[Marshall Stanton]

Marty,

The grease in the lapping compound most assurredly will deactivate powder when there is exposure to the powder/primer.

A couple of solutions is to make sure that your loaded lapping rounds remain in an upright position after assembly, and if you are anticipating a prolonged period between the time of loading and firing, try inserting a very small piece of wax paper folded over once or twice to slightly over case diameter of your cartridge, then inserting it directly over the powder charge to protect from possible contamination from the lapping compound.  It will act as a barrier, and yet won't leave any unwanted residue in your barrel when firing.  Even with this inserted in the load, make sure that you keep those lapping loads in an upright position during storage and transit for best reliability.

Let us know how you progress on the project!

God Bless,

Marshall

 

[Marshall Stanton]

Marty,

The front driving band of the bullet, the one that is typically ahead of the crimping groove, when wiped lightly with a paper towel, should be a dark grey to charcoal color with the embedded lapping compound.  If not, roll, roll, roll your bullet!  Often times I spend at least three to five minutes per bullet rolling them between the lap plates.   Be careful when doing so however, because if you apply too much pressure on the top plate while rolling the soft lapping bullet you can actually crush it to be undersize while rolling it!  Sounds a little incredible, but is especially true with the sub-thrity-five caliber bullets.

Filching on the time spent rolling the grit into the lapping bullets will only equate in the necessity of a larger number of lapping loads being needed to complete the job!

God Bless,

Marshall

 

[Marshall Stanton]

Good Idea on the old hand-plane!  I'll bet it's much more comfortable to use than a steel plate!

Too, with the handle on the plane, I would imagine that one would have to be much more careful about the downward pressure used on the lapping bullets in regard to rolling them undersize.

Great idea!

God Bless,

Marshall