Casting for relaxation

[Frank V]

Well after Church today I wanted to relax a bit, it's a rainy day so I fired up the SACEO lead pot & dug out a favored mould. This mould is one my Wife got me for Christmas 2010, it's the good old Lyman 454190. It throws a bullet that dates back to the 1800s, I think it's actually the original .45 Colt bullet Lyman duplicated that was originally loaded by the factorys.
It is a beautiful bullet, accurate, historical, & really penetrates @ original .45 Colt velocities. Any way now I've got a supply of bullets to keep me busy for a few days. One of these days I'm going to seat it over 35grs of GOEX & have some real fun. :Fire:
Anyone else cast for relaxation? :2gunsfiring_v1:

[labradigger1]

Every chance i get.
But then again, if i had 50k of every mold i own i would still do it for relaxation.
Lab

[Jack Stanley]

When everything is working right it's relaxing , but when it ain't ...........

Jack

[blikseme300]

I cast or clean brass or any simple repetitive task to relax me after a stressful day at work. Cheap therapy I call it. My wife has questioned my sanity as I'll prep brass and then later give it away as I have more than enough pistol brass for a life time. Having free access to all the brass at an indoor range keeps me going.

[Old Scribe]

Started casting hard boolits a while back, tho' I've been casting round balls for years. I find casting a good way to clear my head of all the poop going on in the world.

[trixter]

Casting is enjoyable, but putting the finished boolits into primed and powdered cases is very relaxing to me. My press is always set-up and loaded with powder and primers ready to go, all I have to do is uncover it and feed it empties. Fun-Fun-Fun. Oh Yeah then there is shooting. REPEAT!

[hickfu]

I Love casting to relax! I was having a so-so day pain wise and thought maybe I can cast today and clear my head. I cast a couple hundred 230gr's from a 6 banger mold and then my relaxing went all to H3LL.... I tried casting with a new 9mm mold from Lee, and it doesnt want to let go of the boolits from one side!!! [smilie=b:

Doc

[Frank V]

I Love casting to relax! I was having a so-so day pain wise and thought maybe I can cast today and clear my head. I cast a couple hundred 230gr's from a 6 banger mold and then my relaxing went all to H3LL.... I tried casting with a new 9mm mold from Lee, and it doesnt want to let go of the boolits from one side!!! [smilie=b:

Doc

Doc several years ago I got a mould release agent from NEI, I paint the inside of the mould with this stuff on a Q tip & it causes them to drop really well. It's really black when you put it on, but turns kind of a pretty grey when it dries. It makes me wonder if it's a moly coating of some kind? But it works.

[hickfu]

I will have to look that stuff up then.... I have done everything else I know to get the boolits to drop

Thanks Frank,
Doc

[mikeym1a]

There is something hypnotic about liquid metal, and making boolits. I do find it very relaxing, and satisfying. mikey

[tazman]

I had a Lee 9mm mold that did that for about the first 300 boolits. After that it started dropping just fine. Apparently it needed to be broken in or the bad spot wore smooth.
Either way, it drops fine now.

[Frank V]

You bet Doc, that was several years ago & I've still got most of my bottle it does last.
Let us know if you find it?


Tazman I've had Lee moulds stick too, I used the prep I told Doc about & that helped. I've tried smoking the cavities with a flame & had variable results with that.

[fredj338]

Yep, its' like therapy for me; turning unusable lead scrap into pretty lead bullets. I actually prefer casting to reloading, I don't have to pay critical attention to each pull of the lever, just be focus on being safe.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Any repetitive task when performed for a period of time is in fact "therapeutic."

In fact if you continue to do said task until you feel really good about it there will be physical and mental gain from it.

This is the point you should stop,,, for that day.

You've heard,,, "Always try to finish on a high note?"

Well this is what they are talking about.

If you continue on,,, you may crash, however if you start to crash you need to soldier on thru until the next high point is reached. Never stop on a low point.

Randy

[jonp]

Well after Church today I wanted to relax a bit, it's a rainy day so I fired up the SACEO lead pot & dug out a favored mould. This mould is one my Wife got me for Christmas 2010, it's the good old Lyman 454190. It throws a bullet that dates back to the 1800s, I think it's actually the original .45 Colt bullet Lyman duplicated that was originally loaded by the factorys.
It is a beautiful bullet, accurate, historical, & really penetrates @ original .45 Colt velocities. Any way now I've got a supply of bullets to keep me busy for a few days. One of these days I'm going to seat it over 35grs of GOEX & have some real fun. :Fire:
Anyone else cast for relaxation? :2gunsfiring_v1:

I sized some 454190's today that i cast sunday. Funny thing about the mould is that one side casts crisp but the other has rounded bands. Ive tried about everything and it looks ok but i must be missing something

[JeffG]

Therapy for me, and I can practice my martial breathing and footwork while doing it.

[Frank V]

I sized some 454190's today that i cast sunday. Funny thing about the mould is that one side casts crisp but the other has rounded bands. Ive tried about everything and it looks ok but i must be missing something

Jonp
You might try turning your heat us just a bit. I was getting bases not filled out on the front cavity, I turned my heat up about 25 degrees & bingo both cavities started throwing beautiful bullets. If your bullets come out frosty then turn your heat down just a bit. Often it'll only take 25 degrees or so to make a huge difference.
Good luck.

[GhostHawk]

For me its almost like a spring tonic.

Its finally warm enough that I can open the windows, cast some sinkers, some slingshot .45 caliber balls and some .312 for the Mosins, YEA!

I probably wouldn't "have" to open the windows, but I do feel better about casting indoors with good airflow.

[buckwheatpaul]

I havent for years.....but I am currently building a 14' x 28' "man's cave" for reloading the bullets that I will start casting again....I used to love to cast and reload....there is something soothing about anything dealing with reloading and casting; I just got too busy to do so and ammo use to available and cheap, i.e., got lazy.....just got a new MP 314-640 mold for my 32-20....can hardly wait to take it out for a spin......

[hickfu]

I finally got the 9mm mold to release the boolits.... It took continued cleaning, running a brass brush over it, smoking the mold but now it will release the boolits....YEA!!! I do notice that one side of the boolit is nice and smooth (the side that released originally) and the other side is rough. I think it was just a bad job cutting the mold on that side. I will have to make a bunch of boolits, put a screw in them and heat treat them so I can run them in the cavities with some valve lapping compound.... Or just leave it like it is

The boolits alread come out to .358 from a .356 mold so I like that... Unfortunately my .452 mold is dropping at .450 to 451 most of the time.. grrrr

and I do this to relax
Doc

[dudel]

It always starts with relaxation as one of the goals. It doesn't always end that way though. But it's like golf. All you need is one good session, and you'll come back for more.

[jonp]

Jonp
You might try turning your heat us just a bit. I was getting bases not filled out on the front cavity, I turned my heat up about 25 degrees & bingo both cavities started throwing beautiful bullets. If your bullets come out frosty then turn your heat down just a bit. Often it'll only take 25 degrees or so to make a huge difference.
Good luck.
I should explain that its a single cavity mould. By half i meant 1/2 of the boolit itself