Ouch! This one hurts!

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Sorry if already posted but we'll all feel this to varying degrees in the cost of tooling, which gets passed on to the goods themselves. My tuners will be going up as a result but it's gonna affect tons of stuff, if not already. I haven't had to buy tungsten powder since this started. I was lucky enough to have bought just prior to the crazy increases. I'm sure larger shops have already felt it in carbide tooling costs. Nearly a 500% increase! Insane!

Tungsten Powder Prices Surge Fivefold! Shocking The Entire Industry - Bestonedrill - 10+ Years Chinese Rock Drilling Golden Supplier

Tungsten powder prices began to rise in 2025, and the surge has entered a "crazy mode" since 2026.

www.bestonedrill.com

 

[Xerothermic]

Why?

Sorry, I was cruising through threads. I clicked on the blue, highlighted link and all questions are answered.

 

[Fuj]

Why?

China

 

[blades]

Yep, some of my grinding wheels , vitrified have gone from $75 ea. to $275 ea. with a minimum purchase of 4 pieces. Funny though Diamond, CBN, and CBX haven't changed much -maybe 10% higher.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

China

Yep. The article is a decent read on it. Not very long.

 

[GotRDid]

Was woefully unaware of this trend, but it does provide insight as to the profound increases in the Turkey Shotshell price points.
The TSS (tungsten super shot) is the latest generation for Hunters to increase terminal effect and range for these challenging Birds.
I am a curious soul, so I bought some in 2024 to pattern/hunt with in spite of 3X+ the cost per shotshell. Given my quite satisfying experience both on the range and the field, I bought more in early 2025. Slight increase at $15 per shotshell, but I typically only take 2-3 Gobblers per year.
Cabela’s received their Spring delivery of Turkey ammunition, so hit them early due to impending high demand as our season nears.
I was unpleasantly surprised at the price points nearing $90 per 5 rounds, and some exceeding $115. The only reason I bought another box of my current supply is due to my loyalty $ through my card. This may be the last given the industry wide trend.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

China

Anti PDT Tuner commie bastards! Lol!

 

[Fuj]

Anti PDT Tuner commie bastards! Lol!

It's all about retaliation.....

So Mike, what other powders were you playing with back in the day ??

I'll still call Ya' next week, and chew the fat. Something just transpired
on my end that was a bit of a shock, and nothing I could type about
in these forums.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

It's all about retaliation.....

So Mike, what other powders were you playing with back in the day ??

I'll still call Ya' next week, and chew the fat. Something just transpired
on my end that was a bit of a shock, and nothing I could type about
in these forums.

I've tried several different things. Of course play sand and glass beads and different durometer silicones but have gone as far as very vibration dampening specific materials like non-newtonian fluids and polymers. You may have seen it before. It's that blue or purple gummy stuff that I've seen people use on bbls and stocks etc, but it's sole purpose, afaik, is vibration dampening. Bottom line, nothing has worked as well as tungsten powder due to its density and flowability characteristics. It's always been expensive, so I was hoping something else worked as well, but not that I've found. Mercury is a possibility but I've stayed away from it for obvious reasons.

Hope everything works out for ya. I'm dealing with my mom right now being in a nursing home for rehab. Supposed to move her home today but only until we can get her into an assisted living facility. Blessed to still have her around but she's 84 and not doing great any more.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Just another reason why the anti lead movement needs to be stopped.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

FWIW, another application tungsten powder is commonly used in is custom golf clubs. There's a few ounces in a custom driver. So roughly $125 more for your custom driver, by this added cost alone. That one won't affect me! Lol! Quantity affects price a good bit. In small quantities, it was rough $100/lb BEFORE this price increase. So, we'd be talking $500ish/lb now. I do buy in enough quantity that it allows me to buy direct and get the price down a lot from that but it's still just astonishing. It really hurt my feelings!

 

[Fuj]

Not close to the density but, spherical copper powder maybe mixed with
a little graphite is a thought. Hey, how about some good ol' American
made depleted uranium ?? Hell, were giving it away free in Iran currently. LOL

 

[gdbleb]

So are the machinists here seeing increases in prices for tooling like tungsten carbide mills, cutting inserts and that sort of stuff?

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

So are the machinists here seeing increases in prices for tooling like tungsten carbide mills, cutting inserts and that sort of stuff?

Yes, but I'll let others speak up. I don't order near as much as big shops do, but I've noticed it there too. It just wasn't enough to catch my eye sooner becuase I haven't needed a lot of new tooling in the past year , although it did cross my mind. Hindsight is always 20/20, though. But yes, carbide tooling is made from tungsten powder, too.

 

[jonbearman]

We should stop buying anything we cant live without and prices will go down. For instance some gas stations in new york state are already jumping prices however if you look around I paid 298.9 a gallon 2 days ago while locally its 3..59 so they can keep it for now and I am doing as little driving etc just to cut back until prices start to fall again. May God have mercy on our nation as we go into a man made shortages to raise unaturally.

 

[ELR LVR]

Anyone seen Gold Spot lately?
$5180 today
just a couple months ago it was $4k
Anyone thats been holding Silver, that elusive $100 target price is soon
---
Not good, the dollar inversely follows the price of gold

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

We should stop buying anything we cant live without and prices will go down. For instance some gas stations in new york state are already jumping prices however if you look around I paid 298.9 a gallon 2 days ago while locally its 3..59 so they can keep it for now and I am doing as little driving etc just to cut back until prices start to fall again. May God have mercy on our nation as we go into a man made shortages to raise unaturally.

I agree for the most part. It's just a shame we rely on enemies for so much stuff, though. Tungsten is a mineral, not a made in China product. I'm not sure how much we have over here...or not. Overall, we have most of what we need though and I'd be happy if we never imported anything from commie China again. Most people would cry if their walmart closed down, but not me. I buy as close to zero there as I possibly can. Lets not let this turn political but I think most of us on here agree with what we're saying though.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Anyone seen Gold Spot lately?
$5180 today
just a couple months ago it was $4k
Anyone thats been holding Silver, that elusive $100 target price is soon
---
Not good, the dollar inversely follow sthe price of gold

Can't afford to invest in silver or gold. I just went with tungsten though! Lol! Hopefully it comes down but the long term forecast for it looks to stay high, according to what I've read and the article I posted in post#1

 

[ebb]

Could the substitute for lead in shot shells bismuth be used or is it not heavy enough to work properly?

 

[dryhumor]

I think the real takeaway, is that the more things seem to cost in dollars, it’s just an Indication that the dollars continue to be worth less over time.