Many people often watch their weight and I'm no different really, I just do it a little differently than most.
I wrote a post a while back about grain-weight, the grain measurement in respect of gun powder. You can see that post here to get yourself up to speed.
In it I demonstrated how small the grain weight measurement actually is. Someone made a comment about how I dispense the gun powder though and this post covers that concept.
Below I've laid out the equipment and will explain its use. As usual I will attempt not to get too technical and invite people to make comment or ask questions in the comments below.
Here are the three basic tools for powder measurement and dispensing.
- Beam scale
- Powder thrower
- Powder trickler (The yellow item)
I won't discuss the beam scale much. It is a pretty simple device that uses a beam and a series of weights to measure the exact powder charge required, right down to 0.1 of a grain weight. Just a recap from the last post above - A toothpick weighs 1.5 grains so 0.1 is a very small measurement. (See that previous post, it's interesting.)
The powder thrower
This equipment is clamped to my bench when I am reloading rifle ammunition and the hopper is filled with the appropriate gun powder which you can see in the back of this shot; The AR2209 container.
It is simple to use. Once the charge-amount is set one simply places the small container underneath the outlet nozzle, works the handle and the charge drops into the container. It is then placed on the scales to check the exact weight, and is adjusted accordingly.
Above you can see the charge-setting device. One simply throws a charge, weighs it to determine its accuracy and twists the knob open or closed more then does the throw and measure again continuing until the exact charge is obtained. The adjustment simply lets more powder into the dispensing cavity or less. Once that is done the locking ring is tightened and it's good to go.
You can also see the outlet nozzle above. When throwing a charge the receptacle has to be pressed right up to it or the powder falls, bounces and goes everywhere. This is not a good thing.
I have demonstrated the throw below.
From here it's straight onto the scales for measuring and adjusting.
Just a word on throwing the measurement. I normally set my unit to throw out a little below the required charge as it is easier to add a little than take a little out when obtaining the exact measurement on the scales. So, if I wanted 42.9 grains (the weight, not individual granules) I'd generally set it to throw 42.5 in the process mentioned above.
As I have mentioned before, very precise loads are required for accuracy and repeatability. This weighing process can take hours just to do 100 rounds. Once weighed the charge goes right into the prepped and primed case and the projectile is seated using a press - But that's another post.
The only real trick is to have the powder thrower set up correctly, have its moving parts lubricated with graphite powder for smooth operation and to keep the hopper over half full. That's where I get the most consistent results.
The trickler
Once the charge is on the scales and is measured I need to adjust it to the exact weight. Sometime it is perfect first time, but very rarely. When it is I have a special dance to perform to whatever music I'm listening to at the time. It's glorious although I dance like a retarded spider monkey on crack, so I'll not show you.
Usually the charge will be higher or lower than optimal though. If lower the trickler is used to top it up.
It is a simple device, essentially a very heavy-based container with a shaft through the middle. The shaft is hollow and threaded so when turned picks up gun powder and advances it forwards dispensing one granule at a time. Simple.
Below you can see it set up. The charge is on the scales, the trickler beside full of gun powder. Once the silver tube is turned (manually) it begins to pick up gun powder from the small hopper and dispense it forward granule by granule so I can slowly bring the weight of the charge up to exactly the right weight.
Here is a close up of the outlet. You can see the thread and a couple of granules making their way forward. Some careful turning will dispense a single granule.
The image below shows the empty hopper. You can see the tube running through it and the hole drilled right through that tube which is how it collects the gun powder as the shaft is turned. It also shows the size of a granule of AR2209 gun powder on the tip of my finger. It's small.
This is a very simple device, but is very accurate and effective. I'm a simple dude, so simplicity works for me.
If the charge thrown out happens to be too high in weight then gun powder needs to be removed. I usually pick up the charge in that gold container thing and just tap it a little into the trickler hopper to remove a few granules. If only one granule needs to come out I often use tweezers...So you can understand why this takes a long time.
Do I have to be so precise? Well, for hunting rounds probably not, but considering the distances I shoot to I prefer precision hand-loads. I am a little OCD also, so I end up spending a lot of time doing this for my rifle rounds as I like to have them as close to optimal as possible.
Anyway, that's really it. I have glossed over anything technical and this is certainly not a comprehensive training manual about these topics however you'll get the idea I suppose. This is only a very small part of hand-reloading though; It is a bit of a science.
I find reloading my own ammunition rewarding and usually relaxing, when everything is going right. Having precision hand loads brings me confidence when I'm shooting at something that is alive, and in competition, as I know they will perform the same every time which factory ammunition can't do due to the inconsistent nature of its manufacture.
It may seem time consuming and boring, but the results I gain from doing this are worth the effort.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209
Ah, go on...
You first.
I'm already all over the net on film. ( dancing like a horizontal spider monkey on crack).
50 videos clips to me, 0 to you..lol
(start searching from 2002 - 2006)
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Can we get an #engineering tag up in here?!
This is the stuff i like to see on stemgeeks and as soon as I see tools, the vote comes out :)
Tools are good huh? Even the word sounds pleasing. Tools. It's much like the word boobs which is also a pleasing word to say...Pleasing in general really.
