Jason Mack
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How do I made Wads for my 44 Colt WALKER ?
wads how do i make
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Texas Moon
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Couple of ways.
1. Purchase a simple wad punch and mallet and just tap them out yourself.
or
2. Purchase a wad die that fits on a reloading press. This costs a bit more but is faster.
1. Purchase a simple wad punch and mallet and just tap them out yourself.
or
2. Purchase a wad die that fits on a reloading press. This costs a bit more but is faster.
Jason Mack
Member
what material do i use?
Jason Mack
Member
bees wax ? oil? felt ? paper towel?
Texas Moon
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Smokin_Gun
Member
Buy a set of Wad punches at Harbor Freight or Brownells ...
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A 45 Colt case chamfered inside and out works o.k.. A dental pick or large needle works to pick them out of the case ( goes a lot faster than you would think). One of the plastic
cutting boards and a plastic mallet are handy. Old 4x beaver hat ( Keith style ) works for material.
cutting boards and a plastic mallet are handy. Old 4x beaver hat ( Keith style ) works for material.
wittzo
Member
I use the end of a 2X4 so the punch cuts into the grain of the wood and completely severs the fibers and doesn't dull the punch. I would love to find a chunk of cedar trunk to use like someone else on here uses.
straight-shooter
Member
I use a Harbor Freight punch - 7/16" for .44/.45 and a 1/2" for .50 cal
I mix beeswax and crisco 1 to 1 and 1/4 parafin wax for consistency.
I use 1/8" thick hard felt which can be purchased here: http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html I always order the FM1812H
By using the 36"x12" piece of felt you can get appoximately 1,728 wads since you can get 4 wads per square inch.
I mix beeswax and crisco 1 to 1 and 1/4 parafin wax for consistency.
I use 1/8" thick hard felt which can be purchased here: http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html I always order the FM1812H
By using the 36"x12" piece of felt you can get appoximately 1,728 wads since you can get 4 wads per square inch.
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wittzo
Member
The felt wipes the fouling off the bore, it also acts as a medium to hold lube and wipes it on the bore to reduce fouling and leading. It's unnecessary if you use 777, it produces it's own lube. BP (and perhaps other substitutes) burn dry, the lube mixes with the fouling to make it softer and easier to get out and helps your gun run longer.
I ran out of 777 a while ago. I've been using Goex Pinnacle and when I run out of that, I'll be using KIK. When I ran without wads, I noticed no difference with or without. I have yet to load up without wads to verify if Goex Pinnacle burns dry and if it needs lubed wads.
In my rifles, lubed felt wads cleaned gunk out of my barrels that scalding hot water didn't budge. The scraping action of the wad and the softening affect of the lube keeps the barrels as clean as they were after the first shot.
The wads also act as a filler for revolvers and seal the cylinder to prevent chainfires from the front without dealing with runny lubes in front of the ball.
I ran out of 777 a while ago. I've been using Goex Pinnacle and when I run out of that, I'll be using KIK. When I ran without wads, I noticed no difference with or without. I have yet to load up without wads to verify if Goex Pinnacle burns dry and if it needs lubed wads.
In my rifles, lubed felt wads cleaned gunk out of my barrels that scalding hot water didn't budge. The scraping action of the wad and the softening affect of the lube keeps the barrels as clean as they were after the first shot.
The wads also act as a filler for revolvers and seal the cylinder to prevent chainfires from the front without dealing with runny lubes in front of the ball.
Felt will absorb, hold and then dispense lubrication.
Wittzo is correct in his description of one of two benefits of lubed felt wads. The other is that it acts as a partial, perhaps even complete in some cases, gas check. This second property is why some feel it improves their accuracy. The theory is sound but depends greatly on how complete the gas check is, which in turn depends on details of the type of lube, thickness of the wad and other factors.
straight-shooter
Member
Excellent description on why to use wads guys! Another good reason is because I don't like the mess associated with Crisco over the rounds in each cylinder. A lot less mess with soaking felt wads in the home made lube which hardens for easy carry and loading into each cylinder.
wittzo
Member
When I soak my wads, I remove them from the lube with bamboo toaster tongs and squeeze out the excess, that way they're easier to handle without getting too much lube on your fingers or on your cylinder face. If I get too much lube on my fingers, I can't open the dagnab cap tins. 
straight-shooter
Member
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 7/16 inch or 11mm or 11.25 to 11.5 mm wad punch.
For .50 caliber, use a 1/2 inch or 12.5mm 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 7/16 inch or 11mm or 11.25 to 11.5 mm wad punch.
For .50 caliber, use a 1/2 inch or 12.5mm wad punch.
wittzo
Member
One caveat, when loading a lubed felt wad behind the ball, make sure to seperate it from the powder with a dry wad. I accidentally put a lubed wad next to the powder in my Dragoon the other day and today I shot it. One of the balls practically rolled out of the barrel. I saw the wads fly out and movement in the grass about ten feet in front of me when the ball hit the ground. I found the two wads, but couldn't find the ball. The lube must have gotten hot and melted into the powder, contaminating it. Some of my .45 Colt cartridges became hot to the touch after being in the sun for 5 minutes, no telling how hot that black pistol got.
wouldn't 3/8ths be too big since the bullet is .375" and lead gets shaved off when loading? If the wad is the same size wouldn't the "edges" of it start to fold up on the walls of the chamber and cause a problem with bullet seating? I would think the wad would need to be a few thousands smaller...correct?
Wittzo I would think there is more at play than the wad being at fault. In order for the wad to contaminate the powder it would have to be overly lubricated and oozing lubricant...plus in order to migrate down into the powder charge fully the revolver would have had to been in a vertical position for quite some time!
BP is very hard to contaminate to the point where it becomes as weak as you described.
Are you sure you didn't load a very light charge w/o realizing it?
BP is very hard to contaminate to the point where it becomes as weak as you described.
Are you sure you didn't load a very light charge w/o realizing it?
Can't say about size on the .36. The ones I punch out for the .44 with the .45 colt case
are slightly big, but fit about as perfect as you can get ( guess only about .004 -. 005 in.) Don't know how the lubed wads work for overnight loading. Just use them for practice. The 4 X beaver is pretty darn good material, but always figured 30 X was better.
are slightly big, but fit about as perfect as you can get ( guess only about .004 -. 005 in.) Don't know how the lubed wads work for overnight loading. Just use them for practice. The 4 X beaver is pretty darn good material, but always figured 30 X was better.
straight-shooter
Member
By using the 1 to 1 mix of beeswax and crisco then adding some parafin wax the lube wad is like a waxy looking pill. No way would this contaminate the powder. Now if the wad was lubed with just crisco and beeswax I could see a potential problem thus the usage of the parafin wax.
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I can't understand why anybody would use wads either?
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