What is the coolant everyone is using now? I have been using hydraulic fluid but am thinking about changing.
I used just tap water with a layer of hydraulic oil on top, of course when I brought the lead shot up thru the oil it was messy but with a bucket of varsol the shot was rinsed clean just dry use a little graphite and ready to use in the loader.
What shot maker are you guys using? Littleton, Oasis, or are there others out there. Which seem to work the best?
Back when I was making shot I used Water Soluble Cutting Oil. Remove shot, place it on a screen and rinse with garden hose Ron Burdick
Water soluble cutting oil, as Ron stated. I was an industrial machine mechanic all my life, and this cutting fluid mixture gave a good consistency for the lead dropping. Plain water will boil away from the hot lead and give all sorts of shapes. The cutting oil prevents the coolant from having air pockets around the hot lead, thus acting like a quenching fluid making the round shape as the hot lead is hitting the coolant, and constricting into that perfect shape. I am sure other oils work also, but for cleaning the residue from the shot, this WATER soluble oil dissolved when washed with water, thus leaving the lead clear of any oily residue.
Have made shot for over twenty years,these last few years i've used laundry detergent from the dollar store, its cheap and clean up easly and it smells nice when your makeing shot. Problem now is trying to get the good wheel weights,the new wheel weights are an alloy and wont work for shot makeing. Good luck
When I use to make shot I used a machine tool oil at 5 parts water to one part water soluble machine tool oil, in a 20mm ammo can. Then rinsed with a garden hose, and let dry on bread trays in the sun.
I use to get all the wheel weights I wanted for free a buddy owned a big wholesale tire company - bought a shotmaker did not like any of the messy oil substitutes used liquid laundry detergent- 20% water 80% . Might get a little hot faster. Don't let it get too hot or the shot will deform. Joescout
The machine tool coolant I used was not oily at all and rinsed off clean and shiny with just plain water. It was blue and smelled very nice. I can't recall the name, as it was a while back, but a friend that owned a machine shop used it in all his CNC machines.
That works provided there is not water in the soften. Some brands will have a little more. Any water will give you lead that looks like popcorn.
