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Static and black powder loading question...


Croc Holiday

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6 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

 

1. I live in a condo and I don't have a big sink to drain the messy fluid when I am all done. Mrs Johnson would be very upset if I did it in the kitchen sink, the bathroom sinks, or the bath tub.

 

 

 

Where do you dump the messy fluid from your multiple washings of your brass prior to  your dry tumbling? 

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It is just water with a little bit of soot in it. It goes down the kitchen sink.

 

My understanding is when you  dump the fluid from a Stainless Pins solution down the sink it it is much messier.

 

I could be wrong.

 

I have no intention of finding out, what I have been doing has been working fine for a long time.

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14 minutes ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

It is just water with a little bit of soot in it. It goes down the kitchen sink.

 

My understanding is when you  dump the fluid from a Stainless Pins solution down the sink it it is much messier.

 

I could be wrong.

 

I have no intention of finding out, what I have been doing has been working fine for a long time.

 

Just water with a touch of Dawn dish washing soap.

 

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I’m grateful that so many folks think shooting blackpowder is so much trouble. It cuts down the competition!

 

I’m lazy.  I enjoy shooting blackpowder.

 

Draw your own conclusions!  

 

:rolleyes:

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Driftwood ?

im new, so I have a lot of questions, so I appreciate your "withering".

how long can you leave the casing, after a match, before they need to be tumbled?

If the stainless pins remove metal when tumbled, what do the ceramic bead do?

since I've not been doing this for 20 years, I'm interested in learning the best ways.

you and I can have a cold Mountain Dew together one day, and talk about how change can be a good thing - sometimes ( sarcasm added for humor)

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On 8/10/2019 at 7:51 AM, J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE said:

Very little is necessary-but keep styrofoam away from the loading bench (even with smokeless) Be clean about your loading area and clean up any spills without procrastinating.  The grounding strap is not necessary, but if it makes you feel better use it.  Never smoke around your reloading gear, nor allow others to do so.  When priming, don't force it.  When loading if you meet abnormal resistance, stop and determine the cause and correct it before proceeding.  What you may gather so far is simply use common sense.

 

I've loaded BP on a 650 for years and even had a primer tube explosion with a hopper of BP on the press.  Hopper did not ignite thankfully, and by design it seems unlikely it would.  (I did upgrade to the aluminum hopper before the incident)-other than that, I just keep things clean and take my time. I do recommend emptying the hopper when you finish a reloading session and cleaning it out from time to time.

 

Brass care is likewise not as difficult as some make it out to be.  Soapy water will neutralize any fouling, so when I get home I dump my brass into an old laundry detergent bottle, add soap and water and shake it a bit, then drain it off into a safe place and rinse the brass.  Once drained, the brass gets tossed in old cardboard boxes and laid out in the sun to dry.  Tumble as desired for appearance, but if you don't mind dark brass it won't hurt anything (I have some cases that are nearly black, but still smooth)

Howdy

             Explain to me your comment of no styrofoam..interested to know .

Thanks..respectfully 'Mohawk

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3 hours ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

Explain to me your comment of no styrofoam..interested to know .

 

Styrofoam is an excellent generator of static electricity charges.

 

Ever notice how styrofoam popcorn used for packing always sticks to your hands?

 

All plastics will generate a static charge.

 

Whether or not you worry about it sparking an ignition of powder, the static charge developed by styrofoam can cause powder to clump up in a powder measure.

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Driftwood... I hear stained brass shoots as well as shiny brass.  Do you have any thoughts on this?

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13 hours ago, T-Square said:

Driftwood ?

im new, so I have a lot of questions, so I appreciate your "withering".

how long can you leave the casing, after a match, before they need to be tumbled?

If the stainless pins remove metal when tumbled, what do the ceramic bead do?

since I've not been doing this for 20 years, I'm interested in learning the best ways.

you and I can have a cold Mountain Dew together one day, and talk about how change can be a good thing - sometimes ( sarcasm added for humor)

 

In all honesty I cannot comment on stainless pins or ceramic beads because I have no experience with them.

 

Regarding 'leaving the cases': my experience is it is best to dump them in water with a squirt of dish soap soon after shooting them. You don't have to drag a jug of water around with you all day, back at the car at the end of a match is soon enough. However if sooted up cases are left 24 hours with no treatment, my experience is that they will turn green with verdigris (copper corrosion). Once rinsed and dried out the cases can sit forever before putting them in the tumbler.

