Balls shrinking!

[NORD]

Howdy!

I have noticed that when I carry my lead balls in a leather ball bag for a short time they shrink by like several ten thousandths of an inch! When I go to load them they fit very loose in the barrel. Have any of you experience this before and is there anyway to keep the balls from shrinking in my ball bag?

Thank you!

 

[mckutzy]

are they getting damage when in the bag, like are they striking themselves hard somehow?

 

[NORD]

No I don't think so...they just ride in the bottom of my belt bag.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

they shrink by like several ten thousandths of an inch!

I've never checked em after they've bounced around in the ball bag. But "ten-thousandths" of an inch isn't very much. (.0001") GW

 

[NORD]

They are noticibly smaller going down the bore and they don't shoot nearly as accurate at 50 yards...

 

[paulvallandigham]

Usually, ball diameters are of concern when they vary a couple of thousandths of an inch. Can you give us a true before and after measurement? Have you weighed the balls both before and after? If so what are the weights?

Other than hitting each other, which could, I suppose, elongate the balls along one axis, I can't see how the dimensions will change more than .0001", which is so insignificant that I find it hard to believe it is responsible for any inaccuracy, much less you " feeling " the difference loading them down the barrel.

 

[Bountyhunter]

Shouldnt shrink unless you are using an alloy. Did you change patch material? Use some thicker ticking for patches. How many balls are we talking about here?

 

[NORD]

I must be mistaken...I ment thousandths not ten thousandths...there is definently a difference though...that is how I found the problem.

I don't think they are elongated at all.

 

[NORD]

Something is happening to the lead balls in the leather ball bag.

Could the leather be wearing away the lead ball some how making it slightly smaller?

 

[rebel727]

Something is happening to the lead balls in the leather ball bag.

Could the leather be wearing away the lead ball some how making it slightly smaller?

I think it unlikely, especially with uniform wear. I'd think any wear you'd notice would be out of round.

 

[jtmattison]

Are you sure somebody didn't switch your balls on you with smaller ones.
:shocked2:

HD

 

[wtilenw]

Have you changed your patching material by chance?
Different lots of the "same" fabric can vary quite a bit. Just a thought.
Idaho PRB

 

[Oldnamvet]

Have you actually measured them before and after being put in the bag? Maybe something changed in the casting process and they turned out smaller than previously??
I won't say what I thought when I read the topic line. :rotf: :rotf:

 

[SimonKenton]

TWELVE replies and no cheap shots! Wow, we ARE evolving aren't we? Some of us have come a long way, although mostly on all fours. :rotf:

-Ray

 

[Gus]

Stay out of the pool.

 

[rebel727]

Stay out of the pool.

Why should I stay out of the pool? They're not my balls. How'd you even know I have a pool? :rotf:

 

[Claude Mathis]

TWELVE replies and no cheap shots! Wow, we ARE evolving aren't we?

They get deleted. Too many and the perps get a time out. :wink:

 

[NORD]

Well I am using Speer round balls...I try to short start a ball from the ball bag with the patch material and it was loose...so then I pulled the ball out and using the same piece of material I did before I opened a new box of Speer balls and it short started and seated normally. Maybe the box of Speer balls in the ball bag were case undersized from the Speer factory??? :hmm:

By the way thank you all for keeping the subject clean...

 

[paulvallandigham]

Ah, now you have provided information we need to understand. Check the diameter of those Speer balls, against whatever it was you had in the bag before. It is not unusual to find differences in diameters of balls made by different manufacturers, and, occasionally, from lot to lot. Without using a caliper or micrometer on the balls and the patch material, anyone's guess is as good as yours. Tell us those measurements, and the difference in measurements, and we can tell you much better what changed, and how to fix it. :thumbsup:

 

[renovato]

I'm with Paul. I think you ended up with different sizes from different batches. Even if they banged together in the bag for a while, they shouldn't shrink any, just pick up a bunch of small dents. Some folks tumble the balls to round out the sprues, so that doesn't seem to make them any smaller in diameter.

Did the ones in the bag fit properly before? If so, then the only thing I can think of is that the bag is somehow abrading the surface of them or something.

I'm really bad at grabbing the wrong size and not noticing till I try to start one. Nothing like trying to load a .530 in a .50 and realizing that you left your .490s at home, or vice versa. I did learn that with enough patches, you can make .490s shoot pretty decently in a .54! :rotf: