Spent the morning slipping around helping Kelly shovel ice covered snow.

Stewed over "Buckshotgate" for awhile. Decided to cast. Decided today was the time I needed to go buy lead. Went out to the salvage yard and dug thru 20 tons of junk radiators, buckets of wheel weights, and found some soft lead. It's historic. When they used to join the big cast iron pipes under the streets, they'd pour a soft lead joint seal. Whoever tore up a project a hundred years later, pried out the lead seal. Small pc. of roofing lead from a long lost top drawer roof.

So; I'll be casting bullets that are at least a hundred years old.

Went to Lowes for shop stuff. Took a phone call, while enroute to, and therefore forgot the one fitting I needed to hook it all up. So there's yet another pile of stuff that can't be applied ...

Came home, and resumed the icy snow removal with an electric snow thrower. Lead pot cooks away while I do that. Afterwards, my back is almost as cooked as the lead. So, turn the lead pot off - take another handful of pills - and lay down before the night shift.

To be resumed ....

Gary

Never fails. I've begun to make sure I get off the phone, look over my list, and rethink what I'm doing BEFORE I go into the store. I used to think all that took too much time, but I realized the extra trips took waaay more time. Not to mention the added stress and frustration of thinking you're ready to get going on or finishing your project only to have it get postponed until tomorrow because now the store is closed!

Hi Griffin,

No matter. Always plenty of other things to do.

I never did lay down ... this needed me and that did ... whatever ... I'm still on my feet. That's the way most days go.

Finishing up a mold I need for casting. Various pistol and carbine slugs thru the years. I had one ... but it was very tired. Plan is to cast some in an hour or two.

Gary

Yep - sometimes a post is just to generate some conversation. Guess it won't today.

And ... the battery in my wireless mouse just died. I take that as a sign.

Why does your last post say 10:45 when it's only 9:57...are you running fast?

The times posted, are those at the host server .... so I've been told.

Gary

HI Gary,

The buck shot is out there to be had. I suspect it will be much like shooting my Browning sweet 16. I keep my eyes open for batch runs of whatever I need, steel, target or high brass loads. It will only really become a problem when the "Banners" force me to go lead free and I have to shoot Pepto Bismol slugs. Can you make me a mold specific for Bismuth?

Kent

Guess it's a mind set thing. If some wish to squirrel stuff away, for their own usage ... that will work for them. As a builder ... I can't squirrel away product for the shooting life of each customer who is waiting for a gun. And, to tell them that they have to now become a "picker" and dig thru old inventory at remote gun shops ... i don't think they will be thrilled.

I've gotten a steady stream of mail telling me that this one has a box - this store has three - one has two ... etc. Thanks. I don't want it. I'm not going to go into the "obsolete buckshot" business.

I've found another company who lists their own products of that size. Of course, I'd have to buy a bunch and test it. I had some of their products, years ago ... and they were not round. Anybody wants $75 of square buckshot ... let me know.

This is yet another example of the one thing that's out of my control being the problem. I made these guns and barrels to meet the cry for a cheap, readily available ammo. Etc., etc. Same thing happened years ago, when I was recommending the Bull-X brand of .315" slugs. They went belly up.

There's always custom. That's what I make.

Gary

Figured the title was still appropriate ... it's Today, once again. ;?)

Sent out a project today. If it was for you - you already know about it.

I did some bullet mold work, with it's accompaning tooling yesterday. Was a dismal failure. Still don't know why. The cavities in the mold cut too large. The slugs, once cast ... refused to "decamp" the mold. This was a .... disappointment.

The tooling is not a complete loss. A few of the slugs shot well, once pounded into the gun. There were six designs - variations of the tooling - cut on a test shop block. That's toast ... but I might have some use for the cutters.

There's been a plague going thru the family. We've had cause to be around the small infested little ones .... ... and it's taking it's toll .. on the adults now.

More later ... if the creaking wooden wheels of the ..... "bring out 'yer dead" .... .... .... what was that?????



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2011 11:05PM by barnespneumatic.

Gary,

I bought a Palm years ago just for lists. It does everything a laptop computer can do in the palm of your hand, but it is great for lists.

My son's high school teacher called his his other brain, boy can I relate to that. As I age it speeds up, like a free upgrade.

Lon

Today... I corrected the welding error that literally grew from causing the center leg of my lathe stand to expand about a 32nd inch as I was completing the bead. So today I ground it back to length for a perfect fit. Hopefully this weekend I can finish it all up. I'll be sure to get some pics of the progress. I'll have this baby spitting out buckshot in no time.

