simple Hi-Tek coating

[HI-TEK]

My benchtop convection oven.
This one will bake 1 tray of 250 bullets in 12 minutes. I use the middle tray and turn the tray 90deg at the 1/2 way time point.

Love those knee caps... almost model quality...lol...lol

[TonyN]

I actually got the small convection oven to bake properly. I did 5 lbs and the first coat didn't rub off. This is a table top convection oven. I'll work on the big Manuel electric oven to get that running properly with Hi-Tek. I'm using the one with PC and 30 lbs of projectiles with ease. The PC is stupid easy to bake properly and I do the shape n bake all layed out on a cookie tray. I like the colors that Hi-Tek had to offer. I'll get there after over one year of trial failer.

[Avenger442]

From : Glockfan
"you're raising the question i was about to ask to you guys, since you're much more experienced casters than me : do i have to expect A LITTLE LESS ACCURACY than the commercial zero's i was using before ?

i mean...with the zero's i was using for bullseye and at the games, i was able to keep my groupings very very tight, on good days a ragged hole at typical distances . can i expect the same consistency from my coated bullets?"

You guys shoot a lot of handgun. I shoot mostly rifle. And have gotten hooked on the idea of how accurate can I shoot my cast bullets. Your right in that it depends on a lot of things. I don't compete except against my self. And I have only been hand loading for about four years and I'm still tuning in where I want to be as far as group size. My typical in .308 at 100 yards is 1 1/2". And have put four in one ragged hole with the 5th making it 1 1/2". You can get the accuracy you want but will work for it.

[TonyN]

Quench after coating and sizing as the WW will get to 19 BHN. I do that and mine get at the every time.

[glockfan]

Quench after coating and sizing as the WW will get to 19 BHN. I do that and mine get at the every time.

i tought quenching AFTER hi tek coating was NOT recommended? !

[glockfan]

Most molds will throw within .5gn from cavity to cavity.

But the molds from Accuratemolds.com have less than .3gn.
Drop Tom an email at accuratemolds.com.
I have hand casting molds and machine casting molds from him in Ali and they are brilliant. And he will make them with no lube groove. Perfect for Hitek coating.

thanks for the cue ausglock. i've sent him a message to see what he can do for my mighty fourty's . if he can make me a mold, i would resell my lyman moulds to a friend who is in need . he's broken atm and would sell him my lyman for half the price.

[Avenger442]

i tought quenching AFTER hi tek coating was NOT recommended? !

I an effort to see what could happen by hardening of the lead by quenching I did a couple of experiments. Results gave me the opinion that with baked bullets PC or Hi Tek it just wasn't worth the effort. First, unless you use contaminated water, there is no problem with the binding of the coating to the lead. Second, while it is true that baking after quenching does remove most or all of the benefit to BHN, with the right alloy you can gain some points on the BHN scale. Just not enough to make it worth it to me.

Because you guys that compete need to control variances and make everything as repeatably the same as possible in order to win I can agree with Treavor about purchasing a known alloy from some place like Roto Metals. You need a control on the hardness of the bullet. Because it would introduce another process or variable in the mix, I don't think I would quench the bullet if I was competing. Just buy another alloy.

[Avenger442]

A lot of guys that cast just want to shoot a lot as cheaply as possible. Not necessarily concerned with one ragged holes. So wheel weights and scrap lead come into play. Just yesterday I purchased plumbing, flashing and ballast lead from the scrap yard. All of this is almost pure lead at $36 for about 46 pounds. Roto Metals is about $2.50 a pound for 99.9% pure lead. So there is a significant difference in cost. The scrap yard is selling me wheel weights, my main ingredient, for seventeen cents a pound and lets me sort through them to eliminate the zinc and steel weights before paying. I do buy tin from time to time and when I first started I bought some lino type. The tin is great at about 2% to help the lead flow into the mold. It helps make smoother better formed bullets. I thought I would need the lino but it has been three years now and the only thing I have seen it help is when I shoot a real small bullet real fast. In some cases making the bullet harder actually hurt it's accuracy so I've got about half of it left. I know I get a little long winded sometimes in trying to say something. But, for me, part of the fun in casting and shooting is the experimentation and seeing what can be done with what I can put together as cheaply as possible. If I were competing it would most likely give me a different center of thought on tight control of alloy BHN.

So what does this have to do with this thread on Hi Tek? Well it works even with the cheap stuff. Oh, by the way, it is cheap to use. That's me, old squeeze a penny till it yells Avenger442.

[Ausglock]

thanks for the cue ausglock. i've sent him a message to see what he can do for my mighty fourty's . if he can make me a mold, i would resell my lyman moulds to a friend who is in need . he's broken atm and would sell him my lyman for half the price.

