Home Made Shot

[alreadygone]

have two customers with shotmaking equipment. Both are taking my used wheel weights and making shot. So far, I've managed to get them to do it on the 1/2ves. Seems like a heck of a deal for me! As weights have to be melted and rim clips and other trash removed before it can be ingoted suitable to put in their electric heated shot formers. Electric is used to keep heat correct, then molten lead drips through a bolt with a specific hole size drilled through its center, then molten lead runs across an approx 1 inch lip before falling approx 6 inches into BRAKE FLUID !! In a 5 galllon bucket. Brake fluid provides slower cooling than water + high flash point and water soluible. Then shot must be washed to remove fluid, seived to remove most imperfect spheres. While w weights have value as salvage metal, a probably 150 lb 5 gallon bucket nets me approx 50 lb of near perfect shot. A few have "tails" and not quite round, but after a trip through setback,forcing cone,choke, factory shot is far from round when it leaves the bbl also. Wheel weight has higher antimony content than standard lead shot, but that only makes it harder (and slightly lighter) than factory shot. Certaily still not hard enough to damage barrel.
One shotmaker is a high score sporting clays shooter, the other is a 98% trap shooter. Both will use their shot when reloads are allowed.

Also have a couple guys who will occasionally cast pistol bullets on 1/2ves.

Bob

 

[bruce381]

Better stuff than brake fluid are water soluble polymers that have a 'cloud' point what happens is the diluted polymer will come out of solution at the hot area (next to the shot or parts being quenched) and will SLOW the quench speed thus allowing the use water (which unadditized will quench to fast and cause cracks in the metal) to act like old style quench oils.

But water is safer and cheaper and cleaner to use and the amount of poylmer added, more the slower that quench thus allowing a wide quench speed range for varying the hardness required.

More for general metal hardening than lead shot but will work too
Brake fluid I think/may have a cloud point
bruce

 

[Steve S]

I can get the grasp of bullet making but shot making is unique in my mind.

 

[Shannow]

Think of a dripping tap.

 

[alreadygone]

Commercial shot is made in "towers" somewhere around 30ft tall, where vats of precisely heated molten lead (with ARSENIC added to improve roundness!!) is poured over screen mesh with precise sized holes to determine shot size. Then it falls to water tanks. The long fall allows it to form and harden before it hits tanks.

This apparatus allows not quite a steady stream of molten lead(only holds approx 5 lbs molten lead) to roll a short distance across an aluminum lip before freefalling approx 6 inches into brake fluid. If shot is allowed to get too deep in bottom of brake fluid container it begins to collect as a pile of slag, also happens if fluid is allowed to get to hot before a fresh cooler container is switched.

To actually engage in shotmaking on this scale, one needs a LOT of free time. (I.E. retired)

Bob

 

[Shannow]

Bob, the arsenic also aids in the hardening ability of the alloy.

I've never seen them dropped into brake fluid, just water. But that was in Oz magazines.

 

[Shannow]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=6362&highlight=shot+machine

These are good guys. My sourdough and Harissa recipes are on their site somewhere.