Tumbling LEE buckshot

[Ring3]

First go at casting buck shot. Using LEE #1 6 cavity mold. Wondering about adding media tumbling in a Harbor Freight rock tumbler. Anyone try BB’s, ball bearings, marbles, etc…. These need something out of the mold and cut apart to get them round. Maybe they need nothing, don’t know. I’ve done some looking around online without luck except You Tubes Bubba Round Trees use of a few .70 round balls.

[country gent]

I think you might try tumbling just the balls against each other no added media. The rolling action should be enough. The only thing you might add is a small amount of graphite or molybdenum to help lubricate the surfaces. It wont take a lot of graphite / molybdenum, to treat a batch, and it will need to be added to each batch.
Adding BBs ball bearings or other media will reduce the load you can tumble and may also leave dimples.
What you want is to smooth the flats down with out removing material from the rest of the shot. The friction and light impacts from the tumbler should do this with out the additives.
You may want to do this in a out building or garage as it could be noisy.

[MarkP]

I have toured (2) ball bearing facilities and one tumbled the headed balls with a slurry of lime and other with a water based polymer similar to polymer quenching oils at a heat treater. Both had tumblers that looked like a cement mixer with a long cone shaped drum. No additional media was added just the balls. The balls out of the header have a satellite ring similar to a casted ball with a large parting line. One of the Engineers said if you tumble too long they become ellipsoidal and not the desired spherical.

[jdgabbard]

I use 45cal ball of normal lead. Toss in about 50-60, and just use those with a little graphite. But I really only shoot #4 buckshot, as I like the higher pellet count. That said, I've also heard mention of guys using brass balls. Pretty much anything a little larger and a little heavier will do. But I'll also point out that in my experience #4 buck takes a while to tumble. And doesn't really turn out that round, at least not with my alloy. Doesn't seem to matter much to the load shells tho. They do their thing just fine.

[Ring3]

Thanks guys! Poured 20#’s today and wanted to tumble over night. Really appreciate such fast and informative responses!

[Kennibear]

I tumble buckshot only for ten hours. Graphite, 1 teaspoon per drum, will slick up the shot and reduce its tendency to fuse together on firing. Never used any media, and at ten hours, the shot is nice and round. I use a pretty hard alloy so it takes ten hours. Longer time just wastes time.

KB

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[country gent]

The first couple batches tumble during the day, Check every hour till close then shorten the run times so you have an idea of how long it takes.Then you can put a timer on the tumbler and run it at night or when away. You want to monitor the first few batches to learn what things look like and how they go.

[Hogtamer]

Hope it’s a hard alloy, you’ll get better performance. Looks like we have the same tumbler. A squirt of graphite and 8 hrs, good to go.

[Mr Peabody]

I super glued 2 pieces of wood to the inside of the barrel. They're opposing each other. My guess is they're 3/8 wide by 1/4 thick. They go from the bottom of the barrel to the rim the lid seats on. It keeps things agitated

[Ring3]

Three to one soft/lino alloy.

Got both drums going now.

Did not graphite, may Powder Coat.

[Johnch]

For most Buck Shot I use range lead
For the #4 Buckshot I use coyote hunting
I use a alloy slightly harder
Normally 4 parts range lead to 1 part Lino ( this range lead is slightly harder than straight Wheel weights )

As for tumbling
I don't
But I do roll the #4 buckshot
I use 2 pieces of 3/8" steel about 16" x 16" as that is what I had
I use the steel to smooth out the sprue
Simply place a handful of buckshot on the center of the bottom piece of steel
Place the other piece on top and use your body weight to press down as you make figure eights with the top piece of steel

I tried powder coating some of my coyote hunting #4 buckshot
Yes it patterned slightly tighter out of a choke tube designed for longer range shots with buckshot
But IMO what small gain I got was not worth the time and effort

John

[Budzilla 19]

I tumble the cast buckshot in a Harbor Freight double drum rock tumbler for at least 5 hours to start with! Then, just check them every hour till I like the results! Works for me. Graphite added at the start.

[gns4me]

I made a 4' PVC pipe with an plug in one end and a removable expanding plug on the other (all home depot items) You have to do a little of work on ends to make sure they don't rub on tumbler unit. On the inside I cut 3/4 PVC pipe in half and glued them to the inside to cause a tumbling action on the buckshot. Guy on facebook "Buck and Slugs reloader" had pic's . I asked if I could copy his design and it was a Yes. It has worked for me so far. My #1 Buck is made from a very Hard alloy with a lot of Tin in it.

[Ring3]

Thanks gns4me, very interesting idea. I think I can picture what you’re describing. I don’t Facebook so won’t see what he has posted.

I’m not impressed with the Harbor Freight tumbling tubs but so far they work. Another option is welcome.

Rob

[gns4me]

alao youtube has some videos that might help, Wade Rush and Gary G Gaskey are their names!

[Blood Trail]

Don’t take much graphite.


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[nekshot]

Nice Looking balls! Would scoring the shot shell at end of buckshot string be unethical? Should give a tighter pattern but you would ruin the shell.

[Nick Quick]

Just finished tumbling my last batch of 00 buck. I usually let them tumble for 24 hours but I forgot them this time for 48 hours. The result is amazing. Harbor Freight tumbler with rubber drums will cover the shot with a fine black film. I can't bet but I assume is from the shot bouncing against the drum walls. The black powder is like black dust. I tried various chemicals to clean the filth after tumbling and Dawn and hot water won the contest.
This batch was a different story because I was suggested to add in the drum some thick paper towel and I'm sold now. The paper towel came out pitch black but the shot would not let any residue on my hands. I'll still wash the shot because I plan to powder coat them.
It doesn't matter what method I use if the drum is made out of rubber the shot will end up dark which really doesn't bother me at all.
The best result I had with the drum loaded like 3/4 full. I'll post pictures the before and after tumbling.

[hickfu]

I just bought the Lee 00 mold but havent cast anything yet. I borrowed a Martys mold one time and cast 00 but never tumbled it (I guess I should have..) All I have is the huge Thumlers tumbler and I tried #4 once and they looked horrible and it didnt do my rubber insert any good either.

I just finished off a jar of Jelly beans from Costco that comes in a Hex shape like the tumbler just a bit smaller. I used this a few times years ago to powder coat like 1000 9mm bullets at a time and boy did that work great (sure saved my arms as well from not swirling in a coolwhip container.

I will be trying this when I tumble the 00 Buckshot, I hope it works as good as you guys using the HF rock tumbler..

I use to tumble brass with the steel pins



I will just wrap a towel around it to keep it steady and in the middle like when I powder coated a few years back
Without the pins the jelly bean container sits at the perfect height so I can still put the lid on