Sulfer, for when you are afraid to beat on your rifle with a hammer.

Josh

Well-Known Member
Ok, so I know that a pound cast is ideal for making your bullet fit your rifle perfectly. But some people (me included) get a hair queasy when hammering on a rifle. I have been playing with powdered sulfer, it melts at a low temp, doesnt shrink or expand, and gives a pretty good impression right off the bat. I plan to design a bullet off of a sulfer cast. The only downside is they are prone to breaking, they are kinda fragile, but a lead pound cast is also easy to mar but harder to remake. So here are the pictures of what I am working with.







And the aftermath, this just pushes right out of the chamber, no problem or residue.

 

blackthorn

Active Member
Mixing in some (20 to 30) percent graphite with the sulfur will make release easier, thus reducing the likelihood of breakage.


An alternative to using Cerosafe or the pounded slug method is to make a sulphur or sulphur/graphite cast. To do this, make up a mixture containing a ratio of approximately two-thirds sulphur to one-third powdered graphite. Sulphur requires a much higher melting temperature than Cerosafe but it has the advantage of neither growing nor shrinking once the cast has set. As noted, a chamber cast can be made using just sulphur but these casts tend to be somewhat hard to remove and they tend to be brittle. The addition of graphite in the casting makes it less brittle and easier to remove once it has hardened.



A container of sulphur can be had cheaply at the garden centre. Clean and degrease the chamber, put a paper plug about one half inch into the rifling, drop a piece of cotton string into the chamber, do not use synthetics, have a wood dowel longer than the barrel and of smaller but as close as possible to the inside diameter on hand. Alternately, you can make a barrel plug out of cork or other stiff material, attach the required cotton string through the plug and push it into the chamber/barrel. Place some sulphur in a small pan with a pour spout, using, preferably an electric hot plate, slowly heat the sulphur until it melts, do not let it catch fire, the smoke is (N) poisonous. Stir in the powdered graphite and pour in enough of the liquid mix to just fill the chamber, wait until the cast is completely hard, this will depend on how large the chamber is, which governs the mass that has to cool down. Carefully push on the cast with the dowel while firmly pulling on the string; it should come out easily once it starts to move.



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As noted, unlike Cerosafe, sulphur cast dimensions of the chamber do not change at all over time, even after many years, so how soon after casting you measure the cast is not important. Sulphur is one of the few elements that do not change dimensions when going from a liquid to a solid state. Molten sulphur can also be used to set machinery anchor bolts in concrete.



The inclusion of graphite allows the casting to release very easily after it cools. While not critical, the best ratio, is somewhere between ten and thirty percent graphite. Use a piece of poly tube through the receiver, pressed firmly against the rear of the chamber to keep from spilling it all over. Stick a funnel in it and pour until you see it in the tube. These castings can be remelted for re-use or they can be marked for identification and kept for future reference.
 

Josh

Well-Known Member
I didn't know adding graphite would aid in lack of breakage, I will say it hasn't been an issue releasing the sulfer from the chamber. An added benefit is it will also darken the material, it can be hard to see a worn throat, but not impossible. I will add graphite and retry this with another rifle.

Excellent write up blackthorn, I hadn't time to do the how to portion yet.
 

.22-5-40

Member
I wanted to check a .255 Jeffery rook rifle chamber..but was afraid of getting even sulpher in ejector assembly..so used pure beeswax..I was after length anyway so didn't need to "mike" for dia. Pretty hard and durable for a wax casting.
 

Josh

Well-Known Member
Great Idea: Do you just pour it down the muzzle ( I see a patch there?)
Push a tight patch down the bore from the muzzle, then pour the sulfer into the chamber area. You can use a tiny funnel for this work. You get an almost perfect cast every time.

This also works well to check bullet moulds without heating up a lead pot.
 

M3845708Bama

Active Member
Ok, so I know that a pound cast is ideal for making your bullet fit your rifle perfectly. But some people (me included) get a hair queasy when hammering on a rifle. I have been playing with powdered sulfer, it melts at a low temp, doesnt shrink or expand, and gives a pretty good impression right off the bat. I plan to design a bullet off of a sulfer cast. The only downside is they are prone to breaking, they are kinda fragile, but a lead pound cast is also easy to mar but harder to remake. So here are the pictures of what I am working with.







And the aftermath, this just pushes right out of the chamber, no problem or residue.

Be careful around heat. Sulfur will auto ignite. Use to work with it. Plant had to install a low temperature steam system because normal on would cause heat tracing to autoignite sulfur.( not good at all).
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
lol! That's a Mosin! They shifted their T-34s with a hand sledge! That Mosin is designed to beat it with a hammer!

on another note, somewhere in Utube land, guy tried to blow up a Mosin. IIRC, it took like a double charge of 2400 before it started to shed pieces! It was VERY impressive!
 

Jr.

New Member
Be careful around heat. Sulfur will auto ignite. Use to work with it. Plant had to install a low temperature steam system because normal on would cause heat tracing to autoignite sulfur.( not good at all).

I second this, stuff burns hot, we use it for Ph control, I would make sure to clean any surface this touches as soon as possible after use.