single pass check maker

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Went and checked the litho plates today. Looks like they are all 0.019" Going top have to stop by one of the printers and see what they have. If not i'm going to have to bring my calipers with me to Menards and Lowes.

I've done that. People at Lowe's had never seen a micrometer before. Only issue I found was inconsistencies along the length of the flashing and it was HARD compared to what I've bought in coils.

Gil went through his stuff and this is what he has left. If any of it is of interest, I can share his e-mail. I have had no problems at all with his stock and have been very pleased. What's on this list is all that's left and there will be no more though this channel. The number preceding the width x thickness is the number of rolls he has.

Nothing in this for me except to help Gil move the stuff or help you find something you need.

# rolls / width / thickness / length in feet:

1) .640" x .006" x 100' AL

6) .500" x .006" x 100' AL

2) .750" x .024" x 38' AL

1) .500" x .016" x 100' AL (length is appx 100'+/-)

1) .400" x .0082" x 100' AL (Painted)

1) .630" x .012" Copper total footage unknown



Aluminum at $5.00/coil

Copper at $0.20/foot



All plus current USPS Flat Rate Box shipping charges.



Several partial rolls of various lengths - these were used to cut off samples to send to customers.




.750" x .024"

.750" x .020"

.545" x .006"

.500" x .006"

.667" x .008"

.640" x .006"

.600" x .020"

.750" x .010"

.625" x .008"



I also have 12 flat sheets of .017" x 3-3/4" x 10".
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
bit thin,, airc they are/were like .008.
probably less than that now days,, I can't even pick one up unopened without it wanting to squish, but you could double it over, or make checks for plain base molds.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
bit thin,, airc they are/were like .008.
probably less than that now days,, I can't even pick one up unopened without it wanting to squish, but you could double it over, or make checks for plain base molds.


That was the "thing" for making gas checks for plain-based bullets. Haven't tried it, but many guys said it worked a wonder. No GC shank - shoot plain based or add a thin GC. Good reason to keep stocked up on beer, I guess.

Just measured a "fresh-killed" PBR and am getting just shy of .004"
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
This litho is very hard. It would have to be annealed. I know when I took the scrap to the yard they could not put it in with the other aluminum. It looks like most of it is made from 1050 alloy. And it is supposed to be 0.015" in thickness. It has a green coating on one side so I am thinking it is what is giving me the extra thickness. I remember when I got it they told me to take all I wanted as it was a job they did and this was the left over plates. They were on the way to the scrap yard so take all I wanted. These were never printed on so virgin plates.

I am going to try to burn off the green coloring and see if there is any difference. 0.015" will work.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
But, what IS "the right thickness?"

There's a rule of thumb which would indicate that the diameter of the gas check shank, minus the sized bullet diameter, divided by two would yield the optimum GC thickness, but it's really more a starting point. It MAY work fine for you, but then we have those pesky tapered GC shanks, oddball moulds, hardness of the GC, softness of the bullet, etc. which all seem to bear on making the calculated optimal "wrong." Hence - experimentation.

I don't know if this helps at all, but through experimentation*, I found that certain thickness fit MY GC shanks well. Turns out that the right thickness for mine wasn't necessarily the right thickness for others' - or the usual optimum thickness for a given caliber.

*Through the luxury of access to the gas-check-maker maker, Charlie, and a variety of samples and significant patience from Gil, I was very fortunate (spoiled).


.0095" for my 35s, mostly sized to .358" or .359" (rifle/revolver)
.008" for my 22s, all sized to .225" (rifle)
.014" for my 30's, all sized to .310" (rifle)


Ideally, one would find a cheap/free and reliable source of raw material soft enough to not induce an added step of annealing, but we can fudge on that last one depending on how much time we can spare in lieu of cash.

Time? Well, we have to be able to practice the fine art of denial when it comes to time. I've tried to explain to people that it takes me less time per shot to load my muzzle-loader (patched round ball and powder - no "pellets" or pre-charges) than it does for my 223. Of course, no one ever "gets" that one and no one ever "bites." I get the faux-knowing-nod and a wink, like it's an inside joke.

If we have time to cast, we have time to make gas checks. I set my stuff up and crunch out a hundred, get bored and quit. But, I leave it all set up and stop to crank out ten, twenty or fifty between other tasks or while thinking about how to do what next on a project. After a few days or a week of intermittent "punching," I have quite a pile of gas checks. I like to fill little glass spice jars with them to set on my shelf so I can look at them and feel wealthy and fortunate. Seriously. Just as gratifying as looking at a stack of cordwood, which always induces a sense of calm well-being.

How many gas checks does one need?

It may be as well to buy a thousand and get it over with. I bought enough coil stock for each of my GC makers to last longer than I would, and that's not a lot of coil stock. Three to six one-hundred-foot rolls of a given size goes a long, long way, making tens of thousands of gas checks. I can get about 3,000 30 caliber GCs from a 100' roll. I think I was paying about $8 per roll with shipping. That's about $2.67 per 1K for material. Even being a bit extravagant by buying coil stock, I am getting off very cheaply.

I have an old friend who is finally gearing up to cast afte several years of me nagging. Today, he told me he was starting with plan-base moulds only and no gas checks. "Well, well, Mr. Confidence, what make YOU think that you will get away with nothing but plain base right out of the gate?" His logic was something I hadn't considered, but sound. Figures he'll only use GC bullets for hunting and a few hundred will last a long time. He can buy that many or get me to make them. No sense spending money on the tooling that would get little use. Oh, don't worry, I can get him to do stuff for me cheaper than I can do it myself too. This guy's an amazing knife-maker.

