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Thread: Top 10 Cast Boolits tips

  1. #1
    Moderator Emeritus / Trusted loob groove dealer

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    Top 10 Cast Boolits tips

    We get lots of good information on here nearly every day. What to you consider the top ten tips you picked up here in 2010?
    I'll have to think about it, and go back through some posts to decide!

    I think the tip on using citrus cleaner on brass has to be one of the best.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
    John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"

    Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!


  2. #2
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    Exclamation Hmmmmmm!

    Best thing I learned here in 2010, is to get your friends to cast for you.

    This way you can spend more time relaxing, drinking beer, watching them work and your not sweating over a hot pot!

    RRR
    "I Make the part.............................that makes the parts"

    Looking for Bullet Mould Handles, Heavy Duty Replacement Sprue Plates, Adjustable Paper Patch Bullet Moulds? Check here:http://www.kal.castpics.net/

    My Feedback!

    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...Red-River-Rick

  3. #3
    Boolit Master in Heaven's Range HammerMTB's Avatar
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    1. Slug your barrel. How else will you know the answer to the #1 issue- FIT!
    2. You're unlikely to get lead poisoning unless you don't wash, turn your pot up WAY too hot, and lick all the spent primers you collect.
    3. Collect your wheelweights now. They're unlikely to be around much longer.
    There's a small start.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Hard to say. I learned so much.

    I learned a lot about feeding my first 1911. I learned I am not alone in my quest for knowledge.

    My biggest learning experience was learning to speak up. To ask questions when I needed answers and to provide my experiences to the collective knowledge when I felt it would help.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Case swage down on boolits:
    Make sure the boolit leaves the loaded case at the intended diameter (Pull a boolit from a dummy round). This will help eliminate the many threads as to "Why is my barrel leading".

    Understanding Age Hardening:
    This will help people understand why some don't have issues and some do with swage down on certain alloyed boolits. It's a good idea to let a boolit age for a period of time (a week or two) before loading.

    These two alone are missed concepts by many.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Safety is paramount.
    Personal Protective Equipment should be used.
    Melting stuff can be hazardous.
    Sent from my PC with a keyboard and camera on it with internet too.
    Melting Stuff is FUN!
    Shooting stuff is even funner

    L W Knight

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    For paper patching an old time cigarette roller is a dynamite accessory.

  8. #8
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    i learned not to cast outside on a wrought iron picnic table in your bare feet cos hot "droplets"of lead fall through the table and on to the tops of your feet and its hot as h%$l,,, OUCH!!!!!.

  9. #9
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    Things I learned from Castboolits in 2010

    1. +1 on the citric acid brass cleaner. Thanks, Sagacious!

    2. Get your brass cleaning media cheap from the pet store or Harbor Freight.

    3. How to make the muzzle line of a .22 barrel liner invisible, Thank you John Taylor! Also thanks to Mike from TJ's Liners, without this site I wouldn't have found him, either.

    4. Lead wheel weights are becoming extinct, for real. Lesson learned: HOARD.

    5. It is possible, although maybe not practical, to make boolits from zinc.

    6. Crumb rubber mulch makes excellent boolit trap material for recovery, inspection, and troubleshooting cast boolit performance.

    7. Flat, plain top punches work better than shaped ones for most flat point boolits in base-first sizers.

    8. PID controllers solve the pot temperature swings and that makes more consistent boolit weights.

    9. Accurate Molds (dot) com is a boolit caster's dream come true.

    10. Common chucking reamers can be used with masking tape 'bushings' to ream revolver cylinder throats, thanks Bret4207!


    Some things I learned on my own:

    1. Bronze wool works better than a Chore Boy for removing lead fouling from bores.

    2. Carbon monoxide is the real compound responsible for the reduction of lead and tin oxides, not carbon itself.

    3. Carnauba wax in boolit lube can promote rust in the bore with certain powders.

    4. "Wet" silicone oil makes a great sprue plate and alignment point lube for aluminum moulds.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
    .30/30 Guy's Avatar
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    Great list geargnasher! I have used a number of these the past year.
    #1 - citric acid is great.
    #4 - get the wheel weight while you can.
    #6 - crumb rubber boolit catchers work great have not lost a single boolit since started using it.
    #8 - PID's are a the best thing that I did last year for my casting equipment

    Some other thing that may not be limited to the year 2010.
    #1 - Bull Plate - never be without it.
    #2 - Patmarlins Checkmakers - outstanding checks for your boolits and the PB Checkmaker - WOW!
    #3 - Ace Hardware roof flashing material for gas checks

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    # 1 Thing is just do it! You'll only learn so much reading about, take the plunge. Just do it! Dennis

  12. #12
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    many great tips listed so far.

