Three firsts today

[Mohawk Daddy]

Caught a decent morning for casting with overcast, temps in low 80s (decent is relative in Oklahoma August). Fired up the pot and started casting some 230 RN for 45ACP. First two boolits were absolutely perfect; this had never happened for me before. Heard about it, read about it, now I've finally seen it.
Second: after casting about a dozen 45s in a two-cavity mold, I felt a sense of heat in one spot on the back of my right hand; looked down and saw a little ball of semi-molten metal stuck to my bare flesh. Yes, my leather gloves were carefully laid out on a concrete slab right beside my chair. No good down there, so I have to update my check list for safety. No major damage done, just a handy reminder.
Third: tried air-drying (?) for the first time. I had a piece of 5/8" plywood about 2.5'x3' so I laid that under my working hand to drop the boolits on. I lost my nerve at the last and spread an old towel which had been wetted and wrung out on top of the wood. I was using a fairly soft mix for the 45s and thought that old plywood looked mighty hard. I had a couple of 230s end up dented from hitting a cool bullet after leaving the mold, but overall it worked out ok. The towel ended up with some brown spots on it from heat, but no loss. Question: is the towel necessary, is the dampness in the towel necessary or just a complication? Is it better to drop fresh bullets from the mold onto wood or onto cloth? I'm always concerned about fire hazards although I work outside only. All my learning experiences take place on a concrete slab behind the garage. Thanks for your patience.

[Walter Laich]

good questions
I cast from a table with a wooden box next to the pot. The pot is on an elevated stand so I can see the spout. The box is on the table top. After cutting and dropping the sprue I drop the bullets right into the box which is about 4" tall. I put a piece of old towel in the bottom
I keep dropping them in the box and after awhile they are dropping on previously cast bullets--don't get dents in mine but I'm not dropping all that far down. I cast at 713º using a PID

[OS OK]

Hey...good work there...I drop on a folded bath towel, prolly 18" deep and 12" or so wide, when they get congested in the drop zone I pick the front of the towel up and slowly roll them to the rear away from me and the drop zone. I keep doing that and they don't ding each other too much.
The towel has some scorch marks on it but has never burst into flames yet...soon as I'm done, generally 600 boolits or so I'll put them all into a metal cookie sheet to finish cooling. Wouldn't leave them on the towel with out being there all the time just in case.

[Yodogsandman]

I drop boolits from the mold onto a folded bath towel. New ones are rolled to the back of the towel each cast with a 1" maple dowel that I use for a mold mallet. That leaves the front of the towel cleaned off to receive the next boolits. Sometimes I inspect them while rolling them. Never would I expect 400*F cooling boolits to cause any towel fire.

That or I sometimes drop them into a 5 gallon bucket of water on the floor that I have an old, wet t-shirt stretched over, that's slit for the boolits to fall through. A fast, easy way to increase the hardeness of softer alloys, too for stuff like 45ACP boolits..

[country gent]

I use a paint roller metal pan to drop into. I drop on the angled portion I use bar towels dry and lay 3-5 of thenm in the tray with the edges leaving the front lip visible. This allows bullets to be roll down the angled area when it starts getting crowded. When the towel get full the top one is lifted off and set aside on the floor to completely cool, leaving another towel ready to go.I dont use wet towels or water drops but just drop on a dry cotton bar towel or hand towel.

[Mike W1]

My bullets drop onto denim covered foam. The 2 shelves are adjustable for incline and after the bullets are cool just get pushed into boxes behind. Removable boxes on the front catch the sprues and the little one front of the box gets whatever drips occur. Everything I can possibly think of (SO FAR) is right there in a handy little area.

Bullet catch box
http://i.imgur.com/19suSGb.jpg
Full shot of current setup
http://i.imgur.com/Iik07Mc.jpg

[Mohawk Daddy]

Thanks for all comments and suggestions, gentlemen. I'm getting ideas for improving my technique from every one. Never entered my head that the distance the bullets dropped would be a factor as much as what they are dropped onto.

[LAH]

I drop in a cardboard box which is inclined so the bullets roll to the end. No towel, no fuss, just drop them close to the cardboard.

[rintinglen]

I made a shallow ramp and put an old towel on it so that boollits dropped on the towel roll down to the lower edge. Every two to four hundred boolits, depending on size, I push them to the side to clear the ramp for more boolits.

