Ordered my pot...I'm officially in the club

[gpidaho]

^^^^ Not a problem. Clear powder coat gives me the best coverage anyway. And yes, Alox will work fine. Look into 45-45-10 from White Label. And it's THIN coats not thick. Gp

[Wheelguns 1961]

You could use clear powdercoat. I frequently shoot at an indoor range, and the lube smoke will sometimes fog my glasses. I also think that it is cheaper to setup for powdercoating, unless you pan lube.

[sundog]

Just finished loading a bunch of 45 Colt with 454190s, [Smoke's] clear coat, and run through a Lee push thru sizer. Easy-peasy, and cannot tell the difference from inches away. They shoot clean and NO leading.

[GregLaROCHE]

You guys will laugh at this but I don't want to powder coat because I like the "old west" look of pure lead exposed bullets. So I'd like to use traditional lube. I know, dumb.

I powder coat mostly for my .45-70 rounds, works great. However, I know what you mean about the cool look of pure lead. I sometimes paper patch my .45-70’s just because I like the way they look.

[daloper]

One thing you might want to do is list your general location. You may find that there is someone close that may give you some hands on help.

[Stopsign32v]

One thing you might want to do is list your general location. You may find that there is someone close that may give you some hands on help.

Good idea, and done.


But guys regardless of how dumb and backwards it is I do not want to coat these bullets (at least in the beginning). I'd like them to be traditional.

[DaveTNC]

Good idea, and done.


But guys regardless of how dumb and backwards it is I do not want to coat these bullets (at least in the beginning). I'd like them to be traditional.

You might try tumble lubing in Lee Liquid Alox (https://leeprecision.com/1-bottle-lee-liq-alox.html) and see how that goes. Some people say it's sticky and gums up your seating die, others say that if you use a very, very thin coat it helps alleviate the issue. If you're not happy with that then try some 45/45/10 or Ben's Liquid Lube (Both look easy to make, search this forum for them).

(That's what I plan to do. I will most likely look into powder coating later on, but I want to concentrate on casting before I take on something else.)

Dave

[Yooper003]

There is a almost clear powder coat, which might be helpful if you have to increase size a .001 or so. Lee,s alox is also almost clear as is the 45/45/10 mix. Tumble lubing with that seems to work O K.

[bedbugbilly]

I've ladle cast for 55 years - for years over a propane hot plate. I bought one of the bigger Lee bottom pours - for me, I did' like it but a lot of folks love them. I think it has a lot to do on what you learn on. I ended up buying two of the Lee pots like you ordered. I keep one for range lead and one for pure lead for muzzleloading. I should have got one years ago - I love them. Small, take up less space than a hot plate, hose and tank. I think you'll really enjoy using it. You're going about it the right way IMHO . . . learn your alloys . . . I have a lot of respect for those who like to play with such things. I'm pretty "low tech" but it works for me and my shooting. Ladle casting isn't a slower process . . . one you get familiar with everything, you'll pick your cadence up and be dropping a lot of good boolits. I always cast with one and two cavity molds for many many years as I was hesitant about getting good pours with a higher capacity mold. I have several four cavity NOE molds in four cavity and they work great with a ladle and it's surprising how fast your pile of good boolits grows.

Best of luck to you . . . remember that we all have problems once in a while no matter how long we've cast so don't get frustrated along the way. When you have an issue or problem, there is lots of good help on this site. Enjoy!

[Stopsign32v]

. . . learn your alloys . . .

How?


Serious question here

[GregLaROCHE]

How?


Serious question here

This forum is probably the best place to start. Don’t forget you’re talking about boolits now. Search “ boolit alloys “ and start reading.

