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Thread: Shop tips

  1. #81
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    A real quick link- www.micromark.com These guys are into model building. But, they have lotsa stuff us gunny types love. Take a peek!

  2. #82
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    Wink

    I use old washing maching jugs that the soap comes in to store empty cases--just mark case size with black marker ---45ACP---38---ect.----Mag

  3. #83
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    Quote Originally Posted by mag_01 View Post
    I use old washing maching jugs that the soap comes in to store empty cases--just mark case size with black marker ---45ACP---38---ect.----Mag

    Darn! I thought I was the only one that did that! My "brass containers" are bright orange and labeled "TIDE!"

  4. #84
    Boolit Master carpetman's Avatar
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    I prefer the plastic containers that are clear.

  5. #85
    Boolit Master Cayoot's Avatar
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    My favorite is the large plastic "Folgers" coffee cans. Shaped right for stacking and holds plenty.
    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” – John 3:16

    That still amazes me…I don’t care who you are or how much I care about you, I would never let you kill my son. I can’t even begin to understand how much He loves us.

  6. #86
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    Quote Originally Posted by montana_charlie View Post
    ............................. and bought a Dremel tool (back when single speed was the only kind).
    It became apparent, as soon as I touched wood with it, that Dremel tool ran way too fast.

    A duplex outlet and a ceiling fan control, mounted in a double electrical box, makes a speed control that works on any motor you plug into it...as well as being a handy extension cord for other things - when it's turned all the way up.
    CM
    Be sure to use a ceiling fan control and not a dimmer switch for lighting. fan control switches (or any other variable speed motor controller) start at max voltage & rpm's where as light dimmer switches start at minimum voltage and thus rpm's. the low voltage start up will burn up motors.

  7. #87
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    Smile Boolit & Brass Containers

    I smoke a pipe. The 12 oz Captain Black cans (usta be metal--alas now paper) are just dandy for Brass, Boolits and assemble cartridges.

    Q-tips, pipe cleaners and toothpicks are all in my range box as well as my loading bench. Ed's Red and Non-Aromatic Mineral spirits are also carried at all times. I keep a hunk of plastic pipe in my trunk with a spare cleaning rod as I am prone to forget to take it to the range and when the .223 is fouled my session is over unless I remember the spare rod in the trunk. Then I must also remember to put it back there. I cannot tell you how many times I have left something on/in/under/on top of the benchrest shooting sheds and I have to drive back there. Now the last thing I do is get everything packed and then get out the car and walk around for about 5 minutes scouting for anything that remains. I usually find some brass or other tidbit. CRS is abundant and recurring and get worse every day. I live with lists. Without them I would get nothing done. I must write it down or it will not get done.
    Carpenters pencil.....great for lubing molds and also marking up lists.
    Old sheets....brass catchers, covering the Dillon Press from the dust and when totally worn out to be used for cleaning patches. Clorox bleach containers when cut properly are dandy for sorting brass, storing bass, lead ingots (once loaded--cannot be moved to easily), ww's, range lead, walnut or corn cob media and the list goes on.
    Pax Nobiscum Dan (Crash) Corrigan

    Currently casting, reloading and shooting: 223 Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, 30 Carbine, 30-06 Springfield, 30-30 WCF, 303 Brit., 7.62x39, 7.92x57 Mauser, .32 Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Fed Mag, 380 ACP. 9x19, 38 Spcl, 357 Mag, 38-55 Win, 41 Mag, 44 Spcl., 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 454 Casull, 457 RB for ROA and 50-90 Sharps. Shooting .22 LR & 12 Gauge seldom and buying ammo for same.

  8. #88
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    Hi guys,

    I stumbled on a great way to repair the chipped gutta percha grips found on so many older revolvers. I picked up one of the same at a recent gun show, and was bemoaning a huge chip at the bottom of the right grip of an otherwise pretty nice litle house gun. But I noticed that my wife's friend (a real artsy-craftsy type) was making some realy interesting 'jewelry' from what is called polymer clay. It's available in any crafts shop, an in a huge variety of colors - including jet black!

    Her trinkets were hard and tough as nails, so I thought I'd take a look at the stuff. I bought a small brick (~2"x2"x1/2") of black polymer clay, and cut off a tiny piece about the size of my small fingernail. I mushed it around a bit (the uncured material is as soft as modeling clay) and pressed it into the grip's chipped area, Then I smoothed it with a spatula to match the contour of the original grip. A butter knife would do just as well. This was slipped onto a sheet of paper and baked for 30 minutes in the family oven at 260F, per instructions on the package.

    It came out perfect: No shrinkage (none noticable anyhow), and hard enough to file and sand. But it didn't stick to the gutta percha at all: Fell right off, though it made a precision molding of the irregularities of the chipped surface. The fit was so good that when I put it back in place, the seam was all but invisible.