 

Here is my jug of soapy water sitting on my cart at the end of a match. Notice the water is cloudy with dissolved BP fouling suspended in it. I try to rinse the brass out with fresh water the next day. The longer the brass sits in this dirty water, the more stained it gets, and my Lyman tumbler will not remove the stains. Only polish it up. I have at times left the brass in the jug far too long, a couple of months, yes I am very lazy, and the brass had a deposit of gook down inside that would not come out. The deposit was so thick that it took up some of the space that should have been reserved for powder. I had to dispose of that batch of brass. So now I try to rinse out my brass after a day or two. Like I said, once the brass is rinsed and dry, it can sit forever before going into the tumbler. No further deterioration happens to rinsed and dried brass.

 

Brass%20Soaking%20cropped_zpscrowywoc.jp

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So, I will take issue with neutralizing vs dissolving the residue on cases, but I think it is a distinction without merit. Soap is a base, sulfur residue and water form an acid

 

The rinse removes most of the contaminants regardless and if it is by dilution, when dry the cases keep indefinitely without further corrosion.  Long soaks lead to dark brass, I left some in for a long time and the brass was black when I found it, but otherwise cleaned and loaded perfectly.

 

One point of disagreement among BP shooter is the removal of primers before cleaning.  I never remove primers before cleaning as it makes tumbling media harder to remove from the pockets before loading and using my preferred method I have not had any major corrosion to deal with in the primer pockets-more importantly, they cant be polished to the point of being loose with the fired primer in there.

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3 minutes ago, J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE said:

So, I will take issue with neutralizing vs dissolving the residue on cases, but I think it is a distinction without merit. Soap is a base, sulfur residue and water form an acid

 

The rinse removes most of the contaminants regardless and if it is by dilution, when dry the cases keep indefinitely without further corrosion.  Long soaks lead to dark brass, I left some in for a long time and the brass was black when I found it, but otherwise cleaned and loaded perfectly.

 

One point of disagreement among BP shooter is the removal of primers before cleaning.  I never remove primers before cleaning as it makes tumbling media harder to remove from the pockets before loading and using my preferred method I have not had any major corrosion to deal with in the primer pockets-more importantly, they cant be polished to the point of being loose with the fired primer in there.

I always de-prime and use ceramic media.

Never-ever in all my decades of reloading, have I had a primer pocket become oversize from tumbling. :huh:

OLG

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Not that I disagree with anything that has been posted...

 

I wait until I get home to wash blackpowder brass.  Sometimes it’s more than 24 hours.

 

 I put the brass into a 3 lb. Folger’s container when I start to clean my guns, tap water and Dawn dish detergent.  An hour later, after my guns are clean and stored, the brass is rinsed several times, then dried quickly with a hair dryer.  Usually I wait 24 hours before tumbling with corn cob media and Dillon’s Rapid Polish 290.

 

I use a lot of that evil awful terrible Pyrodex in cartridges because it seems to burn cooler and cleaner than other substitutes,  and it’s pretty cheap because so many don’t like it.  I don’t get corrosion in my cases or guns, but let’s not beat a dead horse again.  I think my case life is as good as anyone’s.

 

So my point is, washing brass is not a panic situation.  Rinse the brass within a day or so of the match.  Worry about the stock market instead.

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9 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

Styrofoam is an excellent generator of static electricity charges.

 

Ever notice how styrofoam popcorn used for packing always sticks to your hands?

 

All plastics will generate a static charge.

 

Whether or not you worry about it sparking an ignition of powder, the static charge developed by styrofoam can cause powder to clump up in a powder measure.

Thanks Driftwood for  your reply....

                                                             For the past 4 years I have been using those styrofoam popcorns you speak of as a filler for my loading of  of all BP loads in various calibers & also for over the shot before crimping in the shotgun.

I cut the popcorn logs into smaller circles., a big bag goes a long way !! My question is am I a dodo & should I stop doing this ? 

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2 minutes ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

Thanks Driftwood for  your reply....

                                                             For the past 4 years I have been using those styrofoam popcorns you speak of as a filler for my loading of  of all BP loads in various calibers & also for over the shot before crimping in the shotgun.

I cut the popcorn logs into smaller circles., a big bag goes a long way !! My question is am I a dodo & should I stop doing this ? 

Yes, to both questions-:lol: :P

OLG

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5 minutes ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

My question is am I a dodo & should I stop doing this ? 

 

I don't use fillers, but if I did I doubt if I would use styrofoam.

 

I ain't gonna comment on whether or not you are a dodo.

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1 hour ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

I don't use fillers, but if I did I doubt if I would use styrofoam.

 

I ain't gonna comment on whether or not you are a dodo.

