I've learned one thing: I really kinda suck at this. :-)

[Wag]

I took the advice of the forum (well, one guy on here, runfiverun!) and started my first melt and pour last night. Couldn't resist the call!

Anyhoo, some pics, first. I know it's the rule, right? :P (Thumbs can be clicked for larger images.)

http://thumbnails108.imagebam.com/29061/a4eba3290608740.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/a4eba3290608740) http://thumbnails108.imagebam.com/29061/2f9840290608767.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/2f9840290608767) http://thumbnails107.imagebam.com/29061/50f12d290608900.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/50f12d290608900)

So, some process observations from a noob's first attempt.

1. It was below freezing in the garage last night and the mold, the ladle, the stainless steel stir spoon I was using, etc. were all dang cold and tough to keep hot.

a. At first, I was trying to pour four boolits and then check my work but it kept failing miserably. I'd pour, check things over to see what the results were but that took too long, which allowed the mold to cool enough to screw up the next effort. I thought I was on the verge of really sucking. Permanently.

b. Keeping the mold hot was mandatory but keeping the sprue plate hot was at least as important. For some reason, one didn't necessary follow the other.

c. I finally abandoned the idea of checking each individual cast and just started pouring and dumping. THAT worked. The mold heated up and that simple rhythm kept things hot.

d. The sprues were easier to cut as equipment heated up. However, the best thing I finally did was set the mold on a board and a mere gentle tap made the sprues pop right off.

2. New dross kept forming on the top of my melt throughout. I suspect that when I originally smelted my wheel weights, I didn't get it clean enough and as a result, it carried through to my melt last night. I fluxed it at least twice which seemed to help each time but again, it still kept drossing over albeit a little less each time. I also suspect I've neglected to keep my equipment (spoon, etc.) as clean as needed to keep that from happening.

3. I was just knocking the sprues off and dumping boolits and sprue into a pile. It got messy to separate them so going forward I gotta knock the sprues off in one pile and the boolits in another. Duh.

4. Boolits started sticking in the mold after a while. An easy push with my thumb got them out easily enough but I'm thinking I've missed something and could get better results by lubing the mold, maybe

5. Dropping the boolits on top of each other is not a great idea. They dent each other quite easily when they're hot.

6. As I kept casting, it became apparent that my pace is probably too fast. Each time I poured, it took a bit longer for the new boolits to cool enough to cut the sprue and release the boolits. On at least one occasion, I cut it too soon and it smeared hot lead across the top of the mold. That sucked. But at least I know how the sprue should probably look before I cut it.

7. Watching the puddle (future sprue) on top of the mold started to tell me a lot. At first, I was dumping hot lead into the mold as if I thought it was going to crystallize in a moment. That was just plain messy. Lead rolling all over the top of the mold and down the sides. Nasty. Once I got my pour muscle under control, I was able to see the lead fill the cavity, form the sprue, watch the sprue cool down and dimple. Once it turned gray, I cut the sprue and opened the mold and it seemed to work very well.

8. At first, I poured the entire pot (10 lbs.) and was entirely unsatisfied with the results. None of the boolits were usable because they had a fuzzy feel to them. A rough finish that simply wasn't going to be put into any barrel of any of MY guns. I dumped everything back into the pot and turned up the temperature significantly and started over. At that point, things started to look a bit better but even then, when I was done, I was only able to salvage 20 bullets (pics above) and tossed the rest back into the melt.

At that point, I shut 'er down. I had gone out there to give it a shot at about 8:00 and three hours later, time seemed to have gone by in the blink of an eye. THAT was the most awesome part of it. Just losing track of time!

Anyway, I think I have some more reading to do and run this again today!

--Wag--

[dondiego]

If your boolits were frosted but well filled out, you should keep them! Frosty boolits are not a problem for me.

[runfiverun]

the ones you show look great.
now you just have to find that rhythm again.
from the sounds of things you learned a lot in that one session and now know what to look for.

oh btw I usually throw all the first ones from a new mold back.
I like to give the mold a couple of heat soak cycles before serious use, the mold develops a little bit of personality and becomes more predictable.

[Wag]

If your boolits were frosted but well filled out, you should keep them! Frosty boolits are not a problem for me.

I'll have to see how they come out again. One of the other things I've learned already is that I can't take pics very well with leather gloves on!


the ones you show look great.


My boolits thank you! They blushed a little 'cause they're shy, being naked and all.


now you just have to find that rhythm again.
from the sounds of things you learned a lot in that one session and now know what to look for.

Still workin' on it!



oh btw I usually throw all the first ones from a new mold back.

Seems like that's what's going to happen here, too. Some of the first pours only just barely dropped a tiny dribble of lead in the cavity before the sprue hole clogged completely.


