wads choices for cartridge loads ?

[indian joe]

looking for yay or nay comments on wad material for under greaser lube boolits
have these easily available
1) HDPE poly 55 thou
2) HDPE ploy 25 thou
3) Heavy card 1/16th inch
4) Card tablet backing 30 thou
5) juice box 25 to 30 thou thick

Can get auto gasket material but its a trip to town and $$$$"S so needs to be more than marginally superior
LDPE sheet is a mail order over the water deal unless somebody has a tip for an unusual source (old Tupperware ??)
Thanks

[Wayne Smith]

Are the lids of Chinese takeout soup containers HDPE or LDPE? That was what I used.

[indian joe]

Are the lids of Chinese takeout soup containers HDPE or LDPE? That was what I used.

If the triangle recycle logo on it has a 2 its HDPE - a 4 its LDPE - there a million other plastics
our pastic milk bottle is HDPE (25 thou) larger plastic water container also HDPE 55 thou - both these are kinda translucent plastic --- clear stuff like coke bottles is something else

[upnorthwis]

I really like the .060 LDPE and make mine .007 oversize. There might be a standard punch size you can buy for the caliber you are shooting. My .45 cal. punch cuts to .465 and needs a good flare on the brass to insert them.

[Lead pot]

Joe you might add the LDPE wads and wads cut from ice-cream buckets like Blue Bunny or Prairie Farms. The ice-cream buckets are my favorite they are soft and run around .037". The LDPE wads are a little more flexible then the HDPE. Both the HDPE and LDPE will work well in the standard size chambers like the .482 mostly used for the .45's but when the chamber gets to be a special diameter like a .474-5" that is showing a comeback for the shooters that like shooting the PP bullets the HDPE starts to create problems in the tight chamber mouths like bulging the case mouth making loading and extracting a problem.
The LDPE are a little softer and they will flex in a tight case mouth like a dome or cone but it will not push out the case mouth and also it will seal the bore well holding gases back helping keeping vertical down.
The Ice cream bucket resins are I feel better then the .060" LDPE. The reason I say this is by using all three of these wads and what I see for holes through the paper. If I feel I need more then one .037" I just add a second.
There are a couple of my rifles that favor two wads and those are the bottle necked cases like the .44-90 BN and the .44-77.
What I feel is a benefit using a softer plastic wad in a tight chamber is the dome gets forced tight in the space at the end of the case before starting into the lead and the depth of the grooves making a faster gas seal.
Kurt

[Etienne Brule]

I really like the .060 LDPE and make mine .007 oversize. There might be a standard punch size you can buy for the caliber you are shooting. My .45 cal. punch cuts to .465 and needs a good flare on the brass to insert them.

Hi

Where did you get this larger punch ??

Thanks

[MOA]

I really like juice box 25 to 30 thou thick.

https://s19.postimg.cc/yxlnzbvcz/20180905_111506.jpg (https://postimg.cc/image/y82vmyutb/)

[indian joe]

I really like the .060 LDPE and make mine .007 oversize. There might be a standard punch size you can buy for the caliber you are shooting. My .45 cal. punch cuts to .465 and needs a good flare on the brass to insert them.

A friend made me a die punch that cuts 461-462 -- I dont size my cases so it looks just right - have not loaded any of those yet, I was using a wad punch but was getting oversize (.472) that works ok with a thin wad, it will cup to fit - but a heavy card or HDPE that much oversize ......??

