PDA

View Full Version : Prettiest bullets I ever cast



madsenshooter
09-06-2011, 12:10 AM
I just cast the prettiest bullets I've ever made! They're so nice, I'm going to have a hard time shooting them (not). I'd been having trouble with trapped air in my nose pour Eagan molds, and I had the ladle pour set up here. I don't think I'll cast out of the drippy SOB ever again! No more spatters on my pants and shoes from the drip, no more unavoidable oxidation pits in the surface of my bullets, now I'm trying to figure out why I didn't do this sooner! I'm using a lead based babbitt, the bullets are slicker than snot, hard as He__ and shiney as chrome. One of you guys shoulda told me!

longbow
09-06-2011, 01:13 AM
Sorry, I should have mentioned it.

I have ladle cast for about 40 years. I started with a natural gas stove, old cast iron plumber's pot (about 25 lb.) and large ladle then decided I should modernize (about 38 years ago) and tried a bottom pour pot. I was not happy so went back to open pot on a propane stove and large ladle.

I tend to get better fillout and I find the ladle better for multi cavity and large shotgun slug moulds too... at least for me and the way I cast.

Different stroke for different folks but I like the ladle ~ only one moving part just like me.

Longbow

ss40_70
09-06-2011, 01:53 AM
on a hunch i would say the ladle isnt the reason for the pretty boolits , its all that expensive tin in the babbit

Sonnypie
09-06-2011, 03:18 AM
Pretty is nice.
But once it smashes into the ground, pretty don't matter.
There's an old adage: Chrome don't make it go.

Bret4207
09-06-2011, 07:13 AM
IME there is a difference between lade and BP castings. Not always a huge diff, but for some moulds, for some people anyway, the diff is marked. While my SAECO BP is a nice, I'm not tossing my ladle in this lifetime.

madsenshooter
09-07-2011, 12:13 AM
on a hunch i would say the ladle isnt the reason for the pretty boolits , its all that expensive tin in the babbit

Only 10% in this lead based stuff I'm using.

madsenshooter
09-07-2011, 12:13 AM
Pretty is nice.
But once it smashes into the ground, pretty don't matter.
There's an old adage: Chrome don't make it go.

Maybe not, but the 23BHN that will respond to heat treating sure makes em go!

Doby45
09-07-2011, 07:03 AM
10% IS a huge amount and is also the cause for your prettiness.

John Boy
09-07-2011, 09:32 AM
Clean Mold + Mold @ Temperature + Spout in Sprue Hole for Good Head Pressure + Sprue Puddle Frost in 5 Seconds = PRETTY BULLETS!

NoZombies
09-07-2011, 12:03 PM
I have a few molds that simply respond better to ladle casting, and some that don't care whether I'm using a ladle or a bottom pour, or just throwing raw wheel weights at them.

The old adage that every gun is a law unto itself could just as easily be applied to molds in my experience, for instance: I have 2 copies of one mold, the bullets from either one can literally be put into the cavity of the other, yet one casts perfectly with the melt 50 degrees cooler than the other one needs.

mdi
09-07-2011, 12:17 PM
IME there is a difference between lade and BP castings. Not always a huge diff, but for some moulds, for some people anyway, the diff is marked. While my SAECO BP is a nice, I'm not tossing my ladle in this lifetime.
Bret, definately not trying to start sumpin', but can you tell the difference in bottom pour vs ladle bullets? If handed two boolits, on ladle poured and one from a bottom pour pot, is there a difference (appearance or weight, or consistancy)?
I've been casting for about 8 years and settled on bttom pour. Mostly for speed and repeatable/consistant boolits. I have a Lyman ladle, an RCBS ladle, and a Lee ladle that I gave an honest try when I started casting, and I'm still open to different methods. I don't seem to have much trouble makin' boolits after I get the mold figgered out (seems they have personalities and preferences). If there isn't a definate physical difference between B.P. vs Ladle then I assume it's just personal preference and what one is comfortable doing...

shooterg
09-07-2011, 01:13 PM
I started with bottom pour - all ladle now 'cause I NEVER have to unstop the ladle or stop it from dripping !

madsenshooter
09-08-2011, 12:55 AM
I guess things depend a lot on just what a person's definition of perfect is. Which is to say what constitutes a good bullet. If I don't see the machine marks, and have edges as close to square as the mold is, I don't have a bullet that I'd care to try to shoot in benchrest competition. With the brass nose-pour molds, I just wasn't getting that with bottom-pour. If I ran things hot enough I could get the squareness I wanted, but at that temp I was getting horrible oxidation from the stream flowing through the air, and that was with the same lead-based babbitt I'm now ladling. Yes, it's pretty expensive compared to WW, but in the end I don't imagine anymore than what I'd pay for match jacketed bullets. Just consider them match cast bullets.

