Trouble casting with Stick on Wheel Weights

[EMC45]

I cast a Lee pot 10lb pot's worth of Lee 1oz slugs yesterday. It's about 100 to a pot. I used pure stick on WW ingots and it took a while to get the fillout I will keep. The first 20 or so went right back in the pot.

[gwpercle]

Actually the boolit in your photo looks pretty good for use in a 38 S&W at under 50 yards .
If you're not shooting for prize money or trophies ...load em up and Choot em .
Flux the alloy well and maybe add a little tin ( 1% max.) if you want to , it will help fill out .
Gary

[alamogunr]

Having a good supply of solder, I don't hesitate to add at least 2% tin to every pot. I set the PID at 725º and don't look back. The only wrinkles I get are a few until the mold reaches good casting temp. I'm mostly casting handgun bullets.

[Jaak]

I ran a little experiment and put the lead on my gas burner in a cast iron pot. Don't have the Lyman casting ladle I ordered yet but I just sloshed lead into and all over the mold using a soup ladle that has a little bit of a spout. Hot damn if I didn't get some good bullets. About 10 of the 40 bullets I cast were picture perfect. The rest has some minor imperfections because I am picky, and none of them had that dirty/milky effect.

Thanks everyone!

[LenH]

Jaak
There is a video somewhere on this site where the guy used a soup ladle with a small hole drilled in the bottom. He was using a cast iron pot and a 6 cavity
Lee mold. I thought it was a cheap fix for a ladle.

[waksupi]

I ran a little experiment and put the lead on my gas burner in a cast iron pot. Don't have the Lyman casting ladle I ordered yet but I just sloshed lead into and all over the mold using a soup ladle that has a little bit of a spout. Hot damn if I didn't get some good bullets. About 10 of the 40 bullets I cast were picture perfect. The rest has some minor imperfections because I am picky, and none of them had that dirty/milky effect.

Thanks everyone!

I LIKE to have that frosted look on bullets!

[fredj338]

Pure lead, more heat. Adding just a bit of tin, just 1%, will help alloy flow and almost no change to the bhn, still really soft lead bullet.

[Jaak]

I LIKE to have that frosted look on bullets!

It wasn't frosting. It was in patches on the bullet, at first I thought it was dirty lead. Took a look under a strong magnifying glass and it turns out it was oxidization. I'm assuming the thin stream from the bottom pour pot was oxidizing mid flow and settling in the bullet.

[alamogunr]

I LIKE to have that frosted look on bullets!

So do I, especially those that I plan to tumble lube. I have no proof that the frosted surface holds the lube better but it makes sense to me.

I just leave the PID set on 725º. Sometimes I get frosting, sometimes I don't.

[megasupermagnum]

You won't get frosting with pure lead bullets. Jaak is referring to the inclusions from dirt and oxidation.

[Jaak]

Thanks for all of your help! I am now getting perfect bullets with my soft lead.

I bought the Lyman ladle and it pours lead much faster than my Lee bottom pour. I also heated up the mold to 250c (~480f). I also found that pressing the nozzle of the ladle up against the sprue plate then lifting the ladle away to form a puddle works wonders. No oxidization and perfect bases.

Thanks again!

[Scrounge]

I had to laugh when you stated that any carbon life forms will work as a flux - It wasn't intentional but I found that wasps pop when they fry in the lead.

Ya got too much moisture in your wasps! Dry em out better before you use them!


But wouldn't it be easier to us some dry pitchy pine?

[jimb16]

Spiders "POP" too. I use parafin as a flux and mix it right into the lead to help clean it. But be careful as it may suddenly catch fire. 1-2% added tin makes it flow better and doesn't significantly increase hardness.

[mto7464]

An oak stick from my yard makes a good fluxing tool. Free and unlimited.