Casting virginity lost :D

[Inkman]

I suppose this is as good a place as any to post this.

My first try at casting. Quite an experience i must say. It seems like the little things that are so important, are so easily overlooked.

First off, i got the Lee Pro 20 up to 650 and the lead ingots melted pretty quick. Once the temp got up to 750 i started pouring into the 6 cavity mold. Warmed up the mold first by setting it on the side of the pot and tossed the first 5 casting sets into the bucket filled with water, knowing they were wrinkled (likely from the mold not being warm enough?) but after that the boolits were looking nice. Then i look at the thermo and AAAAAGGGGHHHH!! 900 degrees, so i turn the pot down but it seems like the temp takes forever to drop, so i give it a bit to go down and start back up. Looking good so far and then AAAAAGGGGGHHHH again!! Now the temp is down to abut 600!! And yes, i notice the lead flowing much slower. By now it's getting dark out so i call it a day (more like a couple hrs).

Little things i noticed that i'm sure i'll get better at.

Getting a feel for the right temp even with a thermometer. It was rough trying to keep it in the right range for the first time out. I think i was a little paranoid with it getting too hot and over corrected when bringing it down.

The bottom pour spout on the Lee can scare the heck out of a noob like me. A small adjustment makes a huge difference.

Knowing just when to break the sprue to give the boolit a clean cut but neither too soon nor too late. What a difference 3 or 4 seconds can make. Subtle yet substantial at the same time if ya get my drift. Easy peasy or oomph was the difference in a few seconds.


All in all it was a great first time out, imho. I'm excited to be able to start earlier in the day and have some of the basics down to where they are second nature.

No hurry though. I've got all the time i need to learn and grow with it. Looking forward to this new hobby with great enthusiasm!!

Al

[bruce381]

one good thing is any mistakes can go right back into the pot, you will get the hang of it my only advise is to not compromise on boolit fill out when id dought I re melt. My feelong is if i do not set my standards high one day shooting I will want the best accuracy and I may have one of the bad casts in the gun so i set my quality high.

have fun

bruce

[Wayne Smith]

Any particular reason you are water dropping that boolit? Unless your mix is very soft it's probably not necessary.

Yes, you are right, it's attention to the details that make all the difference. As you get experience you will be able to stabilize your pot temps and know the effect of adding your sprues back or not. Actually, when you were at 900 degrees the best way to cool things is is to add your sprues back.

[cajun shooter]

The first thing and I 'm only giving you information, not putting down on your equipment. You should use a cast iron pot to melt your lead into the alloy of choice. You don't want to insert all the crud into your bullet pot. The second thing is that the Lee has only a rheostat for heat control and it is not easy to regulate as you have found out.The entire time I used Lee pots I was always chasing the temp. The old Lyman and current RCBS pro melt have a real thermostat and it makes casting fun. If all you may do at this time is the Lee then you need some changes. Buy a single burner(LARGE) hot plate and iron pot to melt your lead in. Once you have the Lee pot about 3/4 full let the temp level out to 700 to 750 depending on moulds. Mark the Dial where it maintains this heat setting. As your pot becomes lower, add your melted alloy from the cast iron pot only! This way you will not be chasing the control all day and may keep casting at a good speed. Add ingots to the cast iron every time you remove from it. When you shut down make sure it 's with both pots full. If you have some bullets with a frosty look that is no big deal as they work fine. Good Luck

[mooman76]

I think you are over thinking things or maybe over critical of yourself. Little things with practice will be like second nature after awhile. Allot of new people have trouble with temp. I had trouble with temp in the Lee pots when I first started using them and I had been casting for 30+ years. Make small adjustments when adjusting. It's easier to start out a little hot and turn down that trying to turn the heat up and play catch up when it's too cool. Adjust it 1/4-1/2 a number at a time.

[jgt]

The main reason a lot of new casters get disillusioned and give up is because they set out with the wrong equipment for their level of skill.

A single cavity mold will let you learn much quicker and a double cavity will produce a lot of bullets when you don't have so much time lost dealing with all the other alligators in the swamp.

Investing in a good rcbs or lyman pot won't give near the temp or drip problem to deal with and one can recycle a lee pot to melt and fill the lyman/rcbs pot with molten lead as they cast.

I have been casting since the early seventies and still do not cast with a six cavity mold and probably never will. You can do it, it is done all the time by casters here, but it is difficult to learn all the aspects of casting and deal with a six cavity mold at the same time. People would be surprised how good it feels when all the bullets cast from a two cavity mold are keepers rather than half the ones from a six cavity being rejects and having to be remelted and recast. Coupled with a furnace that holds its temp better, most folks would consider it money well spent.

This isn't rocket science. If you can boil water you can cast bullets. It just takes the proper tools. A lot of equipment Lee makes is good, inexpensive stuff that gets the job done; and I prefer to use a lot of their stuff. BUT...The two places I don't compromise on the cost or quality in casting are good molds and a good furnace.

The question one must ask themselve is whether they are doing this to test their resolve or doing this as a pleasent pasttime related to shooting.

[gmsharps]

You may be doing this already but I put a piece of denim or an old towel with a slit cut in it over the top of the bucket. This cuts down on water splash when the bullets drop.
GM

[captaint]

Inkman - Looks like you're going to get the hang of things OK. I would recommend you simplify as much as you can, early on. Your boolits look like 45ACP's. If they are, I can say I have cast and shot thousands of 45ACP boolits in the 9 to 13 BHN range without water dropping any of them. If they fit your barrel, there's no need to get them harder than than. AND, if they don't fit the barrel, water dropping won't help anyway. If you see that they fit, you'll see that harder doesn't matter. Just my .02... enjoy Mike Oh, and 2 cav molds are way easier to learn on.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Been there done that! I had a heck of a time with the temperature at first. I would be concentrating on getting the mold under the spout and how the molten lead was coming out of the pot and when to cut the sprue and how big a sprue and and and........ All of the movements and things to watch for will become 2nd nature after casting for awhile. I have melted Folger's cans of cast boolits because they just didn't look right. I got a micrometer to measure the boolits once in awhile and that helped knowing if it was right or not. The sizes can change with the extreme temperature swings. Enjoy. You can now cast your own boolits from a piece of scrap. Just be careful. That lead will burn deep and quick.

