fieldwanderer Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Right then, I've been having a bit of an experiment and have come up with a few questions I've been dripping it into water, I know it's not the right way but as said it's just an experiment at the moment - the "shot" is all pretty consistant but is flat ovals, would that be cured by using the correct coolant? I've been using copper grease on the ramp, however this tends to burn, is that normal? I've used 0.65mm holes, the lead seems to have difficulty getting through them - any ideas why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) Flats will probably be from dropping the lead from too high up, you want the ramp as close as possible to the coolant. Buy some cheap fabric conditioner just to make life easier and don't let the lead get over hot. If the crackling is really loud or you get popcorn it's too hot. You burn off the copper grease before you start dropping shot as the ramp heats up so all the carrier has gone leaving a thick film of the copper paste, like teflon to the touch. You need more head for the lead to flow, ie, enough weight of lead pushing it thru. The pot should have a tilt on it to aid this and having linotype in the lead mix also helps flow. Post a pic, my first attempts were awful but it just takes practice. Also look on youtube for lead shot maker, there's loads of examples to study now. Edited September 30, 2012 by sitsinhedges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted September 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Thanks s.i.h. I'll try to get some pic's tomorrow No crackling, I'll try some fabric conditioner though And the "shot" is dripping a good 2-3" so you're probably spot on there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted October 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 piccies; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitloop Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 drop defo to high also what angle is the ramp at as it looks quite steep from the pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted October 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 That bowl was full by the way but still quite a drop. No idea what angle the ramp is, 30degrees from vertical maybe? Pretty steep anyway, what should it be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 The ramp could do with being much shorter, mine is just over an inch long and it wants to be 30' from horizontal including the tilt of the pot itself. get some metal containers such as 1200gram dog food tins to drop it into, a washing up bowl is just wrong for all kinds of reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted October 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 Lol, like I said; it was just to have a go to start with, I just used what was to hand. But because I had a go and found questions to ask, I've got a better idea what I'm doing for a more serious attempt. Thanks for the help so far chaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitloop Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 not bad for a first attempt its a big learning curve. as sits says 30 deg from horizontal other wise the shot is going to fast and will flatten out on impact on the water surface due to surface tension the reason for the Landry fabric softener that reduces it. for the drip trays you need metal container evan 2/3 bean tins and swap them over as it looks like theres only 1 drippier at the moment. and get them close to the bottom of the ramp as the plastic bowl will just melt . you can leave the bowl under the pot to catch the over flow from the cans other wise you loose all the fabric softener all over the floor p.s. sits is the shot making king there is one other but he says he retired form shot making Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted October 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Should be 5 drippers there but only one would go, no idea why though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitloop Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 what size hole did you drill it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted October 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 0.65mm, I gather they're normally 0.55 - 0.7mm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 You would normaly get about no7 shot with that size, or frisbees in your case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted October 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Lol, maybe it'll catch on! I'm after more like 6 or 5 though so I guess about 0.7mm or slightly bigger? Would a cheap electric hot plate get hot enough to use instead of gas? Thanks again for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitloop Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 no a hot plate not get hot enugh you need a boiling ring from a cooker and one of the controler ***** called a simmerstat. you not get bigger than say no5 shot i had a bach of exclimation mark shot ,,,,,,,, which was caused by a bur on the ramp thay worked ok but the whistleing that came from them was a little strange Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian28 Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) Well i have been struggling of late too . got a pot made for me in stainless steel bought simmerstat element etc. could not get it to drop round lead shot slight flat on top and bottom spent hours messing about with it. Put home made pot on frame, round shot scratching my head for what was wrong. Then i looked at ramp on stainless pot with an angle sensor it was 30degree on plans it was 12 degrees so no wonder it wont work stainless pot at fabricater to be altered. Edited October 3, 2012 by brian28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian28 Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Many thanks to SITSINHEDGES for all the help he gave me in PMs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon driller Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Do you not have to add anything to the lead to make it harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian28 Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Do you not have to add anything to the lead to make it harder. Yes shot in pie tin is 4/1 lead linotype Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 That shot in the pics looks fine Brian, we strive to make the best we can but I'd have no worries at all shooting that. You've got it pretty much sorted I reckon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitloop Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 the shot in the pics looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floating Chamber Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 I love to witness success! Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted October 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Might get chance to have another go over the weekend so a couple more questions; What I've in mind is a bit of channel about 6" wide, 8" long and 4" deep (any reason not to use mild steel?) A bit of angle welded onto one of the open ends with the holes drilled in it for drippers and the other side sticking out to form the ramp - this will be stainless if I can get hold of any, and polished if needs be? Will welding the angle square and having the whole lot at 30' work? Does the depth of the holes matter? I.e. if I drill them through 6mm thick angle, is that any better or worse than 3mm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Might get chance to have another go over the weekend so a couple more questions; What I've in mind is a bit of channel about 6" wide, 8" long and 4" deep (any reason not to use mild steel?) A bit of angle welded onto one of the open ends with the holes drilled in it for drippers and the other side sticking out to form the ramp - this will be stainless if I can get hold of any, and polished if needs be? Will welding the angle square and having the whole lot at 30' work? Does the depth of the holes matter? I.e. if I drill them through 6mm thick angle, is that any better or worse than 3mm? The only problem with mild steel is long term corrosion which can block the drippers. The problem with welding a square angle on and tipping the whole thing 30' is that there isn't much contact with the heat source cos all the lead will be at one end of the pot, not so much of a problem if you're using gas maybe. mine is 12' tilt on the base and 18' angle on the ramp which works about right for my set up. Thicker is probably better because it will hold the heat more consistently I would imagine, don't make the ramp over long an inch or so is plenty. Start off basic and get more elaborate once you're making useable shot and don't forget the pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highbird70 Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Hi all, My shotmaker should be ready tomorrow morning, is it ok to use mig tips 0.8-0.9? or steel bolts only? Ty Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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