Shot Makers

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NavahoJoe posted this 21 September 2009

check on the Cast Boolit website, plenty of info there NavahoJoe

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mike morrison posted this 21 September 2009

howdy lillard, i have a littleton. have had it for about 15 years. works really well if you get all thing right. gotta drop the shot 1/4 inch. will need a resivory that will maintain constant level. i used water soluible oil. i have talked to people who used brake fluid. they say it disipates the hear better. mine needed to cool off after about two hours. never tried the brake fluid since i had bought five gallons of the oil. mine has five drippers and will make about 25lbs. per hour. mike

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Lillard posted this 21 September 2009

Thanks Mike

What alloy do you use?

Mr.Stewart said agriculture crop oil works well that would be good for me because I use a lot of it on the farm and it is inexpensive. I think I like the features of The Better Shot Maker the best.

I need all the info I can get.

LILLARD

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mike morrison posted this 22 September 2009

howdy lillard, i know nothing of the better shot maker as i have not had a need to know. i will look into it so i will be informed. i made about 500lbs from range scrap from an indoor range. it is soft and has worked well for me. i really think any lead will do. unless you need hard shot for a particular application. i have always wondered if the batches that folks have that has been contaminated with zinc would make good shot. may get to try that sometime. i made some with wheel weights. could tell no difference. mike

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 22 September 2009

mike morrison wrote: i have always wondered if the batches that folks have that has been contaminated with zinc would make good shot. may get to try that sometime.

mike

I had a pot full of zinc contaminated alloy and tried casting sinkers from that pot. The contamination eventually clogged the pot nozzle with that mess and was difficult to remove. I would imagine those little drip nozzles will be more difficult and you might even end up having to replace them.

If there is a next time, I think I will pour the contaminated alloy out the big hole in the top instead. Duane

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oake posted this 22 September 2009

Don't know anything about shot makers, but want to buy one myself, have one question for you guys who have experience, how round are the shot that you make?

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dardascastbullets posted this 26 September 2009

Lillard wrote: Does anyone have any experience with a lead shot maker? I have found two brands the Littleton and The Better Shot Maker made by Jim Stewart. Can anyone give some advice on the brands or about making shot?

LILLARD I have used the Littleton Shot Maker for a long, long, time. One of the most important aspects of making perfectly round shot was the coolant. I tried many different types of coolant and I found a source in Flint, Michigan. Now keep in mind that I haven't used the shot maker for a few years and my memory is not what is used to be. The company is Oil Chem, Inc. and their website is: http://www.oilcheminc.com/.>http://www.oilcheminc.com/. Their lab manager blended a coolant for me that created perfectly round shot. I used a 50 caliber ammo can with one top corner of it cut out with a small trough brazed to it to allow the coolant overflow to run off as the shot filled the ammo can. The coolant level remained constant which is paramount to making great shot.

I found that the nozzles needed attention periodically. They will plug up and to cure this it is necessary to push a piece of appropriate diameter piano wire through the nozzles' holes. Also, the alloy needs to be clean in order to reduce the amount of cleaning.

The nozzles must be removed from the machine as soon as they are cool enough and oiled for storage. Otherwise, they will oxidize and will be a devil to clean later on.

Obtain the correct coolant, keep the nozzles clean, use clean alloy, and you will make shot that will rival that of the commercial makers. By the way, I don't use mine anymore and I would like to sell it.

Matt

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Lillard posted this 27 September 2009

Matt thanks for the info it really helps. Everything I read says the drop and the coolant are the most important parts.

LILLARD

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zobarak posted this 04 October 2009

I have started to build my own shotmaker. I will try share my experience and technical drawings here.

So far the only equipment I have at hand is a heater. Its actually a kitchen tool and I hope it will do the job. It's a 1000 (maybe 1500) watt heater. I am not sure if it will be sufficient to keep lead at liquid state. Well we will see soon tho. I will try to build a working system today :) I will spend my whole day at a industiral region and a friend of mine who has a business there will help me.