If it's gunna' save me by all means call me a dodo..I've been called worse !!

This is what I have been using ..more like a log that I cut up, I have always used  a dedicated BP thrower [ Hornady ].

I understand what you are saying re the popcorn like in a bean bag, very sticky to the fingers with the static..these logs seem more perforated to look at ,not solid if you know what I mean ..would that make a difference ? Or is styrofoam  a styrofoam full stop.

Never have I had a problem with any danger signs ..I always put an over powder card, then the styrofoam & a lube cookie over that before the bullet.. Long winded to some but I have good reliability & performance.

001.JPG

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6 minutes ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

If it's gunna' save me by all means call me a dodo..I've been called worse !!

This is what I have been using ..more like a log that I cut up, I have always used  a dedicated BP thrower [ Hornady ].

I understand what you are saying re the popcorn like in a bean bag, very sticky to the fingers with the static..these logs seem more perforated to look at ,not solid if you know what I mean ..would that make a difference ? Or is styrofoam  a styrofoam full stop.

Never have I had a problem with any danger signs ..I always put an over powder card, then the styrofoam & a lube cookie over that before the bullet.. Long winded to some but I have good reliability & performance.

001.JPG

 

Have you tried your loads W/O the fillers?

 

OLG

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Yeah, just FILL the case or shell with Goex, and shoot shoot shoot.

remember, black powder is for an entertainment factor that smokeless can't provide !!!! Joke

light loads are for gamers !!

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20 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

Have you tried your loads W/O the fillers?

 

OLG

Lumpy

          No I haven't....  Initially I used to use more powder than required, I'm not a fan of  fill the case & whack the bullet on top. To me that's a waste of powder & with the cost of BP in Aus it's just   blowing the   $$$.....  & the loads definitely obscure the target  !! So having reduced the powder I came up with the styrofoam to fill the gap, it's a simple method & works well & I use it in 44-40, 38-55 & 45-70.

Now that I have had a doubt cast in my mind I  may be looking for a  'SIMPLE  alternative...but having worked so well for so long I'm not sure  !!

 

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6 minutes ago, T-Square said:

Yeah, just FILL the case or shell with Goex, and shoot shoot shoot.

remember, black powder is for an entertainment factor that smokeless can't provide !!!! Joke

light loads are for gamers !!

Entertainment yes, fun yes, the BOOM is better than the bang yes, BP ain't hard to clean yes....but at the end of the day yes I am a gamer in training [ always willing to try or learn something new ] & above all yes I am a competitor against myself & then  everything else   gets sorted out !!!!

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2 hours ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

If it's gunna' save me by all means call me a dodo..I've been called worse !!

This is what I have been using ..more like a log that I cut up, I have always used  a dedicated BP thrower [ Hornady ].

I understand what you are saying re the popcorn like in a bean bag, very sticky to the fingers with the static..these logs seem more perforated to look at ,not solid if you know what I mean ..would that make a difference ? Or is styrofoam  a styrofoam full stop.

Never have I had a problem with any danger signs ..I always put an over powder card, then the styrofoam & a lube cookie over that before the bullet.. Long winded to some but I have good reliability & performance.

001.JPG

 

If you can find some of those packing "peanuts" made from corn silk, those may work without the threat of any static.  Maybe Driftwood or OLG can chime in with their thoughts.

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8 hours ago, German Jim said:

Maybe Driftwood or OLG can chime in with their thoughts.

 

Nope. No thoughts.

 

The only time I used filler was years ago using corn meal as a filler. I have not used filler in many years. I just stuff them with powder.

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1 hour ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

Nope. No thoughts.

 

The only time I used filler was years ago using corn meal as a filler. I have not used filler in many years. I just stuff them with powder.

Me either-Never use fillers............

OLG

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10 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

Nope. No thoughts.

 

The only time I used filler was years ago using corn meal as a filler. I have not used filler in many years. I just stuff them with powder.

 

8 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Me either-Never use fillers............

OLG

 

The only filler I use is Black Powder.  I mentioned the corn silk "peanuts" because someone brought up using styrofoam for a filler and you two know a lot about loading Black Powder and what works and what doesn't and what should not be done.  I get a lot of good info from you two.  Thanks.

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Only problem I've had on the Lyman with the aluminum hopper.  I bought a used measure and the owner had left pyrodex or something like that in it.  The hopper has a coulple of baffles and its pretty hard to dump all the powder unless you turn the unit upside down.  Anyway it didn't take long for it to become rather erratic because of clumping and erosion.  Its all good now!

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