[Bzcraig]

Hey...good work there...I drop on a folded bath towel, prolly 18" deep and 12" or so wide, when they get congested in the drop zone I pick the front of the towel up and slowly roll them to the rear away from me and the drop zone. I keep doing that and they don't ding each other too much.


This is my routine as well. I don't use a white towel but have never even noticed scorch marks.

[runfiverun]

I'm pretty close to Walter's method but I use a series of towels and pick the top one up by the corners as it gets full and move it, this keeps me with a nice padded place to drop the boolits and I keep a general count by the amount of towels I move.
it also lets the boolits cool down a bit quicker.

[Mk42gunner]

Not wanting to ruin a good bath towel when I started casting, I used an old worn out pair of blue jeans. These many years later, I am still using the same pair of jeans to drop boolits onto.

They drop from the mold two to three inches, when I get a pile, I lift the edge closest to the front of the bench and roll them back to create a free space for more boolits.

I never worried about the hot boolits causing a fire; while I don't want to pick them up and examine them (learned that lesson) they are below ignition temperature of denim.

Robert

[Wayne Smith]

And the only time I have water on the towel is when I need to cool a sprue plate.

[w5pv]

I water drop all of my bullets and they come out just fine I use ww + a couple of pure ingots of lead.

[bedbugbilly]

I cast standing up - 18" wide board across two sawhorses and some 12" square ceramic tile under my propane hotplate. I have a piece of denim cloth - actually a couple of yards of it - folded so that there are four layers of it laying on top of the board to my left next to the tile where where my propane hot plate sits. I pour over the pot (I ladle pour), cut the sprue over the pot so it falls back in and then turn left and drop my boolits on the denim cloth. Been doing it that way for 50 years and never a problem. Yep, the boolits are hot from the mold but they won't set the material on fire and it cushions them when they drop from the mold. Once I get a bunch on the denim, I take my GLOVED HAND and push them into a pile to one side and start dropping again. Notice I said GLOVED. I never cast without heavy leather welding gloves, safety glasses, long sleeves and pants and covered feet. It's not only a "safety issue" . . . it's common sense. While you may think I'm "picking" on you . . . I'm really not. It's just that everyone needs to be aware of the hazards that exist with working with molten metal that can give you a third degree burn if something goes amiss.

[Mohawk Daddy]

Good stuff all. I may reorganize my layout and try casting while standing rather than sitting in a lawn chair. Probably healthier that way anyhow. My sessions have been limited by how long I can sit without stretching my legs.
bedbugbilly: no hurt here from "picking." I fully intended to work with two leather gloves as usual, but intent only counts in a courtroom. I won't forget to glove up again and thanks for lecture. Much less painful than the alternative.

[runfiverun]

I only wear one glove.
on my right hand.
I use it to open the sprue plate, catch the sprue, and return it to the casting pot.

I also dump my boolits to the left of my casting pot, my motions are kind of a little circle.
I fill the mold and let it sit on my box while I count.
I pick up and open the mold.
I put the sprue back with my right hand while moving the mold to the left with my left.
I open the mold and dump the boolits, my whacker stick is right there should I need it.
I return the mold to the box. [closing it on the way back with both hands]
total travel distance is abut 20-24" back and forth.

[old turtle]

I set a bucket half filled with water and old towel floating just under the surface. I place the bucket to my right about the level of the bottom of my chair. when there a good number of bullets on the towel I just pick up the corner and dump them into bottom of the bucket. What ever works for you is fine. I cast about 3-400 bullits a a session.

[DerekP Houston]

I use old t-shirts for my pan, drop is less than 2" from mold to pan and cushion with the shirt. Occasional brown marks but never seen any smoldering or smoke. This is in 100f degree weather as well. I roll the good ones to the right, sprues and rejects go to the left. Once cool scoop em out to a jar/another pan and then pick up the shirt and dump the rejects back in the pot.

[Jack Stanley]

Whatever cloth you decide to use , just make certain it's one hundred percent cotton . Dropping hot bullets on double knit polyester isn't much fun .

Jack

[LAH]

Dropping hot bullets on double knit polyester isn't much fun .

Jack

Heard that.

[popper]

The dry cotton towel may leave some fuzz on your boolits so I use a damp one. Just remember to watch for the tinsel fairy if you pick up cull/sprue off the damp towel and toss them in the pot.