🐔 Mesh trays led me to change PC method

[HABCAN]

Bought the trays from amazon.ca. S&B LEE 358x200F with Smoke's excellent Carolina Blue powder. Baked in the tray. DISASTER! And, didn't do the new tray much good either. As has been said: there's a lot of ART mixed up in this science. I'm not saying the 'tray method' doesn't work........I'm just saying it doesn't work for ME. I'm back, happily, using my hardware cloth grids and made-up holders shown in another post about Standing Tall Boolits.
YMMV.

[Grmps]

Looks like an adhesion problem of PC to the boolits.
Double check oven temperature


Try the smash test and see if they pass.
My guess is they wont.

[HABCAN]

Temp same as always, passed smash test. Not to worry: I HAVE a proven method that DOES work for ME. This just ain't IT.

[Walter Laich]

sometimes I have the bullets look like that in the tumbling bowl. Just doesn't have the coverage.

I tumble a bit more and really flip the bowl over and give it a good shaking side to side. This shaking seems to be the key to getting a good covering of powder.

for me trays just meant I had to pour powder, bullets and BBs through a colander and then pour the bullets onto the tray.
from there--pop them into the oven.

They're done when a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean

[dimaprok]

I dump them in the collander, sift out the bb's and shake off the escess, then dump them on the screen and shake
bake for 15 min
no lines and none stuck together

you don't need bbs, but what really does work is to preheat the bullets at 150 degrees for 5 min and drop 'em in taporware with some powder paint, it really helps for powder to adhere while shaking.

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[CASTER OF LEAD]

I use 2/3 Smoke's powder (Randyrats will also work here) and 1/3 from my jar of mixed 'stuff'--all the leftover powder that wasn't enough to coat with. Just dumped it in the jar and slowly using it up (I'm cheap)

One coat is plenty for me

pictures tomorrow as cat is ready for bed and 'The Princess' as my wife calls her must have folks in the bed before she settles in--otherwise she will sing the song of her people all night

That's not being "cheap" Walter . I prefer to use the term frugal. Lol. I am the same way. Wadtenot want not ,so I have been told since a young buck. - CASTER

[Walter Laich]

you don't need bbs, but what really does work is to preheat the bullets at 150 degrees for 5 min and drop 'em in taporware with some powder paint, it really helps for powder to adhere while shaking.

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it was 57° this a.m. and powder was being 'difficult'

put the bullets in bright sun and after 30 minutes they were warm enough to have good adhesion

temp does play a factor in this 'magic'

[Grmps]

Walter, have you played with the preheat in the oven method like Elvis ammo?

[dimaprok]

Walter, have you played with the preheat in the oven method like Elvis ammo?

Just word of advice - don't get them too hot or you'll end up with lumps of powder stuck that will ruin your bullets so best to test on smaller batch, just one layer covering mesh, keep in mind if you have less bullets they will heat up more. If you got IR thermometer, make sure to take the tray out and scan the bullets you don't want more than 120-130 degrees. Also when you preheat / bake in mesh you will get uneven temperature, some bullets will heat up more than others because in toaster oven they sit so close to heating element and heat is more direct, if you use regular tray /pan the heat is distributed more evenly and that's why you end up with different BHN when you water quench them. Eventually I am going to purchase a bigger oven like one I use for my cooking https://www.walmart.com/ip/FW-DIGITAL-TOASTER/46707182
it has a lot more space from top and bottom heating elements and it's much wider, can fit more bullets in single layer. Forgot to mention it's pretty cheap at $50.

[Grmps]

99¢ ea @ a thrift store.

[dimaprok]

99¢ ea @ a thrift store.

yep, thats where i found mine too. yours are nice with rounded corners. I also have one small deep fry mesh basket that fits.

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[Crash_Corrigan]

I gotta try that dump 'em into the mesh tray dealie. I am tired of standing up boolits on silicone mats on a metal oven tray. It takes too long and they sometimes fall over with the domino effect and many are laying on their side PDQ. I love smoke's Carolina Blue for my Garand boolits, they look so mean!

[Walter Laich]

I gotta try that dump 'em into the mesh tray dealie. I am tired of standing up boolits on silicone mats on a metal oven tray.

That's the main reason I changed over.

couple of hints: when you bring the tray out of the oven dump them on a surface without waiting.

Even a 30 sec wait and some of the PC will stick to the tray. Right of the oven they will let go without a problem.

I built a wooden tray with 1½" sides and lined with thin cork to roll them back a forth while they cooled for 15-20 seconds. This is enough time so the PC will harden and the bullets will not stick together.

from there I dump them onto a metal cooking sheet that allows them to cool off faster.

second thought: be sure to keep track of how much PC powder is in your tub. I use a bunch up much quicker since I'm doing more bullets in a shorter amount of time.

I now find I can cast 16-18 lbs of lead (Lee 6-gang mold), PC and size, all within 2 hours. life is good

[Grmps]

I like to dump them onto a folded towel or mesh basket/tray and separate them with a gloved hand. IF they stick to the baking tray, light taps on the bottom will dislodge them without damage.

The main causes of sticking is not removing all the excess powder before baking or the powder your using. then I transfer them to a mesh basket to cool.


Some powders you can pile on the boolits without sticking
before baking


after baking


slide off bake sheet




no sticking


I made my baking trays out of


cut the shelves off with a Dremel
bent up one end to fit my oven
riveted aluminum channel on the ends

You can find office products at thrift stores easily modified for this purpose for cheap.