Powder coating made easy

[jkcerda]

Wow that is the total spa treatment. They get a mani petti right there and all the water they can drink... That tray is nice. It would be nice to have a permanent non stick PC tray instead of using nonstick foil every so often...

that tray somewhat becomes non-stick after a few uses.

[stilly]

that tray somewhat becomes non-stick after a few uses.

No ****? Maybe I should try that with my trays then. Because it would be cool to have a tray like that. Maybe if I spray my trays with Mold Release first they will be nonstick enough to become nonstick... Oh, yeah I forgot, I use the foil because it is slightly easier and cleaner underneath...

OKay thanks. THat is good to know, Finally, where did you get that tray from? It looks like a dryer vent or something.

[jkcerda]

No ****? Maybe I should try that with my trays then. Because it would be cool to have a tray like that. Maybe if I spray my trays with Mold Release first they will be nonstick enough to become nonstick... Oh, yeah I forgot, I use the foil because it is slightly easier and cleaner underneath...

OKay thanks. THat is good to know, Finally, where did you get that tray from? It looks like a dryer vent or something.

bought it at the dollar store, it was not a "Tray", it was one of those stationary/pencil holders that I unfolded it was shaped like a "U" and I simply flattened it as best I could. the first couple of sets WILL stick, I have extras if you cant find them , you could borrow mine to try out, I am in Ontario/I.E. if you are interested.

[stilly]

LoL! That makes sense. Actually I want to use this as an excuse to go pay a visit to IMS just down the street and over the bridge and on the left. I LOVE going into that store. They have all kinds of neat meshes/screens/metal thingies. heh... :\

I just got some new balls today so maybe things will change a bit. At least now I can run the HF yellow and RED...

[jkcerda]

LoL! That makes sense. Actually I want to use this as an excuse to go pay a visit to IMS just down the street and over the bridge and on the left. I LOVE going into that store. They have all kinds of neat meshes/screens/metal thingies. heh... :\

I just got some new balls today so maybe things will change a bit. At least now I can run the HF yellow and RED...

new balls? snuck them out of the wives purse?

I bought BBQ grill toppers, 3 pack from wally world to try out as well, going to fold them to a size that fits in my oven & try them out.

[CGT80]

LoL! That makes sense. Actually I want to use this as an excuse to go pay a visit to IMS just down the street and over the bridge and on the left. I LOVE going into that store. They have all kinds of neat meshes/screens/metal thingies. heh... :\

I just got some new balls today so maybe things will change a bit. At least now I can run the HF yellow and RED...

IMS is like a candy store for people who like metal. It is hard to make myself not buy a bit of everything when I am in there. They have tons of small remnants to use for little projects. My brother and I have spent $4,000 + there in the last month or so. We are in the middle of two big welding projects.

I bought one of those Femi band saws that they have in the showroom. It makes awesome cuts in all metals. Actually, I have to go there again tomorrow to get a few more band saw blades and I have to get more welding gas at the shop just down the street from them.

It turns out that IMS didn't have aluminum perforated sheet in holes smaller than 1/8" and they haven't had any small rems of that lately, so I ordered from a place on line. I think it is called online metals. They cater to DIY and hobby people who only need small amounts. The price wasn't all that bad.

[jkcerda]

Have you guys bought from pattons?

[CGT80]

I have used pattons in the past, but they don't compare to IMS. Prices seem to be pretty good at IMS and they have a great showroom and cater to the DIY or small business guys as well as the big contractors. Pattons is OK in a pinch if they are nearby and have what I need. They did have a good price on CGW flap discs at the Ontario location, and they carried the 5" size, but I have switched to using Leigh Valley for half the price or less, on grinding wheels.

There is also K&H in Riverside, which is just down the street from IMS. Prices seem high and they don't have the selection of IMS.

[stilly]

I have used pattons in the past, but they don't compare to IMS. Prices seem to be pretty good at IMS and they have a great showroom and cater to the DIY or small business guys as well as the big contractors. Pattons is OK in a pinch if they are nearby and have what I need. They did have a good price on CGW flap discs at the Ontario location, and they carried the 5" size, but I have switched to using Leigh Valley for half the price or less, on grinding wheels.

There is also K&H in Riverside, which is just down the street from IMS. Prices seem high and they don't have the selection of IMS.

They used to be my goto place but mainly because after touching everything they have I have dirty fingers and you know what that means...

I get to wash my hands at their hand washing station! Complete with GRANULAR POWDERED SOAP! I might just stop in to "pretend to look" and then go touch something so that I can wash my hands...
Yes, I do like washing my hands there.

I bought about 90% of the material for my dad's trailer from that store. All of the framing and angle iron and perforated steel not to mention the suspension and all that. It was a lot of fun. But If I need to go there now I will stop in and look on the way to IMS...

