Keep moose happy thread

[Sweetpea]

I use the pot as a bottom pour. I make every effort to get the stream directly into the cavity and leave 3/8 inch or so sprue puddle. I then remove from under the pot and rest the mould tipped up on my bench in front of a small fan. I count 5 seconds from end of pour into second cavity to cutting sprue. I then dump bullets and repeat.

I find that once I get going the sprue takes 3 to seconds to harden and flash over.

Brad, you need to try all the variables with this mould, and that may include deflecting the flow into the cavities off the sprue plate.

This can also help keep the plate temp up.

[btroj]

That is true. Some moulds need the lead poured in straight, some need a swirl.

I probably need to listen to Rick and get a ladle.

Ok Rick, any problems getting a #2 ladle into,the RCBS pot with the normal bottom pour Innards in place?

[cbrick]

It will work, I do it with the RCBS pot though most of my casting is with the Magma. Rowell #1 is fine for small boolits but you want to pour lead as I suggested and #1 doesn't hold enough alloy, #2 does.

Rick

[btroj]

Yeah, I would like a Magma pot too. That would make things so much easier.

I suppose an order is in order. Ladle certainly isn't too expensive.

Rick, got a question. How well is a thermocouple probe and a ladle going to fit in the RCBS pot? Never though about it before but how far from the pot wall does a thermocouple need to be? Hmmm

[cbrick]

If your going to pop for a Magma pot it would sure be a shame to not have the PID installed on it. Holds temp to +- 2 degrees and a biggie with the Magma unit is no probes inside the pot to be in the way. It has a nut welded on the center outside bottom of the pot, the sensor wires attach there. Until you try it you can't believe how nice it is to start out with 40 pounds of identical alloy. My Magma gets 40 pounds to casting temp in about 10 minutes longer than the RCBS does 20 pounds.

And only $775 plus shipping.

I'm sure good at spending other peoples money. I'd spend my own but I don't have any, Magma has it.

Rick

[MT Gianni]

First off, the 9 bullets in the photo were all but one in the major weight ranges or the keepers. Tells me those flaws don't cause much weight loss. Does the void still matter? I don't know. Talk to me.

I sorted by weight and kept 3 weight groupings. They were 188.1 to 189.3, 188.4 to 188.6, and 188.7 to 189.9.

Of the rejected ones the max weight was 189.8 and the lightest was 186.5

I had 29 from 188.1 to 188.3
I had 31 from 188.4 to 188.6
I had 15 from 189.7 to 188.9

I did reject around 5 to 7 the that weighed 188.0

What to do with the keepers? Do I keep them in separate weight groups? Do I combine the two lower weight groups?

I had a measly 38.6 percent keeper rate out of the initial 194 bullets. My technique needs some major work. I need to get the mould hotter to start and keep a better rhythm going. I also need to be better at pouring straight into the cavity as I am using a bottom pour. I did lose a few from inadequate sprue puddle and subsequent flaws in the base.

I would shoot them in three separate groups and keep them segregated. You spent the time to weight sort, now keep the variables as small as possible. There is less than 1 gr shrinkage out of 189 gr overall. Shoot the three groups and compare with ten pulled from all three bags. Should be little difference in all but they are all sorted now so don't waste it.

[cbrick]

Rick, got a question. How well is a thermocouple probe and a ladle going to fit in the RCBS pot? Never though about it before but how far from the pot wall does a thermocouple need to be? Hmmm

Dunno, can't answer that. The only PID I've ever had/used is the Magma and it has no probe in the alloy.

Rick

[geargnasher]

The $40 solution is keep the pot you have and invest in an analog thermometer. The #2 ladle is also excellent, but needs slight modification to the spout. With a thermometer and #2 ladle one can make good boolits with a saucepan and propane burner. The setup doesn't have to be high-tech or expensive to allow you to make superb boolits, spending the money like Rick has is a matter of adding joy and convenience to a hobby once you already know what it is that will serve you well. I'm super-jealous by the way, but the next $800 I spend will be on a lathe, I have a big steel pot, fish cooker, and thermometer to go with my ladle and moulds and it works great as long as my back holds out. I also cast pretty good boolits with a 20-lb Lee bottom pour.

Gear

[cbrick]

It's true, it's hardly a necessity just a joy to use. Mine wasn't $775 either, back when I bought mine the PID was $100 and the pot was like $425.

Yes, I modified my Rowell #2 also though not the spout, it's much handier to use with the handle shortened.

Rick

[Love Life]

Your wife is going to kill you, Brad, if you keep letting cbrick spend your money!!

[bigted]

KEY is a hot enough mold AND top plate/sprue cutter. I accidently found a wonderful and cheap way to heat my molds when desiring to cast with them ... buy a cheap LEE electric smelter. you know ... the 20 dollar electric pot? now take this and set it up at or near your casting pot. I turn both on at the same time and install a clean and ready mold installed on my clamp style handle from Buff Arms and allow the mold to heat as long as the melt takes to melt and be fluxed. now the mold will be too hot sooo ... take it out of the LEE pot and open it and allow it to cool a bit as you continue to stir and get the rest of the impurity's off the top of your up to temp lead.

works wonderful for me every time and the only other thing I would recommend is the flux material;

take about a pee sized ball of your lube ... [boolit lube] ... and use this amount for every 10 lbs of melt ... if you have 20 pounds of melt then use 2 pee sized balls of boolit lube for your flux. it works well and binds the metal very well as the dross comes to the surface to be scooped away with your old spoon.

I cast to within 10th's of a grain and my limit is 1 grain diff for my boolits. as long as they look excellent with nice sharp edges ... I keep em all ... then I weigh all that have passed the perfection LOOK ... meaning sharp edges and nice flat bottom with NO sad effects ANYWHERE. then I weigh every boolit and throw any that go over or under my weight into a container that is marked "sighter's". these will be used to sight in my rifle when I go shoot ... making sure the poi is the same as poa. then the rest are used for actual shooting for score so to speak.

you are going in the correct direction ... just need to refine your casting method a bit to get boolits that are worthy of going your desired speed.