Chamber casting material?

1

1911

Guest
I have one chamber I would like to check, but can I use some other material like parafin wax, etc...rather than having to order Cerrosafe from Brownells, pay shipping & wait?...just for one chamber...
I never had a reason to check a chamber before, and don't plan on having to check another anytime soon....
Is there another way?

Any help would be appreciated here...

Thanks

1911
 
The other way would be to take it to a smith who has some Cerrosafe on hand and could do it for you.
 
Thought about that, but.....

I live just outside NYC and the nearest gunsmith is a tank of gas away...($60.00).....

Just looking for a different product to use that might be easier to get...

Thanks


1911
 
1911 said:
I live just outside NYC and the nearest gunsmith is a tank of gas away...($60.00).....

Just looking for a different product to use that might be easier to get...

Thanks


1911
Click to expand...
Not trying to give you a smart answer but if there were a suitable alternative gunsmiths would be using it.

You can use something like woodsmetal but if there are any irregularities, like deep scratches or grooves where a dull reamer left, you might not get the casting out without heating the barrel. Woodsmetal is the lead looking stuff used in sprinkler heads. The different formulations melt at about 140F.

The unique feature of Cerrosafe is that it hardens, then shrinks slightly, then grows back to the original size.
 
Sulpher powder

1911

I've used plane old sulpher powder before. You can get it very cheaply from the Chemist. (Used as a laxative)

I Just melt it in a small metal container over my outdoor BBQ. (It's a little to smelly to do it indoors)
Give the chamber a light coat of oil and use some patches just in front of the chamber to act as a plug. Warm up the barrell with the heat gun and poor it in.
Let the whole thing cool and then gently tap it out with an old cleaning rod from the muzzel end.
Any Measurements must be taken straight away as it can shrink over time.

Cheers
Leeroy
 
1911
Roy Dunlap's (Gunsmithing) book give a similar mixture using sulphur, Lamp Black (from a sooty flame on a cold surface) and Spirit of Camphor. I cant remember the mix ratios but will look in the book at my workshop and comeback with the details. I have used it to cast a female Spline in a clutch. Very low shrinkage .

Herbit
 
Experiment

You might try Dental Stone plaster. It is used in making dentures. I shrinks a very small precentage when it hardens. It could be pushed out with a cleanning rod easily on a chamber coated with paste wax. The chamber could be boiled out to remove any residue if neccessary.

You could go to any dental lab or dental lab supplier and get a small anount.

Rustystud
 
Buy the cerrosafe from Brownels. You WILL need this stuff again sometime to measure dies etc. and it's easy to use.

Glenn:D
 
1911
As promised. The chamber cast mix from Roy F Dunlap's book is:-
sulphur 2 ounces, powdered lamp black 3 grains and gun camphor dissolved in alcohol 2 drops (my pharmacist called it spirits of camphor) (it may be 10% camphor dissolved in alcohol....smells of meths).
Mix it dry and heat it slowly to a thin running liquid. Fast heat will produce a thick liquid which is difficult to use. Shrinkage is about .0005" on the day of casting and then about .001" there after.

Herbit
 
1911 said:
I have one chamber I would like to check, but can I use some other material like parafin wax, etc...rather than having to order Cerrosafe from Brownells, pay shipping & wait?...just for one chamber...
I never had a reason to check a chamber before, and don't plan on having to check another anytime soon....
Is there another way?

Any help would be appreciated here...

Thanks

1911
Click to expand...

I know a smith in Hasbrouck Heights, used to work for Navy Arms
 
Rustystud said:
You might try Dental Stone plaster. It is used in making dentures. I shrinks a very small precentage when it hardens. It could be pushed out with a cleanning rod easily on a chamber coated with paste wax. The chamber could be boiled out to remove any residue if neccessary.

You could go to any dental lab or dental lab supplier and get a small anount.

Rustystud
Click to expand...

I tried that last night. It was a shotgun chamber, thoroughly cleaned and lightly oiled. I do have half a pound of Cerrosafe sitting around, but I doubt that would do a single 12 gauge chamber, and I wanted to do two or three.

Pushed a shot cup type wad down just past the forcing cone. With a 3" clamp, clamped the barrel's retaining ring to the benchtop, nice and vertical. Encircled the breech end with masking tape. Mixed plaster. Poured. After about 10 minutes, the unpoured plaster was hard, so I figured it was time to get the chamber cast out of that chamber. Light tap. Nothing. Firm tap from muzzle end with 1/2" dowel. Still in there. Fairly hard rap. Nope. Trim that dowel just a couple inches longer than the barrel. Get the end inside the shot cup, and bring the whole assembly down hard. Here she comes. Got it out, almost dropped it. Sat it aside. Yes, there is a ring of adhering plaster in the bore.

First things first: WD-40 to displace all the water I poured in there (if 15 minutes in the rain ruins a shotgun barrel, that would be good news for ducks, I think), brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, patch. Still a ring of plaster in there.

Brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush.

A little concentrated attention with the edge of the 1/2" dowel on a stubborn spot. Brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, patch. Looks good through the bore scope. Coat of Break Free, sit it aside. Run over and get the cast. Sand off the part where it overfilled above the case head. Does it fit in the chamber? Hell no. Some kinds of plaster actually come out a little bigger than the hole they were cast in. My can of Dunham's "Rock Hard" Water Putty say it does, and I think it's gypsum based too. This stuff was tight in the chamber because it was trying to be bigger than the chamber.

Conclusion: dental stone is not a satisfactory chamber casting medium.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
HenryC460 said:
I tried that last night. It was a shotgun chamber, thoroughly cleaned and lightly oiled. I do have half a pound of Cerrosafe sitting around, but I doubt that would do a single 12 gauge chamber, and I wanted to do two or three.

Pushed a shot cup type wad down just past the forcing cone. With a 3" clamp, clamped the barrel's retaining ring to the benchtop, nice and vertical. Encircled the breech end with masking tape. Mixed plaster. Poured. After about 10 minutes, the unpoured plaster was hard, so I figured it was time to get the chamber cast out of that chamber. Light tap. Nothing. Firm tap from muzzle end with 1/2" dowel. Still in there. Fairly hard rap. Nope. Trim that dowel just a couple inches longer than the barrel. Get the end inside the shot cup, and bring the whole assembly down hard. Here she comes. Got it out, almost dropped it. Sat it aside. Yes, there is a ring of adhering plaster in the bore.

First things first: WD-40 to displace all the water I poured in there (if 15 minutes in the rain ruins a shotgun barrel, that would be good news for ducks, I think), brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, patch. Still a ring of plaster in there.

Brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush.

A little concentrated attention with the edge of the 1/2" dowel on a stubborn spot. Brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, patch. Looks good through the bore scope. Coat of Break Free, sit it aside. Run over and get the cast. Sand off the part where it overfilled above the case head. Does it fit in the chamber? Hell no. Some kinds of plaster actually come out a little bigger than the hole they were cast in. My can of Dunham's "Rock Hard" Water Putty say it does, and I think it's gypsum based too. This stuff was tight in the chamber because it was trying to be bigger than the chamber.

Conclusion: dental stone is not a satisfactory chamber casting medium.
Click to expand...

Holey Cow, nice report. Thank you for trying that and passing on your results. I learned something this morning.

al
 
Plain old powdered graphite instead of lamp black works well in the sulphur casting method. Don't need the camphor.

RWO
 
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