[indian joe]

Joe you might add the LDPE wads and wads cut from ice-cream buckets like Blue Bunny or Prairie Farms. The ice-cream buckets are my favorite they are soft and run around .037". The LDPE wads are a little more flexible then the HDPE. Both the HDPE and LDPE will work well in the standard size chambers like the .482 mostly used for the .45's but when the chamber gets to be a special diameter like a .474-5" that is showing a comeback for the shooters that like shooting the PP bullets the HDPE starts to create problems in the tight chamber mouths like bulging the case mouth making loading and extracting a problem.
The LDPE are a little softer and they will flex in a tight case mouth like a dome or cone but it will not push out the case mouth and also it will seal the bore well holding gases back helping keeping vertical down.
The Ice cream bucket resins are I feel better then the .060" LDPE. The reason I say this is by using all three of these wads and what I see for holes through the paper. If I feel I need more then one .037" I just add a second.
There are a couple of my rifles that favor two wads and those are the bottle necked cases like the .44-90 BN and the .44-77.
What I feel is a benefit using a softer plastic wad in a tight chamber is the dome gets forced tight in the space at the end of the case before starting into the lead and the depth of the grooves making a faster gas seal.
Kurt

Kurt
Thanks for the detail - I have not managed to find LDPE (as recycle/salvage) yet, but ice cream buckets are easy!! - that stuff cuts easy too!!
I cut a bunch of the .055 HDPE wads but they just looked too hard to me.
I had been using juice box for ages and that shot way better than bare boolit, never thought about plastic until I read it here and a test with milk bottle (.030 HDPE) I thought shot a bit better than the juice box - so I got interested.
Time to burn a bit more powder and figger this .
Joe

[Lead pot]

I get most of the stuff I need from here.https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/52422078?fromRR=Y you might find it for less at Amazon or Ebay.

[rfd]

at least for me, .060" LDPE is the way to go.

i get the mscdirect industries .060 LDPE off their ebay listing, $21.52 for a 48"x24" sheet, shipped.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Made-in-USA-48-x-24-x-1-16-Inch-Polyethylene-LDPE-Plastic-Sheet-White/282911836838?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

[indian joe]

at least for me, .060" LDPE is the way to go.

i get the mscdirect industries .060 LDPE off their ebay listing, $21.52 for a 48"x24" sheet, shipped.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Made-in-USA-48-x-24-x-1-16-Inch-Polyethylene-LDPE-Plastic-Sheet-White/282911836838?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Rob
The ebay sellers "does not ship to Australia" (shipping would be $70 bucks or better if they would do it, all of a sudden we spent AU$150 )
No go on amazon first try.
Its (LDPE) the stuff they make plastic squeeze bottles from - I'll dig up enough to test somewhere in a shop - I bet this stuff is hiding someplace in plain sight - meanwhile gonna test the ice cream bucket and a couple other things. test stuff = shooting practice = always a good thing !! (shooting my own powder and retrieving the lead out of my backstop so only out a primer and the time really)

[sharps4590]

Yes.

Whatever is readily available to you. I've never seen the wad material make enough difference to matter.

[badgeredd]

Here are the recycling symbols along with a description of the plastic's properties.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/g804/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321/

[upnorthwis]

"Where did you get this larger punch"

This punch is custom made and I'll have to give it back to the owner soon. Will then have to make my own.

[Etienne Brule]

"Where did you get this larger punch"

This punch is custom made and I'll have to give it back to the owner soon. Will then have to make my own.

Is it a hammer wad cutter punch OR a press punch ?

Thank you

[indian joe]

I Think the world has gone mad !! just cruising ebay looking for LDPE sheet at reasonable price - no luck on that - but I can buy a 45 cal carbide rifling button for AU$43 delivered. ?? No idea how I would use that but tempted for a minit

[upnorthwis]

Drill press punch.
226741

[Boz330]

Joe,
You might try local plastic dealers and see if they carry what you are looking for. I use some plastic items in my work and there must be 5 dealers withing 25 miles of my shop.

Bob

[Chill Wills]

LDPE sheets;
There is a sign shop or two here on Colorado's western slope that use it in some aspect of their work. I have ordered 4' x 8' sheets through them in the past without delivery charges. Very affordable. I keep a stock of 0.040", 0.060" and 0.090" and use Fred Cornell loading press punch die to make the wads.
I must use a lot of them to go through so much:).

