Casting techniques.....vive la difference

[Blackwater]

Oh yeah! And Deputy Al, I've had a couple of experiences seeing something happen that then hit the front page, and if you were actually THERE, you'd not recognize the event from what the papers reported. I'd say more, but wanna' keep this clean.

Who am I kidding with that last? They're WHORES! All of the big ones. Of all things, the ONLY paper that got it right in the whole nation was ... (gulp!) ... the New York Times .... not initially, of course, but after a couple of weeks, one of their lesser reporters actually got a transcript, and reported an accurate version which completely dispelled all previous reports. Of course THAT story was buried deep within the bowels of the paper where nobody'd see it.

The issue IS important here, because with a press unrestrained by ethical standards that demand Truth, it'll likely one day be a CRIME to cast a bullet! That makes it very relevant, I think. I'd have laughed at that statement 40 years ago .... but no longer. It CAN happen, and it CAN happen HERE.

Funny, ain't it? We have a press that affects GREATLY what people think, how they vote, and what they want, and thus can determine the path of our nation, and there's no requirement of Truth any more, nor any price for lies. It's all just "opinion," at least right up until someone tries to point out their errors or falacies. "Separation of church and state" is being used to essentially atheize our nation. Ya' reckon there's a connection????

[The Nyack Kid]

One question: Do you think (???) that the Bruce B method tends to work a tad better with aluminum moulds, because they heat up and cool so rapidly, and does the Bullshop method work maybe a tad better with iron moulds, because the lower alloy temp doesn't heat the moulds up as badly with a fast pace????

Ain't this stuff FUN!

that is kind of what im thinking ,there is a huge differance in the cooling rates of my blocks . i have seen that it helps to have hotter alloy with the aluminum . if i go too hot of alloy with iron i get "sharp edge burn".
i cant really do a apple to apple comparasen cause my aluminum 45-70 blocks are Mountain molds and they have that BIG spure hole . next mold i get from Dan im going to try and get the sprue plate with a small hole in it .

[9.3X62AL]

This is TOTAL guesswork on my part here--my theory on gaining a little diameter by running the molds with cooler alloy is that at 650* there is less overall shrinkage when the casting "freezes" than when it "freezes" from 825*. I don't one have shred of science to support that belief, but the castings are fatter. I do miss that cool "galvanized steel" look that frosted boolits show, though.

[PatMarlin]

The only time casting seems like work is when I've got a pain-in the-****- mold. I've got about 3 that still need work..

Most of the time I listen to old Arnold Murry whilst I'm castin'.

Praise the lord and pass the ammunition..

[Bullshop]

Blackwater
You keep stroking us like that and you wont have to cast boolits, we will just give them to you.
BIC/BS

[Bass Ackward]

if i go too hot of alloy with iron i get "sharp edge burn". i cant really do a apple to apple comparasen cause my aluminum 45-70 blocks are Mountain molds and they have that BIG spure hole . next mold i get from Dan im going to try and get the sprue plate with a small hole in it .

Nyack,

Dan will cut you what ever size you want if you specify it in the comments block or your order.

I always get him to enlarge mine. So much so that now I don't have to ask him to do it anymore. It just happens.

[PatMarlin]

Blackwater
You keep stroking us like that and you wont have to cast boolits, we will just give them to you.
BIC/BS

.. LOL..



..

[StarMetal]

Who said religious folks couldn't be funny? Huh, who said that? Too funny Bullshop.

Joe

[The Nyack Kid]

Nyack,

Dan will cut you what ever size you want if you specify it in the comments block or your order.

I always get him to enlarge mine. So much so that now I don't have to ask him to do it anymore. It just happens.

thanks for the tip BA i will remember that .
when it comes to my cast boolits i'm petty fussy . if there is a big hole in the bottom were the sprue ripped out back into the pot it goes . i know how to fix this problem but i'm to lazy . the small sprue doen't bother me since im useing a bottom pore pot.

[StarMetal]

Alot of casting books mention this, but was just re-reading it in Lymans Cast book. It says that the alloy in the mould draws metal from the sprue as it cools. It said that if the sprue cools before the metal in the mould does it can and will cause voids. Made me think how does BruceB get away with his casting technique when that's exactly what he does, cool the sprue and sprue plate before the alloy inside the mould?

Joe

[canuck4570]

to keep my mold cool during casting I have a 6x6x2 bloc of alluminium that realy take the heat from my mold.. my friend has one a bit thicker but he drilled holes lenghtwise in it and it cools faster....

[Herb in Pa]

My casting bench has a 2 inch diameter hole cut in the top of a micarta like material that I scrounged from a MASH portable xray table out of an old Civil Defense bunker. I've got a 4" PVC elbow positioned under the hole with a small length of straight PVC with a computer fan in the pipe. I fastened two metal strips on top of the hole to act as rails for the mold to sit on. I use a bottom pour furnace and after pouring, just set the mold down on the rails until the sprue solidifies. It seems to work pretty well and you can also run two molds at once.

[fecmech]

Alot of casting books mention this, but was just re-reading it in Lymans Cast book. It says that the alloy in the mould draws metal from the sprue as it cools. It said that if the sprue cools before the metal in the mould does it can and will cause voids. Made me think how does BruceB get away with his casting technique when that's exactly what he does, cool the sprue and sprue plate before the alloy inside the mould?

Joe

Joe--Using Bruce's method you don't hit the spru with the wet rag till after the bullet sucks the spru metal in. You can see it happen a second or two after the mold fill. Nick

[David R]

Yeah, what Nick said. I put the bottom of the mold on the wet rag while I am "waiting" for the sprue to totally solidify. This is only with some molds. My Nice shiny New 311407 needs to be cooled on the bottom every pour. My 311284 double only needs a cool every 5 or 10 pours, sometimes even more. I keep a infared thermometer on the bench. I try to keep the bottom of the mold around 250 to 300. The steel molds hold a more even temp FAR better than the aluminum.

I can over cool the top of the mold and end up with poorly filled out bases, they look like drywall cracks. This is only on aluminum molds.

It takes a certain rythm once I get going.

David

[Bullshop]

Joe--Using Bruce's method you don't hit the spru with the wet rag till after the bullet sucks the spru metal in. You can see it happen a second or two after the mold fill. Nick

fecmech
This is the point I was trying to make about using Bull Plate lube. You said after the boolit sucks the sprue metal in then you wet rag to cool but what I am saying is there is no need to. That is when you cut the sprue and where Bull Plate eliminates the smear.
BIC/BS

[fecmech]

Bullshop--One of the other posters lives near me and ordered some lube and I asked him to order me some too. I will certainly give it a try when it comes in. Nick

[Blackwater]

Bullshop, ship them there bullets QUICK before ya' change yer mind!!!

Seriously, I DO need to try some of your plate lube, and will send an order ASAP. ANYTHING that'll speed up production is a real asset in our beloved hobby. With casting being cheap, and whatever methods that'll work to speed up our casting, there'll only be more to SHOOT, which is the whole point. All else is just details. Very IMPORTANT details, but details nonetheless.

You guys sure do spur a fella' on! Just got a call from an elderly friend about some loads for our Moisens, and I think I'm signing off now to go lube them up and load some. He needs to keep the loads light because of age and some fragility that's brung, but I almost get as big a kick out of seeing him get to shoot as I do from shooting them myself. Y'all keep it up, though, 'cause I WILL be BACK! ASAP, too! A bunch'a y'all ain't right, but ya' sure do know yer way around a meltin' pot! THANKS!