Interesting, but is it important?

[DanM]

With the lousy weather in place, I have been rolling a lot of boolits. A lot of test loads, ready to try when the weather breaks. I tried a new thicker vellum paper that was too thick for some boolits. I had a half dozen finished reject boolits that I had put LLA on the wrap before sizing, and dropped them back in the pot. figured that the paper would just burn up and the ashes would skim off with the dross and checks. That is not what happened, and I was surprised at what I skimmed off the top:http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n24/DanM2000/burnaloxW.jpg

Looks like the alox coated paper tubes held up pretty good under the hot lead. Did not burn much at all, and the boolits just melted normally. I think this is a good thing, but I am just a beginning patcher. What do you think?

[kir_kenix]

It also comes as a suprise to me that they held up that well in the pot. I spose they would have eventually charred away if left in there long enough, but who knows...might be an experiment for another day. I have noticed some slightly charred patch ribbons after shooting some high velocity .22's however.

[1874Sharps]

Interesting, indeed. I do not know how paper, or more specifically vellum paper, is made but it is some tough stuff. I have seen this in my melting pot as well when melting down a goofed up vellum paper patch boolit. That vellum paper is almost like a half paper, half plastic paper and is very strong.

[Willbird]

Does Vellum have a lot of sizing in it ? Sizing is a starch isn't it ?

Bill

[yondering]

How hot was your melt? I'm going to guess it was down around 650 or so? I've seen sawdust turn that same brown color at that temperature. Get it a little hotter, 725-750ish, and it should all turn to black ash.

[303Guy]

Yup, that's vellum! I found the same thing. It's tough stuff all right. Iv'e had a vellum patch remain intact on the boolit. I was supposed to do a test with full vellum jacket and actually made a few but found myself unable to do any range tests at all and it wasn't something i wanted to pursue anyway.

[DanM]

Did not check the melt temp, but I had the Lee 20lb pot turned up full for the initial melt and fluxing, then turned it down for casting. There were also a couple of the same patch boolits that were lubed with JPW, and they burned right up.

[pdawg_shooter]

It is the LLA that makes the difference. Lee used to show melting bullets with a torch, without melting the lube.

[DanM]

I remember that torch picture.
My question: is this a good thing, a bad thing, or not important?
I think the heat resistance may be a good thing if the patch still falls off the boolit at the muzzle.

[lwknight]

What alloy did you use? If you had as much as 4 or 5 percent tin, your melt may not have gotten much over 500 degrees which will not quickly char away the paper nor will it burn alox.

[DanM]

I usually add pound of 95/5 plumbers solder to my 50lb pot of WW.
The pot was cranked up to full hot for the initial melt.

[bcp477]

To answer your question, which (I think) no one else has thus far.....( "is this good or bad ?"). The answer is.....it matters not at all, as long as the patches strip off the bullets as they exit the muzzle. Theoretically, you could make patches out of some special, fireproof paper-like material.....and it wouldn't matter.....as long as the patches perform as intended.

[lwknight]

Thats hilarious, 10 posts and everyone got all into the paper not burning and forgot the main question.

[DanM]

bcp....That is about what I thought. AS long as the patch hangs together to the muzzle, and then flys off we are good.

If you look closely at the picture, you can see ridges where the bands pushed into the paper when sizing. That is why I ditched these boolits. Maybe I should have shot them instead.