with a boa rd tray or 2 I set up another tray while those cook

[GRUMPA]

In the gas oven I'm using (Don't forget it came out of a Travel Trailer) I do 250pcs of 230gr 45cal boolits at a time only using 1 rack. I'm just using the broiler tray that came with it, lined with non-stick foil with hardware cloth on top of that. Figure when it comes time for 38cal stuff, and I can't stack them on the hardware cloth (have yet to try it) I'll just remove the hardware cloth and put them on the foil.

I'm quickly running out of boolits to coat, but the 1K 45cal I've done so far sure look nice sitting in the coffee can. Nice knowing they're coated and ready to go without sticking to anything.

The gas stove is just hooked up to a 5gal propane bottle, just like what a gas BBQ uses.

[rsrocket1]

Here's a typical tray layout for a bake session for me
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj96/rsrocket1/Shoot/Powder%20Coating/c8b84d5e-9eec-4a39-a479-9cc83e354c08_zpsndiu1uk2.jpg

You can do a lot of bullets in just a few bakes
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj96/rsrocket1/Shoot/Powder%20Coating/cf89c036-485d-4dc4-85d0-223aec7080d5_zps8qgf0bht.jpg

[Eddie17]

rsrocket1, you are using partchment paper in you photos, correct?
I use the paper also.

[Motor]

We all should get together and have a big lube sale. :)

Motor

[rsrocket1]

rsrocket1, you are using partchment paper in you photos, correct?
I use the paper also.

Yes. I did buy some non-stick Aluminum foil when I was starting out, but my wife had some parchment paper in the kitchen already so I started out using it and find that I prefer it. The paper lasts many bakings before it starts getting real dark and crumbly. Because I tap the coated bullets on a separate surface before lining them up on the paper, very little powder gets on the paper as loose powder. The parchment paper stays clean and flat and can be used over and over again.

I did use the NSAF to make a crude rifle bullet baking holder by folding in ridges. It works OK for bullets that cannot stand up on their own.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj96/rsrocket1/Shoot/Powder%20Coating/04768381-ae7d-4668-b0ee-f0348a8f1251_zpsk09rtaoa.jpg

[Finster101]

So Grumpa, when you gonna shoot em? They are not just for looing at you know. :kidding:

[GRUMPA]

So Grumpa, when you gonna shoot em? They are not just for looing at you know. :kidding:

I already have been using them, only 9mm and 45acp right now. Most folks forget or don't realize I live on solar power and I use power from the sun to do things here. Not to mention I got in a bunch of Isotope lead that I need to smelt, and water drop to bring up the BHN after a couple weeks of aging, I may mix some of it with WW and Lino, dunno yet. Also I just ordered some push through sizer stuff from NOE along with an ingot mould which should be here next week. But I have to wait now till the snow melts and the roads dry a bit before trying to get out to the P.O.

And since I just adore this PC stuff, I ordered more PC from our very own VS Smoke4320 which is due to arrive next week as well.

I will say this much, making a bunch, PC'ing them for storage is the best thing I've encountered. When I get all my ducks in a row, it's casting time, and I mean a whole lot of it, weather permitting of course.

[jimb16]

That gave me an idea....I wonder how well the pc would coat if I shook the plastic container wrapped up in an old wool sweater??????

[GRUMPA]

That gave me an idea....I wonder how well the pc would coat if I shook the plastic container wrapped up in an old wool sweater??????

I plan on trying a small magnet next time I tumble coat. I figure what the heck, anything is worth a try....

[Markbo]

When do you guys size after PCing? Same day or sometime later?

[GRUMPA]

When I did mine I sized before PC and after PC when they sat and cooled for an hour.

[Artful]

I'm lazy - Later

[leadman]

Grumpa, If you are using Lee push thru sizers you may want to polish the lower area of the sizer. Lately these have been very rough, ok for lubed boolits but hard on PC or Hi-Tek coating.

[GRUMPA]

Grumpa, If you are using Lee push thru sizers you may want to polish the lower area of the sizer. Lately these have been very rough, ok for lubed boolits but hard on PC or Hi-Tek coating.

I caught that problem early on and I have some new NOE push through sizers coming in this week...

EDIT: Once those come in and I get used to them expect my Lee push thru sizers to be in the S&S section.

[Markbo]

You dont have one in .411" do you?

[GRUMPA]

You dont have one in .411" do you?

Nope, sorry nothing like that just the common stuff. The thing I hope I like with the NOE size bushings is that guy has all the sizes you could want, and then some you never heard about.

[Markbo]

Be sure and write a report with some pics, eh?

[GRUMPA]

If and when I do any report on those new push through sizers I'll be putting it in the reloading section. The thing is, with the stuff I get from NOE is always...and I mean always better than good.

I really don't anticipate anything but great results using those new designed push through sizers of his...

[Spector]

I bought 3 of them in late December. .452, .453 and .361. I like them so far. A little slower than just having different boolit sizing dies in a turret and turning the turret to the size you need, but I still like the quality of Al's dies. I'll learn more as I use them more. I am glad I bought them though.........Mike