I am going to redo my duct seal putty pellet trap. I am interested in taking out all the old putty, put a new layer of putty, imprint a new 6 x 6 1 inch steel plate (ebay $8.00)
I think the sound of pellet hitting the 1 inch steel plate, with duct seal backing should be minimal, should sound like pellet hitting concrete.
Question: should be steel plate face be flat or at an angle? What angle?
I am interested in producing "beautiful" completely flatten pellet, easily collected at the bottom of the trap. Would flat, no angle, plate create splintering of pellet all over the place? or nicely flatten pellet collectable at the bottom of trap?
pellet trap steel plate angle
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I think you'll need to test for yourself. The plate can be propped at varous angles and tested without putty as this will not change the effect on pellets. But your gun's velocity, weight and type of pellets will all play a role in the outcome. I have a 1/16" steel plate backed with a pound of putty and tilted about 40° forwards and have more putty on the bottom to slow the flattened pellets. The plate is bent slightly in the middle vertically so the pellets tend to stay in the middle. I have to press the putty flat about once every tin as it tends to cut through to the base plywood. I'll probably make a trap with thicker steel sometime to quiet it further but it's not very loud. The pellets are squashed rather flat but not symmetrical.
When I made a four bull pellet trap, I used a flat piece of steel set in a frame of 2X4s flat to the shooter (no putty).
Using a FWB 65 the pellets would splatter and when I was through with the trap they had cut nearly through the 2X4s.
This was one of my early attempts. I soon found that a simple box of rags (not paper) was the quietest and most efficient pellet trap. It need not be very big, and the more you use it the more effective it becomes. When you think it's tired, just throw it away and make another.
Using a FWB 65 the pellets would splatter and when I was through with the trap they had cut nearly through the 2X4s.
This was one of my early attempts. I soon found that a simple box of rags (not paper) was the quietest and most efficient pellet trap. It need not be very big, and the more you use it the more effective it becomes. When you think it's tired, just throw it away and make another.
If you want a flat pellet, try a 12 pound sledge hammer. Should flatten out quite symetrically, and really flat.
Seems like when my pellets het the duct seal they flatten out pretty symetric. No steel plate. Just the duct seal.
At our club our pellet traps are just a box with a sheet metal in back. It seems the pellets are pretty symetric when they hit. Some stick to the metal back. Others harmlessly fall to the bottom of the box. Not sure of what guage metal is being used, but it isn't real thick. We do have a 1/4 pressed board behind the sheet metal to provide stiffness. The pellets are pretty loud when they hit. Of course some guys are still using springer guns at higher velocity. To get best symetry steel should be perpendicular to line of flight.
So why do you want flat symetric pellets. Seems a little odd. The most important part is where the pellet meets the paper target in front.
Seems like when my pellets het the duct seal they flatten out pretty symetric. No steel plate. Just the duct seal.
At our club our pellet traps are just a box with a sheet metal in back. It seems the pellets are pretty symetric when they hit. Some stick to the metal back. Others harmlessly fall to the bottom of the box. Not sure of what guage metal is being used, but it isn't real thick. We do have a 1/4 pressed board behind the sheet metal to provide stiffness. The pellets are pretty loud when they hit. Of course some guys are still using springer guns at higher velocity. To get best symetry steel should be perpendicular to line of flight.
So why do you want flat symetric pellets. Seems a little odd. The most important part is where the pellet meets the paper target in front.
Dumb question, but a very serious question.
If I use a flat steel plate instead of duct seal putty, my flat head pellet hitting the flat 1 inch solid steel plate, what is the likelihood that pellet will carom or ricochet right back at me or bouncing all over, instead of my concept of pellet hitting the steel plate, completely flatten and drop straight down into the bottom of the trap?
The other day, I mixed up my center hold pistol and my sub-six hold pistol, used my center hold pistol to shoot sub-six aim, missed lower, pellet hit the wooden frame and bounced straight at me. It got me to think about the potential danger of redesign my pellet trap with a flat steel plate.
If I use a flat steel plate instead of duct seal putty, my flat head pellet hitting the flat 1 inch solid steel plate, what is the likelihood that pellet will carom or ricochet right back at me or bouncing all over, instead of my concept of pellet hitting the steel plate, completely flatten and drop straight down into the bottom of the trap?
