New caster - lead question

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I like to look at the base of the boolits and make sure I have a nice square edge. A little frost is ok if that's where you get the best fill out. Some guys use a small manicurists fan to cool the sprue faster and keep the mold from getting too hot. The longer the boolits are in the mold the more it heats up. Pausing for 10 or 15 seconds after you drop your boolits before closing your mold up can help keep your mold from getting too hot.

[Md2hunt]

Thanks. Good advice here. Will cast more this weekend and try some different methods and see what kind of consistency I achieve.

And Grmps, I actually started so I can shoot more, lol!

[Md2hunt]

Lubing before loading. Any preferences for brand or type of lube?

Also the sprue plate screw on my new mold won’t budge. Feels like I’ll strip the screw head if I try to force it. I could put in a vice but didn’t want to mar or hurt the aluminum.

[ChuckO]

If it is a relatively new Lee mold the screw might be left handed. Other molds sometimes have a locking screw to keep the sprue plate pivot tight.

[Bullwolf]

Newer Lee moulds, with a Left Hand threaded sprue plate screw are marked LH on the mould.

Like this Dual Cavity Lee (LH) 358-125-RF mould, in the attached image below.



Which definitely has a Left Hand threaded sprue plate screw.


- Bullwolf

[Echo]

I guess I differ some with some others - I try to keep a fairly full pot when I cast, and return the sprues as soon as they are knocked off. I believe that minimizes temperature fluctuations, and also keeps a fairly constant head-pressure. Cast the mold (2-, 3-,4-,6-) full, let the sprue harden, give it a couple more seconds, knock it off, inspect the bases, dump the boolits on the old towel, snap the sprue plate back where it belongs, cast full again, pick up old sprue & return to pot, push fresh boolits into pile, repeat. When alloy level goes down some, place new ingot, that has been warming on lip of furnace, into melt, place fresh ingot on lip, and press on.

[blue32]

I can run frosted bullets all day in a steel mold as the temperature stays within a relatively stable range. When I tried it with an aluminum mold they got too hot and deformed. For the Lee pot with aluminum molds, try between the 7 and the next hash mark, which would be (7.25).

[Md2hunt]

Hey guys, thank you for the info. I’ll definitely try some different combinations this weekend. I’ll also try keeping a full pot and see how that works.

[Rcmaveric]

Lubing before loading. Any preferences for brand or type of lube?.

That could start a debate. I make my own. For pistols about anything will work. Bens red works great for riffles. Even tumble lubing works good with BLL or 45/45/10. Check the lube stickies. Cant go wrong with any of the manufactured ones either. I cant recommed a ready made lube because i dont use them. Who doent like playing chemist. The taste of success is very rewarding.

[Md2hunt]

That could start a debate. I make my own. For pistols about anything will work. Bens red works great for riffles. Even tumble lubing works good with BLL or 45/45/10. Check the lube stickies. Cant go wrong with any of the manufactured ones either. I cant recommed a ready made lube because i dont use them. Who doent like playing chemist. The taste of success is very rewarding.

thanks

[gregtu]

For the Lee pot with aluminum molds, try between the 7 and the next hash mark, which would be (7.25).

These pots must be all over the place. If I put mine at 7, it is way too hot. Mine will hold at about 750F at 4+. I've almost completed my PID unit, so I'm looking forward to not having to keep adjusting. (Maybe I'm assuming too much though.)

[Md2hunt]

a thermometer or PID will go along way to help you.

is there someone in your area that can mentor you? A few hours with them are worth more than 10,000 emails and forum replies. You don't give you location. We might be able to steer you towards someone in your area

I'm in Mesa, AZ if you know someone in the area here. I'd definitely go for a little mentoring.
Thanks

[Md2hunt]

Is a resizer an absolute must use or am I safe to load without? I’ve checked several and they measurement differs. I cast .452 - 200gr and the measure from .452 to .453.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Is a resizer an absolute must use or am I safe to load without? I’ve checked several and they measurement differs. I cast .452 - 200gr and the measure from .452 to .453.

Safe? yes, if the loaded rounds chamber reliably.

Uniformity is something to strive for with any reloaded ammo. Unsized boolits aren't usually uniform...while you can measure a handfull that vary .001 there is no doubt there will be a few outliers in there that could cause a problem.

With that said, from my 50+ molds, I do load 2 different ones TL'd and no sizing for plinkers in 45 colt and 44 spl. But I will pay close attention when seating them, if one is more difficult to seat than others, I will reject it.

[Md2hunt]

[QUOTE=JonB_in_Glencoe;4334824]Safe? yes, if the loaded rounds chamber reliably.

Uniformity is something to strive for with any reloaded ammo. Unsized boolits aren't usually uniform...while you can measure a handfull that vary .001 there is no doubt there will be a few outliers in there that could cause a problem.

With that said, from my 50+ molds, I do load 2 different ones TL'd and no sizing for plinkers in 45 colt and 44 spl. But I will pay close attention when seating them, if one is more difficult to seat than others, I will reject it

I appreciate the response and want to do it right so I ordered a Lee resizer. Fairly inexpensive considering the cost of casting.
Thanks!

