Felt Wad Cutting Suggestions

[jdixon]

O.K. - I give - the Ox-Yoke stuff around here has pretty much dried up already AND I have grown tired of paying 8 cents a piece for little felt discs for my cap 'n balls, the swagged lead balls don't cost that much!!! I looked at durofelt's web sight tonight, going to buy a sheet or two of the 1/8" off-white hard stuff. Now, how to efficiently cut the stuff to .44 or .45 cal. wads. Thought of putting an edge around a spent .45 casing, that might work. I know others are alrady doing this, what suggestions are out there for personal production cutting of felt wads?

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

O.K. - I give - the Ox-Yoke stuff around here has pretty much dried up already AND I have grown tired of paying 8 cents a piece for little felt discs for my cap 'n balls, the swagged lead balls don't cost that much!!! I looked at durofelt's web sight tonight, going to buy a sheet or two of the 1/8" off-white hard stuff. Now, how to efficiently cut the stuff to .44 or .45 cal. wads. Thought of putting an edge around a spent .45 casing, that might work. I know others are alrady doing this, what suggestions are out there for personal production cutting of felt wads?

I get those squares (rectangles?) of felt at the craft store or Wal-Mart and use some alum/starch on them. I use a new .45 Long Colt case that has the mouth "well sharpened" and a slot cut about a 1/2" forward of the rim, so that I can get a wire or small screwdriver in there to push them out. I use about a square foot size piece of OSB to cut on (with some corrugated cardboard hot glued to the back side to protect the kitchen table surface).

Then I'll melt some Wonder Lube or bore butter (sometimes just even plain paraffin) or Lee Alox and coat the wads. I store them in one of those clear plastic tubes with the ends capped. I push them out from one end with a 3/8" wooden dowel.

They work every bit as good for me as the store bought wads, except I have the labour and some few material costs. It's all part of the "fun" though. Once you get a good cadence going, you can produce a fair amount in a short time.

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[Curly James]

J.R.

Look around and find a set of gasket hole punches. They will range in size up to 3/4 inch. Use the 1/2 inch for .50 cal. and .44 cal. revolvers. 3/8 inch for .36 cal. guns, etc. Simply lay the felt down on a wooden surface (a log turned up end ways works well) and use a wooden or plastic mallet to strike the punch. I can make several hundred while watching the history channel or listening to the radio. Simply put them in a metal container and pour the lube recipe of your choice over them. Don't saturate them just enough to let them soak full. Lay aside and let dry overnight. I keep mine in a zip-loc baggie for convenience sake. By the way I had to sharpen my punches when I first got them but haven't had to do so again, even after several thousand wads. Good luck and take care, CJ.

 

Curly's right - a cartridge case works but doesn't hold up in the long run. I made a cutter on the lathe from mild steel and only use it over wood - it has made 100's of wads and still looks good.

 

[quigleysharps]

Buffalo Arms has punches and cutters. http://www.buffaloarms.com/

 

[thomas]

I have some of their punches, well made & should last forever.

Thomas

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Curly's right - a cartridge case works but doesn't hold up in the long run. I made a cutter on the lathe from mild steel and only use it over wood - it has made 100's of wads and still looks good.

Folks,

Sorry about the omission in my post...

I should have mentioned that I do NOT strike the punch to cut the felt for wads. I use a twisting motion on the cartridge case to cut through the material. I get about a hundred wads before I resharpen the case.

I can very easily see how the case won't last if you "hit it" to cut through the felt. Since it is relatively soft brass, I never considered hitting it like is done with a steel punch--as I knew it wouldn't last too long that way. I never kept an actual count on how many I could make before the cartridge case just gets worn out, but I imagine it's near a thousand or so.

I liked the cartridge case idea, 'cause it uses an item that was intended for a completely different use. Kind of like the old timers way of "making do with what they had". Besides that... I didn't have the $30 to pay for a manufactured hardened steel punch, BUT I did have the dollar needed to buy four(4) .45 Long Colt cartridge cases.

Use whatever you can afford and will work too!

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[pondoro]

You can get 45 caliber steel cases and 7.62x51, 7.62x39, etc. I'll bet some of these would make nice wad punches.

 

[AeroE]

I have 1/2 inch OD X 0.035 wall 4130 tube scrap to make wad punches for .44 caliber revolvers.

If you know any airplane homebuilders or have a hot rod shop nearby with 1020 or 1025 tubing you can probably get a foot or so. You might also check the local airports with a mechanic to see if he has a piece of 4130 scrap.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

I have a few commercial made punches and a couple made for me by a machinist. I use a dead blow hammer to punch thru felt. If you aren't familiar with this type of hammer, it's made of hard rubber and is filled with steel shot. Upon impact on the end of the punch, the shot slams forward inside the hammer helpng to push the punch thru the felt. Being the hammer is hard rubber, it does not damage the punch at all. I have 3 different weights for different thicknesses of felt.
Ohio Rusty

 

[Mr Nick]

I have a button press. This is used to cut circles of cloth to make upholstery buttons. The die I have is just the right size to make .50 cal patches and I made new dies on the lathe from steel tubing to cut the felt wads. I have seen pictures of small bench mounted presses in Harbor Fright catologs that might be used to do the same thing.

 

[jdixon]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I looked at the punches, dies and presses mentioned here, ran the purchase costs and production time and came to the conclusion, since I am almost out, it made more sense to make one more purchase of 1000 wads. So I got an order into Buffalo Arms (thanks for that link - good stuff there), and guess what, they are back-ordered. :curse: Anyway, once I have these on hand I will have enough for a while and this will give me enough time to look some more and find what I need at more reasonable prices. Thanks again for the help!!!

 

[Mr Nick]

I was in Harbor Freight today and saw one of the small mechanical bench presses. $29 regular price and their stuff goes on sale all the time.