Uploaded July 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
I am going to show you how I make simple ammo boxes for my reloads. It's easy to do and costs nothing but a few minutes of your time.
An ammunition box or cartridge box is a container designed for safe transport and storage of ammunition. It is typically made of metal and labelled with caliber, quantity, and manufacturing date or lot number. A rubber gasket is commonly found in the hinged lid to protect the ammunition from moisture damage.
The resealing ammunition box is largely a NATO tradition. Warsaw Pact nations typically stored and transported ammunition in single-use "spam cans". They had crates that had a sealed zinc lining on the inside. In World War II, Duct tape was used to seal opened ammo cans.
Not all ammunition boxes are metal, however. Wood and cardboard have also historically been used as a method of packaging and storing ammunition. Some enthusiasts and investors collect historical ammunition boxes.
Due to their durable construction, used metal ammunition boxes are popularly re-used for general storage and other purposes. Used ammunition boxes have lead and propellant residue inside, so they should not be used to store food or drink. Commercially made new or fully reconditioned used cans do not have this problem. Used boxes are often sold at military surplus stores.
Hot melt adhesive (HMA), also known as hot glue, is a form of thermoplastic adhesive that is commonly sold as solid cylindrical sticks of various diameters designed to be applied using a hot glue gun. The gun uses a continuous-duty heating element to melt the plastic glue, which the user pushes through the gun either with a mechanical trigger mechanism on the gun, or with direct finger pressure. The glue squeezed out of the heated nozzle is initially hot enough to burn and even blister skin. The glue is tacky when hot, and solidifies in a few seconds to one minute. Hot melt adhesives can also be applied by dipping or spraying.
In industrial use, hot melt adhesives provide several advantages over solvent-based adhesives. Volatile organic compounds are reduced or eliminated, and the drying or curing step is eliminated. Hot melt adhesives have long shelf life and usually can be disposed of without special precautions. Some of the disadvantages involve thermal load of the substrate, limiting use to substrates not sensitive to higher temperatures, and loss of bond strength at higher temperatures, up to complete melting of the adhesive. This can be reduced by using a reactive adhesive that after solidifying undergoes further curing e.g., by moisture (e.g., reactive urethanes and silicones), or is cured by ultraviolet radiation. Some HMAs may not be resistant to chemical attacks and weathering. HMAs do not lose thickness during solidifying; solvent-based adhesives may lose up to 50-70% of layer thickness during drying.
Hot melt glues usually consist of one base material with various additives. The composition is usually formulated to have a glass transition temperature (onset of brittleness) below the lowest service temperature and a suitably high melt temperature as well. The degree of crystallization should be as high as possible but within limits of allowed shrinkage. The melt viscosity and the crystallization rate (and corresponding open time) can be tailored for the application. Faster crystallization rate usually implies higher bond strength. To reach the properties of semicrystalline polymers, amorphous polymers would require molecular weights too high and, therefore, unreasonably high melt viscosity; the use of amorphous polymers in hot melt adhesives is usually only as modifiers. Some polymers can form hydrogen bonds between their chains, forming pseudo-cross-links which strengthen the polymer.
Glue guns come in low-temperature and high-temperature (hot-melt) versions. Low-temperature glue guns operate at approximately 120 °C (248 °F) and are well suited when high temperatures are undesirable, such as gluing lace and cloth. High-temperature guns operate at approximately 190–210 °C (374–410 °F) and produce a stronger bond. Dual Temperature guns have a switch for both low- and high-temperature use.
In addition to bonding surfaces together, hot-melt glue can be used to fill gaps, but the properties that allow gap-filling (high viscosity, high toughness, and so on) keep it from forming an adhesive film as thin and smooth as is possible with other adhesives.
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I am going to show you how I make simple ammo boxes for my reloads. It's easy to do and costs nothing but a few minutes of your time.
An ammunition box or cartridge box is a container designed for safe transport and storage of ammunition. It is typically made of metal and labelled with caliber, quantity, and manufacturing date or lot number. A rubber gasket is commonly found in the hinged lid to protect the ammunition from moisture damage.
