Need to keep my brass shiny....alternative uses of spent casings.

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DeadLiver

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Please note that none of the products in this post are being offered for sale. If they were, they would be properly placed in the "for sale" forum. The images are for illustrative purposes only.

Before I state my questions, a little background is in order.

My wife and I have embarked on a little collaborative effort, hoping to be able to make a little extra money to be able to set aside. We're making jewelry from some of my fired brass. She's had some success making earrings using beads in place of the bullets like these:

AstdEarrings.jpg

They've been selling at our LGS and friends and family have bought them. This brings my first question. How can you make brass stay shiny after tumbling? My wife is disappointed that after she's made a piece, the case starts to tarnish after a month or so. Would spraying them with a clear lacquer work or is it just that I need to clean the polishing compound that I mix in with the media off of the cases.

A little while ago, my grandfather sent me an RCBS partner press out of the blue, so we've been using it to make some other items like these keychains/zipper pulls.

22Earringsjpg.jpg

223KeyRingsjpg-1.jpg

Aside from the cases tarnishing, these have gone well. However, I recently received an intriguing request. A neighbor of mine wants us to make a keychain configured to carry a vial of oil that is used occasionally by LDS men when blessing the sick.

So I need to create a complete .308 cartridge, naturally sans powder and with a wire coming through the primer pocket that can be opened up to either contain the oil itself, or hold a small vial of oil, like this one: http://www.specialtybottle.com/12dramclearglassvialwblkcap.aspx

From my measurements, it appears that the vial in the link should fit inside a .308 case. I can cleanly cut the case in half anywhere between the shoulder and the cartridge rim, but I can't figure out how to make it so that it can securely be taken apart and put back together while allowing the vial inside to be removed. To allow the 0.375" diameter vial to be removed whatever I use can only be .023 inches thick or less. I believe that rules out any method of allowing the two pieces to screw together on threads. I suppose it could be possible to allow one end to slide onto a cylindrical insert fastened into the other side, but I'm not sure how to ensure that the end doesn't slide off in somebody's pocket.

I hope that I'm being clear with what I'm trying to do here, and any help would be much appreciated. Feel free to ask any questions, and I'll be sure to answer them. I'm hoping that with the number of people smarter than me on this forum that a workable solution can be found. I will post a pic if I can get it worked out.

Many thanks,
Brian
 
Once tumbled, you can spray with clear lacquer to keep it from tarnishing. I've tried wax, but it doesn't last like lacquer does. I have a brass antique fire extinguisher that I buffed out and the lacquer worked.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
I appreciate the tip on the lacquer Fred.

Raindodger, I wonder if I couldn't helicoil the case neck and cut threads into an all copper bullet that would hold. If I could make it watertight, that's a good idea. Thank you.
 
I think the brass will be too thin to get anything to screw in well. However, I think it would be possible to put some rubber rings inside the channels of a barnes bullet. You could use a fired .308 casing. The rubber rings would increase the diameter of the bullet enough to fit snug in the casing but still allow for the bullet to be pulled out. It would probably be water proof if it was tight enough, but I would probably just put a perfume vial or something inside it just to make sure it doesn't make a mess inside someone's pocket.
 
Nice work! Just remember not to try to wear/carry something like that through airport security.
 
Turn it on a lathe? No I can't.

I actually have wondered about TSA and this stuff. I drill a 1/16" hole through the used primer and the flash hole, IMO this renders the case inert, but I doubt that TSA wouldn't confiscate if they noticed it. Just imagine what will happen when my 5 year old daughter shows up to kindergarten wearing earrings made from a .22 case.....even here in UT I's expect a fustercluck.
 
Instead of a .308 what about using something a little larger like a .338 Winmag, that way you could have more room inside the case to add something like a sleeve that would allow a tension fit. With it just being inside a pocket a tension fit sleeve should be sufficient to keep it together.
 
I used the regular clear spray lacquer from the hardware store. My fire extinguisher has stayed tarnish free for about 20 years now with just two light coats of the clear lacquer. You just have to make sure you completely cover it.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Cut the head off. Use a wood dowel pins that fits the case & cut a grove around it at the end that a o'ring will fit most of the way in. Glue the other end into the head. The o ring will allow it to come apart & go back together.
 
ReloaderFred said:
Once tumbled, you can spray with clear lacquer to keep it from tarnishing. I've tried wax, but it doesn't last like lacquer does. I have a brass antique fire extinguisher that I buffed out and the lacquer worked.

Hope this helps.

Fred
Click to expand...

Fred's got it.

The idea is to keep oxygen and moisture from getting to the brass.
 
Start with an O ring that is thin around and barely larger than your chosen bullet. Chuck the bullet point first just back beyond the ogive into a battery drill and spin it while holding a hack saw blade in contact with the area just above the base to cut a ring or rings into it to match the width of your O ring. Put the O ring in place and push it in place to hold bullet/cap in the casing. I would think that it would work with any jacketed bullet.

Hint: an Orthodontist would have small rubber bands used to slowly move teeth into position that would probably work for this.
 
Have you considered using a .45-70 case and bullet? You could melt the lead out of an FMJ, epoxy the vial into the case, then epoxy the lid into the empty bullet jacket. To open the vial, you just turn the bullet to screw it apart. You might need to swage the base portion of the bullet down a bit (if so, try doing it before you melt out the lead), or perhaps you could find a .451 diameter bullet that would work.
Whatever you do (particularly if you use an actual cartridge case as the vial), make sure you remove all traces of lead, both from the lead styphnate in the priming compound and any from the projectile.
It'd be bad enough to bless the sick with lead tainted Holy Oil, but even worse, you might get sued out of existence by a Chinese toy manufacturer for patent infringement!

On another note, when I was a kid, I made a cartridge board. After polishing my specimens, I coated them with clear nail polish before glueing them to the board. They were still shiny when a friend talked me out of the board almost 20 years later. Understand that this was an application where the cartridges were protected by glass and not exposed to rough handling or the salts and oils of human skin, YMMV.
Swampman
 
Use metal lacquer, not wood lacquer. The label will specify which it's made for. Wood lacquer will sometimes peel off pretty easy.
 
Very clever.

I can see a pair of those in the wife's future. :)

Consider using nickel-plated cases...no tarnish, no lacquer required. I have a few nickel .308 cases, some .357 Mag, a few 10mm and some .45acp. I'd trade some for a pair of earrings. PM me if interested.
 
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