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Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes (Read 12614 times)

irgendeinekiwi

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Re: Mass producing Clay glandes ammo
Reply #30 - Jul 17^th, 2025 at 5:54am

I'm running 3 3D Printed moulds, each 2 part moulds with 8 cavities. I found a 100MPa self leveling concrete mix which I can demold after 12 hrs if I am feeling productive or just once a day if not; 24-48 Glandes a day. It did take me a few rolls of filament and a few weeks to get the moulds working properly.

In the photo are 85g, 2.5:1 glandes, for reference the pouch has similar dimensioms to Sarosh's

« Last Edit: Dec 5^th, 2025 at 2:22pm by irgendeinekiwi »

20250717_114731.jpg (66 KB | 148 )

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irgendeinekiwi

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Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes
Reply #31 - Jul 28^th, 2025 at 2:52pm

joe_meadmaker wrote on May 30^th, 2024 at 11:36pm:

Thanks for the recipe and the link. Thumbs Up

Now the main question. If you make one of those, let it dry, and sling it against a target, what does it look like afterward?

I happened across one of these Glandes the other day when I out looking for my newer ones after a session. It had buried itself 2cm into a spruce tree and then fallen out. A bit gunky but otherwise completely unscathed Grin

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joe_meadmaker Slinging.org Administrator Offline Slinging Ice is Cool! Posts: 3917 PA, USA	Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes Reply #32 - Jul 28^th, 2025 at 10:52pm irgendeinekiwi wrote on Jul 28^th, 2025 at 2:52pm: A bit gunky but otherwise completely unscathed Right on! I've still never tried making clay glandes. I want to at some point. And your method with the cut PVC pipe is definitely one I want to try.
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irgendeinekiwi Descens Offline Posts: 145 Europe Gender:	Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes Reply #33 - Jul 29^th, 2025 at 3:31am I've got CAD now so I can just measure things rather than doing that complicated maths stuff. I'll post an update soon regarding what size glandes from what size pipe etc
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irgendeinekiwi

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Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes
Reply #34 - Jul 29^th, 2025 at 5:36am

So here we go: EU and US pipe sizes and the clay glandes sizes one can get out of them.

To use the information:
1. Get the pipe size you want and cut it in half lengthwise.
2.Cut a piece of scrap wood or a plank to suit (plank width = glandes length)
3. Place it in the pipe half and use it to mark the cutting lines along the length.
4. Cut along those markings and deburr
5. Glue a piece of wood along the middle of the outside face as a grip. You now have the top part of the roller
6. Use the other half of the pipe as the lower roller.

GLandes_page-0001__1_.jpg (77 KB | 133 )

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Stals Descens Offline Have fun! Posts: 188 Olympia Gender:	Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes Reply #35 - Jul 29^th, 2025 at 12:29pm Maybe your chart answers this question, but I'm not understanding it through the numbers. How does the diameter of the pipe affect the glande? EG, a three inch plank in a four inch pipe vs. a three inch plank in a six inch pipe?
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irgendeinekiwi

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Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes
Reply #36 - Jul 29^th, 2025 at 3:09pm

Sorry, I'm not good at explaining things.. I also forgot to say one needs to pick their gland weight first..

The diameter determines the end size of the glandes whether you go for a 2:1 or 2.5:1 aspect ratio. While any old plank width and pipe ID will get you the almond shaped cross section, for better glandes (I like 2.5:1) the ratio between the width of said plank and the space underneath it is what determines the exact shape. Clear as mud so far Grin

The plank will need to be as long as you are making the roller, the longer you make it, the more glandes you can make at once. The width of the plank should be the same as the length of your chosen gland weight.

Say you wanted a 2.5:1 gland around 65g.
The best pipe to get would be a DN125 (if you are in europe).
Looking at the table, the length of gland for that pipe/weight would be 105.2mm. That's how wide you'd need to cut the plank in order to mark out the upper roller.

I hope that helps clarify things

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CrazyBrave333 Senior Member Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 252 Australia Gender:	Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes Reply #37 - Nov 27^th, 2025 at 7:34pm This is the coolest idea ever! Well done!!!! I'm going to have to give this a go!
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irgendeinekiwi Descens Offline Posts: 145 Europe Gender:	Re: Mass Producing Clay & Concrete Glandes Reply #38 - Dec 5^th, 2025 at 2:25pm Thanks!
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irgendeinekiwi

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3D Printed Moulds & Quick Setting Material
Reply #39 - Mar 8^th, 2026 at 6:19pm

A quick update of sorts-
I transitioned to using 3D printed moulds a while back. After using concrete for a while, I was looking for something less dangerous for both trees and for the mower blades of the farmer who's field I was using.

A mixture of plaster of paris and sand I recently tried has far exceeded my expectations and (at least for my situation) may be the ideal way to make a huge amount of glandes very quickly, cheaply and easily.
Mixing up the material, filling and then demoulding only takes around 20mins. With two 8 cavity moulds that's 48 glandes an hour, scalable of course by the number of moulds you have. It can be a bit tricky to keep pace with how fast the plaster sets, so I've settled on the 2 moulds.
Pricewise a 25kg bag of plaster set me back 25€, with sand that should be enough for around 900 glandes at just under 3 cents a pop.

1:2:0.7 Plaster:Sand:Water is what I've been using, I'm going to test if increasing the sand to 3 parts helps anything.
With this mixture the glandes withstand launch but will disintergrate on contact with trees or hard objects with very little damage to the target itself. The small fragments break down quite fast once they get wet. Adding a touch of iron oxide pigment to the mix tints it clay coloured, so one doesn't leave unsightly white plaster bits for all to see.
To increase biodegradability I suppose clay powder or starch could be added. Density-wise they have 75% the density of my concrete glandes.

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