    I decided to try to follow it up a bit before dropping the idea. I mixed up a few drops of Brownell's AccuraGlass, and used just enought to wet the chipped area. Then I pressed the polymer clay in place, and left it overnight. Next morning, the durn thing was solid as a rock, and looked great. I didn't do it, but I believe you could polish and checker this to make an all but invisible repair if you took the notion.
    Last edited by Molly; 05-10-2007 at 11:48 PM.
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  9. #89
    Boolit Master carpetman's Avatar
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    Molly---could you give us the dimensions of your small fingernail,so we know how much of that stuff to use?

  10. #90
    Moderator Emeritus/Boolit Master in Heavens Range
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    Quote Originally Posted by carpetman View Post
    Molly---could you give us the dimensions of your small fingernail,so we know how much of that stuff to use?
    (VBG) Of course! Be glad to. It just so happens that my small fingernail is just a trifle larger than the chip I needed to repair. So now you know to use a volume of polymer clay just a trifle larger than the chip you want to fix. Does that clear things up a bit? Glad I could help.
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  11. #91
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    I may be a bit repetitive here, but here goes: Qtips which are a no brainer, but get the ones with the paper tube and not the plastic tube. The plastic ones seem to lose their cotton at the worst moment. I try to tell the old lady to get 'em when she goes out and then I snag about half the pack! Dental picks, perfect for digging all the hidden crud out of your guns. Dremmel tool, it will get used. Sharpening stones, India and Arkansas types for slicking up (stoning) parts and for keeping that skinnin' knife sharp! Marsh ink brush for oiling. JB bore lap, it will get used...... for something! Punches and more punches. Formula (baby) cans will hold a bunch of spent brass and cast bullets. Wooden dowel rod in different sizes, for slugging bores and for hanging stocks to dry after finishing. Two part epoxy of some kind (Acra Glas). Files, standard and Swiss. Mine have seen plenty of use. A vise and Vise-Grips, unlimited posibilities. There is so much more that gets used and is forgotten.

  12. #92
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    First time doing this,posting something.New at casting anything other then fish bait.How can I tell which wheel weights contain zinc Thank you JED

  13. #93
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    Gordon, welcome to the boards! You'll find many mentions of the dreaded ZN WW in other forums but a quick reply for you. Some zinc weights will have the letters ZN on them. Usually they are riveted to the clips instead of cast on and they are HARD! Go at them with a pair of side-cutters and they are tough as woodpecker lips, lead will cut easily. Keep your temp down when smelting, below 650 or so and dip out the floaters.

  14. #94
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gordon Lewis View Post
    First time doing this,posting something.New at casting anything other then fish bait.How can I tell which wheel weights contain zinc Thank you JED
    Get a casting thermometer so you'll know when your melt is getting over ~650 degrees.

  15. #95
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    Hey Junior, can you give me a quick lesson on how to hone out a sizing die ? I am still trying to get these old MN"s to shoot. thanks Jim

  16. #96
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    Also a good screwdriver set! The Wheeler set from Midway is great and a lifesaver. I thought about the Brownell's master set, but the Wheeler set is cheaper and has more bits in it. Oh yeah C clamps and lots of 'em! They will be used for something.

  17. #97
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    Quote Originally Posted by RSOJim View Post
    Hey Junior, can you give me a quick lesson on how to hone out a sizing die ? I am still trying to get these old MN"s to shoot. thanks Jim
    A lee die can be honed out by taking a strip of 120 gr paper and wraping it around a rod that'll allow it to fit in the die. Then start rolling it on your thigh. do 50 rolls then switch the rig end for end so the wear evens out. I opened a Lee .329 die to .331+ in 200 rolls. Finish off with finer paper if you want.

    On a Lyman/RCBS die you could try the same thing, but they are reported to be much harder. Stillwell tool and ide used to open them Try a search here or Google.

    Just a quick note on tools. You can get cheap tools (clamps, screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, puches) at a variety of places. Wal Mart, TSC, the various industrial supply places like Enco, MSC. There's nothing wrong with cheap tools for many things. They can be welded, bent, brazed, ground, whatever into shapes or modified for what you need. You aren't sacrificing an heirloom tool, you're making do. No sin in that.

  18. #98
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bret4207 View Post
    A lee die can be honed out by taking a strip of 120 gr paper and wraping it around a rod that'll allow it to fit in the die. Then start rolling it on your thigh. do 50 rolls then switch the rig end for end so the wear evens out. I opened a Lee .329 die to .331+ in 200 rolls. Finish off with finer paper if you want.
    The problem with rolling is you'll hone rings inside the die. You need in and out in combination with rolling. Also, if I needed more than .002" reamed out of a die, I'd spend the $29 for Lee to make me one in the size I wanted.

  19. #99
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    http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/p...icks-tips.html

    Thats a link to a similar thread. Good stuff!

  20. #100
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    The little containers that SWMBO's quart Crystal Light mix comes in are just thing form mixing small amounts of stain etc. Just pull the foil all the way off and it looks exactly like what came with my last stock finishing kit.

    The bigger container (that the above mentioned tubs come in) with a snap-on lid looks like it will be very useful, but I haven't found its divine purpose yet.

    Josh

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check