I like to give the mold a couple of heat soak cycles before serious use, the mold develops a little bit of personality and becomes more predictable.

I'll keep an eye out for that.

--Wag--

[Love Life]

If it sort of resembles the shape of the cavity, I will shoot it.

Good job and those are great looking bullets.

[btroj]

Key thing is- did you learn anything? You learn by doing and you did!

Take the nicest looking ones, size and lube em, load em, and go shoot. See how the gun likes em.

Keep on casting, it comes with repetition.

[MtGun44]

You learned a lot. Here are a few suggestions.

You already figured out that inspection on the fly is a mistake. Get a can for sprues or put them
back into the pot, keep them separated from the boolits. Lift the towel front edge every so
often and let the boolits roll to the back edge in a pile. Dump the fresh ones on the front edge
nearer you, not on the other ones. Just lifting the towel a bit every so often keeps them moved.

If you think you are starting to get the mold too hot, slow down the pace or cool the mold a
bit with a small fan or a wet sponge that you can just rest the bottom of the mold on for
a couple of seconds. You can also lower the temp of the melt, but this takes a long time
to take effect, causing confusion 5 or 10 minutes later if things are going too cold. Better is
to note the pot setting and set it a hair cooler next session. This will allow you to get the
speed of casting and pot temp in more harmony. Melt temp is your coarse control and
tempo is your fine control. Oxidation is normal, but you may be seeing more indication
that the pot was too hot if this is proceeding too rapidly.

Frosty, well filled out boolits are just fine, I actually prefer to be in that zone. Don't even
THINK about putting lube into the mold cavities! Seems reasonable but is NOT. That
'fuzzy' is JUST FINE, not a problem at all. I still don't see where this 'frosty is bad'
nonsense comes from. Wipe them with a rag after seating and they will be shiny.

You probably can't fly a 747 very well the first time, either. :bigsmyl2:

Don't be too hard on yourself, you did well. It's not rocket science but there is a lot to
get going right and it takes a few sessions to understand what is going on and know
what to do. You really hit it when you realized that inspection was letting the mold
cool too much, most don't figure this out and stay way cold the whole first session.
If the mold is too hot, then sit there with the mold empty and open for a 5 count or 10
count before closing the mold and refilling, this will let it cool a bit.

Bill

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

You got good advice here.
when the boolits start hanging in the mold, if I started adding one second at a time to my
count routine before popping the mold open. My routine is varied depending on the mold.
Who ever said each mold has their own personality was dead on.I have to keep a notebook
becasue I cant remember what each one wants to work good.
I cast some yesterday, my routine to get my cadence down is
to pour, count to 10, cut the sprue, count to 15 or what ever it takes to keep the mold temp in its
operation zone. it was 8 degrees here yesterday, I had to hump it up to keep the mold hot!

[Wag]

Thank you for the comments, everyone. I'm jazzed it's going so well.

Did another session this morning and in less time than last night, got 203 additional boolits which are outstanding. Only had to toss about a dozen back into the melt this time. All of a sudden, it's fun. :D

http://thumbnails108.imagebam.com/29065/c0964c290649251.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/c0964c290649251)

In case anyone is interested, a pic of my setup. A lesson I learned from the last 15 or so years of hand loading is to keep everything simple. Applying that here, too.

http://thumbnails104.imagebam.com/29065/9bac6a290649143.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/9bac6a290649143)

Thank you all again for your suggestions, advice, encouragement. Great to know that my ability to succeed is enhanced by this forum.

--Wag--

[Wag]

Oh, one other thing learned. The dang boolits stay hot FOREVER. Gloves must stay on from beginning to end.

--Wag--

[georgerkahn]

I really like your set-up! I went not-so-simple a few years back "building" a casting table with a back having enclosed fans, switches at the front, and the whole affair on wheels -- but in spite of all my good design plans -- casting indeed was a lot better (and maybe even more fun) for me when I had an arrangement like yours! Best! geo

[tward]

Nice pour, +1 on frosty are OK! +1 on Boolits stay hot forever, so do molds, did a check on that last casting session, yep, still burns knuckles! Keep casting, they look good. Tim

[felix]

Actually, Bill, I DID fly a 747 when they first came out. TWA had a Link trainer/simulator that had to be set up and adjusted. All fliers had to be checked out, of course, and in record time because four planes were to be delivered within three months. Some of my buddies were in charge after the Link/Singer guys left, and you can guess we had to "burn" the thing in before somebody came in from Boeing for real to qualify the fliers. Also, as you guessed, I flew the thing off the runway EVERY time upon landing, not to mention loosing an engine in flight. My "turn" on the machine was always around 3:00 AM, so I did not fly more than two times, about 1/2 hour each time. Not worth getting out of bed after the "newness" wore off. ... felix

[cbrick]

I've learned one thing: I really kinda suck at this. :-)

Hardly!

