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russs
01-01-2014, 09:48 PM
I just got my equipment for making bullets. Lee 10lb. pot, lee 9mm mold, ladle, lead. My question is when I drop the new cast bullets from the mold to quick cool in water to help harden them how cool does the water need to be? I plan on casting about 200 bullets at a time. I thought about using a painting tray with a towel in it for my water. drop the bullets from the mold to the slanted part of the paint tray with the damp towel on it so I don't get water on the mold, then roll the bullets into the tray of water on the bottom. I figure the water will worm up and wondered at what point I should change the water for cooler water? Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. I could not find any threads on the subject but I am new on the site.

dragon813gt
01-01-2014, 09:56 PM
I don't care about water temp. All it needs to do is cool the bullets. Whatever comes out of the tap works for me.

JSnover
01-01-2014, 09:56 PM
It isn't necessary to water cool, but if you want to, I think most folks just use a 5 gallon bucket. A towel over the top with a slit will prevent splashes. I never knew anyone who worried about keeping it cold.

dragon813gt
01-01-2014, 10:04 PM
I do it for convenience. Allows me to check the bullets for defects quicker. Now that it's winter I don't bother water dropping because they cool off fast enough.

catskinner
01-01-2014, 10:12 PM
I use tap water in a 5 gallon bucket. Spread a layer of styrofoam packing peanuts on top of the water to cut down splash. In a run of 500-600 bullets only two or three will stick to the styrofoam. I have not tried it yet but a layer of sawdust would probably work.

dragonrider
01-01-2014, 10:14 PM
I use two 5 gallon buckets, one fits inside the other, the bottom has many holes drilled it it and is used as a strainer. With them together and full of water I cast and drop until I feel like stopping and then just lift the inner bucket and let drain. No dipping of hands into cold water to dig out the boolits. When the water had drained I dump the boolits out onto a towel.

BNE
01-01-2014, 10:35 PM
I doubt you would be able to heat the water that quickly. I've cast for a few hours at a time dropping into a 3 gallon bucket and never noticed a temperature change. I have had boolits get dinged if the water was too shalow. Good luck and welcome.

DLCTEX
01-01-2014, 10:52 PM
You will tire before the water gets too warm using a five gallon bucket.

Spawn-Inc
01-01-2014, 10:58 PM
I use a 5 gallon bucket half filled with a folded towel on the bottom I have it under the bench my pot is on so I don't worry about water splashing.

bangerjim
01-01-2014, 11:03 PM
Even boiling water ~212F is cooler than the lead you are dropping.

I waterdrop just to allow quick check and avoid burnt fingers!

After dropping several hundred into a cake pan with wet towell, the water is not over 115F.

Don't concern yourself with water temp!!

banger

Walter Laich
01-02-2014, 11:09 AM
I've tried the 'ice in the bucket' method. Worked as well as no ice.
.
Wife wasn't pleased there was no ice in refrigerator.
.
stopped using ice

Wayne Smith
01-02-2014, 12:52 PM
I use two 5 gallon buckets, one fits inside the other, the bottom has many holes drilled it it and is used as a strainer. With them together and full of water I cast and drop until I feel like stopping and then just lift the inner bucket and let drain. No dipping of hands into cold water to dig out the boolits. When the water had drained I dump the boolits out onto a towel.
That's a great idea. This time of year it is a little challenging to reach in and pull out the boolits!

John Allen
01-02-2014, 01:09 PM
That's a great idea. This time of year it is a little challenging to reach in and pull out the boolits!

Wayne, that was the same thing I was thinking.

russs
01-02-2014, 01:14 PM
thanks for the advise. guess i will try a 5 gallon bucket with a towel.

smithywess
01-02-2014, 02:42 PM
I've often wondered if water quenching from the mould really makes any significant difference. Firstly, using a Lee hardness tester i've never been able to convince myself that there's more than a 4 or 5 number increase in the BHN. from unquenched to quenched. Secondly if there really is some significant increase in BHN by quenching it can't be uniform because bullets aren't dropped at the same rate as each other, so some must be hotter than others and I don't know of any study that's looked into this differential in dropping time. Or for that matter into whether the temperature of the water is important or not. Now I can see uniformly quenching bullets, in cold water, brought to just below their melting point in an oven (perhaps 450 degrees) as changing the BHN quite significantly as has been proven many times. In any event I've come to the conclusion after casting bullets to feed 6 hyphenated calibres that it makes little sense to shoot hard cast bullets unless one exceeds perhaps 1500 f.p.s. with them. Under that speed I cast 1:20 alloy bullets and don't quench them. I think leading is far more a consequence of an underbore size bullet, and velocity, that the content of the alloy and whether or not it's hard cast. Beyond 1500 f.p.s. I can see the need for hardening the bullet and I cast these from a home made type Lyman #2 alloy using wheelweights and tin. I also think an overbore bullet is called for for the same reason to prevent blow by gases and if the bullet is gas checked even better.
FWIW.

JSnover
01-02-2014, 02:50 PM
My understanding is that it can make a huge difference if you have the right alloy.

Mike W1
01-02-2014, 05:38 PM
Somewhere in some of Dennis Marshalls writings I recall he said ice water vs. tap water didn't make much difference. What is needed is just that rapid cooling and the little bit temperature difference in the water was neglible.

gwpercle
01-03-2014, 12:17 PM
Russ,
depending on your alloy you may not need to water harden. Try the boolits as cast before going to the trouble. Also remember hardened boolits are harder to size, if you do size and lube. And sizing the hardened boolit works the surface and softens it.
Ive been using air cooled wheelweights and air cooled 50/50 wheelweights and range scrap (lead) for a long time in handguns with no problems. A lot of problems come from Too Hard a boolit.
Gary

largom
01-03-2014, 12:54 PM
Russ,
depending on your alloy you may not need to water harden. Try the boolits as cast before going to the trouble. Also remember hardened boolits are harder to size, if you do size and lube. And sizing the hardened boolit works the surface and softens it.


Ive been using air cooled wheelweights and air cooled 50/50 wheelweights and range scrap (lead) for a long time in handguns with no problems. A lot of problems come from Too Hard a boolit.
Gary

I agree! I stopped water cooling boolits several years ago. Most of my casting is for hunting rifles. Using the 50/50 mix lubed with FWFL I get no leading with velocities from 1800 to 2400 fps. I also shoot the largest diameter boolit that will chamber in my gun.

Larry

trapper9260
01-09-2014, 08:30 AM
My understanding is that it can make a huge difference if you have the right alloy.

That is the way i see it ,also I read that in time some of them will start to get low on there BHN for the water drop. I have read that somewhere on this site.

Spawn-Inc
01-09-2014, 10:15 AM
Regardless of my alloy I water drop so I don't have to have a pile of hot bullets to deal with.