[Inkman]

Much appreciation for the input folks.

There is soooooooo much information on this forum and sooooooo many preferred ways of casting, lubing, smelting etc that it is just mind boggling. I've been lurking for a couple years when i first had the tiniest inclination that i might even think about casting. Still after all the reading, i finally, with the help of a friend, decided i could spend another year or two reading or take the plunge. So i took the plunge.

I like to think of it as trial by fire.

I'll post up again after the next session and let ya know how it goes.

Thanks again everybody :grin:

Al

[HangFireW8]

Throwing sprues and rejects back in the pot affects the temperature downward. Emptying the pot and not throwing anything back in runs a Lee pot upward in temperature, since the thermostat adjusts on its own heat, not the pot's, so the same amount of heat is going into a progressively smaller amount of lead.

That is why I use a router speed control on the pot now, I set the pot to high and adjust the control. I have one setting for a full pot, turn it down a bit for half full and quarter full, then turn it all the way up again when I throw in sprues, rejects, and some more ingots. I pre-heat ingots on a side burner so they melt fast.

I also just leave the thermometer in the pot.

Someday I'll just buy a pot with a better thermostatic control... but for now the Lee's will have to do.

[Tom W.]

It's good to see a new caster come over... But I sure didn't know the left coast allowed any lead...:bigsmyl2:

[Southron Sanders]

Just keep in mind that ONLY ONE DROP of water will cause a pot of molten lead to blow up.

Back in the 1980's I had a 25 pound pot of molten lead blow up on me. Splattered lead was stuck to the ceiling, the walls, my clothes and I got burned on the face, neck, arms and hands. Fortunately, I was wearing safety glasses at the time.

Just drop your fresh cast bullets on an old towel.

Always wash your hands after handling lead.

Always cast in a well ventilated area.

Now HAVE FUN!!!

[prs]

"Casting virginity lost :D"

WHOA! Don't stir the pot with that stick!

WHOA! That's not an approved flux agent!

prs

[Inkman]

"Casting virginity lost :D"

WHOA! Don't stir the pot with that stick!

WHOA! That's not an approved Lube!

prs

Fixed that for ya :wink:

And yes, we still have lead out here on the left coast, just harder to get is all. I did pick up about 40 lbs one afternoon from the berm of our local club. It was just laying there on the ground and i couldn't resist. Only a couple folk in one of the shooting clubs i am a member of cast, so it's pretty much just there for the taking w/o doing any upsetting to the berms.

It's actually cheaper to just buy WWs from people here on the forum already cast into ingots, but i'll be fluxing my own soon enough.

Al

[Inkman]

Just a little update since the last try. This one went much better.

Took my time getting the temp just right and making sure the mold was hot enough. What a difference!! Also just calmly waited for the temp to stabilize when adding lead to the pot after casting for a while.

Sure can tell the difference in casting when the mold gets too cold or too hot. I know this is old news to you casting veterans, but it's still all new to me and i love experiencing the learning curve :)

Some of todays cooled bullets below...

Al


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/Inkmanno1/Misc/286081_2110144764603_1575142919_32117192_6181556_o .jpg


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/Inkmanno1/Misc/286450_2110143484571_1575142919_32117184_4511286_o .jpg

[bruce381]

Nice look like the lee 200 gr thats a nice mold but i got tired of wipeing the base free of lube ( I use a Lyman sizer) and I now have the SAECO #69 a flat base that shoots very well.
have fun do you shoot at concord range?

[Inkman]

have fun do you shoot at concord range?

Concord and Richmond mostly. Are you the "Other Bruce" lol?

Al

[bruce381]

from calguns and other forums I use bruce381

[Inkman]

Another update:

Fired the frst 100 rds thru my most used 1911 and checked the barrel after 10, 24, 50 and 100 rds.

Noticed a bunch of fouling but not what i've seen as leading (yes, i've seen leading bad before on some other peoples guns firsthand). The shots were very accurate at 25 yds, which kind of surprised me as i figured beforehand that there was no way this would go right the first try.

Wish i took a pic to show you but MY conclusion is that the "fouling" i saw in the barrel was a combination of the JPW only lube and the powder i normally use (Bullseye).

I used a Lewis Lead Remover that i've used for years and to my surprise there was ZERO leading in the barrel last nite when i cleaned it up.

Soooooooo, after todays match, it'll be time to load up the other 300 and see how they shoot after several hundred down the pipe. I'll also cast up a couple K this week and if everything stays as is, i may never order another bullet again. Instead i'll shoot my own boolits :mrgreen:

Al

[Echo]

Throwing sprues and rejects back in the pot affects the temperature downward. Emptying the pot and not throwing anything back in runs a Lee pot upward in temperature, since the thermostat adjusts on its own heat, not the pot's, so the same amount of heat is going into a progressively smaller amount of lead.


Well, we can call it a thermostat, but it's really a Control, that adjusts the power going to the load, same as an electric blanket. No feedback. As you mention, same power, less load, higher temperature.
But the sprues are still hot, and if directly thrown back, instead of being saved up, they won't affect the temp enough to be concerned with. Samo with rejects. And keep the pot full, or nearly so, to improve the thermal inertia.