My tumbled buckshot is not coming out smooth and shiny anymore.

The first few times i have tumbled my cast 00 buckshot they came out great. Shiny and smooth just like if you were to buy new pellets from hornady. however the last couple times ive been doing it they arent coming out like what they were. They are coming out rough and dull with the texture of raw cast iron. as far as i can tell im not doing anything differently than the times it was coming out good. Im using graphite pencil leads when tumbling. The first time it came out rough i guessed that it was because of moisture or humidity, however the attempt i just made now im certain was completely dry and not very humid. I keep getting upload failed when trying to add images to the post so heres an imgur link of the pellets instead https://imgur.com/a/PIlngFv the pellets on the right are the ones im having problems with and the ones on the left are the ones that came out good. anyone have any ideas on how i can resolve this?

why do you tumble buckshot?

I would say too much graphite and too long in tumbler but just a guess

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Originally Posted by Hogtamer

I would say too much graphite and too long in tumbler but just a guess

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I concur regarding graphite. Indeed, graphite is not needed to tumble / polish hard cast buckshot pellets.

i was using about two normal size pencils worth of lead. ill clean out the drums and give it a try without and graphite. i suppose this is one of the cases were more is not better. ill update after the next batch if it worked. thanks for your inputs

Hogtamer, you nailed it. Second batch of buckshot, too much graphite, rough exterior, DULL finish.
First batch in the tumbler, perfect shiny buckshot.
farmbif, you tumble your buckshot to try to get a consistent roundness to it and knock off the little “ nub” that’s left from the sprue cut. But............ you don’t have to tumble it, if you are happy with your patterning with untumbled buckshot, go for it.
headhunter38, about half of one pencil’s worth of graphite should do it up nicely.

Good luck, guys! As always, these are just my opinions. Your results may vary.

Be safe.

What a wealth of knowledge on this site.

BTW, I believe reclaimed shot from trap and skeet fields is tumbled in graphite so the shot flows better in when loaded. Tumbling buckshot to remove the sprue defects makes sense...never thought about doing that and need to keep it in mind if I ever run my Lee mold. I bought a couple of cases of S&B buckshot when it was $80/case and have not used it up yet so the mold has sat in the box in case the SHTF.

From my experience good luck cleaning the graphite out of the tumbler bowl. I had to replace my bowl. I now tumble the buckshot or RB's by themselves plain no additive. Then I use Ben's liquid lube ,1 light coat and dry they stay bright and shiny plus they are now lubed way better than graphite could ever do. Roll crimped RB's stay bright and shiny until shot.

I was just using the Harbor Freight double drum tumbler to roll 3 pounds ( per drum)of 00 buckshot at a time.
Works good, start at 2 hours first and when it gets how you want it to look, that’s how long your tumbling time is!

sand will clean the bowl pool sand is best

indeed too much graphite was what causing the problem. cleaned out the drums and am tumbling without any graphite and they are coming out like before. thanks all your inputs

anyone have any ideas how i can clean off the graphite the rough pellets? i have about 2 25 shotshell boxes by volume of them that are like that and id prefer not to have to remelt them if ican get them shiny and smooth. perhaps just wet tumble and rinse a few times?

My method is this. I run them dry, in my wet tumbler with steel pins, and just a very few bits of pencil lead. Mine come out fine.

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Originally Posted by headhunter38

anyone have any ideas how i can clean off the graphite the rough pellets? i have about 2 25 shotshell boxes by volume of them that are like that and id prefer not to have to remelt them if ican get them shiny and smooth. perhaps just wet tumble and rinse a few times?

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If you have an equal or greater volume of pellets yet to tumble, mix the "rough" ones in and let'r rip!

Yeah, too much graphite. Only takes a tiny bit. What this YouTube vid I did on finishing your buckshot:

https://youtu.be/mvuXvpab0zk


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice video Leon, well done!

Try crushing your graphite and use very little. I use a vibrator case cleaner to tumble all of my shot regardless of size and it all comes out smooth and shiny. And for a full tub, I use much less than 1/8 tsp. of powdered graphite for a full tub of shot.