not really bullets but

triple tap said:
I just spent like an hour looking at lead shot makers on youtube lol... quite some interesting machines that people have made...
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I spent a bit of time on there myself and no one really says the size to use. My plan is to use an old cast iron frypan and go from there. will have to experiment with sizes.
 
I did a bunch of research into it a couple years ago and apparently the composition of the alloy can change the surface tension enough to change the shot size from the same hole. So you will need to experiment or find not just the hole size but what alloy to match it to in order to get the shot size you want.

If you're only looking to get, say, "roughly" #7 shot then it isn't as big of a deal.
 
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You can also buy the drippers from the outfit that sells the shot makers, and then make the rest of the shot maker. I think they are made out of 1 inch long 5/16 inch bolts. The center is drilled out to a little over 1/8th inch or so. The fine hole through the head of the bolt is less than 1/16th inch.
 
There are a number of drippers for sale on eBay that cost around $50. Just search eBay for Shotmaker and weed through all of the golf items for sale. you'll find around 4 or 5 sets of drippers for sale on the first page.
 
There was an old guy near me that used to climb the windmill and pour his hot lead through a screen out of a fanning mill. He had a tarp on the ground and by the time the lead fell that far it had cooled enough it was hard and didn't hurt the tarp.
 
billdick said:
There was an old guy near me that used to climb the windmill and pour his hot lead through a screen out of a fanning mill. He had a tarp on the ground and by the time the lead fell that far it had cooled enough it was hard and didn't hurt the tarp.
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Climbing a windmill with molten lead....:onCrack:.....yeah, no. Hurting the tarp is the last thing on my mind.

(E) :cool:
 
(((Echo))) said:
Climbing a windmill with molten lead....:onCrack:.....yeah, no. Hurting the tarp is the last thing on my mind.

(E) :cool:
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ALL shot used to be made in "shot towers", and i know of two different gentlemen that made shot using a platform built onto windmills for that purpose. If you already had a windmill, why build a separate tower, know what I mean?? They heated the lead on the working platform, they didn't carry molten lead up aladder, LOL. Just because you couldn't figure out how to do it doesn't mean nobody else could. :)
 
I built a dripper, the hole was around .024", made 7.5 ish shot, not perfect but you need to get the heat to each dripper even or you end up with some dripping huge shot and others smaller depending on the temp. Its a fine balance to get it all running perfect and quite a bit of messed up shot that looks like popcorn if its too hot or water is too hot, lead gets contaminants etc. I had a small setup and could only make about 3-5 lbs at a time before it got too hot with about 10 lbs waste to remelt that was huge in like #4 size and some that was too small and was like lead powder. Best bet i could think of is to weld together an aluminum pan setup, with the proper angles, as the pressure from the weight of lead in the melting pan changes flow rates as does angle of drippers, height to coolant tank and even temp of coolant all changes quality. I say aluminum because heat conductivity of it is fast and quite even compared to steel which gets hot in one spot and can be 100C difference 4" from it. Even buying one premade i have read isn't perfect, tons of problems getting it just right to make alot but once you get it close( its never perfectly round) shot can be made on the cheap with a little effort from free lead.
 
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