Geez, sorry that was so long again.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I set my stuff up and crunch out a hundred, get bored and quit. But, I leave it all set up and stop to crank out ten, twenty or fifty between other tasks or while thinking about how to do what next on a project. After a few days or a week of intermittent "punching," I have quite a pile of gas checks.
This is how I do it, to. Making 30-50 checks is quick work, and almost recreational. Making 100 at a time is boring. The trick is, to just make a few every now and then and quit before you go crazy.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Well I gotta tell ya. Or tell those who dont powder coat. It helps ALLOT!!
I regularly shoot plain base powder coated bullets to good accuracy past 100yards and at or just north of 2000 fps.
PC wont ever replace the need for a GC but they can severely limit there actual "NEED".

:embarrassed: :p

I still use them tho!!!! I will almost always use one if the Bullet design is cut for them. I have the blosters on my fingers from yesterdays 1000+ gc applications!!
CW
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
Well I'm a stubborn hard headed sorry old .......
I refused , denighed and just plain worked every work around I could find to avoid GCs until the antimony plagued me in an out of spec gas gun to a point where there was simply no other choice for the next one . I learned paper patch to avoid gas checks . I plain based moulds to avoid them too .
I have to tell you considering the guns , my skills , available resources , etc I did some pretty impressive things without them . I will continue to do them but I do 10-12,000 checks on hand for the most likely to be shot that hot cartridges , and where a PB wasn't available in the desired original bullet . One day I will likely kick myself for not getting the 22,25,26,27,28,30 , 31, 8mm I , 32 ,35 an 2@ 45 check tools more particularly the first 6 than the last 6 I'm sure .

As of now Hornady and Sages has stocked me with enough for this for about the cost of one die set or at least what they cost when I originally looked at them . That was when I still $100 for a mould was asking an awful lot , even with 5 holes . I still think it's a little steep for a 2 cavity iron mould but more reasonable than it seemed then .

I wish I had the tools , and/or the tools to make them but I don't and probably won't any time soon . I don't need need minute of gopher at a half mile 2.5" at 100 with 1000 ftlb will do nicely for everything I need or want to do with them . That's not really all that lofty a goal . Heck most of the time slow and heavy gets it done and where it doesn't I slap a check on it . 22s never will in cast . 25 & 27 , 26 &28 cal to a lessor degree need them . The 35-250 and 45-500 FP are the only reason I have them in 35 & 45s .
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Well I gotta tell ya. Or tell those who dont powder coat. It helps ALLOT!! ..................................................
CW

I know, I know!

I'll get there!

As soon as I get the bullet casting, lubing, sizing, loading, shooting thing sorted out, I WILL PC!

I have to tell ya, after 50 years of this stuff, I think I'm almost there!;)

Seriously, though, I will (may) someday.

I honestly don't use enough gas checks for the 30 and 35s to justify the tooling, but I'm one of those stubborn ones who refuses to pay the ransom, and I like having as complete control over my supply chain as possible. For the 22 (222 Remington), it's nothing BUT GCs because it's so much easier to get a nicer base by "cheating."

They are also a great commodity when trading skills and time with my brother and a couple friends. I actually traded a friend a pile of GC'd 180 grain 357s for a pile of powder-coated 158 grain 357s.
 

Barn

Active Member
Ace Hardware carries aluminum flashing that is great for making gas checks. Most of my checks are for .30 caliber. For .30 caliber I have had best results with 0.014" thickness. Amerimax 68104 in a roll 4" x 50'. Makes almost 10,000 checks for $20.
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
Ace Hardware carries aluminum flashing that is great for making gas checks. Most of my checks are for .30 caliber. For .30 caliber I have had best results with 0.014" thickness. Amerimax 68104 in a roll 4" x 50'. Makes almost 10,000 checks for $20.

I think I have right about that much n narrow coils, but this is a good resource.

I use .014" for 30 also. I just might buy a roll of that regardless of how much I have on hand. Even if I never make 'checks out of it, it has many uses around the place.

How do you cut your strips?

Thanks.
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
Score it with a utility knife, then just bend it over a couple times and it breaks clean. Or you can score it then tear it off. It might coil or twist up. These are the 2 methods I used when trimming litho plates.
 

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
I will cut a 3' section of of the roll of Amerimax. Run one long side through the check stamper. Use a scissors and cut the waist between the checks as close to the check as possible.
I also have a mark on the top edge of the slot for the aluminum material that gives me uniform spacing between checks. Mostly to minimize lost aluminum.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
I've bent and score-cut a bunch of aluminum on a brake, in addition to rigging a makeshift one up on the bench for small jobs.
I think it'd be worth it to make one up to clamp onto, say Kevin's 3' long piece, by a half-inch wide (or as required), clamp the full length, score, break, repeat. Saves fussy measurring, marking, using a straight-edge.
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
I think that is what I am going to do. I have a few bedframes that work perfect for angle iron projects. I would be able to break off a whole long side of the plates I have and with the flashing.

Headed over to a friends wood working business in Kenosha, Wis in the morning. He has a bunch of older saws and planers he wants to get running so he can see what they need if anything to make them good. He lucked out where his shop is. They have 3-phase so he does not have to have a phase converter. They wanted way too much money to come and hook them up.

Going to try to hit up some of the gun shops to see if I can find some unicorns(primers). I seen a add for a guy today that said he would pay $500 for a 1K brick. I need to start selling some of mine. I have plenty for a while but I am always looking to replace what I am shooting or loading up.