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  1. Sparkytfl

    Musket nipple flash hole size

    I've seen a few brands of nipple picks, and they've been .023 to .024 other than the thicker Civil War reenactor ones, so I have trouble believing any new nipples are less than half that. 010 is as thin as the thinnest string on my guitars, and that's tiny. The chamfer leading to the hole is...
  2. Sparkytfl

    Musket nipple flash hole size

    So I've seen threads regarding flash hole size for normal #11 caps, but I'm wondering about ones for musket caps, considering my understanding is that musket caps create about double the gas volume even compared to a magnum cap. It seems you want about .030 for a #11, and too big is bad for...
  3. Sparkytfl

    Using Sizer/Lubricater For Cast Projectiles?

    Do you mean for minie bullets? I Have a pair of Lyman 45s, one full of beeswax/lard, and one with smokeless lube. S & S Firearms and/or Lodgewood sell sizing dies up to like .600 so you can use it for a civil war Springfield or whatever.
  4. Sparkytfl

    OOPSIii ! what's your best/worst one.

    I've short-started all three of my round ball rifles at least once. Worst I've done was with an 80 year old military unmentionable. Had a squib, used the cleaning rod to knock the bullet out, thought I put the rod back into the slot under the barrel, but apparently I slid it into the barrel...
  5. Sparkytfl

    1861 Springfield

    I believe that rifle is made from parts, because the Colt ones used different barrel bands and no band springs. So the lock and the stock don't match, don't know about the barrel.
  6. Sparkytfl

    How do you transport your longrifle?

    My Buick Lesabre has a trunk wide enough to fit my flintlock in it's 62in Unique Cases soft case. I don't know what I'll do when I have to get another car because the trunks just keep getting smaller.
  7. Sparkytfl

    Homemade powder test

    I had little luck with mine that I made in the same method as a particular "Reproduction" guy's videos. I took videos of my 4f versus commercial, burning a 2gr charge, and the frame count showed mine burned at almost half the speed. Using my 2f or 3f for a main charge in my 40, it regularly...
  8. Sparkytfl

    Had a half can!

    Meteor? Must be for hunting dinosaurs.
  9. Sparkytfl

    How do you store your flints?

    In a dice bag?
  10. Sparkytfl

    Casting round balls

    Clean. Not as cheap as buying scrap, but cheaper than shooting supply stores. Free shipping over $149. For most of us that's enough for several years, but it takes up little space. I just got my order, and though I knew what was in that small box and how much it would weigh, it still caught...
  11. Sparkytfl

    Musket barrel thickness

    .098 Euroarms Enfield .090 LG&Y "1861 special" from 1864 It looked like a bigger difference than that, especially since the Euroarms weighs almost two pounds more.
  12. Sparkytfl

    Greetings from Rochester NY

    Thanks. I may be interested once it's spring. My fingers get cold too easily to handle dinky little PRBs in the snow, so I'm switching to the big ol' minies for the winter.
  13. Sparkytfl

    Greetings from Rochester NY

    Hope you survived the snowstorm alright.
  14. Sparkytfl

    1853 enfield

    Bore sizes vary even within the same model, so you'll need to measure first. Either with pin gauges, or by slugging, pulling, and measuring (which may require a special micrometer if it's odd grooves). I've had success using a socket of almost the right diameter and wrapping a couple layers of...
  15. Sparkytfl

    Lead casting, flux, temp, etc

    Ebay, Midway, maybe your local store, Rotometals (great place to order lead of known good quality). Blue means your lead is hot. I get blue when I'm casting my 40 cal balls because it's a single-cavity mold and I need to keep it hot because so little lead goes into the mold that it won't stay...
  16. Sparkytfl

    Lead casting, flux, temp, etc

    I bought an infrared thermometer to measure mold temperatures. It reads very low, like it says 140 after casting fifty minies and the mold is hot enough to burn me through my leather gloves. Pointing it at the lead in the pot reads several hundred low too.
  17. Sparkytfl

    Sprue orientation

    My short starter seems to smooth it out pretty well when it's loaded sprue-forward. Lyman molds leave pretty big ones too.
  18. Sparkytfl

    Shipping

    My flintlock was packed really well, double boxed, reinforcing wood cling-wrapped to it, took half an hour to unwrap, cost $83. My 1861 "springfield" was single boxed, barely any packing materials, only cost $37 to ship, but it was also within the same state. Both this year.
  19. Sparkytfl

    WANTED WTB .578 minie mold not Lee

    Interesting you can get a hollow or regular rear plug for it. I've heard it's good, but also heard some people say the shape is unstable at 100yd or more. Either way, it's discontinued, but somebody got a great deal on one two months ago on "the Bay". (Image source New RCBS 1-Cavity Bullet...
  20. Sparkytfl

    WANTED WTB .578 minie mold not Lee

    Looking for a minie mold that casts .578 for my slightly oversized Euroarms Enfield. Really want the lyman "blue-grey", but it's been out of stock all summer. I've tried the Lee "Improved" 578, and the skirt is so thick they just tumble. Communications failed with a smaller maker, and I'd...
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