[Lead pot]

:) Chill either that or your not to careful how close to the last hole your cutting the next wad :)

[vagrantviking]

I have been having good luck with 0.060" cork automotive gasket. It's biodegradable and I feel that it's softness and thickness should cause it to compress to seal the bore well.

Have also used cereal box cardboard and long ago cardboard milk carton. Juice boxes are an idea for thought. Waxed material might be nice for lube cookies or when you are concerned about lube contamination.

[Chill Wills]

:) Chill either that or your not to careful how close to the last hole your cutting the next wad :)

Hmmm, you mean wads punched while overlapping holes aren't Okay????
--------------------------

You make a good point to anyone doing this for the first time in that if you get too close the last hole, the sides of your wads are not full and perpendicular. I have not done any accuracy testing in this area - poorly cut wads cant be good - just make and shoot good wads.

[John Boy]

Add to the wads list ... felt, cork and florist foam (with a thin cardboard behind the foam)

[KMD]

I use 1/8" (I think) cork or milk carton depending on what I am loading.

[Red Cent]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010391437/walters-wads-over-powder-wads-bag-of-1000

[yulzari]

I use beermat disks with a disk of baking parchment next to the bullet when using wax wads.

[GrumpyBear]

I use Walters wads, John is a great guy and I order them directly from him.

[maxiblu]

.025 card wads works for me.

[GWarden]

For a really top quality press punch, Fred Cornell makes them to your specs for diameter. Buffalo Arms handles them or his address: Fred Cornell, Custom Shooting Accessories, 3579 Wilawana Rd., Sayre, PA. 18840. Ph. 570-888-9236.
bob

[rfd]

fred's punches are top shelf, all i'll ever use. 233308233308

[GregLaROCHE]

What exactly is HDPE and LDPE? Are they plastics? I thought using plastics with BP was not a good idea with BP, because it melts and sticks to the bore. At least that’s what they say about loading plastic shot shells.

[rfd]

Hi (or Lo) Density PolyEthylene - doesn't stick to the bore and for most of us it seals better than other wad materials.

[trapper9260]

You can make your own wax card board with paraffin that is use for canning of jams and jellies and also candles. Also you can get cork at farm fleet stores also. Can you use the plastic from tubs for margarine?

[indian joe]

You can make your own wax card board with paraffin that is use for canning of jams and jellies and also candles. Also you can get cork at farm fleet stores also. Can you use the plastic from tubs for margarine?

dont eat margarine -- that stuff is toxic [smilie=f:

[Bent Ramrod]

For grease-groove BP loads, boolits sized to throat diameter, I’ve used everything from polyethylene (both types) to Walters’ veg fiber to the thin corrugated cardboard used to keep calendars from being mangled in shipping. Haven’t seen any noteworthy accuracy difference between any of them, as long as they’re 1/16” or so thick. Thinner (so-called “hard card stock,” perhaps for business cards) material didn’t seem to work so well.

Paper patched bore diameter boolits seem to need better sealing as well as base protection, so for them I use 1/16” or 1/8” cork, depending on how much space I need to take up. I don’t use plastic, mainly because it isn’t “period.”

Those plastic carry handles that are attached six packs of pop or beer cans are LDPE. Might be a little thin, but there should be an endless supply of that stuff. If one doesn’t work, you could try a stack of two.

[MT Chambers]

I like to use what the buffalo hunters used back in the day, LDPE.

[John Boy]

Harry Pope punched out his wads from old felt hats. If felt was good enough for his excellent shooting skills - good enough for me too

[rfd]

there's a fair chance ol' harry would opt for LDPE if it was available. :)

[BrentD]

I like to use what the buffalo hunters used back in the day, LDPE.

me too.

[toot]

i be leave that DUELIST 1954 cuts them out of old felt hats that he gets from THRIFT STORES and soaks them in melted oil, vegetable or CRISCO. works fine for me.

[KCSO]

Old cowboy hats from the thrift shop.