Intro + a couple questions

[Anomaly]

As I sort through the projectiles from my first casting session, I figured what better time to finally register here and say hello and most importantly, thank you all. I have been lurking for a couple months while piecing everything together to start casting and I have run into a wealth of knowledge and tips to get started. So a little about me and my casting, 22 years old, and always been one that loves projects. I got into reloading about a year and a half ago for 9mm. Quickly got bored and wanted to do something new, so I went and bought a .40,this beginning the 2nd caliber. Still kinda bored and wanted to step into the ar realm, so I built a 7.5" 300 blackout. Man is it a fun gun, and so much fun to reload for! I got to thinking though, it's still kinda pricey to reload for, granted leaps and bounds cheaper than factory ammo. The quest couldn't stop there, so i started toying with the idea of casting. I always helped my dad as a kid, he casted sinkers, so i knew i could do it, and here I am, first batch down and about to sort.

I was also wondering if I could post a couple pictures of some of my results and see what you guys thought, any tips that could come from that would be awesome for myself and many other people who are new to casting.
My next question was, (forgive me if there is one) is there a thread where people can post pictures of their CBs and get feedback? Get tips and such, kind of a "rate my boolit" kind of thing?


So this is one of the ones I was curious about. The one in the center looks fine to me, base is smooth, seems good to go. The ones on each side have a sort of crater in the base. My question is, would this be bad, fine to shoot, would powdercoat fill that void? If it's bad, what would cause it, so I have a better idea of what to do differently to solve that.

[Bookworm]

Well, you could try just posting the pics here....

[Anomaly]

I'm trying to. It wont let me upload them, and the [img] [ /img] tag that works on most forums doesnt seem to here.

[Adam20]

Post the pictures here

[Anomaly]

Any tips on posting them? I get invalid file errors when I try to upload them into the post.
https://ibb.co/fZLWvo
Here is the link though if you'd like to click it and check it out, the last portion of the intro is the question I had in regards to this photo

[2wheelDuke]

You need the image hosted elsewhere before you can use the IMG tags. I'm copying the image address from your link and embedding your picture here.



They look pretty decent to me. I see one with a bit of fin around the nose from the blocks not being fully closed. A tiny bit of lubrication on the alignment pins may help alleviate that.

I have that mold too. It's a tricky one to get good results from in my opinion, so you seem to have done pretty well.

I have tumble lubed some, but mostly powder coat them now. Especially since my mold liked to drop them on the small side.

[Anomaly]

What's a good image hosting site to use? And yeah, I noticed the flashing on some of the noses, I also got some on some of the bases as well, and from what I was just reading that could be the sprue plate being too tight for the base. As for the nose, I had my mild dipped in the corner and I guess it opened up and some lead/dress got stuck on the inside, so I think that might be part of the reason for the flashing on the nose. So the indentation on the base (so long as it isnt severe) wouldn't be an issue then?

[jcren]

The indention should be fine, just a matter of timing when to cut the sprue. Looks like you need to run your mold hotter and your melt maybe a bit cooler. The wrinkles and wavy appearance is where the melt is freezing too soon in a "cold" mold and a hotter melt is a thinner viscosity and tends to fin around the base of the bullet. Over all, excellent start and the details come with practice and observation.
Btw, if you get lead on the mold face, you can get it off with a coarse rag or wooden stick while the mold is hot. Once cool it is a different story.

[Traffer]

I'm trying to. It wont let me upload them, and the [img] [ /img] tag that works on most forums doesnt seem to here.

The pics here have a size limit on uploading. What I do is use Microsoft Office Picture Manager and edit with using the compress button and ticking the "compress for documents" button. This makes the images about 700kb or so. Then they upload just fine.

[Anomaly]

The intention should be fine, just a matter of timing when to cut the sprue. Looks like you need to run your mold hotter and your melt maybe a bit cooler. The wrinkles and wavy appearance is the to the melt freezing too soon in a "cold" mold and a hotter melt is a thinner viscosity and tends to fin around the base of the bullet. Over all, excellent start and the details come with practice and observation.
Btw, if you get lead on the mold face, you can get it off with a coarse rag or wooden stick while the mold is hot. Once cool it is a different story.

I've been cutting the sprue basically as soon as you see it frost over, would this be too early or should I wait a little bit after it frosts over?

[jcren]

I've been cutting the sprue basically as soon as you see it frost over, would this be too early or should I wait a little bit after it frosts over?

I would say a second or two quick. Smears indicate much too soon, tears are a bit early. Basically the center is too hot and is pulling out instead of cutting smooth.
Running the melt a bit cooler will help too.

[Anomaly]

Alright. I'll be melting down the rejects from this batch and running a couple more pots through later next week. Thanks for all the tips, glad to become a part of this community.

[Mike W1]

I've had good luck using IMGUR for a hosting site and I like Irfanview to reduced the pixel counts on pictures. Both free and fairly easy to use. Most pictures don't need even the 700kb mentioned to show up well on a screen. Generally less than 150 kb shows up just fine on a monitor.

[Walter Laich]

save a few of your rejects, load and shoot them. Amazing how well they will do.

we all aim (pun) to cast perfect bullets but most will do very well even with a few imperfections

powder coating will also do its bit to hide/fill some of the less than perfect spots on the bullets

[Anomaly]

Got my first batch powdercoated, I don't think they came out too bad for a first run. There are small portions of exposed lead on some, from laying on the tray. Will that cause any issues, and if so, any remedies?

[jcren]

Won't hurt, those tall skinny buggers are hard to stand up. I have that mold and cook em in a NuWave oven so I don't have to try to move the tray after setting them up. Try blowing (gently) or shaking off the excess powder. I find that the bullets stick less and the finish is smoother if there is only a thin layer of powder. Dont need a thick build up to do the job.

[Anomaly]

Won't hurt, those tall skinny buggers are hard to stand up. I have that mold and cook em in a NuWave oven so I don't have to try to move the tray after setting them up. Try blowing (gently) or shaking off the excess powder. I find that the bullets stick less and the finish is smoother if there is only a thin layer of powder. Dont need a thick build up to do the job.

Yeah, I did my second batch with 2 coats much thinner, i forgot to check them for any bare spots, so after that post i went and checked. They didnt come out as glossy, and almost had a really fine grit sandpaper feel to them, but hardly any, if any bare spots.