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troy_mclure
07-25-2010, 10:30 PM
small batches!!

i cast up 2 pots(18lbs) of .401/175gr boolits a while ago. it was miserable in the heat, standing the garage.

tonite i sized all of them(720).

i dont have very much space for casting reloading or sizing so its all cramped and uncomfortable.


from now on ill be doing small batches only.


what do you guys do?

huge batches, or small?

Guesser
07-25-2010, 10:35 PM
I go by time, usually I can only stand and work the molds for about an hour at a session. Most of my molds are obsolete single cavity, so if I get 150 boolits I have had a very successful session. I use two molds and alternate, that way I seldom have to wait for a mold to cool.

RobS
07-25-2010, 10:40 PM
It depends on what caliber and what my plans are. For my 375 H&H..............short runs of 50-60 of em will do me well for quite a while. For the 454 casull in both a revolver and lever action I typically will go 300 to 500 boolits at a time. The boolit that I run in the 45 auto and for plinkers in the revolver.................a good batch of 500 to 750 many times.

Lately though I've been experimenting with alloys, heat treating and or annealing bullets so not as many bullets at a time.......maybe a 100 to 150 at a single go.

Harter66
07-25-2010, 11:08 PM
I've been doing 3-500 at a time generaly spread out in 2 or 3 boolits, like those for my 38 and the 45 Colts or those for the 357 and 9mm , RBs and Maxi's 490s 50/54s. My rifles are kinda picky though 3 moulds 6 rifles 5 alloys so they might only get 100-150 at a set .

Le Loup Solitaire
07-25-2010, 11:36 PM
Casting in hot weather is not fun and in cramped quarters can be torture. Go to Walmart, K-Mart, Target or whatever and get a small electric fan; they usually go for under $10. Some models have a small wire adjustable stand or else a large plastic clip. Set it up so that you get the airflow directed at you or close. Secondly get a sweatband/headband to keep the dripping and running out of your eyes. Thirdly don't get dehydrated...keep a cool/iced drink nearby and use it. Pace your casting so that you do not overheat the mold or yourself. Two small fans might be better and will certainly help with the ventilation as well. How long to cast is an individual thing, and all of the above will help that. How long also depends upon size of mold and how much you can do without over-pushing yourself. Putting a time limit on the session works, but watch the quality of what you are doing and not the clock. Having to throw back into the pot bad castings is a waste of time under any conditions. Putting on a number limit is ok, as long as you can remain reasonably comfortable. If you start to stress out in any way...stop. Better safe than sorry. LLS

GSM
07-26-2010, 02:10 AM
Depends on the weather.

Summertime - a couple of hours at best. Too hot in the garage for man or beast. Best for cooking up batches of alloy for use latter in the year.

Spring and fall - cast until I can't see straight (it does happen). Darn H & G moulds just keep going and going....

Winter time - forget it. Stay inside and clean guns from summer. Size and lube in late winter (60 Watt bulb helps things flow).

AzShooter
07-26-2010, 06:55 AM
I cast about 400 bullets at a time. Good thing I'm using Lee six cavity molds for most of my casting. For rifles I only cast 100 at a time from my single or double cavity molds.

When it's over 100 degrees it's not fun. I've got to learn to do my casting in the winter and make enough that I can take the summer off.

Next week I'm moving and the garage is insulated. That should make a big difference.

dale2242
07-26-2010, 07:14 AM
I try not to cast in the summer. I cast inside my well vented shop. If I need to cast in the summer, I get up early and cast until it gets too hot. When it gets hot I sort, weigh and lube them in front of my portable swamp cooler. I cast in big batches because I store my casting pot etc over head in my shop....dale

winelover
07-26-2010, 07:41 AM
I do my casting outdoors, in the spring, when is cool enough to wear a welders jacket. Fall is reserved for hunting. Summer is too hot! Forget Winter!! I will cast for 8-10 hours per day and for 2-3 days straight, depending on what boolets I'm low on. I don't lube and size until after hunting season is over.

Winelover:cbpour:

Charlie Two Tracks
07-26-2010, 08:05 AM
I am just learning to cast. I've done it (maybe) a dozen times. This Saturday I decided to cast as fast and as long as I could. I filled a Folgers coffee can about 2/3 full. I later found out that I wasn't getting a good fill out of the driving bands and the whole thing is going back in the pot. I guess it was good practice. I can read all I want to about casting but a guy must just have to do it to get the hang of it. Casting must be like everything else. Practice makes perfect.

qajaq59
07-26-2010, 08:51 AM
I try not to cast at all in the summer. It is just too hot in the garage. Next year I may put in an AC. And I rarely cast for more then an hour and a half. It takes concentration to get them right, and once I get too sore I lose it.

okksu
07-26-2010, 09:25 AM
I usually only do small batches too, but then I'm only going through 75-120 rds a month or so. I usually try to do 150 -200 keepers per session from a 10 lb Lee bottom pour. That's about all it can do without taking the melt level down lower than I want for risk of clogging things up. (I'm doing three different boolits and so I try to keep a month or two supply on hand for each flavor.) I seldom try to melt/flux a second pot full. I've got a covered patio, and usually do it early AM or later in the eveing when its not so hot. Still can work up a sweat in the casting garb though.

