I figured out the EZ Wad

[Little Tex]

I purchased the 1/8" thick wool felt material per a previous post.  Cats meow.

take a spent 45-70 case.  grind down the rim and drill out the primer pocket with a 3/16" or so drill bit.

Chuck the case in your drill press.  put a light file on the outside edge to taper it just a bit to sharpen.

Score the very bottom edge of the case with a file in 3 or 5 places.  not too much, just bit.

clamp a piece of soft wood on your drill press, centered under the drill chuck.

Start making wads.  Cuts like butter and the perfect size for 44 cal.

Once you drill 10 wads, take the case out of the drill press and push them on through.... repeat.  I made 100 wads in about 5 minutes.

Now.  for what to coat the wad with.

Blue Goo Cracked Heel foot softener from Walmart.  about $3 for a 2 oz jar.  Its about 50% Emu oil and 50% beeswax

Melt it down and add about 25% paraffin.

Dip your wads into the hot elixir ( I found just dipping them while holding them with a tweezer goes real fast) and put onto a sheet of aluminum foil to dry.  I also tried just dumping a bunch of wads in the elixir and pulling them out.  works just fine but they are not as pretty.

Now, I am sure one can play with the qtys to suite your own personal taste....

Of course I am not sure if any cowboy worth his weight in mutton tallow would use emu oil, but since I am just Little Tex instead of Big Tex I figured it would be ok.

enjoy.

[Gatofeo]

Emu oil!
I am delighted by the variety of what shooters try. Never thought of Emu oil.
Must be tough to milk those big ol' birds, requiring an unusually tall tool, I suspect. 
I've used turkey and chicken tallow experimentally but both are quite soft, almost liquid, and I found common lard to be easier to use and obtain.
Emu oil. Hmmmm ... might just work fine.

I recently read online that Robert E. Lee's 1851 Colt Navy had been loaded since the Civil War. A few years after his 1870 death, it was fired. All charges fired. What I found interesting was that the projectiles (ball or conical, I don't know) were covered with a dark, tarry substance. I suspect it was dried-out beeswax, or perhaps some kind of petroleum product akin to asphalt. Petroleum tar occurs in nature and would have been available during the Civil War.
If what I read is true (internet postings are often suspect), it would be interesting to learn what lubricant covered those projectiles. When Colt's contractors made paper cartridges, they sometimes dipped the bullet in melted beeswax before placing the cartridges in their little, wooden boxes.
This beeswax on the bullet provided lubrication and added sealant to keep moisture out of the chamber's powder.

Hmmmmm ... Emu oil. Tall stools. Hmmmmmmm ... 

[Little Tex]

So.....  I got tired of emptying out my 45-70 "punch" so I let it fill up.

woo hoo.  Laziness paid off.

After the brass fills up, it cuts through the felt and leaves the wad "in the hole". After you punch 25 or so, you just push them out.

My wife just does not understand how cool this is.

[AtlLaw]

Chuck the case in your drill press.

How do you do this?    My press's chuck won't open enough to take a 45-70 case...

Score the very bottom edge of the case with a file in 3 or 5 places.

The mouth of the case?  Why?

I tell ya, I'm looking for an easier method of making wads!  It takes a lot to punch them out with a hammer and punch!   

[Little Tex]

My drill press will take up to a 1/2" diameter drill bit.  Yiou may need a bigger press.  If you had a hand drill that took up to 1/2", I bet that would work fine.

When you score the mouth of the case, it creates little "saw blades" that cut through the felt a little easier.  It works ok without the scores, but a bit better with.

[Little Tex]

added a movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N99zgiCOICU

[AtlLaw]

Well that's just slicker then owl crap on ice cream!     I really don't like punching out wads.   

Ima gonna think on this for a bit...    where there's a will there's a way!    

[Pat/Rick]

 I'm gonna have to give that one a try! Adding parafin is because the emu/bees concoction a bit on the creamy side? Similar to crisco or is it stiffer? Yep, gonna have to try that one. Just might make a good lube for the rifles as well.  Might even make my heels velvety smooth......did I just type that out loud!?       

Little Tex, Thanks for the R&D along with the video.

[Little Tex]

just figured out the next step on wads.  instead of dipping... I have  a small metal can I put all the "wad goo" into.  put the can in a 8x12 disposable aluminum pan.... one you would buy at the grocery store.  put can of unmelted goo and the disposable aluminum pan in oven at 250F until all the "goo" is melted.  remove from oven.  pour into the aluminum 8x12 pan.  fold in in wad blanks and stir around.  put back in oven until hot.  stir some more.  the wads come out PERFECT.  if your wads are have too much wad goo on them, add some more wads blanks.  put back int he oven and stir some more.  when you get the correct consistency, pour out wads on  to a piece of aluminum foil and spread out to cool.  I think I made about 400  wads with one batch of goo.

[OldH&R156er]

I wanted to say thanks for the idea of using an empty brass Little Tex.

I had been looking for something to cut the wads for my .44's, I found a leather punch to use for my Petersoli 12ga wads at 3/4" but all I could find in a leather punch near what I needed for the .44's was a 1/2" and I felt it would cut them way too big.

I had some odd 300 Win mag brass left over and no longer have the gun.
I knew the brass was near .500 on the outside, actually it was .495.
After drilling out the primmer, cutting the neck off and cleaning up the cut end I discovered it was exactly .460.
I then cross cut 4 notches on the cut end for teath.

Perfect I thought!

I tried it on my drill press and cut 50 wads in about 10 min.

After heating and mixing them in my home brew and letting them cool, the wads fit the cylinder of my Pietta 1858 perfectly!

Thanks again!
Ken.

[gcrank1]

I knew I saved those two old balloon head cases that pulled the heads off when resizing for a reason.
BTW, you can buy upgrade drill chucks to a larger size from Grizzly to fit any spindle.

[Little Tex]

If you have a smaller drill chuck, I betcha you can drill out the primer pocket, but a bolt in it with a two nuts on the inside and two nuts on the outside... cut off the bolt head and install in smaller chuck.  it may wobble a bit but i bet it would work just fine.