[Osage]

I must be missing something. I read the stickied thread on making your own wads but didn't see what exactly was used to cut the wads. Is there a tool called a wad cutter? Or, do you use a sharpened piece of brass tube?

[TexasRifleman]

Although I have not made any yet, I do have the stuff ordered.

From the sticky thread at the top I used this as my guide.

For .31 or .32 caliber, use a 5/16 inch or 7.5 or 8mm wad punch. For .36 caliber use a 3/8 inch or 9.5 or 10mm wad punch. For .44 or .45 caliber revolvers, or .45-caliber rifles, use a .45-caliber or 11mm or 11.25 to 11.5 mm wad punch. For .50 caliber, use a ½ inch or 12.5mm wad punch.

What I ordered is marketed I believe as a leather punch, but I don't see any reason it won't work for this as long as you get the size you need.

[Beartracker]

Over the years I have made several of them but don't ask me what size pipe I used :) Take a wad with you to your local hardware store. Try several pipe nipples and see which one the wads fit inside. I like them about 8" long so it gives you a good grip and you can keep your hand out of the way. While your there pick out a roll of 1/8" thick by 1" felt window/door seal and a 3/8" wooden doll rod. Now take it home and useing a bench grinder taper the outside edge of the pipe nipple on the end you want to cut with down to a sharp edge all the way around. Carefully smooth up the inside edge with a chain saw file and oil or grease the whole inside lightly. Now lay out your felt on a old piece of 2x4 or whatever you may have. Place the pipe centered over the felt and tap the top center hard with a hammer , now move over and cut another. I like to do about 10 at a time and then take a piece of doll rod and push the felt wads out of the pipe. Works great and once you get the hang of it you can cut out a 100 wads in just a few minutes. Mike

[bfoster]

What you're looking for is an arch punch. I slightly modify the punches made by C.S. Osbourne & Co. so that they will cut whatever diameter I require.

Punches (http://www.csosborne.com/NO149.HTM)

Contact Information (http://www.csosborne.com/)

Bob

[Third_Rail]

bfoster, what kind of price are we looking at with those punches?

[TexasRifleman]

Dixie Gun Works has them in the $30 - $50 range for the most part.
These are fixed diameter punches.

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=22_99_316

[bfoster]

Third_Rail,

I'd suggest getting a quote from your local hardware (if you're fortunate enough to have a local establishment that is more helpful than many of the "big box" stores are today- an employee of one such establishment explained to me that they would only place orders for what their warehouse stocked) or perhaps a craft shop. The punches I use were purchased years back.

BTW, be sure to provide a suitable backing beneath the "stock" when cutting wads. I use currently a piece of 1/2" thick sheet "die rubber", actually this is a slightly elastic polyurethane. Any similar material will work well. Failure to provide such a backing can result in damage or premature dulling of the punch. Plywood, for instance, is not a good backer- you can guess how I discovered this...

Also, don't hesitate to experiment in your choice of mallets. Cutting a thick undershot wad from felt requires a mallet with considerably more "heft" than does cutting the thin "board" overpowder wads used in a breech seating muzzleloader. With the "right" mallet and backer the chore goes a lot quicker: the difference can be 10 times as much production in an hour.

Bob