BOOM BOOM
07-26-2010, 05:44 PM
HI.
I cast when there is snow on the ground 2 pots a day during the Xmas school break,
then 2 pots ( big old Lyman bottom pour pot, not sure how much it holds) a day during new yr. break.
day 1- 38's
day 2- 44's
day3- 7MM's
and rotate through again.
Will also do a pot on Mon. Frid. & Sat. of a regular work week in the winter. As do not have karate or jujitsu practices to lead on those days.
Will have multiple thousands by time I an done & snow is all gone.

qajaq59
07-26-2010, 06:33 PM
Will have multiple thousands by time I am done & snow is all gone.
Boom Boom, if your snow isn't gone by now, you must live up in the Arctic Circle. LOL

mooman76
07-26-2010, 08:11 PM
I cast larger batches in the fall through spring and small batches in the summer only if I really need them soon. I have a portable stand so I can size in the house in the summer.

geargnasher
07-27-2010, 02:20 PM
I cast year-round without very good climate control. My solution, do it by the wood stove in the shop in the winter, and at midnight-2:00am on days off in the summer with an extra fan blowing on ME. I usually do between 2-4 hours at a stretch, couple times a month unless I'm on an accuracy goose chase with a new gun.

Gear

fredj338
07-27-2010, 03:05 PM
I'm a small batch guy. When I need bullets, I fire up the pot & cast. The amount depends on what I am going for. Less bullets for the 45-70 than say the 45acp.

casterofboolits
07-27-2010, 03:24 PM
I turned my pots on at 9:00 AM this morning when the temp was 68 F. But had to lube size, inspect and box 500 each of 45C-250-RNFPBB and H&G #68 45-200-SWCBB to put on the shelf for a buddy coming in from Colorado next week. That finishes up 3,000 each.

That done, I started casting more H&G #68's using two eight and one four cavity H&G molds. Cast out two RCBS 10 kilo pots and by 2:00 PM even with a large fan and the exhaust hoods running, the heat and humidity got to me and I closed up shop and retreated to the air conditioning. Since having a stroke, the heat and humidity whoops my butt. [smilie=b:

It's supposed to be 70 degrees tomorrow morning and I plan on hitting the shop about 7:30 AM and cast until the heat runs me back to the AC again. [smilie=l:

Cherokee
07-27-2010, 03:37 PM
I cast year round in my air conditioned workshop. Batches run from 300 to 600, depending upon the bullet and how heavy the moulds (Lyman or Lee). Rendering alloys is done outside in the fall or spring, not summer.

BLTsandwedge
07-27-2010, 04:00 PM
Lots of comments about the summer heat....

On Left Central's coast, July and August generally keep to an overcast 58-65f during the day- our summer heat comes in September and October. 80F is steaming hot here. We do have year 'round outdoor casting.

I'm fortunate to have found some H&G moulds on the old board. With both a 10-cavity H&G #50 and a six-cavity of the same #50 I can usually get 1100-1200 out of a 3-hour session. If I'm working for 10, 44, 45 etc, I'm down to running two 4-cavity Lymans. The count drops to 800 or so. Running two lead pots and having a good thermometer are necessary.

The easiest way for any of us to bring our numbers up with the time we've got is to have a technique good enough to get a cull rate of less than 10%. That means having equipment and raw materials on-hand and the ability to diagnose and correct issues as they come up.

As M'sieur Wolf says in his post above, watch the quality, not the time............

AzShooter
07-27-2010, 04:08 PM
I just gave in today and ordered 3000 bullets from my friend that casts. It's just too hot. I'll start casting again in sthe fall. For now I have 3000 of my own bullets and will have my new order in a few weeks.

I know I can get 1 inch groups with my friend's bullets. I can do it with a couple of loads and my 180 grain LBT mold and that's what I'll be casting in the fall.

For practice I'll use up my boolits and for matches I'll use my friends. Hopefully by next year I'll be good enough to just cast my own.

DLCTEX
07-27-2010, 08:25 PM
My reloading building is air conditioned so I cast whenever I want, but smelting is done in cooler weather unless I run low on alloy. I'm getting close to the bottom of the pile and may have to smelt a bucket or two soon.

StrawHat
07-28-2010, 05:50 AM
When I cast and how much I cast depends on what I am shooting and what I need. I am no longer in any handgun competition so my needs for 38 and 45 are less than before. Same for rifle, no competition so realistically I only need 50-100 rifle bullets for each cartridge. I try to do all my csating in the spring and fall when temps are moderate and rain in not in the area.

I still try to cast 1000 or so handgun boolits and 200 or 300 rifle boolits when I cast. Some days it happens, other days I don't even come close.

Smelting is also done during the cooler months.