The resealing ammunition box is largely a NATO tradition. Warsaw Pact nations typically stored and transported ammunition in single-use "spam cans". They had crates that had a sealed zinc lining on the inside. In World War II, Duct tape was used to seal opened ammo cans.
Not all ammunition boxes are metal, however. Wood and cardboard have also historically been used as a method of packaging and storing ammunition. Some enthusiasts and investors collect historical ammunition boxes.
Due to their durable construction, used metal ammunition boxes are popularly re-used for general storage and other purposes. Used ammunition boxes have lead and propellant residue inside, so they should not be used to store food or drink. Commercially made new or fully reconditioned used cans do not have this problem. Used boxes are often sold at military surplus stores.
Hot melt adhesive (HMA), also known as hot glue, is a form of thermoplastic adhesive that is commonly sold as solid cylindrical sticks of various diameters designed to be applied using a hot glue gun. The gun uses a continuous-duty heating element to melt the plastic glue, which the user pushes through the gun either with a mechanical trigger mechanism on the gun, or with direct finger pressure. The glue squeezed out of the heated nozzle is initially hot enough to burn and even blister skin. The glue is tacky when hot, and solidifies in a few seconds to one minute. Hot melt adhesives can also be applied by dipping or spraying.
In industrial use, hot melt adhesives provide several advantages over solvent-based adhesives. Volatile organic compounds are reduced or eliminated, and the drying or curing step is eliminated. Hot melt adhesives have long shelf life and usually can be disposed of without special precautions. Some of the disadvantages involve thermal load of the substrate, limiting use to substrates not sensitive to higher temperatures, and loss of bond strength at higher temperatures, up to complete melting of the adhesive. This can be reduced by using a reactive adhesive that after solidifying undergoes further curing e.g., by moisture (e.g., reactive urethanes and silicones), or is cured by ultraviolet radiation. Some HMAs may not be resistant to chemical attacks and weathering. HMAs do not lose thickness during solidifying; solvent-based adhesives may lose up to 50-70% of layer thickness during drying.
Hot melt glues usually consist of one base material with various additives. The composition is usually formulated to have a glass transition temperature (onset of brittleness) below the lowest service temperature and a suitably high melt temperature as well. The degree of crystallization should be as high as possible but within limits of allowed shrinkage. The melt viscosity and the crystallization rate (and corresponding open time) can be tailored for the application. Faster crystallization rate usually implies higher bond strength. To reach the properties of semicrystalline polymers, amorphous polymers would require molecular weights too high and, therefore, unreasonably high melt viscosity; the use of amorphous polymers in hot melt adhesives is usually only as modifiers. Some polymers can form hydrogen bonds between their chains, forming pseudo-cross-links which strengthen the polymer.
Glue guns come in low-temperature and high-temperature (hot-melt) versions. Low-temperature glue guns operate at approximately 120 °C (248 °F) and are well suited when high temperatures are undesirable, such as gluing lace and cloth. High-temperature guns operate at approximately 190–210 °C (374–410 °F) and produce a stronger bond. Dual Temperature guns have a switch for both low- and high-temperature use.
In addition to bonding surfaces together, hot-melt glue can be used to fill gaps, but the properties that allow gap-filling (high viscosity, high toughness, and so on) keep it from forming an adhesive film as thin and smooth as is possible with other adhesives.
Muzzle First Links
YouTube Channel: goo.gl/Ukj6oZ
BitChute Channel: goo.gl/PuLUFp
Website: muzzlefirst.com
Twitter: goo.gl/P1HtXN
Facebook: goo.gl/Rwmii4
Most Recent Upload: goo.gl/WjJG22
Most Popular Upload: goo.gl/zF6JJM
Subscribe To Us On YouTube: goo.gl/GvzzDJ
At Muzzle First our goal is to make fun, information and educational videos for the firearms and outdoors enthusiast.