The other day, I mixed up my center hold pistol and my sub-six hold pistol, used my center hold pistol to shoot sub-six aim, missed lower, pellet hit the wooden frame and bounced straight at me. It got me to think about the potential danger of redesign my pellet trap with a flat steel plate.
Wood is a lot springier than steel, but it's best if the steel plate has some"give" to absorb energy. Some examples:
I have a commercial trap with a ~ 1/10" thick plate that is backed by four 2" cubes of foam rubber. The pellets flatten, and mostly fall within an inch of the plate. The trap only has about that much internal space, and occasionally, one will fall outside the trap, but never more than a few inches. Over time, the plate dished out (towards the shooter), so I took the trap apart & reversed it. I replaced the foam on the theory that it might have gotten stiff with age. It didn't really affect the pellet "leakage". Also, the abrupt flattening of the pellets produces lead dust, which is messy, and a bit if a health hazard. I don't think most of it gets airborn, it's small bits that break off the sharp edges when they get flattened.
Gehmann makes metal box traps that have a steel plate backed by a spring. I've never used one, but I suspect it has all the same short comings. Gehmann also has some traps that have the angled plate, but just a trough at the bottom. Again, I've never used one, so I don't know how well they work. Our host sells both flavors, so maybe someone has some experience with them:
http://www.pilkguns.com/buildrange.shtml
At MIT, we use backers that hang on target carrier rods. This prevents bounce-back from the Homosote backstop facing at 50 feet. The backers are very heavy canvas, with a ~ 1/16" stainless steel plate about the size of the scoring rings bolted in the middle. The plate is suspended by the canvas, which soaks up a lot of the energy of the pellets. The thinner metal gets dished much faster than my trap (but is fairly easy to bash flat). The pellets get flattened, and usually land within a few feet of the targets. I'm sure this also produces some dust.
When I was a kid, my dad made a trap by suspending 6 or 8 hanging curtains of overlapping strips of inner tube & blue jean legs. It was in a big wooden box, with a 3/4" plywood back to stop anything that got past the curtains. That was quieter (no clank), and the pellets were almost pristine. Because everything was contained in the box, it was quite a mess to clean out when the curtains got shot up. You had a mix of target chaff, pellets, shredded jeans & little black rubber disks cut out of the inner tubes. However, I doubt there was much lead dust. I have a bunch of Kevlar scraps I got from a boat builder that I think might work well to replace the jeans & inner tube material. This type of trap needs to be deep enough that the curtains can hang freely & not get tangled up. I have limited distance to shoot in, and a deeper trap is an issue for me.
The ideal flat plate-based pellet trap has a physics problem. If you use a stiff enough plate that it doesn't deform over time, it will have enough mass that no matter how you suspend it, it will dump most of the pellets energy into flattening the lead. That will make dust.
The best trap would be a plate of unobtanium, that was very light weight, but incredibly stiff. That way it wouldn't deform, but it's mass would be low enough to move when hit. If that was mounted on something energy absorbing (there are special foams that are very good at that), I think it would work pretty well. Replacing the plate in my trap with titanium might get close.
Without the plate, the pellets go into the backstop material (i.e. ductseal, blue jeans, etc.), which makes the traps more of a mess to clean out. With ductseal, you have pellets slamming into each other, which will make lead dust, although most of it will stick in the material.
Basically, there is no perfect trap that I am aware of. There's an old discussion of this in the archives, and they didn't have an answer either:
http://www.pilkguns.com/arch/arch161.htm
I have a commercial trap with a ~ 1/10" thick plate that is backed by four 2" cubes of foam rubber. The pellets flatten, and mostly fall within an inch of the plate. The trap only has about that much internal space, and occasionally, one will fall outside the trap, but never more than a few inches. Over time, the plate dished out (towards the shooter), so I took the trap apart & reversed it. I replaced the foam on the theory that it might have gotten stiff with age. It didn't really affect the pellet "leakage". Also, the abrupt flattening of the pellets produces lead dust, which is messy, and a bit if a health hazard. I don't think most of it gets airborn, it's small bits that break off the sharp edges when they get flattened.