You achieved and learned more, got further in your first session than some folks have in their first year even after repeatedly explaining it to them. Congratulations, ya done great!

On the downside . . . You have now embarked on a path of no return. From this day forward for you there is no such thing as too many molds, too much lead. You'll be buying guns because you found that mold and have nothing to shoot the boolits. You started doing this so you could shoot, not any more as you are about to find out that you now shoot so you can cast more. You just acquired an addiction for which thankfully there is no 9 step program, no cure. On the upside . . . The world now has a brand new Booliteer. :mrgreen:

On a side note, when you mentioned that after awhile the boolits started sticking, the reason the boolits fall from the mold is that as they cool they shrink and no longer fit the cavity that made them. If the mold starts to get a bit too hot it takes a bit longer for them to cool to this point. It's that rhythm you mentioned, nothing more.

Rick

[John Boy]

Wag - My hat is off to you!:drinks: You did your reading - you cast and learned and you figured out the issues and your doing just fine. Congratulations!
Some tips:
* Heat the pot melt & mold up so when you pour for 5 seconds with your ladle spout "stuck" in the sprue hole ... the sprue puddle frosts in 5 - 8 seconds. Then cut the sprue - dump the bullets and keep going with a constant rhythm. You'll have nice filled out bullets.

but keeping the sprue plate hot was at least as important. For some reason, one didn't necessary follow the other.
* to keep the sprue plate the same temp as the melt - spread the sprue puddle across the top of the plate. Again cut the sprue after 5 - 8 seconds when the puddle frosts.
* I see you have your spoon. Drill holes along one edge of the spoon. Doing so, the melt will go back into the pot and only the dross will be left on the spoon
* FYI - molds do not have to be lubed for bullets to freely drop. A clean mold is the key. And after you cut the sprue - tap the mold handle bolt with your whacking stick - then with the stick, push on the bottom of the right mold half - then open the handles. This relieves the adhesion of the bullets in the mold

[snuffy]

[QUOTE=Wag;2489935]I took the advice of the forum (well, one guy on here, runfiverun!) and started my first melt and pour last night. Couldn't resist the call!

Anyhoo, some pics, first. I know it's the rule, right? :P (Thumbs can be clicked for larger images.)

http://thumbnails108.imagebam.com/29061/a4eba3290608740.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/a4eba3290608740) http://thumbnails108.imagebam.com/29061/2f9840290608767.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/2f9840290608767) http://thumbnails107.imagebam.com/29061/50f12d290608900.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/50f12d290608900)

So, some process observations from a noob's first attempt.

1. It was below freezing in the garage last night and the mold, the ladle, the stainless steel stir spoon I was using, etc. were all dang cold and tough to keep hot.

a. At first, I was trying to pour four boolits and then check my work but it kept failing miserably. I'd pour, check things over to see what the results were but that took too long, which allowed the mold to cool enough to screw up the next effort. I thought I was on the verge of really sucking. Permanently.

b. Keeping the mold hot was mandatory but keeping the sprue plate hot was at least as important. For some reason, one didn't necessary follow the other.
If you're going to keep casting in cold temps, you will need a hotplate to pre-heat the mold. You can use the hotplate to pre-heat your ingots before adding them to your pot. Placing the mold on the hotplate while casting will keep it hot while taking a break or adding ingots

c. I finally abandoned the idea of checking each individual cast and just started pouring and dumping. THAT worked. The mold heated up and that simple rhythm kept things hot.

d. The sprues were easier to cut as equipment heated up. However, the best thing I finally did was set the mold on a board and a mere gentle tap made the sprues pop right off.

2. New dross kept forming on the top of my melt throughout. I suspect that when I originally smelted my wheel weights, I didn't get it clean enough and as a result, it carried through to my melt last night. I fluxed it at least twice which seemed to help each time but again, it still kept drossing over albeit a little less each time. I also suspect I've neglected to keep my equipment (spoon, etc.) as clean as needed to keep that from happening.
No, what you see forming on the surface of the melt is oxidized metal, not dirt. Since we now know you're ladle casting, you are aiding in the formation of new metal oxides by disrupting the surface of the melt. Agitation brings the molten metal to the top, where it is exposed to the atmospheric oxygen, enhancing the oxidation of the metals. Tin is much more reactive than lead or antimony, oxides faster, so most of the dross is tin.

