I know everyone is using aluminum for gas checks but I am old school and I want to use copper. Where do you find it and can it be found online?
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I know everyone is using aluminum for gas checks but I am old school and I want to use copper. Where do you find it and can it be found online?
Do search for copper sheet, copper foil or copper whether sheeting. Just find the gauge to suite your needs. I would try and find it local at hardware stores or craft stores before ordering off amazon
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If you're going into mass production, all those arts & craft stores usually have a few sheets about the size of a show box lid.
Those rolls would be perfect but I think it would be just a bit expensive to get them sent to the USA!
No Ed, No mass production, just enough to feed my needs.
The trouble with buying copper is the cost. By the time you have your gas checks made ,you have spent as much as buying them. For many size checks you can figure on 1/2" square of copper per check. That's four per square inch. If you have a cheap scource of copper or even free,then it works out. With the aluminum you can really save on the checks.
n.h.schmidt
Several year ago, I bought some copper flashing at a home improvement box store,($89) it measured .016 which was too thick for my 30 cal GC tooling. So I cut it into shippable pieces and sold it in the S&S section. I bet that stuff would have been good for 44, 45 or 50 cal.
Petander,
Thanks for the idea, not sure why I never thought of looking there before?
I surfed through fleabay and then did some Metric to SAE conversion, and ordered a couple rolls of .008" Cu, from Hong Kong for
my 22 cal FCIII dies. Should be here in 2 or 3 weeks.
Can you pm me a link to where you found it? I found some but .4x100x100 mm is not much copper for $12.45. That is only 4x4 inches. I must not be looking in the right place.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe
You're welcome,that's why we're here.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe
I was looking at local hobby shops here in Finland,bought some sheets but they had very little in stock. I figured ,instead of waiting I can get mine directly as well...
Rick, those sheet prices are often for packs of five,for example.
At McMaster-Carr
I get .012" brass shim stock; 6"x100" roll for $45. Makes 2000+ GCs either 30 or 32 cal.
+1 on the shim stock... but i got a better price here.... 37.55 for a roll 6" x 100"
https://www.msdiscounttool.com/catal...CABEgK5HfD_BwE
these guys are easy to deal with ....
Marko
you could look at the same place you would get copper for a new still
https://basiccopper.com/copper-sheet--rolls.html
Larry and Marco, I am curious to know if you have actually used that shim stock yet? The hardness at R30 makes me wonder if it may be too hard and would crack in the forming process, or be very hard to cut out. It is described as a "half hard alloy" which makes me think it is a brass stock more than copper.
.009 brass shim stock is all I ever use and never had a crack or split . I've gone through 8 or 9 rolls over the last few years making 30 , 38 , 41 , 44 , and 45 cal. and only problem I've had is a few minor cut fingers .
https://www.riogrande.com/product/co...ad-soft/132128
needs to be Copper 6" x 12" Sheet, 28-Ga., Dead-Soft
Item Description Ordered Quantity Unit Unit Price Ext. Price
132128 SHEET CPPR 28GA 6"X12" 3.000 3.000 PAK $12.80 $38.40
2EA 3.000 PAK -- for 30 cal
________________________________________
132130 SHEET CPPR 30GA 6"X12" PKG/2 1.000 1.000 PAK $13.50 $13.50
2EA 1.000 PAK -- for 22 cal
________________________________________
A typical shank on 44 mag is .400 so .009 + .400 + .009 = .418 and your bullet diameter is .429 - .430 sized. So if your gas check doesn't seal the base - what good does it do and how do you keep it on? I can't even keep .010 on 30 cal to stay put, I am using .013- .014 in order to "crimp" and stay put. The only thing .009 fits is 9mm/.357 and .22, although I use .005 - .008 for .22Quote:
Originally Posted by notenoughguns
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Exactly, if your gas checks are costing 2-3 cents each, might as well stock up on factory ones. The aluminum ones I did the math once, if I buy 50 foot roll for max savings it was 8 gcs per penny in 30 cal and its a lifetime supply.Quote:
Originally Posted by n.h.schmidt
I wonder where Sages get their copper stock because they don't cost that much more than aluminum ones.
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I have been using the same roll of aluminum for a couple years now.
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Modified moulds my friend and custom check maker !Quote:
Originally Posted by dimaprok
Update:Quote:
Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe
The copper arrived today (2 weeks, not bad), while the ad said it would ship from Hong Kong, the return address on the label was New York...that's interesting?
The material is just what the Doctor ordered...umm, I mean what the boolit caster ordered, LOL.
It's a nice looking 4" wide roll, 40" long, shiny copper, Not bad for $8 plus $2 shipping. It cuts into strips easy, and cuts/forms in my FCIII dies nicely. I crimped a few onto some freshly cast 225438 boolits, from a vintage mold that is also new to me. The .008 checks crimped on nicely.
If you search Fleabay for "99.9% Pure Copper Cu Metal Sheet Foil Plate Strip 0.2mm x 100mm x 1000mm" you will likely see the ad of the product I ordered.
You're looking at price per GC same as if you bought from Sages, except they're out of stock but you can make your own. I got much better numbers from that brass shim stock when buying .006" its 8 times cheaper per GC, I just wish it was dead soft. Its nice to have options though.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe
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Well, not really true, unless you factor in labor time $Quote:
Originally Posted by dimaprok
As for the number of GCs I can cut from a 4x40 roll, if I am careful, I can cut 3 per inch (9 per sq in). The leftover strips from my testing yesterday, I wasn't real careful, and just measuring them now, it's about 2.8 per inch.
doing the math, I come up with 1250 GCs per $10 roll if I continue at 2.8 per inch.
If I get the routine down, and achieve 3 per inch, that's be 1440 GCs per $10 roll.
Mostly, I'm not crazy about making GCs, and I have bought plenty of GCs from Sages in other calibers. But, since I have the tooling for the capability, I want some Cu laying around. Now that you mention Brass shim stock, that's something I hadn't heard of until recently, it's something I may look into.
You're right, it was very late when I wrote that and forgot to multiply by 2. I cut my strips in double rows. Yes, approximately 1400 GCs if you can keep .011 space around each punched hole :) kind of hard to do by hand. With our tax 11.50 for 1400 GCs comes out to 0.82 cents per GC, not bad honestly especially that you don't have to purchase a large piece of copper. I am going to order one, even though I got ton of aluminum on hand. .008" should be also good for NOE 6.5mm bullets 9mm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe
dimaprok, I just wanted to let you know the cost per check, 1440 per roll is actually $0.0069 cents per check, less than $0.01 cents each.
That's a very good price for a copper gas check versus a aluminum gas check if JonB_in_Glencoe can get the material for $10.00.
I think you meant to say 0.0069 dollars, not cents. It would be equal to 0.69 cents but in my case a little bit more because of high sales tax, that's how I came up with 0.82 cents. Now I just need to make Arduino controlled step motor pull system that can advance .326" at a time while air cylinder punches gas check and a roller cutter that can cut copper sheet in to perfect width strips ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by KAYDADOG
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my local hardware has some, may be to thick though
Or too hard :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Garyshome
i had no problem punching out the brass shim stock, goes on easy and seems to hold real nice.
I'm about to order up a batch of thicker copper for a new die.
A sheet of .012" Cu arrived today. I ordered it from Hong Kong, but it has a Kentucky return address on the package?
...Still waiting on custom 6.5mm GC making die.
This is painfully true.
I got mine on Amazon. Took a little searching but I did find the thickness and hardness I desired.
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