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View Full Version : Step On In, Pics Of My First Cast Boolits Ever !



matchlite
05-24-2016, 10:49 AM
Howdy gang ! Just fired up my casting setup for the first time last night. Please feel free to critique my boolits, and let me know what y'all think.

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Here's the new Pro Melt, sure is perdy when they're new !

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Ingots in the pot. Set the temp of the Pro Melt to 750, pre-heated the lee 2 cavity mold on the lip of the pot while the lead was melting, smoked the mold, lubed the alignment pins and sprue pivot with 2 cycle synthetic oil, then dipped the corner of the mold into the lead for 30-45 seconds or so.

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Here's my first five boolits. I had the lead flow way too high initially, as the lead was splashing back out of the mold. They still seemed to fill out ok.

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Pics of the sprues. I may have needed to let the sprue cool longer, seems like there was a little tearing of the lead, but not too bad.

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This pic is of the last 10 that I cast. Ended up the casting session with 209 decent boolits. I re-melted about 20 or so that did not have a well defined driving band.

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Small pile of joy !

matchlite
05-24-2016, 10:58 AM
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Pic of 10 bullets pulled randomly from the pile.

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Pics of the mold after the casting was complete for the night.

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They are casting a bit out of round, and undersized one direction...... How much probability is there for leading ? Will they change dimentions over the next couple of weeks ? Lead was straight COWW, FYI.
Also verified measurements with another mic.

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I'd like to thank everyone here for the knowledge that us new casters have access to, it's made my first session go extremely well.
Any input is much appreciated, as I'm now on the quest to get better casting boolits !

No_1
05-24-2016, 10:59 AM
Nice work. Lube, load, shoot then let us know what YOU think of your cast.

OS OK
05-24-2016, 11:30 AM
There's nothing wrong with those results…however…they will fill out better if you get that soot out of the vent lines between the mold halves. Keep the faces of the mold clean. If you want smoke, do it with the mold upside down and allow it to up-drift into the cavities, a very thin layer is all you need…if at all.
After cleaning and de-burring my 6 holers properly, I don't need to smoke anymore, they fall out on their own or they need a 'tiny-bit' of encouragement from me…depends on the heat levels.

nagantguy
05-24-2016, 11:57 AM
Very nice, shoot some and see remember it's all an educated guess until you pull the trigger. And yes on clean molds casting best, make sure you need to "smoke'em" before you do, hot molds drop better boolit in my limited personal experience.

Echo
05-24-2016, 12:18 PM
Look good to me, and I never smoked my Al molds...

s mac
05-24-2016, 01:23 PM
I also very seldom smoke a mould. As much soot as you have deposited on yours your cast are not quite as large as a clean mould would produce.

Practice practice, your off to a good start.

Walter Laich
05-24-2016, 01:32 PM
Looks good

forgot how good a PM looks when it's brand new

My only suggestion is get a 6-gang mold and really start to turn bullets out. Lee's are inexpensive and can do a great job. The more expensive molds are a bit more refined but Lee is my go-to mold maker

jeepyj
05-24-2016, 03:35 PM
Nice job, seems like your on the right track. The rest will come with repetition. As others have mentioned I feel the need to smoke Al's moulds. Not saying it's wrong but ones I have just plain rain boolits with out smoking.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
05-24-2016, 03:37 PM
Some of us have found a better way! Of course, just an Ol'Coot's opinion from years of casting.

Two weeks ago I had a two morning casting session, just less the two hours on Monday morning and just over on Tuesday, casting a total of over 58lbs. of bullets for the two sessions.

Have fun with the bottom pour system. Lots of folk like them, but I have not found them to be fast enough for my use. Yes, I have tried them.

Just an OLD Coleman gas stove, an open 40 - 45lb. pot and a Rowell bottom pour ladle and away I go.

But no matter the method you choose, welcome aboard!

Taking my first deer with my own cast 45/70 bullet was almost as great an experience as taking my first deer with a hand load waaaaaay back, probably in the late 60s.

I'll try to attach a couple images, one of my simple old fashion system and one of the results of the Monday casting session which produced almost 1200 "banger" bullets for .38 fun/practice loads. Third image is just a sample of some of the bullets I cast. The big one is a 465gr Wide Flat Nose that is awesome on deer and elk in the 45/70.

Keep at it, You will not only get better/faster at the process, but have a lot of fun with your home cast bullets!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

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JonB_in_Glencoe
05-24-2016, 04:31 PM
Step On In, Pics Of My First Cast Boolits Ever

...snip
Matchlite,
Welcome to the website.