3. I was just knocking the sprues off and dumping boolits and sprue into a pile. It got messy to separate them so going forward I gotta knock the sprues off in one pile and the boolits in another. Duh.
I have an aluminum pan I drop the sprues into, then save them until ready to add metal to the pot

4. Boolits started sticking in the mold after a while. An easy push with my thumb got them out easily enough but I'm thinking I've missed something and could get better results by lubing the mold, maybe.
As the mold "breaks in" or gets seasoned, your boolits will fall out easier. A tap on the hinge of the handles will aid in getting them loose.

5. Dropping the boolits on top of each other is not a great idea. They dent each other quite easily when they're hot.

6. As I kept casting, it became apparent that my pace is probably too fast. Each time I poured, it took a bit longer for the new boolits to cool enough to cut the sprue and release the boolits. On at least one occasion, I cut it too soon and it smeared hot lead across the top of the mold. That sucked. But at least I know how the sprue should probably look before I cut it.
The sprue goes through 2 surface appearances as it gets to when to cut them. First is molten/shiny, then it scums over, then the final change is real hard to see, subtle at best. Just a shade of gray. Cutting before the final change will result in smeared lead under the sprue plate, and possibly not complete fill-out of the bases. The boolit can be drawing metal from the sprue as it cools and shrinks. Cutting the sprue too soon can lead to light boolits, undersize, and non filled out bases.

7. Watching the puddle (future sprue) on top of the mold started to tell me a lot. At first, I was dumping hot lead into the mold as if I thought it was going to crystallize in a moment. That was just plain messy. Lead rolling all over the top of the mold and down the sides. Nasty. Once I got my pour muscle under control, I was able to see the lead fill the cavity, form the sprue, watch the sprue cool down and dimple. Once it turned gray, I cut the sprue and opened the mold and it seemed to work very well.
Just make sure the sprue puddle is big enough to allow the boolits to draw from it to completely fill-out.

8. At first, I poured the entire pot (10 lbs.) and was entirely unsatisfied with the results. None of the boolits were usable because they had a fuzzy feel to them. A rough finish that simply wasn't going to be put into any barrel of any of MY guns. I dumped everything back into the pot and turned up the temperature significantly and started over. At that point, things started to look a bit better but even then, when I was done, I was only able to salvage 20 bullets (pics above) and tossed the rest back into the melt.
Nothing still in your lead could harm your barrels. Since you're ladle casting, the fluxed lead will have NO abrasives in it. As long as your spoon is clean and you flux is also free from grit.

At that point, I shut 'er down. I had gone out there to give it a shot at about 8:00 and three hours later, time seemed to have gone by in the blink of an eye. THAT was the most awesome part of it. Just losing track of time!

Anyway, I think I have some more reading to do and run this again today!

--Wag--[/QUOTE

By the way, what caliber are those boolits? Without a reference, they could be 9mm, 40's or 45's?

[Hamish]

Looking at the pics in the OP, I'm still having trouble assessing suckage,,,,, @(;^]#>:::

[nvbirdman]

Did you try smoking the cavities? This will help prevent sticking. On an open mould, just light a wooden match and hold it under all the cavities, now do the same thing to the other half of the mould.

[cbrick]

A clean mold is the best casting mold. Smoking at best is an attempt to cover up a problem, an old wives tale. Your boolits were falling out fine and after the mold got too hot you then started getting some sticky boolits. Pace yourself and the problem will go away.

Rick

[Frosty Boolit]

I always shoot frosty boolits. At least you started here instead of started casting and ended up here, like me. If I could have done anything different, I would have started out with a sizer/luber and oonly bought standard loob groove designs. As it is everything I shoot is as cast and tumble lubed. You are headed down the road to success in regards to the boolit fit and no leading by sizng to fit.

[MtGun44]

Don't smoke the mold.

Bill

[Wag]

Thank you for all of your compliments. No 9-step program? Good. I'm hooked, for the moment.

I went back out there this afternoon and did a bunch more boolits. Very few went back to the melt and those were the first few before the mold heated up. Overall, I have 500 that need to go into a sizing die so next on my shopping list.............. :D I stuck a micrometer on them and they are obviously out of round. Not by more than 10/1000ths but enough to irritate me. They are, however, exactly 0.451" at the smallest point which is, to my surprise, at the seam.

Made a cool Eureka! discovery. Before I started this afternoon, I pulled out this morning's cold lead disk from the bottom of melting pot and set it on the board next to the pot. I mixed up another batch of alloy and kept this aside until I had room in the melt for it.

This is the cool part: after I got up and running, I casted for a while, still having sticking issues. At one point, I was standing there with a full mold waiting for the sprue to cool and thought, "I bet that cold lead disk would make a great heat sink." I set the mold directly on top of it and danged if it didn't INSTANTLY cool the top of the sprue and suck a divot into the top of it. Okay, it wasn't quite instant but it was about one second whereas it had been taking several seconds. Close enough to instant! :D

Knocked the sprue off and the boolits fell right out with no effort whatsoever. At first, I thought it might have been a fluke but I did it for the rest of the casting session and it worked until my new heat sink got too warm to work effectively. By then I was able to put it in the melt so I dug out a couple of other lead ingots and used them the same way, to the same effect. Instant cooling. Perfect boolit drop.

