I just got my first boolit!!!!

[MBTcustom]

I just wanted to thank every one of you great folks for helping me out over this past year. For every one of my posts, there are at least three answers to go along with it. That's a whole lot of knowledge!
I have learned more this past year than all of the previous 10 put together. You guys are awesome!
I also want to extend a special thank you to 45nut for starting this whole thing and being there for us all.
Extra special thanks to the golden boolit winners too. You guys deserve every bit of respect.
Thank you all from Arkansas!!!!

[Buckshot]

............Ah heck. I was all intrigued to find out how a guy gets 1003 posts and just now casts his first boolit:D Then I realized it's a 1K boolit on your avatar. [smilie=b: Congratulatons for that. It won't getcha anything but recogniton that you contribute to the site, which is a good thing?

................Buckshot

[MBTcustom]

Yeah, but for me not being a computer guy....Ha!

[WHITETAIL]

Thats what happens when you are
willing to share your knowledge.:holysheep

[RobS]

This site will make a person learn in more than one way. :) Glad to see you are settling in well.

[Ruckmanite]

Man what a coincidence! I am in central Arkansas as well, learned ALOT from this site, AND I just cast my first boolits this past weekend! Lol

[Nrut]

Thats what happens when you are
willing to share your knowledge.:holysheep
Yes, and he does for sure as I have learnt quite a few things from goodsteel myself..
:drinks:

[geargnasher]

Yes, thank you too, Malcolm, I've learned a few things from you too. Keep up the good work!

When I joined three years ago I was still trying to figure out how to stop my Kimber .45 from leading, and still refined wheel weights in my bottom-pour pot like I'd done for many years. I only cast for two handguns and two rifles, with only good success in one rifle and one pistol, which turned out to be mostly luck. The good people on this site have turne my whole world around, I'm doing things with cast boolits that I never thought possible before.

Some of the MOST important things I've learned from this site since joining:

Mould care and lubrication.
The hows and whys of fluxing, cleaning, and maintaining alloy.
Felix lube.
How to fit a boolit to any gun.
Citric acid case cleaner.
Accurate Molds.
Paper patching for high-powered rifles.
That I'm not as much of a wacko as I thought I was being addicted to making and shooting cast boolits!

There are so many countless other little tips, tricks, and tidbits that have been incorporated into my casting and loading techniques but were learned here that I can't tell what I used to know and what I've picked up from others anymore. Regardless, this site is to blame! THANKS Ken and staff!

Gear

[DLCTEX]

I feel like I have earned my Bachelor's Degree here since joining. I'm planning on getting a Doctorate.

[MBTcustom]

I cant believe I'm reading some of these compliments! Thanks Gear, that means a lot coming from you.
I will never forget the ultimate lightbulb moment for me was when I read this thread:
http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?p=1274143#post1274143
(I still think it should be a sticky.)
I have had many many revelations here but that one was a "sit back, mouth open, hand on head." moment. Of course now its a forgone conclusion in how I look at boolits, but I will never forget when I first read that.

[cbrick]

Ok, I read the title and thought goodsteel went off the deep end. First boolit? Then I saw the silver boolit right there above your smiling face. :mrgreen:

Rick

[MBTcustom]

Nah, I went off the deep end years ago.

[popper]

Just made my first ones this morning. 1st, melt not hot enough, poor fill-out and shiny. Mould wasn't hot enough to be able to open the SP. Crank up the hot plate to max. 2nd was less shiny, a little flash and the Lee 2 holer handles won't open. Loosen them and they almost fell right out. Fill is better. Dropped at .403, .404 so I get the plastic out and order a .401 sizer. But they are boolits!! Need lots of practice but help from here is great. Got to show them to the other-half, brag a bit and try to convince her the money(and me) is worth it. This is better than firing your first re-load with nothing blowing up.

[MBTcustom]

Hey Popper, you only need to run your melt @ 675-700degrees. Usualy wrinkly boolits and a hard sprue means your mold is not hot enough and needs to be run faster. Dip the corner of the mold in the melt for a minute and then try it again. Within 5 drops you should be able to use a gloved hand to slide the sprue off and drop it back into the melt. I used to knock around on the sprue plate with a piece of timber, but I recently was brought to light by Firstbrit that there is no need to go hammering on the mold. I'll bet your original heat was right get that mold hotter and it'll start coming together for you.

[popper]

Did a second batch after lunch. Fill-out was better on both moulds (TL and regular), got rid of the frosting on one side but they are still shiny with a lot of pitting, which I think is lube. Does dropping on a damp towel possibly cause pits? Also saw that purple on top of the melt - haven't seen that before but I was running the pot hotter - Lee dripomatic. Haven't had a problem with the pot but I have to get used to not 'drip' pouring, it's hard for me to get a 'stream' going with these 175s. Anyway, first time casting and results are not dismal - for a guy pushing 70. If it warms up tomorrow, I'll just go shooting some new rifle loads.

[pastorcurtis]

Hear, hear! As a white collar woodsman, I can also say that forums like this make life livable!

[MBTcustom]

Like I said, drop the heat on the pot, and run the mold faster.
The pits in the boolits must be oil in the cavity.
I drop on a wet towel myself.
Frosting as well as purple in the pot means that the melt is too hot.
Take alcohol or acetone to the mold and clean it very, very carefully.
Take the corner of the towel and fold it over about 3" and keep that thick part wet. If at any time the boolits start looking frosty, set the mold on the folded part of the towel until the sprue solidifies. Do this every time until the boolits start returning to normal. If you start getting some wrinkles, quit cooling th emold and speed up the process a little. If you notice that the tip of the boolit looks fine but the base is frosty, turn down the pot temperature a little. However you do it, you have to find a good pot temperature, and then find a way to control the temperature of the mold to work with that pot temperature.
I hope that helps!

[popper]

goodsteel - with all the fun I'm getting ready to have, I need to order the PID controller or see if I can find the parts in my junk closet, lots of LCD controller boards in there. Probably can't make it for what I can buy it. Maybe a project after I get my guns shooting cast well.

[Lizard333]

Popper. I find that it takes a few casting sessions to "season" a mold. After about the third session I start dropping gems.

I also cast with two molds. This helps to keep them from running to hot. My molds hold a high enough temp that I get a light frost on my boolets. This is perfect for my needs. Good luck!!