Gehmann makes metal box traps that have a steel plate backed by a spring. I've never used one, but I suspect it has all the same short comings. Gehmann also has some traps that have the angled plate, but just a trough at the bottom. Again, I've never used one, so I don't know how well they work. Our host sells both flavors, so maybe someone has some experience with them:
http://www.pilkguns.com/buildrange.shtml
At MIT, we use backers that hang on target carrier rods. This prevents bounce-back from the Homosote backstop facing at 50 feet. The backers are very heavy canvas, with a ~ 1/16" stainless steel plate about the size of the scoring rings bolted in the middle. The plate is suspended by the canvas, which soaks up a lot of the energy of the pellets. The thinner metal gets dished much faster than my trap (but is fairly easy to bash flat). The pellets get flattened, and usually land within a few feet of the targets. I'm sure this also produces some dust.
When I was a kid, my dad made a trap by suspending 6 or 8 hanging curtains of overlapping strips of inner tube & blue jean legs. It was in a big wooden box, with a 3/4" plywood back to stop anything that got past the curtains. That was quieter (no clank), and the pellets were almost pristine. Because everything was contained in the box, it was quite a mess to clean out when the curtains got shot up. You had a mix of target chaff, pellets, shredded jeans & little black rubber disks cut out of the inner tubes. However, I doubt there was much lead dust. I have a bunch of Kevlar scraps I got from a boat builder that I think might work well to replace the jeans & inner tube material. This type of trap needs to be deep enough that the curtains can hang freely & not get tangled up. I have limited distance to shoot in, and a deeper trap is an issue for me.
The ideal flat plate-based pellet trap has a physics problem. If you use a stiff enough plate that it doesn't deform over time, it will have enough mass that no matter how you suspend it, it will dump most of the pellets energy into flattening the lead. That will make dust.
The best trap would be a plate of unobtanium, that was very light weight, but incredibly stiff. That way it wouldn't deform, but it's mass would be low enough to move when hit. If that was mounted on something energy absorbing (there are special foams that are very good at that), I think it would work pretty well. Replacing the plate in my trap with titanium might get close.
Without the plate, the pellets go into the backstop material (i.e. ductseal, blue jeans, etc.), which makes the traps more of a mess to clean out. With ductseal, you have pellets slamming into each other, which will make lead dust, although most of it will stick in the material.
Basically, there is no perfect trap that I am aware of. There's an old discussion of this in the archives, and they didn't have an answer either:
http://www.pilkguns.com/arch/arch161.htm
Lots of options
I recently tried rags in my target box ahead of the existing putty. I have to say the rags worked well. Just put a bundle of shop rags in a plastic bag. Not to dense but not to loose.
No lead nugget buildup, easier to collect pellets for recycling than prying out the nugget. No occasional pellet bouncing back off the lead nugget. Lower cost than the putty. Just take a few minutes to put the rags back into a new plastic bag when the bags gets shot up. Little more time required sweeping up of intact lead pellets when I cleaned out the box than the putty. Overall rags win.
Now I have an outside box that gets rained on. I am leaving the putty in as it is pretty weather proof and I dont care about lead bits from pellets striking the lead nugget build up. Putty is better here.
No lead nugget buildup, easier to collect pellets for recycling than prying out the nugget. No occasional pellet bouncing back off the lead nugget. Lower cost than the putty. Just take a few minutes to put the rags back into a new plastic bag when the bags gets shot up. Little more time required sweeping up of intact lead pellets when I cleaned out the box than the putty. Overall rags win.
Now I have an outside box that gets rained on. I am leaving the putty in as it is pretty weather proof and I dont care about lead bits from pellets striking the lead nugget build up. Putty is better here.
trap back
Hi
I use the very thing you are shooting ( LEAD) i just collected up all used pellets at my club ,made a 150mm sq mold from scrap timber ,melted up the used pellets and its done :150mm sq,10mm thick lead plate .You could also use a metal camping dinner plate as a mold
No noise or bounce back what so ever and the pellets you fire, stick to the lead plate and build up . after a while just peal the pellets off and reuse for casting .