Makes sense, really. Air is a very poor conductor of heat. Metal is a very good conductor of heat. I just needed a bit more metal to keep the process moving along. Wish I had thought of that before discovering it by accident. Boolit drop problem appears to have been solved.

BONUS: Boolits also seem to be formed a bit better. Previously, it seemed that some of the corners were a little less well-defined and now they appear to be just a little more crisp. Makes me wonder if that heat sink is not drawing the melt into the mold a touch faster and more completely. I dunno. I'm no metallurgist.......

Fun stuff!

(I need another mold for the .357. [smilie=b: )

--Wag--

[cbrick]

Now let's see, you DID NOT smoke the mold and the boolits fell out. Now how could that be? :mrgreen: Oh yeah, last paragraph of post #14.

Trust me, one ten thousands of an inch out of round is completely, totally, thoroughly and 100% . . . Insignificant.

hehe . . . a mold for your 357 huh? It won't be long before you'll be wondering how you ever got along when you had only 25 molds? :coffeecom

Now if your serious about a new mold for your 357 check out the NOE web site, he just posted this morning that he has a few of the RCBS 357 180 Silhouette boolit left in stock after the buy closed. Mine should be delivered on Monday. [smilie=6: This is not a hunting boolit with it's small meplat but it is an outstanding long range revolver boolit.

Rick

[Wag]

Now let's see, you DID NOT smoke the mold and the boolits fell out. Now how could that be? :mrgreen: Oh yeah, last paragraph of post #14.

Of course! As soon as it went up on the thread, it made perfect sense! Just gotta stop being impatient about it!


Trust me, one ten thousands of an inch out of round is completely, totally, thoroughly and 100% . . . Insignificant.

Hah!


hehe . . . a mold for your 357 huh? It won't be long before you'll be wondering how you ever got along when you had only 25 molds? :coffeecom

Uh oh.


Now if your serious about a new mold for your 357 check out the NOE web site, he just posted this morning that he has a few of the RCBS 357 180 Silhouette boolit left in stock after the buy closed. Mine should be delivered on Monday. [smilie=6: This is not a hunting boolit with it's small meplat but it is an outstanding long range revolver boolit.

Rick

I'm serious about another mold and not. Too soon, but where's the NOE website? I don't know what NOE is........

--Wag--

[runfiverun]

noe is a vendor sponsor here.
night owl enterprises.
you can find him in the vendor section then just follow the links to his sight.

put your wallet in the other room before you go there :lol:
seriously I wish I had all these custom makers around when I started, I coulda got by with 50 molds instead of umm,, jeez,,, I dunno,,,, a lot more than 50.

[Wag]

Excellent. I'll check them out!

--Wag--

[cbrick]

Here is the link to the thread for the boolit.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?216591-NOE-360-180Gr-FN-(RCBS-357-180-SIL)

Here is the link to the NOE web site if ya like what ya see.

http://www.noebulletmolds.com/NV/

Now for your next lesson. While the lead may work for a heat sink there is a better way or two. Some folks simply place a damp sponge or folded towel next to the pot and if the mold starts to get to hot simply touch the bottom of the mold and/or the sprue on it. While I have used this method and have never done any damage to a mold I can't say the same for my guts, it kinda ties my stomach in a knot thinking about too sudden of a change in temp on the mold. What I do, mostly in the summer, is set up small fan to blow across the mold, works great at keeping the mold from getting over heated. As a caution do not allow the fan to blow across the top of the pot on the melt, this will speed up oxidation a lot.

Rick

[Wag]

Water is a great conductor of heat and does well as a sink for some applications, however, it has very low capacity. I've read a few posts here which say as you have that a damp towel is frequently used. I'll experiment with that when I head out there tomorrow.

Heading to the NOE links now!

--Wag--

[eljefeoz]

Good looking boolits
Great insight
Lots of good suggestions,you seem to have quite a bit aced out, so no worries there
Just do it.
Cheers

[TXGunNut]

Good Job! Welcome to the affliction.

[cbrick]

Trust me, one ten thousands of an inch out of round is completely, totally, thoroughly and 100% . . . Insignificant. Rick


Hah!

Well, if your gonna get wrapped around the axel over one ten thousands of an inch of boolit out of round consider that your barrel varies more than that, both in depth of cut of the rifling and the width of the rifling itself in various places along it's length. It's simply the nature of the beast and a product of manufacturing the barrel and like that tiny amount of boolit out of round is insignificant.