He made me a 210gn FP 40 mold. A few guys here that compete internationally, wanted a heavy 40 bullet. Tom made the 5 cavity handcast mold. I made 1000 and handed them out to the guys to try. All are impressed with the accuracy. I now need Tom to cut 6 sets of molds for the autocaster.

Hitek. Stop perving on my knees, ya sicko...lol

[dikman]

Avenger, I only shoot Single Action cowboy stuff (pistol calibre), so perfection in alloy and boolit weight isn't critical to me, but I find your efforts at pushing the limits with rifle calibres and Hi-Tek fascinating. Keep up the good work.

[TonyN]

I have a 44 SWC Keith Style mold from my master caster I use I would like to sell if you guys want to buy it. I'm just glad I finally got the Hi-tek to work lol.

[Avenger442]

Avenger, I only shoot Single Action cowboy stuff (pistol calibre), so perfection in alloy and boolit weight isn't critical to me, but I find your efforts at pushing the limits with rifle calibres and Hi-Tek fascinating. Keep up the good work.

I appreciate the fascination. But it all just fun right? And I have high regard for those that compete. Takes steady hands, good eyes and mental concentration. There are some guys that shoot Cowboy every other Sunday at the range near my house. I get to hear the bang bang bang after church.

Tony
It has been a long road for you. But glad to see you got it working. Now the fun part.

Hopefully the weather will let me test the PC and Hi Tek 38 Specials this week. Longest period of lows in the teens and highs just at freezing we have had in a long time. Lake still had ice in it until yesterday. Whipped up a homemade adjustable rest out of scrap and some parts from my rifle rest that looks like it will take most of the shooters bad habits out of the equation. Not a Ransom rest but okay.

[dikman]

Yep, it is all about having fun! Most that shoot Cowboy do it for fun, although there's always the few who like to win (it's actually not as easy as it looks, doesn't matter how big or how close the target I still manage to miss!!!!).

We've got the opposite problem at the moment - it's too bloody hot to shoot! It was 42*C the other day in the shade and my solar hot water pressure/temperature relief valve tripped. The water coming out was steaming (it's mounted on the roof). More 40's coming, so no smelting, casting or coating for me!

[TonyN]

Avenger442 ya it's been in the teens and even got to -10 here in days. The Hi-Tek that I have maid up in my bottles still work even with the bitter cold. My next step is getting my house oven to work with large amounts of projectiles with this Hi-Tek. I have one for PC that I use. I would like to find someone who has the same kind of oven so I can find out what they do to get mine to properly work. I found a full size house Convection oven that has a fan in it. His wanting 350. For it. I wouldn't mind paying that but I don't know and can't find any info on how good the house Convection ovens move air and if they would work any better then without a fan.

[Grmps]

How many boolits are you planning to coat at one time? I have an Oster Extra-Large convection countertop oven and can bake 2 8-pound trays of boolits at one time

[ioon44]

I paid $75.00 for my house convection from a second hand appliance shop, you need to shop around. I run 2 trays with 6 pounds on each tray for 12 min, I could possibly use less baking time but I hate to mess with success.

[TonyN]

Well my oven I bake with PC I do 30 lbs at a time. I cast and coat 4k at a time. Right now I'm baking 5 lbs at a time for 10 min.. It seems like nothing at 5 lbs compared to the 30 lbs. I could do another 15 lbs of I had the 3rd rack. PC is stupid easy to bake compared to Hi-Tek.

[TonyN]

I paid $75.00 for my house convection from a second hand appliance shop, you need to shop around. I run 2 trays with 6 pounds on each tray for 12 min, I could possibly use less baking time but I hate to mess with success.

Does your oven seem to push a good amount of air? Con you hear the fan blowing when it's running?

[benellinut]

Tony, I wouldn't spend that much for a used oven for coating. Around here the big appliance retailers including Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, (and many smaller) will haul away your old one when they deliver the new one, they take the old appliances to the junk yard. If you ask around, pad some workers palms, you probably will find someone who works in one of these places that would let you have one that may be ugly but still have a functioning convection oven on the cheap. Most folks replace a stove because it's dated, getting ugly or there is a problem with the logic board and would cost more to repair then it's worth, even if you had to replace the oven heating elements they don't cost that much. Unless you have a use for the top burners who cares? I wouldn't care if the logic board was bad, I'd run the oven off a PDI with new thermocouples anyways. You could also ask the junk yards to let you know when they get a load of stoves from these places, they are always looking to make a buck.

My plans are to eventually do the same thing, I plan on striping it down, remove the top section with the burners and lower pan storage drawer, cut the shell down to just contain the oven, add a bit extra insulation & sheet metal to enclose where needed and wire it to a PDI, I don't want it to take up anymore space in my shop then necessary. Just my thoughts.

[dikman]

I believe that is what Trev did, removed all the electronics and rewired it to keep it simple. I would do that except I haven't got the room for one!