Saubier.com  



Go Back   Saubier.com > Saubier.com Forums > Small Caliber Discussion Board

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-26-2012, 09:18 PM
Harold M Harold M is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 198
Default graphite wads

I have been reading books on small caliber shooting written circa 1947, wherein the writers refer to "graphite wads" placed between the bullet base and the powder charge in, for example, the 220 Swift. Does anyone know exactly what these wads were, and what was their expected benefit?

Harold
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 01-26-2012, 09:39 PM
ray h ray h is offline
Supporting Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: central Md
Posts: 2,854
Default

Harold in the early 70s I got some for cast bullets. Harvey Donaldson was a fan of it. All mine appeared to be was Alox bullet lube with a lot of graphite, it was rolled out in sheets about 1/16 or a little more thick. After filling the case with powder you'd take a sheet and press it down over the case mouth like a cookie cutter. The bullet was then seated on top. The base of the bullet had to be up in the case neck. I shot a box of it but can't say it ever helped me but I never had a leading problem to start with. I think if it really had value there would be people making this product today. I was a member of the CBA from the beginning and very little was ever said about it in the first 12 years I was a member.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-26-2012, 09:40 PM
ramos ramos is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Sherman County, Oregon
Posts: 2,567
Default

Don't know about that. I do, however, have some newer books you can borrow!
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-27-2012, 04:02 AM
vmthtr in Green Bay vmthtr in Green Bay is offline
Supporting Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Green Bay, WI
Posts: 511
Default

I tried them on a 219 Donaldson and did not notice a difference. I got them in a gum style peice, like Wrigleys, wax with graphite. Charge the case and then put the wax wad over the powder, seat the bullet.

Mike
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-27-2012, 01:12 PM
ray h ray h is offline
Supporting Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: central Md
Posts: 2,854
Default

Harold I think where they really were useful was with plain base cast bullets. I think they felt it protected the base of the bullet and maybe left some lube in the barrel for the next shot. I'm guessing after gas checks started to be used they felt there was no need for the wad.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-27-2012, 02:26 PM
Harold M Harold M is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 198
Default

Thanks all. Some of the guys who helped sort out some of Harvey's stuff found sheets of what you desribe - I only heard the stories second-hand, having moved to this part of the planet long after Harvey's time. Having never seen the actual material, I wondered if this was "wad material" and also wondered how the wads were formed. Cutting with the case mouth after charging gives me a feeling for what the material must have been like.

As to benefit, I guess one could expect some insulating of the bullet base, and some protection of a cast bullet from impingement of powder granules propelled by the primer, etc. What benefit there would be to a jacketed bullet - and it appears they were used with jacketed bullets - is hard to imagine, hence my initial question. Perhaps it was felt that the was lubricates the bore for the next round? Anyway, the practice seems to have died out at least for jacketed bullets.

Now, I gotta go push the slush off the drive-way lest it freeze. Ugh.

Thanks again, all.

H
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 01-27-2012, 11:15 PM
-mike- -mike- is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 8
Default

Isnt graphite actually abrasive under high pressure? Just sayin.......
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 01-28-2012, 04:21 AM
trotterlg trotterlg is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 3,108
Default

In the absense of oxygen graphite is abrasive, it is only slick when it is oxidized, the space program found that out early on when trying to use is as a lube in space. Larry
__________________
A gun is just like a parachute, if you really need one, nothing else will do.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 01-28-2012, 10:36 PM
DittoHead DittoHead is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Central Virginia, U.S.A.
Posts: 832
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Harold M View Post
What benefit there would be to a jacketed bullet - and it appears they were used with jacketed bullets - is hard to imagine, hence my initial question. Perhaps it was felt that the was lubricates the bore for the next round? Anyway, the practice seems to have died out at least for jacketed bullets.
In my copy of The ABC's of Reloading (7th edition), at the end of the chapter on bullet sizing and lubricating, there is a mention of the use of lubricating wads with cast and jacketed bullets. Included is a recipe for a product known as "Leopolds Oleo Wads." The author says G.L. Wotkyns and J.B. Sweany, the .220 Swift developers, used grease wads with jacketed bullets to reduce erosion and improve accuracy.

I remember reading an article in Handloader a couple years ago about a tool for making grease wads. You put the lube in a reservoir and used a pump to squeeze the lube out a rectangular nozzle to produce a ribbon of lube. The wads were punched from the ribbon.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:50 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.