[redhawk0]

If you want to keep the traditional look....(as I do too for my 45-70)...I use pan lubing. Look up the recipe for Felix World Famous Lube and make a batch. I have an old cast iron skillet that I keep mine in. I just heat it up...stand up all my bullets so the lube grooves are covered then let it cool. I then took an un-sized 45-70 case drilled out the primer and dropped a nail in from the case mouth side. then added a small block of wood on the pointy side so I have something to push the bullets out of the case with. Its called a cookie cutter. This is pushed over the top of the bullets after the lube cools and it cuts the lube away from the bullet leaving the lube in the groove. I then run each bullet through a lube sizer and throw them in a plastic bag with a tiny amount of mica powder. This keeps them from being sticky. Store them in cans/jars/containers of your choice.

They've been working for me for years from 30 cal on up. smaller pistol bullets I just tumble lube with Lee Liquid Alox cut down 60/40 with mineral spirits. I give two coats...then the same treatment with mica powder for storage.

redhawk

[Wayne Smith]

You guys will laugh at this but I don't want to powder coat because I like the "old west" look of pure lead exposed bullets. So I'd like to use traditional lube. I know, dumb.

I'm not laughing - I shoot my 44-40's with BP and cast lead for the same reason - even though the guns are replicas!

[mdi]

http://www.lasc.us/castbulletnotes.htm This should answer a lot of your questions. I cast for several years before I got a hardness tester as bullet to gun fit is way more important then BHN. K.I.S.S. I would suggest starting with a Lee bullet sizing kit and either dip lubing, or pan lubing (you'll have to research these as there's a lot of info on these subjects, too much for posting here). There are sub forums on alloys and lubes which will give you a lot of answers. I started casting in '90 and still don't own a lubersizer and I have PCed a couple thousand bullets (in 4 calibers), but I have gone back to plain old pan lubing and Lee sizers. Been working for me for about 25 years...

[DerekP Houston]

Good idea, and done.


But guys regardless of how dumb and backwards it is I do not want to coat these bullets (at least in the beginning). I'd like them to be traditional.

No biggy, you can use the lee push thru sizer and tumble lube or pan lube them. Pan lubing will probably be the cheapest option depending on how many you want to shoot on average. I'm a fan of the traditional look as well, with a light coat of alox and wiping the nose off after loading they look exactly like plain lead bullets.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

. . . learn your alloys . . .

How?

Serious question here

My recomendation (besides reading the forum), is the Lyman castbullet handbook 4th Ed.
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Lyma...B&gclsrc=aw.ds
Besides learning all the basics to casting, metalurgy, and loading cast...You'll get a heap of cast loading data.
When I first decided I was going to start casting, this book was recomended to me. I read the first half of the book through...a couple times, It will also give you the technical vocabulary to ask the right questions...because there will be lots of questions...at Least I sure did.
Good Luck.

[murf205]

You guys will laugh at this but I don't want to powder coat because I like the "old west" look of pure lead exposed bullets. So I'd like to use traditional lube. I know, dumb.

Quite the contrary, we don't laugh at anyone getting started in the hobby/addiction. Don't hesitate to ask anything. Every one here had a learning curve when we started. If you like the traditional look, the go for it. The clear powder that Smoke4320 sells on this site will probably be my next purchase also.

[Stopsign32v]

What’s the difference in tumble lube and pan lube?

[44Blam]

What’s the difference in tumble lube and pan lube?

Spending a little while in the Boolit Lube! forum will help clear all this up.

[murf205]

What’s the difference in tumble lube and pan lube?

A good place to answer some questions is the search window at the top of the page. It is a go-to spot for specifics when you are searching for answers. Tumble lube is just what it implies, a bit of alox liquid in a small tub of boolits that are shook and swirled until coated with lube, then allowed to dry overnight. Pan lubing requires standing the boolits on their based in a pan and melting the lube all around them up to the lube grooves and letting it cool or harden. then you "cookie cut" the boolits out with a proper sized case, just like redhawko said in post # 32.
If you decide that you need to size to a specific diameter, powder coating and a Lee push through sizer is hard to beat for simplicity and takes up less benchtop space than a lube/sizer. I still size some in my old Lyman 450 'cause sometimes I just need to smell that smoke that bees wax lube produces. Man, it brings back memories!