Author Topic: spur elimination  (Read 1563 times)

Offline curly

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 117
  • In GOD we trust
spur elimination
« on: September 21, 2021, 08:40:55 PM »
Does anyone of you guys use a rotary tumbler to eliminate the ball spur from your balls? I just got one from Harbor freight to make black powder charcoal, and thought I'd be a good idea.
   Curly

Offline EC121

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1565
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2021, 08:57:45 PM »
The molds I use don't leave a spur, but they do leave a sprue.  I don't bother with it.  By the time  you load it, it is knocked down.  Since you have the tumbler anyway, you might as well use it.
Brice Stultz

Offline 577SXS

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2021, 09:07:12 PM »
I did it and it does round the sprue off but not sure it's worth the trouble. My tumbler has a hex drum and I think it is too aggressive. My balls came out dented and almost looked like golf balls. I think a smooth round tumbler barrel might work better.

Offline smylee grouch

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7629
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2021, 10:39:34 PM »
If you buy a Jeff Tanner mold and cut the sprue off with the right sized wire cutter you will end up with an almost sprue less ball. You grab the sprue with the #12 I think at the base of the ball and twist the ball and it cuts the thing off slick.

Offline WadePatton

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5274
  • Tennessee
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2021, 10:43:28 PM »
I did it and it does round the sprue off but not sure it's worth the trouble. My tumbler has a hex drum and I think it is too aggressive. My balls came out dented and almost looked like golf balls. I think a smooth round tumbler barrel might work better.
 
might just be the ticket for bare-ball loadings in smoothies  ;) :o
Hold to the Wind

Offline rick/pa

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 207
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #5 on: September 21, 2021, 10:46:18 PM »
Most of my molds are Lees which leave no sprue on the ball. Been using them since the 70's with no problems.

Offline Clark Badgett

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2187
  • Oklahoma
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #6 on: September 22, 2021, 12:08:06 AM »
I tumble my balls. It was a known thing back then.
Psalms 144

Offline Scota4570

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2254
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #7 on: September 22, 2021, 01:22:23 AM »
IF you want perfect looking balls tumble them.  I add polished steel shot and graphite.  My tumbler is a RCBS sidewinder.  The product is perfect looking shiny black lead balls.  I makes no difference in shooting but they seem to last longer before they oxidize. 

Offline 45-110

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 492
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #8 on: September 22, 2021, 02:03:56 AM »
I remember well that many tumbled/rolled their cast balls in a coffee can back in the '70's.  The smooth dimple effect shoots well, not a much different  look than you get from a ball bag after awhile.
kw

Offline Daryl

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14972
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #9 on: September 22, 2021, 03:41:16 AM »
The sprue on the ball doesn't bother me. With a Tanner mould, I pinch with wire strippers, then  twist the ball and the ball ends up sprue-less.


Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline elkhart

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 68
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2021, 10:36:28 PM »
I did it and it does round the sprue off but not sure it's worth the trouble. My tumbler has a hex drum and I think it is too aggressive. My balls came out dented and almost looked like golf balls. I think a smooth round tumbler barrel might work better.
 
might just be the ticket for bare-ball loadings in smoothies  ;) :o

Was thinking the same thing!

Offline Standing Bear

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 667
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2021, 11:05:36 PM »
I am moving toward using only iron molds. Yes they leave a sprue but I think the weights are more consistent once the mold and the lead are properly heated.

Re the sprue, I just load with it pointed with the bore.

Re oxidation, store in a plastic jar that seals well.
Nothing is hard if you have the right equipment and know how to use it.  OR have friends who have both.

http://texasyouthhunting.com/

Offline Daryl

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14972
Re: spur elimination
« Reply #12 on: September 24, 2021, 11:59:24 PM »
Lee moulds also have a sprue. That it is merely a flat spot on the top of the ball & not a projection as with Lyman and other moulds, does not
negate that it has a visual proof of the mould cutt-off - even though it is in the form of a flat spot. A measurement taken from that flat spot to the
bottom of the ball, will be undersized to the mould's designation. Even Lee moulds do not cast round or to the size they say. The odd one does
and I have had some that cast exactly the same from both cavities.  Taylor's .600" Lee mould casts .608".
The only balls I have witnessed as being sprue-less, are those cast from Tanner moulds with the use of the wire strippers, to cut and
twist off the sprue, then if needed, a file is used to remove the tiny 'tit' that remains some times - it is merely tapped down with the wire stripper.
These measured the same, all the way around.
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V