[Pablo5959]

That is not a bad Idea but the liquid like properties of the powder and how easy it is to dust it says that that method could be messy. BUT I imagine that you have enough powder on them already? Pour them onto a surface and just pick em out.

I purchased locking hemostats one 10" and one 4" I think and I have been using them to pick out the boolits and place them on the foil.

If I could just dump them onto the foila nd tilt and roll away the balls, that would be cool, but then I would have a lot of powder being dumped too and I am not thrilled with how the boolits roll around. Maybe rifle is easier to do.

biker: YEah you can do .30 cal and .224 and all that but we just happen to do more pistol boolits. I shoot my .45 in an indoor range and I do not yet load for my ARF so for me it is only pistol boolits now.

Also, why do you have to recoat so many times? I have seen the PC fluid beds for fishing jigs, they are CRAZY cool and you can make your own, they do an excellent job of coverage I thought.

Well I tried pouring them through a mesh today. Using a plastic mesh. With a paper plate underneath.



Though I did get some scuff marks.
I'm thinking of making something to raise the mesh a little more.

Thanks to the gloss black, it flows better then most colors. The scuff marks went away during cooking.

It took me less the 8 minuets to pick and stand these.





With a little more thought, I'm hoping to get the time involved down closer to tumble lube.

Maybe some type of ammo tray with the bottom cut out to set the bullets upright?
Ideas?

[meaty-btz]

I am thinking of making a fluid bed to expand and improve my coating quality and consistency. I believe that our current system is fine for pistol bullets and fine for random plinking rifle rounds but that they are too inconsistent for use in rifles where you want greater precision.

I have tested all the way up to full power 8x57 loads (not US loads, Euro full power.. aka german WWII charge pressures). The bullets did not fail even though they were #2 Lyman rather than something harder like Linotype. However finding bullets that were both smoothly covered in a uniform thickness and of uniform weight to make quality loadings proved aggravatingly impossible. They were close but you'd never see anything better than 2MOA just due to weight variences and the effects the rough surface and coating thickness variables impart. In full power rifle loads going >2500 FPS the lead is already beyond it's limits and it is the coating that is holding the bullet together so the coating starts to matter.

If anyone has a high speed camera we could try to catch the bullets in flight to look for plastic deformation at these upper ends (the bullet actually bowing in response to the forces but remaining in one piece rather than fragmenting as would happen even to linotype at full rifle velocities in most rifle twists).

Turns out that powder coating is actually incredibly strong and ductile.

Mind you I am also "out of the game" right now as I have not cast anything since my daughter was born. I cast in the garage which is fine, she isn't exposed, but I come back in with clothes covered in lead and need to shower and wash clothing etc. I don't have the luxury of the time it takes to decontaminate. She needs too much daddy time for that. So casting is side-lined. But I do still have a surplus of uncoated bullets for when I get some quiet garage time.

[Pablo5959]

Meaty,
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter.
The though of contamination with a little one is always a concern.

The fluid bed is very interesting. I will be looking at this closer.

[stilly]

I am thinking of making a fluid bed to expand and improve my coating quality and consistency. I believe that our current system is fine for pistol bullets and fine for random plinking rifle rounds but that they are too inconsistent for use in rifles where you want greater precision.

I have tested all the way up to full power 8x57 loads (not US loads, Euro full power.. aka german WWII charge pressures). The bullets did not fail even though they were #2 Lyman rather than something harder like Linotype. However finding bullets that were both smoothly covered in a uniform thickness and of uniform weight to make quality loadings proved aggravatingly impossible. They were close but you'd never see anything better than 2MOA just due to weight variences and the effects the rough surface and coating thickness variables impart. In full power rifle loads going >2500 FPS the lead is already beyond it's limits and it is the coating that is holding the bullet together so the coating starts to matter.

If anyone has a high speed camera we could try to catch the bullets in flight to look for plastic deformation at these upper ends (the bullet actually bowing in response to the forces but remaining in one piece rather than fragmenting as would happen even to linotype at full rifle velocities in most rifle twists).

Turns out that powder coating is actually incredibly strong and ductile.

Mind you I am also "out of the game" right now as I have not cast anything since my daughter was born. I cast in the garage which is fine, she isn't exposed, but I come back in with clothes covered in lead and need to shower and wash clothing etc. I don't have the luxury of the time it takes to decontaminate. She needs too much daddy time for that. So casting is side-lined. But I do still have a surplus of uncoated bullets for when I get some quiet garage time.

Well congrats to you.

On and you are welcome:

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/child-gas-mask

Now get back to casting!

[ckgarside]

I might just have to try this myself. Anyone know what color has the best ballistic performance??? lol