I have been guilty of attempting to pick the fly poop out of the pepper barrel but that truly is insignificant. The very best boolit mold ever made can easily have that much variation and even if it wasn't made that way things like one block cooling a tad more than the other could cause that much easily. Many other things that actually deserve your attention.

Rick

[Wag]

It was actually 10/1000ths. Hell, I'm new at this! I dunno if it's enough to matter until I get out to the range and find that it's lobbing bullets over the top of the target or something!

--Wag--

[Jal5]

You are doing great with casting. Now go out and shoot em and see what your gun likes!

[jcwit]

Wag, you did good. As others have said, Frosty is no problem.

LoveLife, I like that comment.


If it sort of resembles the shape of the cavity, I will shoot it.

[Wag]

Expecting to load some up over the next couple of days and shoot 'em on T-day!

--Wag--

[dverna]

Wag,

First, the wet towel trick works - but I when I did it I did not but the mold on the towel. I flipped the mold and put the sprue plate on the damp towel. It only takes a second or two.

Second, casting is a bit like golf (or any other sport). Did you hit many good shots the first time you picked up a club???? You made good bullets the first time out. You will only get better with more experience and practice.

Great start

Don Verna

[snuffy]

Golf? Is that some sort of game??:kidding:

With the right kind of guidance, a person can achieve success the first time they cast. I shared this on our town, my son casting with a lee 6 cav, the 125 tctl in 9mm. His first try at casting;

88592

88593

88594

Okay, with direct supervision, answers to his many ??? and my demo with a proven mold, alloy, and PID controlled pot, he had/has an advantage.

His results were real good, out of 400 boolits, I visually rejected about 30. He developed a rhythm, seeing how the sprue changed colors, so he knew when to shear it. He was fascinated by those shiny boolits dropping from the mold. He said, "I just gave life to otherwise scrap metal." See, he has been shooting boolits that I made in his CZ sp-01

Final analysis is get a mentor. Absent that you've asked the right questions here and listened to our tips.

[David2011]

Wag,

Great first efforts! I was blown way when I realized you're using a ladle. Every new caster should read this. Everyone goes through these same trials but you came through a shining winner.

Treat yourself to some Bullshop Sprue Plate Lube. Buy 2 bottles in case the unthinkable spill happens because once you use it you will never want to be without again. Shipping is also mitigated over 2 bottles. Bullshop is a vendor here. The lube goes on the top of the mold and bottom of the sprue plate. It allows you to open the sprue plate with a gloved hand while the metal is still very soft, allowing for a quicker pace (depending on melt and mold temp) and low effort. It prevents the lead from sticking to the sprue plate and mold but don’t get it in the mold cavities.

I’m a fan of a damp towel to cool a too hot mold but have never tried to cool only the sprue plate. If you control the temp of the mold the sprue plate will also be the right temperature and the Bullshop Sprue Plate Lube really helps.

David

[Airman Basic]

Golf? Is that some sort of game??:kidding:

With the right kind of guidance, a person can achieve success the first time they cast. I shared this on our town, my son casting with a lee 6 cav, the 125 tctl in 9mm. His first try at casting;

Okay, with direct supervision, answers to his many ??? and my demo with a proven mold, alloy, and PID controlled pot, he had/has an advantage.

His results were real good, out of 400 boolits, I visually rejected about 30. He developed a rhythm, seeing how the sprue changed colors, so he knew when to shear it. He was fascinated by those shiny boolits dropping from the mold. He said, "I just gave life to otherwise scrap metal." See, he has been shooting boolits that I made in his CZ sp-01

Final analysis is get a mentor. Absent that you've asked the right questions here and listened to our tips.
Hey Snuffy, think you need a few more items on that bench!

[fredj338]

Casting is really simple, but you have to learn a pace that works for you. With 2cav molds, I use two at a time to prevent over heating. With a 6cav, I just move a bit slower to allow the mold to cool a bit between pours. I use a low sided wooden box to break my sprus into so they stay separate from the bullets & just get dumped back in form time to time. I rarely cull bullets while casting unless there is an obvious failure, then those get tossed into the spru box.

[Wag]

One thing I was thinking is that I don't really want to be sitting while I'm casting. If I have a spill of hot lead, it won't land on my thighs and I'll be able to avoid it more easily and have less risk of injury. Or at least minimize the injury if I do have a spill.

--Wag--

[prs]

WOW, already three pages! I bet you have gotten all the correct advice and most of the fringe. I say your choice of boolit design is good, one of my favorites in 230g .452.

