Standing tall bullets for PC

Will

Well-Known Member
Maybe I’m just not a steady hand but recently I’ve had a time trying to stand 30 cal bullets for PCing. I never can make it to the oven with a tray before stuff starts falling over.
Does anyone have a solution for this? I plan to shoot these at higher velocities so I want to the coating very uniform.
I have seen some use silicone ice trays but I’m still not sure if it leaves spots from contact on the sides on the bullet.
Let me know what’s working for you.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Will
If you can find yourself a perforated plate That would allow you to set the bullets in nose first the bad marks would be on the ogive...If you are lucky like me the metal perf area doesn't touch my rifling nor my chamber!

When you get older you tend to shake more! I have used plastic bullet trays in the past to set my bullets on the silicon sheet Like nice little soldiers ! however recently I can't lift the darn plastic holders off the 50 bullets with out tipping over the whole mess! because I shake at the last moment!
 

Will

Well-Known Member
I’m only 34 but I’m already developing arthritis in my hands pretty badly. Can’t seem not to be shaky when I’m handling a tray of bullets.
I may try some type of a perforated sheet.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
In my job ( Commercial Photographer 47 years) I have accumulated a lot of junk! I had two big clients in the past that were companies that perforated metal! So I had a good bunch of samples of their products! Never realized that it would pay off in my later hobbies!
Stainless steel aluminum etc all types of perf! So I finally repurposed them for PC coating!
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
plastic spacer from a box of cartridges..put the bullets in point first. Put the Tray on top turn the tray and bullets and spacer right sideup and place in oven....carefully lift tray off the stacked and aligned bullets.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
45cal spacer with the bottom of the hole ground off. Pick up nose first with hemostats, drop in hole. Fill tray and pick up the spacer. I use a steel plate, NSAF covered, get 100 per tray. I cook on a hotplate with a ceramic tile on it. Set to high and leave for 1/2 to 1 hr depending if I WD. I cover with a plastic baking dish from her. Use 2 pliers to move off the hotplate to cool.IMG_0007.JPG
I did use the perf. plate when I was ESPC & using oven. This is MUCH easier!
 

Ian

Notorious member
Will, you could stand them up with pliers or hemostats on the tray IN the oven.
 

Ole_270

Well-Known Member
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fiver

Well-Known Member
I drop them point down on a piece of 1/4" hardware cloth I opened the holes on with a punch.
zero dollar cost option.
I'd have probably bent and drilled a piece of sheet metal to fit one of my baking sheets if I didn't have the screen on hand.
 

Will

Well-Known Member
I use silicone mini ice cube trays for 25 and 30 cal boolets. Square holes that fit pretty well. Run them through the oven one cycle empty to burn off the release agent on them when new.

I powder coat and place in the tray, then put the whole thing in the oven on the normal metal tray. works real well.

Do these trays leave any marks where the silicone contacts the bullet?
 

Ole_270

Well-Known Member
I didn't notice any, been several months since I ran any of them. I was expecting to see fins on the bases when the paint flowed down the shanks but they looked good.
 

Reloader762

Active Member
My old toaster oven came with a tray which is both flat and stiff so it want flex when heated, I also have a cake pan as well as a 8" x 8" stone tile that I cover with either non-stick foil or place a sheet of parchment on for curing bullet, point is all are a stable surfaces for setting tall bullets on. I stand all my bullets up on their bases.

I always place my trays or whatever I'm using next to my oven, that way I don't have to move them far. Secondly, I make sure especially that all my tall bullets have flat bases, it's hard to get them to stand up without wobbling if there are not and your gas check are not going to seat flush to begin with. I recently started gas checking before coating and that even makes it much easier. I've never experienced any fins or flashing on the base of the bullets standing them up after using the TL process an good quality powders.

Some Lee 170 gr. FN bullets in the oven.
dHeKEw1.jpg

bDEHeV0.jpg
 
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358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
After knocking a few bullets over while trying to set the factory trays in the oven, I finally called my local metal shop and ordered a couple of flat pieces of 5/16 (IIRC) flat steel, sized to fit in the tracks of my oven. I think I'll order the same pieces in aluminum too get the weight down a bit. The steel trays do cool the oven down a bit when I first put them in but I don't start the timer until the bullet first start to "gloss" anyway so it doesn't really make much difference. And as I mentioned before, I have silicone baking mats on my trays instead of non-stick foil. So far, so good!
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
30 cal and up bullets are not to difficult to stand on their bases , however for instance , trying to stand powder coated NOE 105 gr .243 bullets up like that is aggravating
When I first stated PC'ing i did it with some success but now I just shake too much and always at the wrong time :embarrassed:
A few years ago I was also able to put 50 bullets nose down in a cartridge tray then place my oven tray onto it and flip it!
The insert in the oven and lift the plastic tray up and had 50 standing bullets! Can't do that anymore! as soon as I almost clear the standing bullets I shake........ and they all fall.....frustrating!
 

Ian

Notorious member
Standing 80 Lee 309-230-5R boat tail bullets on a tray and getting them into the oven is a bit of a challenge but doable if your system of transferring is stable and non-jarring. My oven's tray guides have a gap in the middle and can bump the rack as I slide it in but knowing it is there I can work carefully past it.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I’ve sometimes used this rack that I made, out of several cardboard plates glued together. Punch a bunch of appropriately sized holes. Place rack on your baking plate. Drop coated bullets in holes. Insert plate into oven, and lift the rack by carefully placed strings on each side, where you make certain the rack is in balance when you grab the knots.

@Reloader762 ; your powder coated bullets actually looks a lot like mine does..... in my dreams :)

FCB56B18-009E-4D09-B236-B41D20ECAAB4.jpeg
 

Reloader762

Active Member
@Spindrift I only have to move my tray about a foot. I've spent all my life working in the printing industry, half of that was stripping an splicing film on a light table an all of the duties that go along with that so my hands have always been steady and at 61 years young they are still just as steady.

The rack in my toaster over is nice an flat, no bumps as well as fairly slick so once I get the tray started in it just takes a nice slow push to get in in far enough to close the door. I probably take more time than most would with how I do my PC but it's my hobby and when I'm enjoying my hobby time is the least thing I'm thinking about.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
He rotates it 90° clockwise for baking. That is merely the loading position, by defying gravity he prevents dings and such on the bullets.

Quite a novel approach really. I forsee Ian posting soon about his redneck gravity defying device made from defunct car parts and a few odds and ends he had kicking around.