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Graphite is graphite?

Redding doesn't manufacture the graphite, they buy it and repackage it (or possibly have it done for them). Same thing goes with many things in the shooting world. I bought 5lbs of atomized steel from a casting and art supply house for $5 more than Brownell sells 12oz tins for. Same mesh size, works exactly the same in bedding compound. Split it with a buddy, too.
 
About the only thing Is how fine it's graded. I have a small
can of graphite slated for door locks. It contains course
particles / flakes and would not consider it for neck lube.
 
Go to your local John Deere tractor place and they have powdered graphite used in seed planters. Might be way too much than you need.
 
I ordered some off Amazon a few months ago. It's used on some pretty sophisticated bore ride cast bullets. And will spare the details as to what extent.

Will say though;

Everytime someone mentioned graphite in my research,getting it all over everything kept popping up. I'm thinking,dang are these people grade schoolers? I mean come on,just be careful... doh.

Well,that sounds good but,those posters were right.... the stuff is gonna be a little/lot messy.

I'm still using it on some JACKED up IMR4831 loads(right @3000fps,and bugholes) though. Gets put on the swaged nose section during a last op. Haven't gotten it to the mixed consistency quite yet.
 
I ordered some off Amazon a few months ago. It's used on some pretty sophisticated bore ride cast bullets. And will spare the details as to what extent.

Will say though;

Everytime someone mentioned graphite in my research,getting it all over everything kept popping up. I'm thinking,dang are these people grade schoolers? I mean come on,just be careful... doh.

Well,that sounds good but,those posters were right.... the stuff is gonna be a little/lot messy.

I'm still using it on some JACKED up IMR4831 loads(right @3000fps,and bugholes) though. Gets put on the swaged nose section during a last op. Haven't gotten it to the mixed consistency quite yet.
I know better than this, BUT tell me more cast bullets to 3000 FPS
 
I bought some powdered graphite at my local hardware store that seems to work. Its super fine and messy to work with.
 
This is sorta towards SEM,but is on topic pretty much.

The only place I'm using graphite is on the nose sections. If you've ever been around any cast bullets,or done any reading,LLA which is Lee liquid alox has quite the reputation. Some love this stuff,others have heartfelt disdain for it.

But one thing is a constant,everyone has to resort to thinning it because it gets thick with time. That's them..... I'm the 180* opposite. I want ALL of the reducer/thinner out of it. This is what I was referring to about the "mixing" mentioned above.

I want it more like hard shoe polish. In fact that's what I keep it in. Took an empty Kiwi shoe polish tin and filled it with LLA.

Graphite; the idea is to use graphite as my Gdaughter puts it,sprinkles.... up to a good dusting. The final op on *some barn burner's is take a loaded,completed round. The nose of the exposed bullet gets chunked into the heavy LLA,then dip it in the graphite.

I machine nose spinners,with the same custom reamers used to make top punches,used in other ops earlier in the process. These spinners get chucked up in a drill motor and get spun on the,now dipped and sprinkled nose. The logic or hope is,by creating friction the graphite is being "burned in" on the nose. The spinners smooth out little imperfections on *some noses.

I had posted here,in the rimfire section.... with apologies(center fire vs rimfires) about spinning. It's a uniforming trick.

So, am still dinking around with the stuff.

*some... two standouts for this process have been a 60g RCBS in a 22-250. The other, one of my favorites is a straight 6mm Rem with an 85g Saeco. Both are scary accurate with starting JB loads of IMR4831.
 
well now I will have to try this one day I have a good supply of 60gr cast powder coated .225 I had stopped at 2200 FPS I was gun shy (pun intended) of leading up the bore
 

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