Happy Newbie?

[Buckster]

Hi everyone!

I have been a reloader for many years and a couple of months ago I decided to try casting my own boolits...yes I have been a lurker on this site for a long time trying to learn from you guys with out bugging anyone one but I wanted to share today what I thought was some very good results at the range until someone noticed a few unlubed loads (lose in a canister) .357 158 grain round nose tumble lube boolits. I use the lee tumble lube process for finishing.

I am a big LEE fan and I have had excellent results with everything I have purchased from them...i even retired some of my RCBS equipment in favor of LEE equipment so there casting equipment I didn't second guess..so here is my question: I casted my boolits after fluxing using parafine as my flux (cleaned the dross) and running my temperature in the pot down to around 460 degree. I water quenched the boolits and they are coming out as shiny as a new nickel, range result were very good..just punching paper. The guy that noticed the round said they should have a dull soft finish after casting...my lead is from wheel weights and I have not tested the BNH. I picked up some lead bullets from my local supplier and I must admit..they are dull and soft if you scratch them.....I am using 4.3 grains of Titegroup as my load (a round 1190 feet per second) What am I doing wrong? :castmine:

[montana_charlie]

If those nickel-shiny bullets weigh about as much as you expect them to...
And, they all weigh about the same as each other...
And, they are shooting well for you...
And, they are not leaving troublesome lead deposits in your gun...

I guess the only thing you are doing wrong is 'letting other shooters look at them'.
CM

[44man]

Something is not Kosher! :???: I have never seen lead molten at 460*?????

[waksupi]

Welcome, Buckster.

I agree that your thermometer is probably off. You are not going to have lead flowing at that temperature. 600.61 is the established melt point for lead. An alloyed mix would melt a bit lower, but not that low.

[runfiverun]

are you making boolits out of solder?

[waksupi]

are you making boolits out of solder?

I think you may be on to something. That is about the proper heat range for tin. That would explain the shiny boolits.

[Buckster]

The lead is from wheel weights with nothing mixed in that I am aware of but I have read where some lots of WW have contained a lot of tin. I have been melting the lead at a temp of 750 and once melted and cleaned I run the pot down to under 500 (between 460 -475) and have not had any flow issues or the lead hardening up once the initial melt has occurred. I have a new batch of lead I just obtained from a local tire store and will see if i get the same results and let everyone know. I will be producing the ingots this week and will try casting under the same circumstances this weekend.

[montana_charlie]

The lead is from wheel weights with nothing mixed in that I am aware of.
Buckster,
Your "that I'm aware of" caveat indicates that you did not melt down the wheel weights. Since you weren't involved in the process, you have to trust your source to be telling it like it was.

Does your source sell wheel weight ingots and tin ingots? Some do, you know.

If you managed to buy tin instead of WW, it could explain some of the things that have you doubting your bullets. You might have jumped on the wrong sale, or the guy could have sent the wrong product (if he sells both).

The first "IF" in my earlier post had to do with the weight of your bullets...and how it compares with the weight that your mould is supposed to throw.
If they are supposed to weigh about 158 grains...and they do...you are not casting tin bullets.
Some of our colleagues suspect you are, because of the temperature you mentioned.

CM

[WyrTwister]

Hi everyone!

I have been a reloader for many years and a couple of months ago I decided to try casting my own boolits...yes I have been a lurker on this site for a long time trying to learn from you guys with out bugging anyone one but I wanted to share today what I thought was some very good results at the range until someone noticed a few unlubed loads (lose in a canister) .357 158 grain round nose tumble lube boolits. I use the lee tumble lube process for finishing.