Kent

Hi Kent,

Yeah ... the legs on my stuff have to be accurate ... give or take an inch ... on my concrete floor too! Couple of truck leaf springs ... shim stuff right up!

haahah

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2011 12:41AM by barnespneumatic.

I'm going to use my shop books but I haven't finished them yet!

I was very please to get the legs "perfect" the first time. I did learn a little with the event, and now it's back to perfeckt.

Kent

Today . . . recuperating after painting our new offices all day yesterday. Our new neighbors in the building came by and told us that the room in which we're setting up our imaging equipment -- a fireproof vault with concrete floor, walls, and ceiling -- was used to house secret plans for the Sherman tanks they built there during WWII. Moving most of our furniture over there later this afternoon -- the high temp is supposed to be a balmy 23 degrees. Fun stuff.

Oh yeah, my two boxes of Hornady .320 buckshot showed up . . .

-- Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2011 11:43AM by admin.

Don't you bring that ratty old horded buckshot up here! You can swill your Napolean Brandy and roll the stuff around on your Louis XIV desk ... in your new bunker. hahahaha.

Congrats on the new digs.

Gary

From everything I've read about the Sherman tank it's amusing that they felt the need to keep its plans a secret.

Can we hang out over there when society crumbles? I have some .320 buck shot and like sized slugs I can bring over. We can barbeque and shoot at the roving gangs, it'll be great fun.

Gary,

About those pipe seals. Were people drinking lead laced water?
Lon



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2011 04:30PM by Bigbore.

Hi Lon,

Ah ... more than likely .... the water was going .... ah .... in the OTHER direction.

Just doin' my part for the Green Revolution.

Gary

Today ...

I woke up realizing what had gone wrong with the production of the new experimental 32 slug series'.

When you don't do something every day, subtle steps get dropped. Things which are the small details that are easy to forget.

My mind's eye had prepared a little video of the problems. I had swapped out the order of two of the heat treating steps. It allowed for a possible movement in the steel. I'd decided to make these molds "nose pour" cavities. However; that reduced the diameter of the shaft at a critical place. I had inadvertently changed the speed at which the mill was running. And ... I had neglected to lock all of the table locks. In addition, I'd changed the angle of the cuts on a certain part of the cutters.

I was only looking for about 5 thousandths of run-out - that would make the mold cavities larger than wanted. With a spinning tool cutter ... that means 2.5 thousandths will produce a cavity 5 over. Changing the temper process, can allow the cutter to warp a thousandth or two, after grinding. The wrong speed can produce a chatter. The wrong neck size, can produce flex. A missing lock, can produce a tiny table movement. A wrong cutter angle can make a slug that won't release when cast.

Tiny, tiny steps. All imporant. Easy to forget one, or two, or three. There were things going on yesterday, that kept me from being as sharp as I needed to be to catch them all. And, the added up to a less than adequate result. That bugged me until my mind replayed all of the above.

Worked on a corrected approach today. We'll see how it goes.

Gary

Hey Gary,

Sorry, but I can't help you on the machine work problems. As far as the CRS (can't remember...stuff... ) syndrome goes though, I've found a work-around. Get a few packs of 3 x 5 cards the kind you use for recipies, etc. They make great notecards for shopping lists, telephone numbers, etc, and best of all they fit perfectly in your shirt pocket. Not only that, but if you dog-ear or crease them before you stuff them in there, it's almost impossible to forget since they'll be just stiff enough to notice you every time your shirt moves a bit. After all, the only thing more frustrating that forgetting something out shopping, is forgetting that you had the stupid list with you the whole time. They're also harder to miss on laundry day, and therefore less likely to be turned into a mass of anonymous pulp evenly distributed over all your dark colored clothes after going through the washing machine.

Now ...if I can just remember to take my cell phone out of my pants pocket too....

Hi Sean!

Notes! What a great idea. I could write stuff down!

Let's see ... I once saw a pen .... over there, I think .....

Yes - I agree .... we buy index cards by the gross here. Use them endlessly. Nearly to the point where they are like snowflakes in Aspen. The problem comes in the subtle little things that you've done so many times, that you don't think you need reminding of anything. But - it's been just long enough ... that you do, and don't realize it.

Nothing like ruining a batch of tooling to refresh you memory though.

Gary