Just a fun (well, to me) do-it-yourself project involving black powder:
I ordered a powder flask from Track of the Wolf, and their website implied that the flask came with a 60 grain spout, which happened to be what I needed for shooting shot out of my 28 gauge smoothbore.
However, when the flask arrived, I found that the spout was labeled "24 grains" (a strange measurement, huh?) and this was confirmed by the fact that the charge thrown felt way too light when fired.
So I sent an e-mail to Track but in the meantime, I thought, "It can't be that hard to make my own spout"
So I started thinking. The flask has a 3/8" female end, threaded for 27 tpi. I happened to have access to some 3/8"-27 threaded tube for lamps.
But then I took it further. I thought that a shell casing would make a great spout because it narrows at the end (and the flask is brass, so it would match). So I looked at my Lee reloading book, which lists the volume of various cartridges.
I know that 60 grains of FFG has a volume of about 4 cc (4.08, actually). And according to the Lee book, a .30-06 case has about that much (I forget the exact amount but it was close enough to 4.08 for me).
So what I did was drill and tap the bottom of the case for 3/8"-27 (this was hard because I've never really tapped anything, but it worked out well the first time).
I then took an arbitrary length of that lamp tube, screwing one end in to the flask and one in to the case.
I tested the amount it threw by weight. Although a volume measurement would have been better, I didn't have any kind of way to easily measure volume. So I used a 4.3 cc Lee dipper, which should throw 63 grains of FFG. I weighed this and got an average of 46 grains (by weight). I threw several charges from my frankenstein flask spout and got an average of about 45 grains (by weight).
Close enough for me! And now I don't have to wait for Track to send me a spout.
I want to make more spouts, perhaps a 55, 80, 90 and 100. The easy part is figuring out the needed volume in cc, and then consulting the Lee manual for the best cartridge for the job. The hard part is finding the cartridges, as I can't think of any way to buy single cartridges, especially obscure ones. Although .308 Winchester seems like it would be good for throwing 55 grains, I have no idea how I will engineer something to throw 90 or 100 grains. Most cartridges have surprisingly low volume compared to the '06. So it would have to be something bigger, and easy to find.
Anyway, it's satisfying to do something yourself, especially when it relates to your and my favorite hobby.
I ordered a powder flask from Track of the Wolf, and their website implied that the flask came with a 60 grain spout, which happened to be what I needed for shooting shot out of my 28 gauge smoothbore.
However, when the flask arrived, I found that the spout was labeled "24 grains" (a strange measurement, huh?) and this was confirmed by the fact that the charge thrown felt way too light when fired.
So I sent an e-mail to Track but in the meantime, I thought, "It can't be that hard to make my own spout"
So I started thinking. The flask has a 3/8" female end, threaded for 27 tpi. I happened to have access to some 3/8"-27 threaded tube for lamps.
But then I took it further. I thought that a shell casing would make a great spout because it narrows at the end (and the flask is brass, so it would match). So I looked at my Lee reloading book, which lists the volume of various cartridges.
I know that 60 grains of FFG has a volume of about 4 cc (4.08, actually). And according to the Lee book, a .30-06 case has about that much (I forget the exact amount but it was close enough to 4.08 for me).
So what I did was drill and tap the bottom of the case for 3/8"-27 (this was hard because I've never really tapped anything, but it worked out well the first time).
I then took an arbitrary length of that lamp tube, screwing one end in to the flask and one in to the case.
I tested the amount it threw by weight. Although a volume measurement would have been better, I didn't have any kind of way to easily measure volume. So I used a 4.3 cc Lee dipper, which should throw 63 grains of FFG. I weighed this and got an average of 46 grains (by weight). I threw several charges from my frankenstein flask spout and got an average of about 45 grains (by weight).
Close enough for me! And now I don't have to wait for Track to send me a spout.
I want to make more spouts, perhaps a 55, 80, 90 and 100. The easy part is figuring out the needed volume in cc, and then consulting the Lee manual for the best cartridge for the job. The hard part is finding the cartridges, as I can't think of any way to buy single cartridges, especially obscure ones. Although .308 Winchester seems like it would be good for throwing 55 grains, I have no idea how I will engineer something to throw 90 or 100 grains. Most cartridges have surprisingly low volume compared to the '06. So it would have to be something bigger, and easy to find.
Anyway, it's satisfying to do something yourself, especially when it relates to your and my favorite hobby.
Also use a paper clip to make a fancy handle on your handmade powder-measure. Also listed is the .30-06