I am a big LEE fan and I have had excellent results with everything I have purchased from them...i even retired some of my RCBS equipment in favor of LEE equipment so there casting equipment I didn't second guess..so here is my question: I casted my boolits after fluxing using parafine as my flux (cleaned the dross) and running my temperature in the pot down to around 460 degree. I water quenched the boolits and they are coming out as shiny as a new nickel, range result were very good..just punching paper. The guy that noticed the round said they should have a dull soft finish after casting...my lead is from wheel weights and I have not tested the BNH. I picked up some lead bullets from my local supplier and I must admit..they are dull and soft if you scratch them.....I am using 4.3 grains of Titegroup as my load (a round 1190 feet per second) What am I doing wrong? :castmine:



Don't worry , be happy . :-)

God bless
Wyr

[Buckster]

Correct I did not pour that lead those ingots came from a brother in-law in Virginia that used to cast and said he had it for years. So he may have forgotten and the ingots olny have RCBS on them which I believe is from the mold. . a very real possibility he forgot what exactly they were. I did weigh 50 of those bullets and they are averaging 156.8 with 15 or so coming in at 155.9 so they are light. Now not knowing for sure what the metal is enough of a concern for me not to shoot them and looks like a lesson learned here..Unless you melt it..you may never know! :)

[454PB]

I agree with all the previous posts. You either have a bad thermometer, or you are using a very tin rich alloy. That will hurt absolutely nothing, but is a waste of the valuable tin. Wheelweight alloy usually casts best at around 700 degrees, and your boolits will start developing a frosted appearance if you cast fast enough. I and others STRIVE for that frosted appearance, it indicates good fillout. Shiney boolits are purdy, but generally are not as well filled out as frosty ones. This can be seen by close visual inspection, weighing each boolit, and on the target.

[montana_charlie]

I did weigh 50 of those bullets and they are averaging 156.8 with 15 or so coming in at 155.9 so they are light. Now not knowing for sure what the metal is enough of a concern for me not to shoot them
Have no fear!
The weight is fairly close to what is expected, so the metal is quite useful for your application. You may have something which resembles 20 to 1 or (even) 16 to 1 alloy, and that won't hurt a thing.

A hardness test could provide a clue about the content, but it would still be a guess.

You COULD mix the metal you have with some actual WW, but the resulting alloy MAY not work as well as what you have now.
CM

[OLPDon]

Buckster
Just a thought get yourself a wheel weight when your unknown casting mixed and your booolit production is up to what you are use to. Take one wheel weight and lay it on top of the melt, ifin it don't melt in to your mix pronto and floats around at the temp that you are use to, you surly have a very high tin content. Which for sure is a good thing as you can use it for alloying when smelting. If I am not misstaken (I'm sure someone will step in for correction) anything higher then 5% tin is just wasted and adds nothing more to the alloy.
Don

[Buckster]

Ordered another Lyman thermometer this evening so I can be sure of the temperature of the pot and compare it to the one I purchased to see how much it is off. I will also be making new ingots from known wheel weights this week and I will cast again this weekend. I do have a question though.. I read where if your bullets are coming out frosted your lead is to hot ,,,here is where I saw that if it is ok to post the link http://pawpawshouse.blogspot.com/2006/04/sorting-bullets.html

I want to stress again I am new at this and may have read way to much and you folks are guiding me along the way. :drinks:

[runfiverun]

that temp is more like lino or foundry-type.
if you could get some ww's you could cut what ya got 1-1 then2-1 keep an eye on your melt temp and boolit , and it starts to get more where what you hear you need on
here it would confirm lino at 2-1
if 1-1 i would suspect lyman #2
if more than that, i will buy some from you.!

[IcerUSA]

Buckster , the frosted look is good , if it looks like it's been galvanized then it might be a little hot. If the sprue puddle solidifies in about 10 to 15 seconds you should be good to go .

Keith

[waksupi]

Buckster, ignore other sites for casting info. Most have misinformation, posted by people who don't want to be corrected.

[WyrTwister]

Ordered another Lyman thermometer this evening so I can be sure of the temperature of the pot and compare it to the one I purchased to see how much it is off. I will also be making new ingots from known wheel weights this week and I will cast again this weekend. I do have a question though.. I read where if your bullets are coming out frosted your lead is to hot ,,,here is where I saw that if it is ok to post the link http://pawpawshouse.blogspot.com/2006/04/sorting-bullets.html

I want to stress again I am new at this and may have read way to much and you folks are guiding me along the way. :drinks:


I do not worry about frosted bullets .

As for temp , consider one of those non-contact electronic infrared gadgets . Think Harbor Freight lists them .

God bless
Wyr