The perils of old Duco cement

[Jeff Mayhew]

I loaded up some more short 10s with black powder the other day for a shooting expedition last Friday. Was using Duco cement to fasten the overshot card, something I've done many times in the past with good success. This time, however, I noticed that the cement was thinner than I recalled; it was an old bottle. As a consequence I added extra. When we finally found fresh bottles at a hardware store, I confirmed that the "fresh stuff" was much thicker--but there was no room to reinforce the shells I had already made.

So, out on the range, with paranoia I loaded two shells into the sawed-off Parker, but only fired the right barrel. As I lowered the gun, the pellets from the left barrel dribbled out of the muzzle. Whoops. If I'd fired the second barrel, it could have been unpleasant for both the gun and the operator.

If you load your own full-length brass BP shells, be careful and make sure the overshot cards are fastened securely! And don't use old Duco cement!

As a side note, here's a graphic I did some time ago illustrating the "guts" of a brass BP shotshell (based on RMC brass):

[Richard Flanders]

All my old tubed Duco cement got harder with age and wouldn't stick as well and finally just wouldn't come out of the tube.

[Jeff Mayhew]

Originally Posted by Richard Flanders

All my old tubed Duco cement got harder with age and wouldn't stick as well and finally just wouldn't come out of the tube.

Apparently they've changed the formula. Used to get thicker, now it gets thinner. I use the stuff in the bottle, not the tube.

Somewhere I have a bottle of sodium silicate or "water glass," which is the traditional sealant for brass shot shells. I'll give it a try and report back. Somebody cautioned against using it, since it's used to disable "cash for clunkers" engines--but I think the engine destruction isn't from abrasive qualities, but rather its ability to transition from liquid to solid quickly (you substitute it for the oil in the engine). Basically it destroys the bearings, etc. through binding and jamming. In a shotshell it will just break up and blow away.

Barring a miracle sealant, I'll start thinning my cushion wads a bit to make room for more sealant at the top of the shell.