Wierd idea on powder dipping.

[WestKentucky]

I typically use dippers for handgun loading except for 44mag hunting rounds. I have lots of brass in all calibers I reload so, I thought about taking one of those empties and cutting it down to as close as I can get for powder measuring purposes and soldering on a length of clothes hanger as a handle. Voila...custom powder dipper that is already marked by the head stamp of what caliber to use it for. Sounds easy enough. Why not do this?

 

[plmitch]

People have been doing this for years, keep it going.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

plenty of folks do exactly what you're describing

 

[GLOOB]

Why not do this?

Because it's a darn huge PITA to test and calibrate a dipper that doesn't have a handle. (At least for me... I don't tap/settle or level the dipper when I load, so I have to measure how it performs under actual conditions.) And once you solder a handle onto it, it is no longer as easy to trim and outside chamfer, especially. And it's much harder to make longer, again. Plus, making and soldering on a handle takes much longer than trimming a case. Might as well do it only once.

Try this:
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv241/gloob27x/DSCF5403_zps64d674ca.jpg

The top one is made for holding cut down 1/4" brass tubing, for my smaller pistol loads.

The bottom one holds any case from 380, 9mm, 223, 357, 7.62x39, and probably others. (Those are all the cases I have made dippers with, so far!) The wire holds the case by the rim, but on some of the longer/thicker rifle cases, it might be possible to cut a groove in the middle of the case by spinning the case in a Zip Trim chuck while touching the case with a Dremel, sorta like how I make the brass tubing dippers.

 

[clearcut]

the kit is around $15 $16 but making your own stuff is way more fun.if you make a full set in cc values you can use the powder charts that you can download from Lee's web site.

CC

 

[WestKentucky]

Guess it isn't so wierd. Now I need to find a way to neck down the dipper a bit and avoid the need for a funnel

 

[GLOOB]

Try using a 9mm case for 44 magnum. I'm sure you can find a few you can spare. 38/357 or 223 will work, too.

 

[45lcshooter]

Ive seen a bunch of guys doing this. pretty neat idea, until you have same caliber and different loads and different powders for it. I reload for 20ish calibers and 12 different powders, I would have a lot of cut up cases for all my recipes. Ill stick with Lee dippers for now, but this is a really great idea for a person who is using a specific powder in a specific caliber.

 

[dagger dog]

You can make 'em mild or wild, the adjustable is made with a S&W 40, 7MM mag, o-ring brass wood and machine screws, the wing nut is from a hollow wall anchor, a piece of left over brow tine, I have added a spring which is not in the photo.

 

[Lee Roder]

Next thing you know, somebody will come up with the idea of replacing your whole collection of dippers with a single "adjustable" dipper!

 

[floydster]

I have been making custom dippers since 1967
Wierd---hardly

 

[FROGO207]

SO instead of trimming your brass excessively you can fill the brass with the charge and observe how much space is left. Dump it out, solder a handle on, and drip some epoxy in it equaling that approximate amount of space left unused and let it cure. Dip a charge and weigh it. If the charge is more than wanted add some epoxy and try again. If it is too little charge use a drill closely matching the ID of the brass and working by hand, remove some of the filler and try again. Adjust weight until happy. Label on the handle with the propellant, caliber, and bullet weight/OAL and you are done. I use up to 500 S&W brass for dippers. If you need more than what a dipper will hold use TWO scoops but label accordingly. Good use for your split wall or otherwise mangled pistol brass after it is trimmed below the split/problem.

 

[243winxb]

Powder & shot Dippers

Homemade dippers work ok. Black powder & shot are 2 of them.

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[witchhunter]

A set of dippers used to be like ten bucks, pick one that is a little too big and fill it with glue until it scoops up the right weight. mark it and keep it in your die box. You can file the top of any brass to make it hold what you want then solder a handle on it.

 

[John3921]

I soldered .223 cases on the sides of my 'dippers' and then drilled out a piece of dowel to slip over the .223 cases. My dippers were trimmed to drop a hair light and then I use a trickier to dial in the load. I only do this for rifle loads: .300 win mag, .25-06, .270, .45-70.

A dremel tool and a cut-off wheel works wonders for trimming. Clean it up with a file and a burr.

 

[John C]

Dig through the recycled brass bin at the range and get a .25 acp, a .32 acp, .32 long, .380, 9mm, etc cases and make a set of dippers. That should cover the range and avoid the need to trim too much.

 

[buck460XVR]

I do this for when I use TrailBoss. Found in revolvers, 90-95% of case capacity is my best loads. Take the desired bullet and use it to find 100% case capacity on a empty case and make a mark just below this point. Put the case on a case trimmer till mark is gone. Little bit of copper wire and some solder and you're done.

 

[dickttx]

" Voila...custom powder dipper that is already marked by the head stamp of what caliber to use it for."

This was the OP's original question. As others have said, it has been done for years.

 

[cactus02]

My first dipper for 9m/m was a 32 auto case soldered to a #12 screw. With the threads i was able to vibrate the rod over the can top to get consistant charges.

 

[horseman1]

How do these dippers work with with extruded powders? Getting tired of the crunch in my powder measure. I was about to make one for one of my pet loads in 223 and IMR 4895, but wanted to know your experience with extruded powders before I go ahead.

 

[FROGO207]

With a little experimentation you can find a cavity size that will dip the correct charge. The Lee kit and the slide rule volume table get me near with most any propellant. Just need to tweak it a bit. The biggest thing for consistency is dipping the SAME EXACT WAY every time. Like slide the scoop into the propellant backwards then lift out, tap on the rim of container and dump in scale pan or casing.

 

[Hondo 60]

Somewhere along the way, I saw a photo of a cartridge with a piece of a wire hanger soldered to it.

It looked like it worked fine.

 

[hartcreek]

I have used dippers. Lee makes a set that you can buy cheep but I would rather use a powder measure as it is MUCH faster.

 

[GLOOB]

How do these dippers work with with extruded powders? Getting tired of the crunch in my powder measure. I was about to make one for one of my pet loads in 223 and IMR 4895, but wanted to know your experience with extruded powders before I go ahead.

About as good as a powder measure. Varget was +- 0.3-4 or so when i was throwing 24 grain charges out of a 357 case.

If you don't like the crunch, you might also try a Lee PPM. There's a rubber insert in there. Instead of cutting those last few kernels, the rubber holds onto them for the next drop.

 

[SuperNaut]

I love dippers, DIY