The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

[308Jeff]

Spent all winter and spring gathering up equipment and lead, and smelting ingots.

By the time I ready to start casting, it got HOT here in AZ.

Actually figured I wouldn't even think about trying my first casting until fall, but a flight of fancy spurred me into action tonight.

In addition to a Lee 420, I picked up a HotPot 2. Figured I would just plug that baby in along with the hot plate and have a go.

The Good - The Lee 401-175-TC seems to work beautifully. Sprues cut easily, and for the most part the bullets fell out on their own.
The Bad - Not really a bad, the HotPot2 worked great, but it'll take some practice to get the right speed/rhythm/coordination to work well.
The Ugly - Nothing really ugly, other than me.

198682

They're far from perfect, but it gave me the encouragement to know that the Lee Mold is going to work well. I didn't have to fight it, and I'm sure it'll turn out near perfect bullets once I've got some experience under my belt.

Overall I feel encouraged, and I know I'm going to enjoy casting. :-)

[mwells72774]

Those are some fine looking boolits

[lightman]

First off, your bullets look fine. They are well filled out and have sharp edges. All casting equipment will have a learning curve. Some of this can be anticipated after you gain more experience. You done good!:drinks:

[Bzcraig]

Well done grasshopper!

[Follow Me]

I should be so lucky.
Congrats
Follow Me

[472x1B/A]

Those boolits look real good. After a shiny powder coat the inside of any case would be proud to hold them babies.

[OS OK]

It's about time Jeff...mighty fine looking results there...so, now your an old hand at this business!
Congrats... c h a r l i e

[Larry Gibson]

"By the time I ready to start casting, it got HOT here in AZ"

I feel your pain over here in Lake Havasu City........hit 124 a few days this last couple weeks........

Larry Gibson

[smokeywolf]

"By the time I ready to start casting, it got HOT here in AZ"

I feel your pain over here in Lake Havasu City........hit 124 a few days this last couple weeks........

Larry Gibson

Larry, that comment almost seems like it belongs on the cooking sub-forum.

[Bullwolf]

Those look pretty darn good to me.

Congratulations. Now the addiction begins.





- Bullwolf

[EMC45]

They look great. I shoot this bullet out of my Sub2K. They are nice.

[leebuilder]

Looking good.
Get er done
Send them down range soonest!!!
Be well

[RogerDat]

Well there ya go! Bullets! Just like that. And nice looking boolits to boot.

That's the trick isn't it, cast like mad when the temps right so you can be inside and reload when it's too hot to work with molten lead. Look at the bright side, it's a dry heat... which means you can powder coat! Mich. humidity in summer makes shake and bake PC tougher.

[USSR]

Great Movie!

Don

[Big Boomer]

Hey 308jeff ... those are good looking boolits. Not bad for an original Kentuckian! Way to go. Temperatures back in your home state have been pretty mild for the last few days. I smelted 26 gallon jugs of wheel weights last Monday. Got a couple of blisters on my right index finger to prove it. Keep up the good work. Big Boomer

[308Jeff]

Thanks, y'all. The initial fears are gone now that I actually got busy and tried it.


It's about time Jeff...mighty fine looking results there...so, now your an old hand at this business!
Congrats... c h a r l i e

Was thinking about you while I was casting 'em, Charlie. Thanks for your encouragement!


Hey 308jeff ... those are good looking boolits. Not bad for an original Kentuckian! Way to go. Temperatures back in your home state have been pretty mild for the last few days. I smelted 26 gallon jugs of wheel weights last Monday. Got a couple of blisters on my right index finger to prove it. Keep up the good work. Big Boomer

Thanks, buddy. Miss all that green back there, and Fischer's Pickled Bologna! Gotta figure out how to get my hands on some of that out here in AZ.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

yup, those are mighty fine, if one of the old pros showed that pic I wouldn't have batted an eye....lid?....eye?...eyelash?... you get the picture! lol