FedEx is Awesome

[barrybrice]

Well all the new booliet casting stuff came in at the end of last week. There nothing like waiting on FedEx…pins and needles. So it was time to try out my first casting. After church today, I ventured out to four tire stores looking for wheel weights. Two of the store decided to participate! I believe that I have enough to cast about 500 or so .40 cals.

I had a mechanic at the first place explain to me that I did not want the ones that were painted because they were steel not lead. So I sorted them out and took only the unpainted ones. On the way to the next place, I begin thinking this guy might just not know what he is talking about, so I just took the whole bucket that they offered to me. Glad I did. I researched it on this web site when I got home and found that the painted ones were probable lead also. I threw away all the ones that were marked with a FE and ZN and started melting.

This week I will be buying a thermometer. The hotter I got the melt the better the cast came out, but I never had a perfect one. I will be doing some more testing later this week. The only other thing left to purchase is a lead hardness tester. I think I am going to try the pencil method first.

[kelbro]

Welcome to the most hair-graying but also the most rewarding part of the handloading hobby.

[bumpo628]

This week I will be buying a thermometer. The hotter I got the melt the better the cast came out, but I never had a perfect one. I will be doing some more testing later this week.

This is the cheapest thermometer I've seen. Tel Tru makes the thermometers that they sell on Midway, so you might as well get one for half price.

$25 delivered:
http://www.kck.com/tel-tru_grill_smoker_thermometer.html
Scroll down to the part no. BBQ250-5-1000-cl

[barrybrice]

Thanks for directing me to Tel Tru. I just placed my order.

[XWrench3]

also, you will need to get a source of tin. tin will help with mold fill out, it will also add a little to the hardness. i found a deal on ebay for 4 rolls of 95/5 (95%tin-5%antimony) solder for a steal. you will have to watch for a little while, but i got all 4 rolls for less than i could buy one for in a home improvement store. also, flux, two cheap things to use is sawdust (usually free) or gulf wax (available in grocery stores, women use it for canning veggies). if you use wax, be carefull, it will auto ignite! anyway, glad to have you in the club! you will learn a lot over the next year or so! DO NOT be afraid to ask questions! that is how we learn!!!!