Beer can check question????

[helice]

This is certainly evidence of my ignorance but does it matter which way a beer can check should be formed? Does the outside of the can go on the outside of the boolit or does the inside of the can go on the outside of the boolit----Or Don't it matter?

[JeffinNZ]

Doesn't matter. More important is will the material be thick enough? Our beer cans are only 4 thou in the side walls. I believe yours may 6 thou. For most applications you will need two layers.

[Kskybroom]

Some Energy Drink cans are thicker....
I put the outside of the can inside the boolit...
FWIW If the paint is on the inside its not in your barrel......

[helice]

Thanks guys for your input. For some reason I started by putting the paint on the inside. Just seemed smarter.
I bought Ed Smith's booklet and had a friend build me check puncher dies for plain base boolits in 38,44 & 45. I have been using Magnum beer cans for materials so far working with the 38 die. The Magnum cans are a bit thicker than a 12 oz cola can. Seems the thin cans should be an easy fit on plain base.

[badbob454]

Paint on the outside, plastic on the inside, u.s.a. Cans have a thin liner so it shouldnt matter either way..dont believe me scrape the inside of a can with a knife clear or blue plastic liner will scrape off ...

[helice]

Wooh - badbob.

That's good to know. Never thought to scrape. So is one better paint or plastic in the bore?

[mold maker]

No longer than the GC skirt is, it shouldn't matter.The lube should keep both suspended and blown out with the powder debris.

[shotman]

the frissky cat food cans are better then you can shoot the cat if they work
see avatar he brought the 100lb mouse in

[94Doug]

My understanding was that the tall aluminum "bottle" shaped containers were the right thickness. No personal experience.


Doug

[1874Sharps]

I never had very good luck with beer cans. I would get hexagonally shaped checks instead of round ones. That was with a FREECHEX tool. I wrote to the maker and he suggested that I use a thicker aluminum material. I bought a roll of 0.012" aluminum roofing sheet metal for not that much at the hardware store and have made hundreds of checks from it and still have a ton of the sheet metal left. It will last for many, many years. This might work for you as well.

[helice]

Are you guys talking about plain base?
It seems that .012" would take a bit of leverage to swage them on.
Keep writing Guys--I'm learning. Helice

[JIMinPHX]

I tried cans. They were only about .004" thick & the checks that I made out of them would not stay on my GC shank boolits. I also tried the aluminum Bud Lite bottles. They were about .016" thick & stayed on just fine. I loaded them with the painted side facing in. I had good results with them in a .30-30. I got terrible fouling that was very hard to clean out in another rifle with a chrome bore. apparently aluminum & chrome don't play well together.

You can see the results of my .30-30 experiments with copper vs. aluminum on post 133 & 134 here - http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...t=45542&page=7

My attempts with coke cans are on page 5 of that thread.

[1874Sharps]

The 0.012" Al checks actually swage on pretty easily. I am using an RCBS Rockchucker, though, which is a powerful press.

[reloader28]

Inside out, outside in.
I put the paint side to the boolit.
That way all my boolits have a shiny uniform silver base. (Thats important you know.)
I shoot all kinds of can materials and aint had a problem with any of them in my pistols.
Maybe rifles are different.

[helice]

Just to clear things up a bit - These are Plain Base checks to be used mostly in M-92s.
I've also got a 350 Rem Mag that I want to shoot cast (a 240 gr LBT WideFlatNose PlainBase) to 35 Rem velocities.

I 'd like input as to whether thicker aluminum is better and if it is why?
Seems that a thinner check would do the same job. Heck rifling is mighty thin.

[WILCO]

This is certainly evidence of my ignorance...

At least you're asking the question.
I would say it don't matter.

[1Shirt]

Have one of Pat Marlin's on the way. Will play with all sorts of things as I am one of those trial and error types anyway.
1Shirt1

[.30/30 Guy]

For PB checks thinner is generally better. I have found that making the strips and cutting the disks from pop can material is a pain. My favorite material for PB checks is 0.008" lith plate material.

[helice]

30-30Guy
I agree that pop/beer cans are a pain. They are however abundantly abundant thanks to the messyness of some of my neighbors children. Once the can is disected I use a paper cutter to chop 3/4" to 7/8" strips. I can get about 110 to 120 .44 cal checks from a Magnum beer can once I've washed all the dead snails from the inside surface.
Does anyone have a quick and easy way to get the top and bottom off a can?

30-30 Guy - I tentatively agree that thinner is better. It's hard for me to see that the rifling in my rifles will cut clear through the thinnest of beer can check and I'm not convinced that a thicker aluminum check would hold that rifling any stronger than the thin one. I will say that this is untested ignorance speaking. Correct me Please!!! Save me a couple steps in testing process.
Keep writing Guys--I'm learning. Helice

P.S. What the heck does this thing mean?

[swheeler]

"BEER CAN CHECK QUESTION" Here, setting right in front of me about 1/2 full.