They look far better than the first one's I cast, back in 2010.
Lee molds (especially the 2 cav molds) can be hit and miss.
If they are only 'out-of-round' by 0.001" (or less), then you got a good one.
I don't suspect you'll get lead fouling because of that...and if you were to get lead fouling, it may very well be caused from improper case tension (swaging the boolit smaller when seated), then from being a bit 'out-of-round'. They will grow as they age, it may take 3 to 6 months, but COWW will grow about 0.001"

Let us know how you're gonna lube/size 'em....and how they shoot.
Good Luck,
Jon


PS, as some others mentioned, I'd recommend not smoking a mold...I wouldn't pay any attention to any of the Lee directions. But smoking a mold isn't gonna wreck anything...it'll just clog vent lines and may decrease the size of a boolit.

bedbugbilly
05-24-2016, 06:08 PM
Nice job! Those will go down range just fine! Somehow, I have a feeling that you are now "hooked"! LOL Welcome to the "addiction"! Enjoy, be careful when casting and have fun!

RedHawk357Mag
05-24-2016, 06:08 PM
Great post! Welcome.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

gwpercle
05-24-2016, 07:11 PM
You overdid the smoking , I thought your mould was cast iron. When cooled clean all that soot off. I've discovered a plain squeaky clean mold cavity works best . A scrub with Acetone does the trick for cleaning . If , with a brand new mould that's not broke in yet a little mould release is wanted, spray or Q-Tip a coat of Liquid Wrench Dry Lubricant in the cavity and block surfaces. It dries and leaves a micro fine teflon flim , it is better than the soot. much cleaner .

Other than that you're doing just fine , keep on casting ! Welcome to the club from Baton Rouge , Louisiana.
Gary

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
05-24-2016, 07:46 PM
Yes, get rid of the smoke!

CDOC

osteodoc08
05-24-2016, 07:47 PM
Those look great. Keep up the good work.

Clean your mold. Do another run and measure. The good news is that any rejects can be remelted.

If youre using a lubrisizer and dont have lube, may I suggest RandyRat's Tac1 as an all around great general purpose lube. He's a member here and the lube is so economical, I dont bother making my own.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
05-24-2016, 08:02 PM
Same with White Label lube. Hard to brew your own at the price they charge!

CDOC

matchlite
05-24-2016, 09:53 PM
Thanks to everyone with their advise! Looks like for the second round, I'll clean the smoke off of the mold. I also currently have a Lee 2 hole 200gr SWC mold that I'll try next, with a good cleaning (I used CRC Electramotive for the first mold in the pics), and we'll see if that helps with the fill out / size. I am in on the group buy of the Mihec 200gr SWC currently posted, and may also order one of the Lee 6 hole SWC molds. For sizing initially, I have the Lee .452 sizer setup, and plan to tumble lube. I have the Lee liquid alox that came with the sizing set, and also purchased some Rooster Jacket tumble lube. Ultimately, I may go with the Star sizing setup, or powder coat......I haven't decided yet. Thanks again for all of the replies! I'm a member on quite a few forums (I have too many hobbies!), and this one is the most welcoming, friendly, and willing to share knowledge group I've ever been associated with!

Mitch
05-24-2016, 10:46 PM
I agree get a lee 6 cavity they work much better than the 2s.thoses look great for the fist time casting.just keep playing with you timeing and temp a bit and you will have better fill.I have the lee 230gr TC mold and it runs great and makes me lot off boolits in no time.i am sure the swc mold will do the same.

plainsman456
05-24-2016, 11:12 PM
After you use the mold a few times it will make a lot of cast boolits.
I don't smoke the molds but if you play with the temp a little you can make them larger by turning down the temp.

Keep it up.

blikseme300
05-24-2016, 11:32 PM
Matchlite, welcome to the madness!

Cowboy_Dan
05-25-2016, 12:22 AM
RE: The possibility of those boolits leading, Imho,

The .4497" reading may be a bit small as I would bet your groove is closer to .451". But as you size them , that lead needs to go somewhere and may make them a bit rounder. Maybe not enough, but closer.

Also firing them may cause them to bump up a bit, depending on the pressure. Straight wheel weights are not terribly hard, so it may not take much gas pressure to fill out that barrel and prevent leading. However they will only bump up in the rear and only where there is space between the boolit and the barrel. This throws off the ballance a bit, which reduces accuracy. Enough to notice? Probably not at pistol range.

In short, there is a good chance that these boolits will work as good as they look. And they are purdy.

45workhorse
05-25-2016, 01:47 AM
Loose the mallet, use your gloved hand to move the sprue cuter. You well "feel" the sprue cutter better. One or two cavity molds only, any more go back to the mallet. That boolit also shoots good out of Ruger old army BP pistol.
Mighty fine for your first session. Look at all the money you spent......or saved I meant too say!:kidding: