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skypilot39b

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OK, that title sounds a little suspect. What I'm wondering is if anyone puts cast balls into a tumbler to smooth them out and knock the spru off. Any thoughts?
 
OK, that title sounds a little suspect. What I'm wondering is if anyone puts cast balls into a tumbler to smooth them out and knock the spru off. Any thoughts?
I put mine in a metal coffee can and shake them around. All this does is smooth the little protrusion where the sprue once was...
 
A cast ball loaded into t a rifled bore should be loaded with the sprue pointing straight up. That way if there is an imperfection or slight void in the ball it will be under the sprue mark and centered to not cause accuracy issues. Tumbling the balls to remove all signs of the sprue will take away this valuable indicator. With smooth bores, on the other hand, the ball is not spinning and there is no advantage to centering the sprue. I routinely tumble cast balls that will get loaded sans patch in Brown Bess and other smooth bore muskets where the removal of the sprue mark aids in easy loading.
 
Any thoughts?
Yeah I tried it. Threw a handful in the Thumlers tumbler and let'm rock for a few hours.
It didn't change the location of the sprue or truly eliminate it, it just made it harder to find.
Like a couple of others here have said I usually just load the sprue up with my cast ball and haven't had a problem.
But I did try it, :)
 
SOME YEARS AGO, TUMBLING WAS SAID TO BE PRACTICED TO MAKE THE BALL A PERFECT SPHERE AND AERODYNAMICALLY PERFECT FOR THE FLIGHT DOWN RANGE.
THE FACT IS, AS SOME HAVE SUGGESTED TUMBLING MAKES THE SPRUE HARDER TO FIND BUT IT'S STILL THERE.
NO ONE WITH A RIFLE SHOOTS ROUND BALLS BECAUSE WHEN SHORT STARTING OR THUMB STARTING THE BALL MUST BE FORCED, ALONG WITH ITD PATCHING INTO THE LANDS AND GROVES OF THE RIFLING, THE FACE OF THE BALL BE BE A TAD FLATTENED BY THE BALL STARTING PROCEDURE AND THE ONLY PART OF THE BALL THAT RETAINS THE MUCH DESIRED ROUNDNESS IS THE BACK END OF THE PATCHED BALL THAT IS SEATED ON THE POWDER.
THINK ABOUT IT. ONY THE SMOOTHBORE SHOOTER CAN NORMALLY FIRE "ROUND" BALLS DOWN RANGE.

DUTCH SCHOULTZ

Yeah I tried it. Threw a handful in the Thumlers tumbler and let'm rock for a few hours.
It didn't change the location of the sprue or truly eliminate it, it just made it harder to find.
Like a couple of others here have said I usually just load the sprue up with my cast ball and haven't had a problem.
But I did try it, :)
 
With Lee molds there's no sprue, just a scar where the plate cute it off. I often, but not always, tumble cast ball.
 
Nope, not I. But wat Dutch sez nails it for being a waste of time.

NO ONE WITH A RIFLE SHOOTS ROUND BALLS BECAUSE WHEN SHORT STARTING OR THUMB STARTING THE BALL MUST BE FORCED, ALONG WITH ITD PATCHING INTO THE LANDS AND GROVES OF THE RIFLING, THE FACE OF THE BALL BE BE A TAD FLATTENED BY THE BALL STARTING PROCEDURE AND THE ONLY PART OF THE BALL THAT RETAINS THE MUCH DESIRED ROUNDNESS IS THE BACK END OF THE PATCHED BALL THAT IS SEATED ON THE POWDER.
 
I agree w/Dutch--I find that is usually a good practice--it was something that came up in conversation so I thought I'd see what the general wisdom here was. Thanks for the discussion
 
Over on another board, the general conclusion was that the projectiles needed an even surface being pushed on by the propellant at the point where it leaves the muzzle. They were talking conicals but seems it would be a similar situation with a round ball. If the surface towards the powder is the round part without the irregularity of the sprue, then the forces acting against the ball are less likely to push the ball off center just as it leaves the muzzle. Like having an even crown on the barrel only looking at it from the other side? Just a thought.
 
OK, that title sounds a little suspect. What I'm wondering is if anyone puts cast balls into a tumbler to smooth them out and knock the spru off. Any thoughts?
I made a tumber that uses the large coffee cans. I put the ball into it with about ten 3/4 inch diameter steel ball bearings to round off sprues. They look very good but the sprues are hard to find so as to orientate it to the top at loading. I just shoot them as cast now as it is easier to load them sprue up.
The reason ball are loaded sprue up is that most any void found in a ball will be right under the sprue and pretty much centered.
The thinking is that this puts any weight reduction at the top of the ball and on center which is better balanced for spinning an there for generally more accurate.
 
HI All, I load with the spru up and for paper punching load a tight combination ,but to avoid deforming the front of the ball I alter the part of my short starters and ramrods , that contact the ball , so that they are the same shape as the round ball they are pushing down the barrel .. The only thing getting out of shape is the spru , hopefully it is the same shape as the rest of the ball but as I have never recovered a ball that the front was not nicely flattened I cant tell if this works or not , but I sure got a lot of tens ,, Rob
 

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