Punching out Wool Felt Wads

I did these the other day, Mostly .45, and about 200 .54 Cal

Buying Bulk 1/8” Wool Felt from Durofelt is the ONLY way to go when you shoot as much as i do, I buy their Closeout stuff

Link to Durofelt
http://www.durofelt.com/products.html

How do you sharpen those round blades?

George_Kelley wrote:How do you sharpen those round blades?

So far I haven’t had to, I use a Clean Teflon Backing

Now you soak them in lube. What is your lube of choice? <edit> I posted before I thought to ask... do you lube before you punch them out? Is that easier, or does it really matter?

i had to sharpen my 1 1/4 inch  punch.
i took a flat washer that fit into the cone and a bolt that would chuck into my drill press. put a nut on the out side of the cone and one on the inside and cinched them tight.
chucked in the drill press i used a fine half round file to get the divit out of the cutting edge, then used a stone to really sharpen it.
now i really watch what i use as a base. wife has been wondering what happened to her teflon cutting board!

Mark Goostree wrote:Now you soak them in lube. What is your lube of choice? <edit>  I posted before I thought to ask... do you lube before you punch them out? Is that easier, or does it really matter?

I lube mine after i punch them out, I use Stihl HP Ultra Full Synthetic 2 Stroke engine oil as Lube

deerstalkert wrote:i had to sharpen my 1 1/4 inch  punch.
i took a flat washer that fit into the cone and a bolt that would chuck into my drill press. put a nut on the out side of the cone and one on the inside and cinched them tight.
chucked in the drill press i used a fine half round file to get the divit out of the cutting edge, then used a stone to really sharpen it.
now i really watch what i use as a base. wife has been wondering what happened to her teflon cutting board!

I didn’t risk using my Wife’s cutting board, I bought mine at Buffalo Arms

i have lived here for 30 years and never been to Buffalo Arms! of course i only go to sandpoint 2 times a year on average. Heck i only go to BF once or twice a month.
i need some .32 cal balls so am planning a raid on Buffalo Arms soon.

wish i hadn't seen that link for the felt. i am soooo weak!

deerstalkert wrote:i had to sharpen my 1 1/4 inch  punch.
i took a flat washer that fit into the cone and a bolt that would chuck into my drill press. put a nut on the out side of the cone and one on the inside and cinched them tight.
chucked in the drill press i used a fine half round file to get the divit out of the cutting edge, then used a stone to really sharpen it.
now i really watch what i use as a base. wife has been wondering what happened to her teflon cutting board!

I am just not visualizing. Could you produce a video on YouTube to demonstrate?

George, if i can wake up enough today i will. i just woke up after sleeping 12 hours straight!
i haven't slept more than 4 hours in a stretch in 40 years. wife thought i had died.
the youtube part may be beyond me though. did it once and it was ok but haven't done it again.
will try. or post step by step pictures here. that i can manage.
need another cuppa first. and maybe breakfast/lunch.
do you want the part where the wife finds her cutting board ?

using a drill press gives you two hands to control the tools. as you can see in one pic it also doubles my chance of injury.  

Thanks much!

you bet. of course it only works with this type of punch. i bought a set on Amazon for like 18.00

Looks good @deerstalkert I do the same thing for Patch Roundball material, I have a few Hole Saws that i ground down and turned them in to Patch Cutters

Here they are

never thought of that but i have a few i could convert!

deerstalkert wrote:never thought of that but i have a few i could convert!

They work really well, I use the Same Teflon cutting board as Backing

That is one of the slickest ideas I've ever seen for patch cutting!

Using a 54 caliber over powder wool patch in a 50 caliber. With a oversized patch, what size cutting dye would you guys suggest? would 9/16 die work fine ?I would be using it for hunting. so it would sit on powder for extended time so I would be using it unlubed could you please share a link for the die that you suggest for this application or point me in the right direction

Waters wrote:Using a 54 caliber over powder wool patch in a 50 caliber. With a oversized patch, what size cutting dye would you guys suggest? would 9/16 die work fine ?I would be using it for hunting. so it would sit on powder for extended time so I would be using it  unlubed could you please share a link for the die that you suggest for this application or point me in the right direction

9/16 is to Big, I use 9/16 in my .54 Cals. For .50 Cals I use a 13MM Punch which equals .511-.512

Thanks lew

I got my MM Punches From Ebay, There were lot’s of options back then, I haven’t looked lately? Most are cheap Chinese made Punches

Here is another option, and these are VERY High Quality punches, I have the .45 Rifle and .50 Cal, The .50 Cal is .512 Which is ideal
https://www.buffaloarms.com/510-hammer-struck-wad-punch-50rifle.html

Here is another important item that goes with Punching out your own Wads, I ruined a Nice .45 Cal Punch by using a piece of Hardwood, I hit a Knot and Destroyed the Edge. I went to one of these BACO Punch boards and everything is Perfect, Smooth sailing now

I have punched out a Few Thousand Wads and this cutting board stil looks new, These are really good

https://www.buffaloarms.com/wad-punch-cutting-pad-pad.html

Lew, I know the 45's are about .451-.452 in diameter I assume the .460 diameter wide enough? I never measured the 50cal Felt Wads. Guess I should have done that before asking you?

Those felt wads are the same diameter as the barrel? Sorry for the dumb question, but this is all very new to me. Do the felt wads serve the same purpose as using wasp hive material?