I will also be casting in the cold this weekend. I will use a hot plate and tin can cover to pre-heat the moulds and to keep them warm when I take a break. I run my alloy fairly hot (730F on the PID); maybe too hot, but it works for me to virtually eliminate culls even though it does slow the pace a little. I do use a very light "smoke" of the cavities if/when I get stubborn drops from the hot mould and it does help a little. I do not use a thick/fluffy smoke coating because I like the boolits to remain full size and consistent of size. Light frost seems to have no ill effect, heavy frost, like heavy smoke, seems to make small and inconsistent diameter boolits. When bottom pouring, especially with hot alloy temps, keeping some generous amount of organic char on top of the alloy helps manage tin oxidation and dross.

Keep up the good work!

prs

[Wag]

Okay, now we're in the loading phase. Got my workbench set up for loading and deprimed/sized 50+ brass. Counted out an equal number of my new boolits and realized that I had forgotten to lube them. I didn't have everything I need to make even the most simple of recipes so I used the stick of lube that came with the furnace and whipped out the MAPP gas torch. Just the thought of that makes me laugh, actually. :D

Anyhoo, I tossed the boolits in a metal coffee can and melted (way too much of a) part of the lube stick over the boolits. While it was still liquid, I stirred them around in the mess until they were looking fairly well coated. The groove wasn't completely filled but I've loaded a lot of lead in the past which looked and felt very similarly so I felt I was good to go.

Before I loaded anything, I dropped a boolit on the scale and it weighed in a just a smidge over 230 gr. I'm amazed. Accurate Molds is exactly that: hyper accurate. Several other boolits weighed in right about the same weight. Any variances were no more than a grain or two. I'm only using a beam scale, though, so that's an estimate, of course.

Mandatory pics, of course:

Loading bench. Note it's the same as the casting bench! LOL Like I said before, I love to keep things as simple as possible.

http://thumbnails101.imagebam.com/29129/283459291281752.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/283459291281752)

Finished ammo, ready for T-Day:

http://thumbnails107.imagebam.com/29129/f8e92e291282013.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/f8e92e291282013)

One of my supply cabinets:

http://thumbnails101.imagebam.com/29129/298989291282107.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/298989291282107)

Log book with today's load documented:

http://thumbnails107.imagebam.com/29129/675dd3291282157.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/675dd3291282157)

I don't know if you can read it but if my calculations are correct on the cost of the boolits I just cast, the total cost of a box of .45acp was $4.99. On Cabela's' web site, the lowest priced ammo is about $22.00 although that is a jacketed round. Come to think of it, I don't recall that I've ever seen a lead head in .45 ACP.

Next post will likely be a pics of my targets from T-Day's shooting and that, my friends, takes me from start to finish. The only pics you aren't seeing are the pics from my smelting day two years ago but if you're interested, I can track them down and post them or I'll just find the link where I posted them on TFL way back then.

As before, thank you very much for tuning in, for your advice and suggestions as well as your pushes to keep me going in the right direction. :)

--Wag--

[RogerDat]

Very informative and encouraging to someone such as myself looking to give this a try. Thanks for sharing.

[Driver man]

Your doing good so far everything looking great. Will be looking forward to your range results.

[snuffy]

One thing I was thinking is that I don't really want to be sitting while I'm casting. If I have a spill of hot lead, it won't land on my thighs and I'll be able to avoid it more easily and have less risk of injury. Or at least minimize the injury if I do have a spill.

--Wag--

Wag, notice in the pics of my son, he's casting seated with a welder apron on his lap. That's because his mentor, (ME), does it that way. Always have. My legs are in bad shape, I simply can't stand that long anymore. I got that apron maybe 6 months ago, after seeing another CB member using one. I never was burned on my belly or legs, but I figured I was due. I try not to spill lead on myself, but accidents happen.

Another comment here was I should get him some gloves for Christmas. Again, I don't use them, so he was game to try it himself. He didn't get burned either. A tiny droplet of lead got on a finger when I dropped a sprue into the melt. I jumped a bit, no major burn, but a good lesson to NOT drop lead directly into the lead.

[Wag]

I noticed the apron which makes perfect sense, of course. One of these days, if I can't stand like that any more, I'll use one too, no doubt. I've been dropping sprues and rejects by putting them in my ladle and then lowering them into the melt. Works just fine. However, at one point, I added my lead plate (see above) and just set it in there on it's edge. In a few moments, it fell over and splashed lead around a bit. Fortunately, it all went the other way and didn't damage me or anything else in the area. Lucky. And lesson learned, of course.

--Wag--

[GSM]

When you get a few minutes, make detailed notes about the casting session that worked well - mould, melt temp, ambient temp, alloy, pouring technique (hit the hole center, hit the hole side, contact with sprue plate, etc.). If you end up with more than mould it will pay for itself.