    Citric acid brass cleaning technique is surely #1

    I imagine this is old news for many here,
    but for me, one not listed so far is
    "how cast lead alloys age harden"
    My newest plan for swaging using a reloading press and
    annealed brass cartridge as a jacket
    is using a core (not Pure lead) but WW alloy
    that is cast less than 24 hours prior to swaging.
    Jon
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  13. #13
    Boolit Master



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    You've overlooked KROIL on your molds, and the Lee-menting process, too.

    Come on guys, he said CAST BOOLITS tips- I know there are nearly too many to mention, but you can do better than this!
    USMC 1980-1985

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe View Post
    I imagine this is old news for many here,
    but for me, one not listed so far is
    "how cast lead alloys age harden"
    My newest plan for swaging using a reloading press and
    annealed brass cartridge as a jacket
    is using a core (not Pure lead) but WW alloy
    that is cast less than 24 hours prior to swaging.
    Jon
    Post #5 in regards to mentioning age hardening

    Also you can anneal a WW alloy by putting it in the oven at 375 degrees for an hour and shutting the oven off while leaving the boolits in too cool as the oven cools down.
    Last edited by RobS; 01-21-2011 at 08:48 PM.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    What I Learned from Various Gun Forums in 2010

    1 I learned that many people spend an inordinate amount of time and worry on making their brass look like virgin.
    2 I learned that many people consider low smoke and not getting their guns dirty as more important than how accurate a given powder is.
    3 I learned that a LOT of beginners can not start simple but must try to solve every reloading problem before they even know if they have any.
    4 I learned that a LOT of reloaders see case expansion as only being case mouth belling and NOT getting the case ID to within 0.001" of bullet diameter, and then they don't understand why their lead bullets are being swaged down.
    5 I learned that a LOT of people think that their lead pots are emitting copious amounts of lead vapor (10^-8 mm Hg at 700F) and they don't think to be concerned about the heavy metal dust they are generating around their work area.
    6 I learned that many people start reloading before they have read the press manual, the die instructions, or a good reloading manual and have almost no idea how each individual die works or how to adjust a die properly.
    7 I learned that White Label Lubes will be my new source for bullet lube.
    8 I learned that WWs are a thing of the past
    9 I learned that a LOT of reloaders think that hard alloys are always best
    10 I learned that people were trying case or swaged lead bullets without ever slugging their barrels
    11 I learned that almost every beginner appeared to have a brain dead "friend" teaching them to reload

  16. #16
    Boolit Master



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    ROFLMAO!
    Great observations, noylj!

    That post is now one of the latest "need to read" tips!
    USMC 1980-1985

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    Not entirely accurate:

    Quote Originally Posted by noylj View Post
    2 I learned that many people consider low smoke and not getting their guns dirty as more important than how accurate a given powder is. Indoor shooting may be of their concern as they can't see through the smoke which may affect their accuracy; cowboy shooting much the same.
    4 I learned that a LOT of reloaders see case expansion as only being case mouth belling and NOT getting the case ID to within 0.001" of bullet diameter, and then they don't understand why their lead bullets are being swaged down. Yes and no, for revolvers shooting magnum loads neck tension is very important in keeping the boolit from jumping crimp. .001 under boolit diameter often times will not be enough to keep a boolit in place and especially for the last few rounds in regards to magnum revolver loads
    8 I learned that WWs are a thing of the past not gone yet but state by state will be in the very near future

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy Rusty W's Avatar
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    I'm still a greenhorn but I've learned about Bull Plate, 45/45/10, how to mix/calculate alloys, & when I stroll by the swapin & sellin, vendor sponsor, & group buys, I must remember to put on blinders or I will be on a short road to the poor house. There's a lot of valuable information on this site & I'm still learning.

  19. #19
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    I learned that if you have your Lee Pro 20 plugged into an old stylewired receptacle (no ground) on a table outside, and you go outside with bare feet and touch the pot, it will shock you.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by frankenfab View Post
    I learned that if you have your Lee Pro 20 plugged into an old stylewired receptacle (no ground) on a table outside, and you go outside with bare feet and touch the pot, it will shock you.

    I bet that was stimulating.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check