"Glassing" cast round balls

[Blackpowdersmoke]

Have any of you ever tried "glassing" your own home-cast round balls to wear down the sprue? I read an article called "Taming the sprue" in MUZZLELOADER magazine awhile back and the author mentioned rolling his cast round balls between two heavy plates of glass to wear or "peen" the sprue down so that they are much like swaged balls. Anyone ever try this or do it regularly? Any suggestions, comments, do's & dont's??...BPS

 

[longcruise]

I think that would work, but I've used another method that involves much less time and labor. I use my vibrating cartridge case cleaner without media. You put them in the bottom (mine is a rectangular tupperware tub) so that they are not tight and definetly only one layer. Turn it on for an hour or so and the balls are sprueless. It helps if you take a pair of cutters and cut the sprue as close to the ball as possible.

 

[Grullaguy]

I read on one of these sites that one fellow puts his cast balls loose in a box in the trunk of his car.
The continuous rolling as he drives removes the sprues.

I thought that was pretty clever. :bow:

 

[bitehard]

I use a large but thin plastic tupperware with a clip on lid that sits on the passengers side floor pan in the car. I only put it 1/2 full and one layer so that there is plenty of slop. As I drive they bang against each other and so become very round. I have been annoying she who should be obeyed for about the last 20 or so years. There , my well kept secret is out. People who have got balls from me seem to think that they are swaged.

 

[Bill Hall]

Those glass plates sound like overkill to me. I've heard of using steel plates, but I still think that's overkill. Maybe doing all that rolling betwen plates adds a pshycological placebo effect, but that's about it. :idunno:

I think the best thing to do to get rid of the sprue is to roll them all over each other, or use a tumbler, like the examples already metioned. Focussing on personal shooting skills is more important than trying to improve our balls, by trying to make it sniper ammo grade.

Just my thoughts. Bill

 

[RADeO]

Have any of you ever tried "glassing" your own home-cast round balls to wear down the sprue? I read an article called "Taming the sprue" in MUZZLELOADER magazine awhile back and the author mentioned rolling his cast round balls between two heavy plates of glass to wear or "peen" the sprue down so that they are much like swaged balls. Anyone ever try this or do it regularly? Any suggestions, comments, do's & dont's??...BPS

I use two 12" x 12" sections cut from an old Formica counter top for this purpose. Works like a charm. :thumbsup:

It doesn't totally get rid of the sprue, but very close.

 

[Nappers]

I use the method and works good for me.

I pour about 15-20 balls, have a thick piece of glass, a piece of wood with hole cut out and roll them with a thick piece of glass (wood keeps them from flying off).

No sprues and part of the fun for me.....

 

[MSW]

i will admit that i've never tried glassing roundball. as close as i get is to take a scissors type nail clipper (i got mine at the local pet store) which nips the sprue very close to the curvature of the ball. then i load it with the little mark facing straight up, and i can't notice a significant difference between my cast roundball and swaged.

but then again, i'm not that good a shot.

just one guy's opinion... free and worth the price!

 

[Dphar]

Have any of you ever tried "glassing" your own home-cast round balls to wear down the sprue? I read an article called "Taming the sprue" in MUZZLELOADER magazine awhile back and the author mentioned rolling his cast round balls between two heavy plates of glass to wear or "peen" the sprue down so that they are much like swaged balls. Anyone ever try this or do it regularly? Any suggestions, comments, do's & dont's??...BPS

Seems like a big PITA to me.
If I want to remove sprues I put the balls in my vibrating case cleaner, after removing the media.
Takes an hour or so.

Dan

 

[Mike Brooks]

I have never been offended by the spru. :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Casting and treatment of round balls before using is a near religious ritual for some. I used to be anal, fanatatical, nutso about my balls before big competitions.
Methinks the ritual is just part of the build up for the event.
Whatever floats yer stick, go fer it.

 

[hanshi]

Since I mostly use Lee molds there is no sprue to remove. For my other molds that DO leave a sprue I either tumble them in a very old Thumbler Tumbler or in an old vibratory polisher. It works extremely well except on WW ball and those with HUGE sprues. Even then it reduces the sprue down to a pimple. I don't put them in my truck because I seldom drive anymore.

 

[necchi]

I'm with Rifleman here, don't much matter a hoot if the ball is just left alone after casting and shot that way.
IF there's been any consistancy at all when casting and the spure is cut clean and straight, loading sprue up is all that's needed.

However, if it makes the shooter "feel better" doing further prep work it certainly causes no harm and does lend a confidence factor.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Guess this problem goes way back, all the way to the Elizabethan era. Apparently a very common problem. Shakespeare even wrote a play about it, "The Taming of the Sprue".

 

[necchi]

:shocked2: BOOOOO!

 

[David W.]

I have never been offended by the spru. :idunno:

Same here. I have tried both sprued and sprueless and don't see difference in accuracy .

 

[David W.]

"The Taming of the Sprue".

No wonder you got booed! :rotf:

 

[Bear64]

I have never been offended by the spru. :idunno:

never had a deer, rabbit or squirrel complain about my balls having a spru on them, come to think of it, no paper target ever said anything either.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I have never been offended by the spru. :idunno:

never had a deer, rabbit or squirrel complain about my balls having a spru on them, come to think of it, no paper target ever said anything either.

It was probably your sprue that shot my barbed wire down the other day. :rotf:

 

[Semisane]

I tumble the balls from my Lee molds, so I'm totally sprueless. However, I have observed that many people wander through life totally sprueless and seem to get along OK.