Your opinion please

[Hunter]

I put together this article for the m1911.org ezine on casting.
It is not so much as a how to but I have been getting a lot of PMs on how to cast so I wanted to put something together to give folks the general idea of casting pistol bullets.
I did get Robert Bank to help me edit it and since he helped me get started in casting a few years back I respect his opinion.
Check it out and please let me know what you think.
http://ezine.m1911.org/casting_frame.htm

[Junior1942]

It's a good article with outstanding photos.

[Horace]

I wish I could have seen the artical before I started casting.Great job!

[HABCAN]

Well done, Hunter!

[eka]

Very nicely done, indeed.

Keith

[1Shirt]

Well done Hunter! Good Pics, would be most valuable to a beginning caster!
1Shirt:coffee:

[Maven]

Very thorough coverage; well-written & abundantly illustrated too!

[winchester243]

Thank you for putting this together.

[clintsfolly]

Bad Hunter We will know have more shooters on the hunt for that big pail of WW!!! Good job on the article have fun clint

[9.3X62AL]

Hunter--

Your article is without doubt the best one-source tutorial for getting started in the boolit casting game I've seen to date. With the blessings of yourself and 45 Nut, a link from here to your article would be of great value to our new casters. I would have REALLY liked a step-by-step guide with your EXCELLENT photos when I started this hobby.

[S.R.Custom]

The pin-heads at 1911.org should deserve so good.

[carpetman]

Great job. EVERY possible thing a person would need to know is covered. Well ok,one slight detail omitted. With my love of cats and efforts to preserve and protect them,there should be a warning that cats should not be around when you cast or smelt. This would be for the safety of the caster as well but of course my interest would be more so for cats. To depict this hazzard maybe a picture of a cat with a little molten lead on it, nah that would not be graphic enough---you really want to drive the point home. How about a huge pile of cats with a whole bunch of molten lead on them.

[badgeredd]

Really nice article and your attention to detail for us newbies is really appreciated. Now I have one request...........is it possible for you to put it in a PDF file for download for usins that would like to save it to our 'puters?

[Blammer]

Outstanding article!
Great pics!

If I may make one comment.

The pics of an UN protected hand while stirring the pot is, well, unprotected.

If you could I'd opt for another showing a gloved hand just for extra safety.

[Lloyd Smale]

nice job.

[bullshot]

Excellent--Great pictures

[Scrounger]

CarpetMan will never admit it but his discovery of kitty litter as a fluxing agent came about one day when he poured his wife's cat's kitty litter into his RCBS Furnace in an attempt to trick the kitten into jumping in it. Cat was too smart but he couldn't outrun a 5mm Sheridan pellet. Sic Semper Cattus.

[Cherokee]

Well done and good pic's

[mike in co]

a note on zinc ww's...they are not all riveted. now adays most are cast just like pb. the good news is that most of them actually say zinc on them(zn) or some zn alloy.

i did a 113 lb 5 gal bucket of ww's on sat. it contained 13 lbs of various zn ww, 25 lbs of clips, a couple pounds of trash and produced 73 lbs of ingots( this was mixed soft tape on's and clip on's, used for shot making)
i had some tape on's marked fe.....they were not pure iron , but what are they ?

maybe we need a sticky on ww identification ?

bottom line, better to throw out a questionable ww, than ruin the lot of alloy.



mike in co

[**oneshot**]

Very good article.

[Sundogg1911]

nice article. very informative and easy for a newbie to follow.
well done!

[Hunter]

Thank yall so much for all the positive comments.
I have tried to cast with welders gloves on but I just cannot do it. I believe if care is exercised then all should be well.
Yall are more than welcome to copy or post it anywhere you would like. I am by no means an expert but I had hoped to put something together for those interested in casting to give them an idea.
It was well received at m1911.org as well as there are several beginning casters over there (I usually direct them to this site as a great reference as I have learned very much over hear).
I have not seen any of the Zinc w-w that the clip is cast into the Zinc but I will mention that in the discussion thread for that article.
Thanks again so much for the great comments, I referenced this site as well as the Lyman books.
I do not know how to do a pdf file but if you can copy it please do.

[Wicky]

Hunter, my 10c worth - top article and makes things really easy to understand. This needs to be read by anybody thinking of casting their own. Well done.

[Bret4207]

I agree on the gloves. Being able to feel what you are doing is sometimes more important than an extra safety measure. Besides, burn ointment isn't real expensive. Cotton Masons gloves work much better than welders gloves.

Good job!

BTW- Thats appears to be a nice website. A cut above the average "I got's a Kimber SupertacticaleliteoperatorHRTspecial with 4 rail lights, 2 lazers and and Kitchen Magician attached".

[Ed Barrett]

Great article, Hope I see some more!

[Hunter]

Thanks again yall, the positive comments from this forum really mean a lot to me.
M1911.org is a pretty good forum. Many complain it is over moderated (and that may be so but we try to run it squeaky clean).
This is my first attempt at a casting article but I have reviewed several Government Models and the Hornady L-N-L press (I have linked a few to this site as well).
I am also working on a review of the Hornady case feeder for Steve Johnson at Hornady.

BTY the advice on the .30 rifle bullet molds is working out great, thanks for that as well.

[NoDakJak]

Wear the gloves guys. I,m a southpaw and wear a welders glove on the right hand and a lighweight leather glove on the left. And for crying out loud don't forget eye protection.
I cast just outside the shop when the weather is good. A couple years ago I had added several ingots to the old Lyman pot and was performing other work while the lead melted. I came walking past the pot just as a grasshopper flew into it. Explosion! Glasses saved my eyes. Bad burns on my right hand that got infected. Was afraid that I would loose the hand for a while. Neil

[waksupi]

Wear the gloves guys. I,m a southpaw and wear a welders glove on the right hand and a lighweight leather glove on the left. And for crying out loud don't forget eye protection.
I cast just outside the shop when the weather is good. A couple years ago I had added several ingots to the old Lyman pot and was performing other work while the lead melted. I came walking past the pot just as a grasshopper flew into it. Explosion! Glasses saved my eyes. Bad burns on my right hand that got infected. Was afraid that I would loose the hand for a while. Neil


I'm thinking one of your ingots melted, with some moisture in it to cause the tinsel fairy. A grasshopper most likely wouldn't be able to fly under the surface of melted lead.

[MtGun44]

Looks like a good article.

I don't wear gloves, can't feel what is going on well and just don't
like it. The only burns have been very minor, but I have noted that
it doesn't take me very long to inspect a freshly dropped boolit. . . . :roll:

Good job. :drinks:

Bill

[DJWright]

Great article, should be very helpful for someone starting out.

[Ricochet]

I found it yesterday over there. Great job!

[selmerfan]

As someone who has just now accumulated everything you discussed in the article, I can't wait to get casting! When this rains stops then I can melt some lead. I've heard rumors of some tinsel fairy that appears when molten lead has water introduced to it. Someday I might meet the tinsel fairy, but I don't want to force the issue. :
Selmerfan

[LAH]

Yelp.........that's nice...........Creeker

[Trader Vic]

I'm a new caster & I found this to be very informative. After reading all the threads is was great to see exactly what everything was supposed to look like. Super info for anybody wanting to learn what it's all about. That's why I enjoy this board so much, always something to learn & lots of experienced people to help you out. Thanks Guys. NRA PATRON LIFE MEMBER

[TAWILDCATT]

Mike in co: I just got 78lb out of that same 5 gallon bucket and no zinc.:coffee:
[smilie=1::Fire: