wad material

[clayboster]

hi guys just goin into muzzle loading, i aquired an 8g zoli musket, it came with prob 100 wads that the seller said he made himself with a punch, thing for me is...i wanna make some more ,but..what is the best stuff to punch them from, they look like some sort of fibre about 15mm thick at a guess,a bit greasey to the touch. also what diameter is recomended? i can measure them at 21mm, they seem a tite fit to get in muzzle so would 20mm be ok or would i lose the gastite fit?i have googled all i can and found nothing much except to use felt?? 3mm thick?, seems too thin as the ones i have are 15mm thick..p.s. i havent actualy fired it yet just in case anyone is wondering, but i had my black powder license come this saturday so im looking to take it out nxt week , and those wads aint gonna last for ever, anyhow, what material are people useing to make/punch this type of wad.?.

 

cheers for any help/advice guys.

dave.

Edited July 7, 2014 by clayboster

[aga man]

Underdog is the man to ask.

[Underdog]

Pm sent matey.

 

Don't fret over the wad height, a few thin cards the same as the overshot cards that are punched from thin card is plenty and very often gives the best patterns.

 

The reasons a thick wad is detrimental to good patterns with black powder is the huge volume of gasses that shove a long wad into the back of the young shot column and upset it.

 

Thin leather is good too, say a thin card a thin leather disc soaked in olive oil and another card, simple as that. Keeping the foul nice and soft is the key to easy loading, the moment it is hard to load you doing something wrong (hence the olive oil). A mix of olive oil and bees wax or candle wax makes a good paste to occasionally put a blob between the wad cards to keep the foul soft.

It will also protect the bore if you can not clean for a day or so!

 

The card over shot should be just tight enough to hold air when rammed and **** past near the bottom of the stroke. Use the same cards as a wad. this also means just one pocket has to carry just thin cards.

 

I always wanted one of them zoli's 8g....has it got a good bore?

 

U.

[clayboster]

thanks for the directions aga-man..

 

wow underdog great info, you know your stuff,! i was just under the impression that a thin wad(card) would just disintigrate under the pressure and just all go up the barrel in a complete mess of shot mixed with burning powder and wad frags (you get my meaning?), im just probably over thinking here that the shot would back up through the wad upon ignition and cause problems. (im a newbie remember). as for the barrel ..its in great condition, inside and out. .

 

thanks for the info... one happy chappy is me, although a little cofused chappy, ill get there in the end im sure .

 

regards all.....dave

[panoma1]

Nominal 8 bore is .835 if your gun is true 8 bore, and the barrel is in good condition that is the size you want for a wad punch, the Zoli will (I Imagine?) be light in weight so do not overload it, or it will be a bit lively! its probably stamped 2ozs of shot on the barrel? BP is very forgiving so volume measures are all you need, use the correct grade BP!

 

Old 100% wool felt hats from the charity shops are useful for wadding material as is cork bathroom floor tiles.

I made a ramrod from a length of 3/4" dowell (with a handle) to push thin wads down on the square, and marked it at the depth it came to (at the muzzle) when the gun was properly loaded (or not!!)........so you could tell at a glance!

You can buy various types of 8 bore wads from Clay Game Reloaders (google them!) and you may get an 8 bore wad punch from Peter Dyson?

 

I had a S/B Zoli 8 bore M/L many years ago.......good fun! but sold it and moved on to double breechloaders

 

P1

[Underdog]

Nominal 8 bore is .835 if your gun is true 8 bore, and the barrel is in good condition that is the size you want for a wad punch, the Zoli will (I Imagine?) be light in weight so do not overload it, or it will be a bit lively! its probably stamped 2ozs of shot on the barrel? BP is very forgiving so volume measures are all you need, use the correct grade BP!

 

Old 100% wool felt hats from the charity shops are useful for wadding material as is cork bathroom floor tiles.

I made a ramrod from a length of 3/4" dowell (with a handle) to push thin wads down on the square, and marked it at the depth it came to (at the muzzle) when the gun was properly loaded (or not!!)........so you could tell at a glance!

You can buy various types of 8 bore wads from Clay Game Reloaders (google them!) and you may get an 8 bore wad punch from Peter Dyson?

 

I had a S/B Zoli 8 bore M/L many years ago.......good fun! but sold it and moved on to double breechloaders

 

P1

Yes, I keep looking at my old felt hat

 

Forgot about cork!

 

thanks for the directions aga-man..

 

wow underdog great info, you know your stuff,! i was just under the impression that a thin wad(card) would just disintigrate under the pressure and just all go up the barrel in a complete mess of shot mixed with burning powder and wad frags (you get my meaning?), im just probably over thinking here that the shot would back up through the wad upon ignition and cause problems. (im a newbie remember). as for the barrel ..its in great condition, inside and out. .

 

thanks for the info... one happy chappy is me, although a little cofused chappy, ill get there in the end im sure .

 

regards all.....dave

Yeah had this ding dong with many, no there is nowhere for the cards/wad to go any where, the force from the powder is the same from the shot. You will see when you recover a card or two.

 

On a side assumption, I believe that choked barrels first came about to tidy a pattern up from the new cartridge guns and their longer and greater wads and charges ruining the patterns! I have no evidence of this what so ever but blowing patterns with a muzzleloader is an old issue when seeking more power by adding to much powder.

 

Anyway