See pics cheers S
I use the very thing you are shooting ( LEAD) i just collected up all used pellets at my club ,made a 150mm sq mold from scrap timber ,melted up the used pellets and its done :150mm sq,10mm thick lead plate .You could also use a metal camping dinner plate as a mold
No noise or bounce back what so ever and the pellets you fire, stick to the lead plate and build up . after a while just peal the pellets off and reuse for casting .
See pics cheers S
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What is the temperature required to melt lead? Does it give off much "gas"?
How long does it take melt your lead pellets into a lead plate?
Do you melt pellets all at once? or melt some, add some, melt more, add more? This kind of remind me of Mel Gibson in movie Patriot, when he melt, poured, and cringed his own musket lead ball.
Lead on lead for trap, that's a pretty good idea. Just wondering any place to buy thick lead plate, instead of melting my own?
How long does it take melt your lead pellets into a lead plate?
Do you melt pellets all at once? or melt some, add some, melt more, add more? This kind of remind me of Mel Gibson in movie Patriot, when he melt, poured, and cringed his own musket lead ball.
Lead on lead for trap, that's a pretty good idea. Just wondering any place to buy thick lead plate, instead of melting my own?
http://www.nuclead.com/clsheet.html
I am going to give them a call for a 9 inch x 9 inch 1/4 inch thick lead plate.
I am going to give them a call for a 9 inch x 9 inch 1/4 inch thick lead plate.
You can actually buy lead sheet at a lot of building supply places. It's used for flashing around chimneys & the like. Depending on where you get it, it runs about 1/16" thick, which might be OK if it had a steel backer, or would probably work if folded double.
Home Depot sells it, but theirs is a bit thinner. A masonry supply house would probably have the heavier stuff.
Interesting idea!
Home Depot sells it, but theirs is a bit thinner. A masonry supply house would probably have the heavier stuff.
Interesting idea!
Pellet Trap
I converted a RubberMaid Totebin into a backstop. I cut a hole in the cover which is slightly smaller than the 12-bull AR target, and inside I used a dozen felt sandbags (without sand, obtained from a construction supply company I used to work for) which are loosely arranged inside as others have described with a bundle of rags. The pellets hit the felt, and most of the energy is absorbed without any tearing. The pellets then fall to the bottom of the bin, no dust, no splashback, no mess at all. I attached a hook to the back of the Totebin to hang it on a wall (it is 8" deep), and the cover has a bulldog clip bolted onto it to hang targets. A small electric lamp attached to base is pointed up to illuminate the target. Cheap and portable, can be hung anyplace you can put a picture hanger... the whole deal does not weigh 10 pounds.
After a while the forward-most of the felt bags starts to shread a bit, just move it to the back of the stack and keep shooting.
Hold Center,
dw
After a while the forward-most of the felt bags starts to shread a bit, just move it to the back of the stack and keep shooting.
Hold Center,
dw
www.nuclead.com
They also carry plywood with lead impregnated. They are used for sound proofing. One of the most effective way for sound proofing.
One can use the plywood with lead wall, trap with a lead plate backer. Now that could be a very quiet and clean pellet trap.
http://www.nuclead.com/soundproofing.html
They also carry plywood with lead impregnated. They are used for sound proofing. One of the most effective way for sound proofing.
One can use the plywood with lead wall, trap with a lead plate backer. Now that could be a very quiet and clean pellet trap.
http://www.nuclead.com/soundproofing.html
Hi lead melts around 450 ? yes i melt all pellets at once takes about 20 minutes , i have a lee melter for casting projectiles but any thing will do , yes it will give off gas/fumes (melt lead out side) . You can buy lead flashing on a roll, not cheap, but i have lots off old pellets and scrap bits of lead , There is plenty of lead for sale on ebay in the USA,seamaster wrote:What is the temperature required to melt lead? Does it give off much "gas"?
How long does it take melt your lead pellets into a lead plate?
Do you melt pellets all at once? or melt some, add some, melt more, add more? This kind of remind me of Mel Gibson in movie Patriot, when he melt, poured, and cringed his own musket lead ball.
Lead on lead for trap, that's a pretty good idea. Just wondering any place to buy thick lead plate, instead of melting my own?
cheers S
p.s if you are going to melt lead use safety glasses and gloves , have a look on utube for ideas and hints , you could even just melt up the pellets in there old tins then let it cool back down and stick the whole thing onto a peice of backung wood