I have a littleton shotmaker and I'm soon going to get it going. I know you have to have a coolent of some sort and then wash the shot and so on. But why can't a person say get in a farm silo. Get everything up to a point and let the shot just fall to a cooling tank? This as most know was the old way to make shot. Why can't we combine the two?

I do not recall anyone saying that you cannot do that, it just seems like a lot of work but with a little effort, you never know, you know ..? WPT ... (YAC) ...

Old Way?

Post-2

It's the one and only way to make the best shot. HMB

It is a good way to make shot but I have seen no evidence that is is better than other methods. West Coast shot is dropped from a tower and it is very good shot. Winchester, Remington, Lawrence and Federal shot is not made using a tower and it is good shot.

Pat Ireland

Illegal aliens would be happy to have that job.

Pat Ireland

Pat, Shot dropped from a tower is very good, the other stuff is just good. Sounds like you agree that the tower stuff is better. HMB

FYI. Remington has a shot tower at their Lonoke, Arkansas plant.

Johnpe

If memory serves, Federal use to buy their shot,or some of it out of Nevada West Coast. North West Shot is dropped in Medford Oregon.

Post-2

Anyone know how high the tower would have to be for making size 7-1/2 and smaller? The towers in use now make some very large shot and need the extra hight for air cooling and shaping the molten lead as it falls. Maybe the farm silo would be ideal for smaller shot? Hap

I shot a tower once.

For those of you interested in our experiences with dropping shot, we learned the following....

650 degree #7.5 shot dropped 9 feet through 50 degree air into 110 degree water made lead spatters.

650 degree #7.5 shot dropped 13 feet through 50 degree air into 110 degree water made lead spatters.

650 degree #7.5 shot dropped 21 feet through 50 degree air into 110 degree water made nice round lead shot that hammers the crap out of targets.

725 dergee #7.5 shot dropped 21 feet through 50 degree air into 110 degree water made lead splatters.

We are looking for someone with an old barn where we can get at least a 30 foot drop. Doing it this way simplifies the whole process a bunch. No coolant to wash off. Just dry the shot, graphite/roll it and load it.

Jeff

Shot towers are over 100ft. That would be a big silo. Shorter towers are used by the big companies but they know a few tricks. It doesn't take much technology to drop from a high tower. Do a websearch on shot towers, the history is pretty interesting.

If a person used an old farm silo for the shot tower, I would think the silage lift could be modified to get the lead to the top, asuming it is the paddle type and not an auger.

How do you get hot lead to the top of the silo?

Just to contribute my $.02 worth, back in 1959 my dad was involved in building the first shot tower in Medford, OR. I hung around about as much as was allowed just because I thought the whole idea was interesting. That tower was 100 ft. high as I recall, but I don't know how high a tower North West Shot is using today. The first tower was of open construction (like an Erector set) but the shot dropped inside a metal tube about two feet in diameter to prevent any wind drift. As was mentioned above, the pellets dropped into a cooling water bath. The shot was then dried, graphited, and bagged up.

Guess Ireland had never been to the Winchester or Remington plants since he told us they didn't drop their shot, but they do.

I guess Ireland was incorrect, I hope he learned something new.

Pat Ireland

Pat, you'll hafta have a lil heart to heart with him when he has time huh? :-) Hap

What would a water mister do to the shot on the way down? Would it cool it enough to prevent spatter or deform it? Maybe just enough mist to cool it but not wet it. Just some thoughts....

I have two silo's and I don't know which one is taller. One did have a roof on it but a storm blew it off. I can still work with either one. From what I have read here and off Google I don't need a 100 foot or taller tower to work from. All I'm making is 7 1/2 shot and from what I have read it takes a shorter tower to do so. I will try to make some 4 5 6 shot later but those to I can work with a short tower.

One person asked how did you get the hot lead to the top. You put some power up to the top of the silo and plug in your Littleton shot maker and start feeding it lead. As for getting the lead to the top. A hay elevator with paddles would be good to have but it needs to be tall enough to do so. We did have a screw style to put sylag(sp) from the fields but I don't think it works now. The other two ways is to put the lead in a back pack and work those legs. The last way is to put the lead in buckets and put them at the base of the ladder or silo and use a rope with a hook to bring them to the top. I still would like any other posts, thoughts and idea's that any of you all have.

Hoss trader, you can also use a well wheel at the top for hoisting up the materials. I think I'd also use a good fan up there to keep lead fumes blown away from the work platform. Set up correctly, shot quality may be the best to be had. Would be an interesting project since I love tweaking things too. Hap

What size openings/orifices is used to make the various size shot? Does an orifice of .090" generally make 8 shot?

Rem31TC

The Horse Trader; For your information larger shot has to drop further to round it and cool it. Add some arsenic and it will harden quicker. Add Viagra and it will harden immediately, but will only stay that way for a while. FD

Here is a picture of West Coast's tower.

Post-2

I was just at N.West Shot in Medford buying components and did not see any type of tower for dropping shot. The lead is melted in a big propane tub outside then inside, the melted lead goes through varies size dyes to determine shot size then rolls down a series of three angles tables into a large hopper which then is used to fill bags and sew them shut. Mike

Does Northwest Shot have a web site? What all can you buy in components from them? Another poster wrote earlier that Northwest Shot was the only shot company that would redrop you shot for ???$3.00??? per bag. I wonder if that is already in ingots or you can take them a truckload of wheel weights.

In the 40 years we have been making our own shot the most our lead has to drop is about 1/4 inch from the lip of the shotmaker. Jim Stewart solved this problem back in 1964 and has been making shot ever since with no problems of lead poisoning or the shot not being round. He has hundreds of his shotmakers from coast to coast and a few in between. If you really want to make good shot buy A Better Shotmaker that he sells. Go to http://www.geocities.com/jstewart1934/My_page.html or email me and I will send pictures and information. Ellen O'Connor

Rem31TC -

To make number 8 shot you need a hole like .022 or .024! The holes in my drippers are so small if you don't look close, yo will miss them!

Jeff