MGySgt
09-08-2011, 07:59 PM
Ladel VRS Bottom Pour - If I am the one that did 2 boolits from a BP or LADEL - you can bet your sweet bippy you can tell the different - the ladel is going to be filled out with sharp corners. The BP is going to have oxidation and a rounded base.

I can not control the flow of a BP.

TXGunNut
09-09-2011, 09:39 PM
I have a few molds that simply respond better to ladle casting, and some that don't care whether I'm using a ladle or a bottom pour...




Thanks, that's what I'm finding and was wondering if I was doing something wrong. I bought a BP pot to go with the Lee dies so I could try it his way; works great! Worked even better w/ Lee's 6-banger dies. But, I'm still using my original pot and RCBS ladlle for my Lyman moulds, getting great results there as well. My newest Lyman mould wasn't too happy with the BP so I used my ladle, no more problems. Only been casting a couple of years so have no idea why that is, always thought it was casters' preference. Now I think it may be the moulds. As long as I figure out what a mould likes it doesn't really matter to me.

madsenshooter
09-10-2011, 01:53 AM
You know, my old little drippy had a spout that I could put a mold right up against, like the spout on the RCBS ladle. I rebuilt the old thing as it had sat out in a unfinished shed for a number of years and the new pot had a different, shorter spout. There are few molds I can get right up against that spout like I could the old one. I'd think using the bottom pour that way would eliminate a lot of the oxidation, and give one better fillout. Probably a few squirts from time to time too!

fatnhappy
09-10-2011, 02:00 PM
Bret, definately not trying to start sumpin', but can you tell the difference in bottom pour vs ladle bullets? If handed two boolits, on ladle poured and one from a bottom pour pot, is there a difference (appearance or weight, or consistancy)?
I've been casting for about 8 years and settled on bttom pour. Mostly for speed and repeatable/consistant boolits. I have a Lyman ladle, an RCBS ladle, and a Lee ladle that I gave an honest try when I started casting, and I'm still open to different methods. I don't seem to have much trouble makin' boolits after I get the mold figgered out (seems they have personalities and preferences). If there isn't a definate physical difference between B.P. vs Ladle then I assume it's just personal preference and what one is comfortable doing...

I don't know about Brett, but with certain moulds I can. I was a died in the wool ladle caster for 15 years. I got my first bottom pour off ebay (a lyman mag 20 if it matters) about 3-4 years ago. I have a couple mould that just refuse to cast excellent boolits with the bottom pour. One that comes to mind is my 311290. It casts perfect boolits like mana from heaven when i have the ladle out. The best I can get from it with the bottom pour is a 75% keeper rate. It's a head scratcher.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/101_1007.jpg

on the flip side of the coin any mould I have that likes high heat will do it's best work with the bottom pour. Hollow points like my brass mihec 429640. That sucker likes to be kept hot.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/006-1.jpg

With the majority of my moulds, I very much agree with you about speed and consistency with the bottom pour. Especially so with multi cavity aluminum, I can't say I ever done my best work with a ladle and a 6 cavity lee.
I guess what I'm saying is: Having given a committed effort to both methods I don't believe either method is demonstrably perfect. I've resigned to let the mould decide.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/100_1123.jpg

montana_charlie
09-11-2011, 12:52 PM
After enlarging the 'bowl of bullets' you have to search around a bit to find which ones are in best focus. Once that is covered, it's plain to see there is not a square base in the bowl.

Rounded bases may be okay for that bullet design because it is made for a gas check, which will cover the imprefection. But, if those were plain base bullets, the bowl would not hold a single 'keeper'.

It is for fine detail like that, and ultra-consistent weight, that keeps me using the dipper.

CM

ammohead
09-11-2011, 03:08 PM
The prettiest boolits I have ever cast is since I started using Pat Marlin's California Flake Flux. I don't have any sawdust laying around the garage so I can't test to see if just plain sawdust will work as good. But fluxing your melt thoroughly with a good fluxing media what ever it is will give excellent results.

I use a ancient bottom pour saeco pot and I get very square bases. I have found that most moulds will cast round bases from my pot until I add a little venting. I touch the top of the mating line with a mill bastard file and put the smallest of chamfer along the entire length. On multiple cavity moulds I also cut a vent line from the mating line to the outside edge between the cavities. viola, square bases nearly everytime!

ammohead