The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Regarding the paper tubes I'll be rolling my own for now.
I've just got a contact number for an old friend of mine who works in the paper and corrugating industry who I'll call this week. He may know of a lab somewhere with a small machine to make a few thousand.
On the internet you see companies who make all sorts of paper tubes and these will be my next port of call after my first contact. I think though unless I want 200 million tubes a year for the next 30 years they'd not be interested except at high cost.
I will of course let you all know the outcome.

Was having a tidy up of the work bench the other night when I found the leftover tube from some kitchen roll.Tried a few lengths around some 7/8 oz Lee slug,found round once gave a pretty decent fit in a case.

I'll tell you what, shooters are nothing but inventive!
We could all have been on Blue Peter as presenters making spacecraft out of toilet rolls.
If powder supplies ever dry up I'm thinking of grinding up matches to use as propellant except somebody's probably done that already haven't they?

bewildered wrote:I'll tell you what, shooters are nothing but inventive!
We could all have been on Blue Peter as presenters making spacecraft out of toilet rolls.
If powder supplies ever dry up I'm thinking of grinding up matches to use as propellant except somebody's probably done that already haven't they?

More inventive than advertising execs.....who the hell makes a rocket out of todays Fairy liquid bottles?
Re-hash of 1970's adverts don't always work....though at least they've not dug up Jimmy Seville....yet!

Some plans may be afoot to pursue a cast/swaged design. ....

you could probably make a half decent space shuttle out of a fairy liquid bottle though

Further to my emails regarding cardboard tube to place round the slug I finally managed to track down a company in Keithley - Stell & Sons 01535 603721 who could make these. I spoke to a young lady called Emma who was great, she was so patient and helpful.
To get an idea of price I asked her to quote for 10,000 tubes id. 17mm, od. 18mm, length 12mm.
Price was £24/1,000 + VAT + delivery so about 3p each.

These measurements will probably need adjusting a bit but a good enough guide for them to give us an idea of price I think.
I based them on loading a Lee 1oz slug but having remeasured I suspect the od. may be nearer 19mm and the length better at 15mm so the final price may be slightly higher.
Then there is the cost of the fibre wads but it still ends up alot cheaper than commercial slug.
If we wanted a million I suspect the price per 1,000 would fall but I think ten's of thousands is more realistic.

I also had a cunning plan.

Plastic wad of the uncut type - so no "fins" to open out.

Add a slug & check how much extra wad is above the slug.
Trim he excess, but leave say 1/8" or so.

Cast a new slug.
While still warm, drop into a wad.
Press new warm-slug/wad combination into a dished die (like the paper crimp die in some shotshell presses)
...wad will hopefully melt enough to form a rounded tip akin to a Semi Jacketed bullet.

bewildered wrote:I'll tell you what, shooters are nothing but inventive!
We could all have been on Blue Peter as presenters making spacecraft out of toilet rolls.
If powder supplies ever dry up I'm thinking of grinding up matches to use as propellant except somebody's probably done that already haven't they?

You've been reading the improvised munitions handbook again haven't you.

Dry lubed cloth patch, works well in my smooth bores and has done so for smooth bore shooters for centuries, why reinvent the wheel?