Making Wads

[rodwha]

So I'm looking into cutting my own wads by buying a set of hollow punches from Harbor Freight and buying felt from Duro Felt.

Duro Felt sells fairly thin sheets of 1/16" and the more common 1/8" as well as others. Since a small piece of this can go quite far (36 x 12" = 864 1/2" wads) I wondered about using the 1/16" size (hard/dense) so that one won't take up much powder room when conicals are used. But that I could take up as much space with them as I needed to instead of using cereal grains.

Would it not work well? Am I looking at this wrong?

I also considered buying both sizes...

 

[Glenfilthie]

I won't make them, I buy them 500 at a crack from the fellas at Track Of The Wolf. I know it isn't period correct or authentic but I just don't have the time to be a purist.

When I retire I am going to make some much needed lifestyle changes... :wink:

 

[Dickydalton]

I get mine at the Possibles Shop, but do make my own # 1 lube. It's as good as Bore Butter or better, with a different smell.
I wish I was retired so I could play every day shooting these guns. :grin:

 

[rodwha]

I intend on making the lube Gatofeo mentioned.

 

[Dickydalton]

I've left the guns dirty for a couple days and it still was OK. Good lube, now that I got the right ingredients.

 

[rodwha]

Is 1/16" too thin despite being their stiff version to work properly?

 

[necchi]

I think so,
When comparing 1/16 to 2/16ths your not gaining any significant amount of room for powder.
(powder "crushes" a bit too)

I use store bought and consider them about the right size to hold enough lube to actually do something.

 

[Dickydalton]

I believe that the ones I buy are 1/8" and many times I use one dry under one lubed insted of messing with corn meal. If that offends some that count pennies that's just too bad. I have the right to waste my money as I please.

 

[Mike 56]

Lee conicals don't require wads or over the top lube you just need to lube the bullets Lee recommends Lee alox bullet lube or Lee case resizing lube. But any bees wax based lube will work or even bore butter or crisco.It is in the Muzzle loading chapter of Lees's Modern Reloading.
Mike