[Bazoo]

Welcome to the forum. Not bad for the first go round. Its not the temperature of your lead so much, as the temperature of the mould that makes the bullets dull, and then frosty. The lead temperature effects mould temperature less than the speed at which you refill the mould. I like my bullets dull but not frosty. I shoot the frosty ones too, but it means im working too fast and getting my mould too hot. Note how the shiney bullets in your pic show that the mould was not up to temperature because the bullets are rounded at the driving bands, and the frosty bullets show a crisp casting.

I always knock the sprues off into a little pan I use, and every other or third cast or so I return them by dumping the pan back into the pot, along with any bullets that are obviously bad.

Here is a PDF of the lyman cast bullet handbook 3rd edition.

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manu...-%20Reduce.pdf

And here is some info that is very useful.
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[Md2hunt]

Welcome to the forum. Not bad for the first go round. Its not the temperature of your lead so much, as the temperature of the mould that makes the bullets dull, and then frosty. The lead temperature effects mould temperature less than the speed at which you refill the mould. I like my bullets dull but not frosty. I shoot the frosty ones too, but it means im working too fast and getting my mould too hot. Note how the shiney bullets in your pic show that the mould was not up to temperature because the bullets are rounded at the driving bands, and the frosty bullets show a crisp casting.

I always knock the sprues off into a little pan I use, and every other or third cast or so I return them by dumping the pan back into the pot, along with any bullets that are obviously bad.

Here is a PDF of the lyman cast bullet handbook 3rd edition.

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manu...-%20Reduce.pdf

And here is some info that is very useful.
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

Thank you for the comments!

[RogerDat]

With a bottom pour pot, you don't have to worry about the dross on top since the lead comes out the bottom.

There are members here that swear by the dipper method, in dipping you need to keep the top clean.

Both work, I find bottom pour more efficient.

Wax will help drive the dross back into the melt. Bees wax works best but old garage sale candles or paraffin will also work. I use a bent thrift store soup spoon to scoop dross from pot. Handle is bent and spoon has sort of a spout bent in the end. Paint stir stick can also be used to stir up impurities and to crush lead out of dross against the side of the casting pot. The wood will scorch and become charcoal but that is ok.

With the occasional bead of wax the dross should be mostly ash so just scape it to one side with paint stir stick, crush against side then skim off with the soup or table spoon.

Bottom pour is faster fill, especially useful if you have 6 cavity mold or two molds you are casting with. And the dross as pointed out floats on molten lead so less chance of it getting into your molds. Ladle allows you to tip the mold up onto the spout of the ladle then turn the two together to pour, provides "pressure casting" since the lead is fed into the mold under a bit of pressure. Or pouring at an angle to "swirl" into the mold, which is not commonly needed but these slightly different pours can be just the trick for some molds. Lyman Little Dipper is an especially good casting ladle.

[D Crockett]

[QUOTE=Md2hunt;4335417]

Safe? yes, if the loaded rounds chamber reliably.

Uniformity is something to strive for with any reloaded ammo. Unsized boolits aren't usually uniform...while you can measure a handfull that vary .001 there is no doubt there will be a few outliers in there that could cause a problem.

With that said, from my 50+ molds, I do load 2 different ones TL'd and no sizing for plinkers in 45 colt and 44 spl. But I will pay close attention when seating them, if one is more difficult to seat than others, I will reject it

I appreciate the response and want to do it right so I ordered a Lee resizer. Fairly inexpensive considering the cost of casting.
Thanks!

I do not want to scare you off but if you think you will save money by casting you won't in 10 years from now if you stay at it you will have all kinds of neat stuff when I started I had a pot and a black powder mold made and shot lots of those bullets now I have more equipment than I know what to do with some of it I will never use again some of it I use all the time but I would not change a thing it has kept me in a lot of bullets and out of the bars the wife calls me a casting junkie my drug of choice is lead and the use of it so keep at it and good luck with your new hobby and happy casting D Crockett

[Bazoo]

Glad It was appreciated.

Fluxing is to remove contaminates in the lead and to remix the dross back into the lead. That dross is basically where the lead alloy oxides on the surface. Notice in your picture, top row 4th bullet, that little hole in the tip of the bullet. Thats an inclusion. Its a fancy word that means basically you got dirt in your bullet. Either a spec of rust, or some oxide or something else contaminating the lead. To remove the contaminates you flux and scrape the sides and bottom of your pot with an old spoon. Also, when your fluxing, run your lead ladle into the lead while it has flux in it, and it'll clean all the contaminates off that too. Got to make sure your ladle is up to temperature though or everything will stick to it.

Once you got the lead cleaned of contaminates, you can ignore the dross a while while you're casting until it gets bad enough that it causes a problem or gets too annoying, you'll know when. I've fluxed with sawdust, and with both beeswax or candle wax. I dont see much difference between the 2 waxes, except the beeswax dont burst into flames as often. No biggie either way. If you dont use enough flux, the dross will form back almost immediately. Sawdust, for me at least, doesnt do as good except for removing contaminates.

A pea sized dab of wax aint enough for flux. Try a marble sized or large marble size and you'll have better results. I do at least.

You can go ahead and shoot the frosted bullets. The ones with imperfect driving bands and inclusions will work fine for plinking, but wont give good accuracy.