Casting will change come spring and summer.

Don't depend on memory.

[Wag]

Good points.

Shooting didn't go as well as I had hoped because I made two critical mistakes: Loaded too light. 5.1 gr behind 230 grains simply isn't enough to cycle the action on the Sig P220. I may have a lighter spring I can use for another trial run and see how it goes.

The other mistake I made was a loaded them too long. Usually, if a round fits into my magazine, I don't have issues with them but this round has a flat point and that means the ogive sits farther forward. As a result, about half of the (six) rounds I shot got stuck out of battery. If I choose NOT to unload them all, I'll definitely have to reseat them somewhat deeper.

Accuracy was not bad, but I prefer to shoot more rounds before making the judgement on it. I fired six rounds, and there are five visible here, four on paper and one at the top edge of the photo. The target is one of those small paper plates/saucers, not the full-size 9/10 inch plate.

http://thumbnails107.imagebam.com/29162/228dfd291616068.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/228dfd291616068)

Reboot!

--Wag--

[BruceB]

For more discussion of aprons and protection in general, search for "The Lead Tsunami".

That SIG 220 is a lovely .45; I've had mine for fifteen years and it is a flawless service pistol.

[dikman]

Wag, I reckon you've done very well :drinks:. As for sitting down while casting.....when I first started casting boolits (only a few months ago!) I did it standing up, using a pouring ladle with a nozzle that I made. I soon began to realise that standing up all the time was getting hard on my aging back, but I considered that using a ladle while sitting down was too dangerous.

So I bought a bottom pour thingy (RCBS), and now I too can sit down while casting :bigsmyl2:. My back is very grateful indeed!

[Hang Fire]

So far as keeping molds warm between pours. Many of us have found a cheap hot plate to be the answer. I have a 1/4" aluminum plate I put on top of the hot plate as the aluminum has a terrific heat transfer. I pour one mold, then set it bottom down on the hot plate, pour another mold and repeat. Then remove first mold from hot plate, remove sprues, dump boolits, pour and repeat.

This process allows me to keep two molds in constant production.

[Bad Water Bill]

Bullshop is going to hate me AGAIN.:bigsmyl2:

Dan spent many $$$ finding plastic bottles that will spill at the most inconvenient time and there goes 1/2 of your bottle.

SOLUTION

Your local grocery store sells packaged bottles of "FOOD COLORING".

Take a pack home and flush the coloring away and dry them out.

Now refill those little 1/4 oz guys with "BULLPLATE LUBE".

If used correctly you will have long forgotten where the remaining 3 bottles are or what that constantly tipping blue bottle is for because it will last that long.

NO DON'T EVEN ASK.:)

[cbrick]

I solved spilled Bull Plate this way. The tip of the brass drops one drop at a time and twists open & closed. This particular bottle is one I sent to member Doby cause he was complaining about spilling his BP.

Rick

89051

[Bullshop Junior]

I havnt been in that shop or part of bullshop for over 3 years, but it still makes me grin when ever anyone mentiond the special round bottom spill bottles dad used.

[abqcaster]

Wag, come into town someday and we'll talk casting over a beer.
-ABQ

[Wag]

I'd be up for that. First beers are on me.

--Wag--

[abqcaster]

I'll give you a holler after the holiday craziness passes.

[Wag]

Sounds like a deal.

--Wag--

[bedbugbilly]

Hey! You did great! Every time you pour, you're going to learn something . . . the first thing is that things don't always "go well" . . doesn't make a difference if you're new at it or been doing it a long time. I have cast for a little over 50 years - I've always used an open pot over a single propane hot plate. I don't have fancy thermometers nor get in to all of that like some do - that's sort of a hobby all it's own. I flux with a lump of beeswax but not that often. If I start getting crud on top, I'll skim it. I use one of the Ideal bottom pour dippers - looks sort of like an open ball with a spout. I don't have anything larger than a two cavity in any of my molds. If there is a little crud floating, the dipper I use isn't affected by it. Once you get your rhythm going and you mold is heated up, you're going to find that you can move right along. I preheat my mold by placing the blocks next to the flame (keeping the wood handles away from it) and I lay my dipper in my pot while the lead is melting. By the time my lead is melted, I'm ready to pour. At the most, I may have a couple of first pours that go back in. Once I get going, I don't bother checking any of the cast ones. I wait till I'm done and they can be handled - while I'm counting them I'm checking them. Out of a couple hundred, I may have three or four that need to be put back in the pot. I'm just a "plinker" but still like 'em to lok as good as they can. You're doing fine and I think you got some great results for your first time - plus you were fighting a lot with the temperature in the garage, etc. The nice thing about casting . . . well, if you don't have some turn out, you send 'em back to the pot!