Reloading .. but a little different

[Fyodor]

Hi forum,

Earlier that month I finally got around to make some loads for a short right I bought over seven years ago. A percussion Sharps carbine in .54 cal.

I went with a historically accurate design, a linen cartridge.

After I did a few tests with aquarium sand instead of actual powder to find the correct diameter and length, I made a few samples as follows:

The linen was soaked in a mixture of 30% Archaeocoll (a nitrocellulose based glue) and 70% acetone. When completely dry, I cut pieces of 50 x 24 mm. The linen was tightly rolled around a 3D printed mandrel, the end glued with the same mixture as above. On one side I glued in a piece of end paper I got from a barber shop supplies store. After filling in the powder, I applied glue to the heel of the bullet, and firmly pressed it onto the cartridge, slightly compressing the powder.

The finished cartridges looked very nice, worked fine and were accurate within my abilities.

But...

I forgot the lube. The gun was terrible to clean.

Also it nearly seized up after two rounds.

Two cartridges burned nearly completely, and the smoldering remains of the linen were blown out the barrel. All others remained in the chamber and were so well preserved I could have reloaded them.

It was fun to make them, fun to shoot them, and I think I'm close to what I want. Now I need to remember to lube the bullets and find out why most didn't burn up.

[RBHarter]

I have not made cartridges for the Chessipot . I have dedicated many hours to the study of the cartridge. In the Technical process of the nominal paper cartridge there was no mention of nitrated paper or fabric. Nitrated glue was used . Most used an over powder card , wad card , lube cookie , over powder card or lube filled bullet base with a paper patched either solid or Minie' bullet . As far as fabric used the original 1866/71 cartridges were in a silk case tied over the ogive or in the top groove. The sock was not intended to burn up but the carry all of the ash , most of the fouling , and the primer debris out with the bullet . Also the paper patched bullets did a fair job of removing powder fouling .

If not 100% cotton or other cellulose organic fabric it may well be sufficiently fire resistant to not burn even saturated and dried .

At the risk of flagging myself again bamboo or cotton maybe even hemp saturated in nitric acid and dried is essentially what was once known as gun cotton. A slow but very spikey smokeless powder . When used as a cartridge case or other device included as part of the charge it had a negligible effect.

The Chessipot used a complete primed paper cartridge and was very similar to the Dryse needle fire .

[Fyodor]

Thanks for this information.

The Chassepot is also very interesting, and faced similar problems with the cartridges as the Sharps.

The design I used was a historically accurate design. I do not know about wads, and I'm sure I do not have the original bullet. But the construction with linen soaked in Collodium (the Archäocoll glue I used is chemically very similar, an nitrocellulose glue) is accurate. Only the first cartridges were paper with a tail that got cut off by the breechblock. They soon found out that the powder from the cutoff can accumulate under the front stock, and can ignite there, exploding the stock in the users hands. They soon switched to linen cartridges that were not cut off. That's the design I copied.

When people talk about nitriting paper, they usually mean soaking it in potassium nitrate and letting it dry. This will not only not help, because it isn't a nitration, it will actually make combustion worse. Real nitrated paper can hardly be made over here, because all the chemicals are restricted. You can buy it, in a magic supply store as flash paper. Problem: it is stored wet, and only to be dried immediately before use, because it can and will combust spontaneously.

I remember that the two or three cartridges that burnt up and were discharged through the muzzle felt like they had heavier recoil. The glue I use is nitrocellulose. Maybe I used too little? I have already soaked some linen with much more glue. I will also make one batch as before, and one batch with the smallest amount I can make. Then I'll see which burns best.

[Fyodor]

Just have made some more cartridges for testing:
- linen as before, as thw control group
- linen, but tripple treated with the glue
- "Butterbrotpapier" (literally: paper for wrapping buttered bread, a kind of very thin but strong greaseproof paper), not treated with glue
- Butterbrotpapier, treated on both sides with glue

I will test and report, if you are interested in this non metallic cartridge loading.

[RBHarter]

It is some what different.

Hair curling papers are often used for the paper cartridges used in C&B pistols . I don't think so hey burn up ...

It's been too long since I was digging around in the Chessipot..