I have heaps of stuff like this I could write about. I guess I feel that it's not intellectual or technical enough to be classified as engineering. Still, it could classify I suppose, in a basic way.
With these posts I hope to demonstrate that guns are not all about beer, toothless rednecks and shooting watermelons down at the creek!
It's a technical hobby, very technical and requires a lot of skill. I hope my posts show that. I try to keep them as basic as possible, easily read, so people hopefully don't turn off, but in reality most never read them because they're about guns I guess.
If I wrote about boobs it would be a different story I think.
Yeah, boobs is for dporn :)
I appreciate that there is some technical stuff going on, although not fired one for a while. Back in Nam though....
Is dporn still going? I thought that died the death it deserves.
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Mental note to self: do not visit Galen's house. If visiting Galen's house, check ahead to make sure he's locked the gun workshop securely. Actually, let's not visit Galen's house so the boys don't beg to see the gun workshop ad nauseum (because they would dearly love it).
Haha...I gotta say, I have some cool stuff in there most lads would be pretty happy to get their hands on...Loads of stuff to play with. I'm a big kid at heart Ry, so they'd be safe...If I can manage not to blow myself up so can they. Lol.
You haven't met youngest XD
Youngest is also a great kid, just adhd and it was already terrifying when he tried archery x_x fortunately it was done at the pcyc where everyone is familiar with him so the instructor had already been keeping an eye on him
You'd get on really well with oldest I think.
Oh yes, that would be a challenge I think, and my workshop is probably not the best place. To be honest I don't let anyone in there unsupervised, even Faith. Not because I don't trust her, more because there's a lot of dangerous stuff in there and she doesn't know how to use it all. It gives her the excuse to make me do all the hard work because she can't go in there. Lol.
Wow! So you reload yourself. Great stuff here.
One wonders how accurately the guys loaded the old front end loaders with the bags of gunpowder slung around their necks.
Apparently they also used to plug it, though I have never seen it in action.
During a battle, they had two, or three rifles that their women and children would re-load to keep them in action.
Ah, so this is that second part you were talking about before. I'm enjoying this series of "How G-dog makes bullets", and every part of it, too!
When I heard that the device you're using was called a power "thrower", I don't know why, but I was expect something more of a trebuchet, tossing the powder into the scales. The actual "thrower" is more of a coffee grinder in my mind, though without the actual grindy bits. Jones aside, it's pretty neat though!
I love the close-up shots on the Trickler... Pretty cool to see those macro pics on the granules. This reminds me of how tedious this must've been. I hope you have some good music to pair with that...
I don't think a trebuchet would work too well, but I'd be happy to have one, you know just in case I have to knock down a castle wall at any stage, or hurl a basket of severed heads over the wall to demoralise the defenders, poison the well etc.
I think that macro of the granule coming out of the trickler came out well, considering how small the granules are.
Glad you're enjoying it though. I have posted a while ago about the whole process with video and all, but this is a bit different.
Anyway, I hope you're well and having a good weekend.
Cheers, just loaded up with Domino's pizza, and my weekend is doing rather well so far. Hope you're all doing well, down under. That macro shot is more than well; it's actually pretty great, with good detailing all around! On the subject of Trebuchets, I think everyone needs one. It's a handy tool to have around you.
Imagine if someone sent the wrong parcel to your house, and you're trying to send it to the neighbour next door where it should've gone. With social-distancing and all that in place, you could just yeet that bitch over the walls. Who needs to walk, right?
You know, I hadn't considered a parcel-delivery use for the trebuchet but as you mention it I can see that it a totally logical and legitimate use and therefore having a trebuchet is clearly totally logical and legitimate.
It would eliminate them having to come over asking for a cup of sugar or to borrow a tool...Just hoik that bitch over on the trebuchet and you're done. Then, if they don't return the tool, send some fucking burning rolls of hay, some severed heads or a few boulders.
Exactly! Another use for it would be, if Grouchy's really getting on your nerves, you could just trebuchet that little bugger to the next county. The long walk home should prove a valuable lesson.
Nice! Really detailed post on reloading powder charges. I'm somewhat new to reloading, here's my setup:
Nothing fancy, but they go bang. Up til now, I've just made plinking rounds, no optimized loads. But that's coming soon, I'll make a post on my ladder load process.
When I was scrolling the hive community list, I saw "The Pew," but figured it was a church community. Glad to see it's a gun group, that way I don't have to start one myself! I'm following now!
Any set up is a good set up! I've been doing this for a long time so I guess mine is a little more developed.
I hope you throw some posts up into The Pew and spread the word also.
I chose that name as shooting is my religion...The Pew pew pew/church pew...I thought it was clever, but see your point. Maybe a name change? Am open to suggestions.
No way man, perfect name. It's not my entire religion, but it's a good part. 👍
This is the way.
Ok cool...I guess I was trying to be clever, and not put gun in the title. Most have said the name is ok, but I understand that it's not clear at first glance.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. I shouldn't have glossed over it, as I definitely live the #pewpewlife lol
Well, you know now so I'm looking forward to seeing some posts when you can. Thanks for coming on board.
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