I'm not cheep, I'm thrifty. . Cleaning reclaimed shot

[Dick Dastardly]

So they were reclaiming shot at my trap range.  Had well over 30 55 Gallon drums of it.  I bought some.  300# actually.  Anyway, I've finally gotten around to cleaning some of it.  Worked pretty good with a fine screen over a water bath.  It's dry now, and rolled down a fabric incline to remove the stones and sticks.  Next it needs to be graphited.

I've got an unemployed RCBS Sidewinder that needed a new tire and I found one at our local True Value Hardware store.  Not the big box Wal Mart place, I mean the real hardware store that I try to patronize as often as possible.  They had some gray rubber stuff with a sticky back whut said 3M on it that made into a perfect tire for that ol' Sidewinder.  So, it's going back to work tumbling reclaimed shot to put graphite on it.

Like I say, I'm not cheep, I'm Thrifty.  It's a lot like being "colorful" instead of just eccentric. . .

Anyway, I'll soon be loading reclaimed shot to kill steel critters.  I'll bet they will all fall down and never complain at all.

DD-DLoS

[RollingThunder]

And then get reclaimed again! LOL.

You know, I do believe the Dark Lord of Soot is also becoming the Dark Lord of Green with all this recyclin' he's doin'.

Never woulda figger'd ya fer a tree-hugger, DD. A tree-shooter, maybe, but never a hugger. 

[Dick Dastardly]

Well, RT, I cut an awful lot of trees before I discovered that it was a poor way to make a living.  Then I looked around for a wealthy woman to marry and had no luck there.  They were either over 65 or built like a fork lift.  So, I took up photography.  I've retired from that poor practice and taken up retirement.  That seems to agree with me.  That and selling bp stuff. . .

No, I'm not an environmental activist.  I'm an active environmentalist.  There's a big difference.  I'll never be a greenie, but I sleep well.

DD-DLoS

[RollingThunder]

Rich folk don't get rich by spendin' all their money. They get rich by makin' ever' other rich folk spend their money.

Sort of Gen. Patton, but it's true.

[Noz]

for the true tree huggers-----

[RollingThunder]

If more trees looked like that, I'd bet tree-huggin would be much more popular! LOL.

[Pettifogger]

Can the Double D shot washer be far behind?

[Mako]

Can the Double D shot washer be far behind?

I think I heard it was an attachment for the "Tower of Power."

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

For the Pardettes;

Hug a logger

You'll never go back to trees

[RollingThunder]

If more trees looked like that, I'd bet tree-huggin would be much more popular! LOL.

Woulda been funnier if I had said "pop'lar" ... LOL.

[Mossyrock]

OK, along these lines (reclaiming shot, not hugging trees), I just picked up around a hundred pounds of very old, very oxidized shot in a five gallon bucket.  This stuff is so old that the cloth shot bags that held the shot are rotten and falling apart! (And mixed with the shot.) So, do I need to clean this stuff, or just sift out the chunks-o-bag, load it up and shoot it?

[Fairshake]

DD, I would think that is your German blood line kicking in. My wife's family in PA do the same. Her father is not poor but refuses to pay for garbage pickup and buries it on property. With my last name I'm also in that group as you know. We make a pot of beans and that's what we eat until they are gone. Later David

[Mako]

MossyRock,
That's up to you, You can just throw about 4 cups of it in a vibratory finisher without anything and just let it burnish itself if you want.  Dick's going to add graphite to his, the only reason you need that is if you're using a press with a finicky charge bar.

If you want to you can get some powdered graphite, probably a couple of tablespoons per 4 cups.  Don't mix it in your tumbler, it will coat the insides. put it in a metal can, a milk jug or plastic bottle.  One of those plastic coffee cans works well.  Then just shake it and roll it for about a minute.  There is another trick, but be careful!  take a large zip lock bag add the shot and graphite.  Then double bag it.  Then put it in your vibratory finisher.  This is after you have burnished it.  Then let it run for about 10 minutes.  Check for uniform coverage add more if necessary.

I'd just burnish it and pick out any loose debris.  Or if you are like some of my crazy compadres leave the cloth in, they'd hope it would catch fire and leave streaming burning trails o'fire!

~Mako

[Dick Dastardly]

I had a hard time finding bulk graphite till I went to Farm & Fleet.  They have it in bulk up to Five pounds.  I bought the One pound bottle for around Six Bux.  That will be enough graphite to last me a very long time.  I'll be using it on my reclaimed shot and on the shot I make with my Littleton Shot Maker.

FWIW, I like to dip the necks of my high power rifle necked brass into graphite before sizing.  It lubes the inside of the neck and the expander plug just slides right out real smooth and easy.  I have a flip top box with a brass brush sticking up thru the graphite.  One pass over the brush, into the graphite and out is quick and easy.  This is a practice I'll be using when I size my 38-40 brass also.

DD-DLoS

[Fiddler Green]

How do you sort the lead shot from the steel shot?

I'm getting hit enough by lead shot, I'd hate to see how many times (and how hard) I get hit by steel shot!

Bruce

[Russ T Chambers]

How do you sort the lead shot from the steel shot?

I'm getting hit enough by lead shot, I'd hate to see how many times (and how hard) I get hit by steel shot!

Bruce

Magnet?

[Fiddler Green]

Magnet?

Yes, thanks! I like to think of myself as a chick magnet! 

Bruce

[Jethro "Black Jack" Harris]

Yes, thanks! I like to think of myself as a chick magnet! 

Bruce

Since they're both two-legged, ya gotta be more specific what kinda chick yer talking about, Fiddler! 

[Fiddler Green]

Since they're both two-legged, ya gotta be more specific what kinda chick yer talking about, Fiddler! 

Grown particular?

Me? I'll take what I can get!

Bruce

[Montana Slim]

Just don't breathe the graphite (health risk), or let it settle in on your important metal items (corrosion "magnet").

And to think I spend significant effort / time to reduce graphite from one of my popular reloading components 

Regards,
Slim