How long after casting , till alox

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I got out my new for fathers day c309-170f mold and lee 4-20 furnace after dinner and sat down for my fist breach loader casting session as i have used my camp stove small pot and ladle to cast for my ML before

i only had enough lead to fill the pot about half way


any way i cast up 63 that didn't hit the reject pile and go back in the pot

i am pleased with that for a first cast

they didn't drop as well as i would like from the mold they took a fair amount of tapping on the handle to get them to fall some were definitly better than others i was on a streak were i had the far cavity falling every time but the cavity closer the the handle needed a tap
then my streak ended
and more tapping

back to the question how long before i can/should tumble lube them i have strait lee Alox that came with my sizing die plan is 2 coats load and fire as cast for approximately 1500fps non checked fun rounds from the 30-30

oh yeah best part they are dropping at a very even .310
just what i was hoping for for the micro groove rifling

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I am only a beginner here, but I lubed some boolits the other day, that I cast in January. Shot just fine.

[kbstenberg]

GCP any bullets can be sized lubed an shot as soon as they are cool enough to handle.
A questions though. What is the slugged dia of your barrel? If your bullets are smaller than your slugged dia. they will lead the barrel an not shoot as good. Or if they are too large, when loaded in a case they mite not fit into the chamber.
Kevin

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i already loaded 2 in cases as test rounds they chamber and feed from the mag fine

i just wanted to know if the needed more time before lubing them for some reason

off to lube

have to admit i didn't slug the bore it shoots 308 jackets great so i was just going to try some as cast not to fast and see how they do.

[Centaur 1]

You can coat them right away, there's no need to wait. Every situation is different, but from my experiences, what you want to do seems a little ambitious. I can get my Ranch Dog tumble lube design boolits to shoot from my 336ss with LLA, but I also have the 150 grain version of your boolit and it leads like crazy. I didn't have any success until I started pan lubing them. For a good unchecked load you might want to try Trail Boss and keep the velocity down under 1200 fps.

[GP100man]

When ya get ya sizer don`t go no smaller than .310 if ya got a Marlin with a micro groove barrel .

[44man]

The best time to apply Alox is when the boolits are still in the lead pot! :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

[wallenba]

Take a couple of the cast boolits, drill small holes in their bases. Screw in some drywall screws. Then spin them in the mold cavities with some toothpaste. This will polish the cavities a little, and help them drop out easier. Clean the molds real good after.

[wallenba]

The best time to apply Alox is when the boolits are still in the lead pot! :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

He's kidding Pete! Never used it as flux, probably would work, but expect smoke (lots) and fire in the pot.[smilie=l:

[XWrench3]

i haven't found any difference. i have lubed them the same day, or months afterwards. the only thing to remember is it is sticky, and will collect dust / dirt which will accelerate barrel wear. if you lube more than you use, cover the remaining portion so they do not collect dirt. notice, i said COVER, and not SEAL. you want it so still breath. also, some alloys will grow after sitting for a period of time. so if you are going to store them for a while opposed to shooting them up, they may need to be sized before use. which means you will have to re-apply the LLA prior to shooting after sizing.

[Recluse]

have to admit i didn't slug the bore it shoots 308 jackets great so i was just going to try some as cast not to fast and see how they do.

You can lube them whenever, but consider the following:

1. Do a search for "Lee-menting" or go to the molds forum and it should be a sticky there. Very good information on conditioning a Lee mold--and the result is a mold easy to work with that drops good boolits.

2. You'll definitely want to tumble-lube those boolits at least twice. One coat/layer isn't going to get the job done traveling down a long barrel, ESPECIALLY if you're not also going to gas-check the boolits.

3. Make sure to clean and scrub ALL traces of copper jacketing out of your bore before you shoot the cast stuff through it. Otherwise, kiss any semblance of accuracy good-bye.

4. If you're going to use straight LLA, I'd consider "dip-lubing" the boolits rather than tumble-lubing them. Again, especially if you're not going to gas-check them.

:coffee:

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I double lubed , with the alox they seem well covered
i loaded 1 with 15 gr of h4895 book says 1300 fps i have no chronograph
function tested into my large log backstop it fired

looked for any sign of leading , not sure i would see any after 1 round but i didn't see any i ran a patch down the bore nothing that i could tell

i few granules of unburnt powder was all i saw, not surprising as i am at the lowest end of the book data i have for h4895 and a 170 gr boolit.


i have been thinking is there any thing that keeps a person from tumble lubing 2x with Alox then apply some 50-50 alox bees wax to the grooves

[williamwaco]

Two things.

1) If you can pick them up in your bare hands, they are ready to size/lube/load/shoot.

( In your case forget the size.)

2) If you reach a casting cadence where both cavities drop easily and then one, usually the back one, starts sticking, your mold is too hot. You need to slow down.

You can cool the mold by setting it down with the blocks open for about 60 seconds before you refill it. If you are in a hurry, you can place a small fan so that it blows on your mold while you are cutting the sprue. You will find out how long to wait by experimenting.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

thanks , williamwaco.

i have 10 loaded up ready to hit the range

plan to load up 10 more tomorrow with 1 more gr each and see if there is a difference at the range