Altough I am a Food Engineer I work in IT sector for almost 15 years and this will be a tough project for me. I appriciate all the help and comments through improvement phases.

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mike morrison posted this 04 October 2009

my littleton uses a heating element like found on a electric kitchen stove. you are on the right track. keep us posted. mike

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303PV posted this 05 October 2009

The heater I have had a thermostat that did not go high enough and it also had a temperature fuse which then melted. No problem really, but you may want to have a look if your heater has these features.

It is a very interesting project you have started on !

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zobarak posted this 05 October 2009

I have done a lot of work today. Now i have the complete heating pot and coolant case.

I have also bought some tools like a flame torch, an eye protection glass and a 5 kg (nealy 12 pounds) weight scale with 1g precision. Sorry folks I dont do imperial system very well.

I will prepare cad drawings and detail info after I have a bit sleep. Now I will only share some pics.

This forum does not allow me to put multiple pics on 1 page. So I will post a few messages.

Cengiz

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zobarak posted this 05 October 2009

Melting pot made from 4 mm iron plate. They cut all 6 pieces and welded very well by a special welding. Well I forgot the welding type but I can learn later and share with u if you wish. But know it was a some kinf of gas welding.

I used 7 pin bolts as nozzles. They didnt just drill plane holes on the front of the pot. Pin bolts can be screwed on the wall of the pot. So actually the bolt nuts are unnecessary. They also gave a conical shape on lathe to the head of pin bolt. I saw that design on http://www.hotkey.net.au/~orrs/BismuthArticle/Bismuth_page4.jpg>http://www.hotkey.net.au/~orrs/BismuthArticle/Bismuthpage4.jpg

They drilled 5mm hole through the pin bolts and 1mm hole on the head. Well I am not sure if lead will drop from that 1 mm hole actually. We will see that tomorrow.

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zobarak posted this 05 October 2009

This is my coolant case. ( Please dont laugh :) ) Yes its an aquarium case. I bought it from an aquarium store. I also bought a simple water pump from there.

They also installed a seperator glass into that case. Its purpose is making a reservation for colant. The height of inside panel is almost 1/2 inch lover then the height of case. So coolant will pour from main part to the reservation and pump will send the water back to main reserv. I havent decide on coolant type yet but it will definetely be a non-color type coolant. So I will be able to see to how production goes on on-line :)

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zobarak posted this 05 October 2009

These are the tools i bought today.

<>A tourch and a refiller. ($70) (Brand is Dremel, I read a lot of good things about that tourch on internet. So its a multi purpuse item. Lets say I will use it when I go camping) <>An eye protector ($4) <*>A weight scale 12 pound max with high precision ($30)

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zobarak posted this 05 October 2009

This the water pump I bought. Its really a cheap gadget. Im not sure if it will do its job.

Well I want to give an idea to you about how much all of these cost me too.

<>Heater (I didnt pay for it but new items like mine are being sold here at $30) <>8 Pin bolts and bolt nuts - $3 <>Drilling processes of bolts and 2 drill bits - $30 <>Melting pot material - $5 <>Melting pot workmanship (Welding etc.) - $35 <>Coolant case (including seperator and workmanship) - $30 <*>Water pump - $5 Cengiz

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zobarak posted this 05 October 2009

303PV wrote: The heater I have had a thermostat that did not go high enough and it also had a temperature fuse which then melted. No problem really, but you may want to have a look if your heater has these features.

It is a very interesting project you have started on !

There is 3 step thermostat and I have no no idea about weather it has a temperature fuse or not. Maybe I should open the case first. Btw now I'm sure its a 1500 watt heater.

Well I am hoping to go on my first trial tomorrow. Wishin everything will run smooth.

Cengiz

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Bigstrap3 posted this 05 October 2009

I hope your set up works well, please keep posting your progress

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zobarak posted this 06 October 2009

I have good news. It worked. :) It was marvelous to watch it producing shots. Not as good as Littleton or Better Shot Maker but it did its job. Well now I know my design flaws. I think I will make much more better version on my next free day.