Road to 1000 boolit batch

[Martin Luber]

I preheat my moulds to about 400F on the kitchen stove ( electric flat surface unit) .

I run 2 to 3 high capacity moulds at a time. Fill, set aside to cool, Empty and refill next, etc etc.

Dropping sprues back in the pot as l cast as well as adding small quantities of small lead chunks to the pot keeps the level up and avoids reheating delay. I also have spare pots to prep metal for the main. My work needs precision boolets so I run all through a Star lubersizer. I also tumble lube after. Big reductions in smoke but also slippery and may require slight powder bump for marginal load function. I have LoadMasters, Star loaders all preset

[remy3424]

"I use a graphite pencil on the pins if they are giving me sticking problems."

I will also steal that suggestion, the penta point pins are not as smoothly machined as the round pins.

I love the "look" of the hp boolits, but I do question myself if they are worth the extra effort, my round nose pins drop easier (faster).

Thanks Ateam

[guy_with_boolits]

I think you are biting off alot for being relatively new to this. My suggestion would be to get good at doing one hundred round batches. After that if you feel the absolute need to do huge batches, go for it. I find when I do huge batches, it is hard to keep quality high throughout.

I use a graphite pencil on the pins if they are giving me sticking problems.

I'm trying to make a big leap here in order to improve my processes. For instance the 6 / 50 failure rate is no big deal for 100, but totally unacceptable for 1000. So now I am forced to figure that out.

In theory..if things dont go well I can drop it back down to a 100 batch situation until I get things fixed. Thats the idea anyway...

[guy_with_boolits]

"I use a graphite pencil on the pins if they are giving me sticking problems."

I will also steal that suggestion, the penta point pins are not as smoothly machined as the round pins.

I love the "look" of the hp boolits, but I do question myself if they are worth the extra effort, my round nose pins drop easier (faster).

Thanks Ateam

Actually round is fine with me. If thats easier then thats what I'll do. I just want them to be HP.

[guy_with_boolits]

Thanks for all the tips. Some take aways:

-using the #2 pencil as lube for pins
-preheating using a hot plate (I bought it)
-preheating ingots using my PID toaster oven
-trying to find a way to avoid QC'ing boolits as they drop..which takes up alot of time and lets the mold cool as well..this is the trickiest part. Because essentially this is the bottom line: if I can actually not need to QC the boolits then that means I've improved the process to the point where I don't need to. The whole thing in a nutshell..

I think I might do the first 100 in ALOX, confirm how they shoot/chamber, then decide if I will be doing PC or ALOX for the remaining 900

I will be sizing to 0.452

The issues I had with the rejects were that they did not pass the plunk test. They are not all the same headstamp. I'm not sure whats wrong with them yet. I will be doing an investigation shortly for each one.

[Ateam]

The only 45acp brass I have ever had a problem with is A-merc (i think that is the headstamp). Do your self a favor and throw it out if you find some.

The eraser on the number 2 pencil is also a good way to remove lead spots from the mold blocks if necessary, though i think i like the idea of the torch method mentioned earlier better.

I doubt the brass is the problem with your plunk test, probably oversized boolits or not taking enough of the flair out with your crimp.

[bangerjim]

Any hot plate recommendations for the mold? What temperature do you actually want to keep the mold at?

I always use a hotplate to heat my molds to FULL CASTING TEMPERATURE B4 ever starting casting....not just warm as many sty on here. Far better than simply sitting them on the edge of the pot!!!!!!!!! Also use it to preheat all your feed ingots to about 15°F below liquidous temp of your alloy. That way, the feeders don't lower the temp of your pot much at all.

[bangerjim]

I'm torn between getting this $17 hot plate with unknown max temperature, or just using my PID toaster oven set to 500F to preheat the mold (I guess I'll need to make a foil/kaowool blanket to keep the handles out but the mold inside the oven). https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Cuisine...64&sr=8-2&th=1

Seems like a hot plate would be best, if you can really just set the mold on it and have the hot plate maintain a temperature, and heat the mold through conduction instead of convective/radiant

I have not hard of anybody successfully using a convection oven to preheat molds. You will damage the handles most likely. I am sure there will be somebody pipe up that does it that way. Always is!

A hotplate is best because it uses conduction contact heating between the flat top plate and the molds. Convection/radiant heat in an oven just takes too long.

Once you use a plate for preheating molds and ingots, you wonder where it has been all you casting life!

[toallmy]

Before you can load a thousand you must have a thousand ready to load so I'd start casting first . I try to keep a few coffee cans ready to load in advance .
With the rounds that failed to plunk , it's probably just a slight adjustment with your dies removing the slight flair .
Go slowly and enjoy the experience .

[toallmy]

Listen to bangerjim about the hot plate when I finally took his advice about preheating molds to full casting temp before attempting to cast everything else just fell into place .
Thanks again bangerjim

[rintinglen]

The one thing I'll add to the advice offered to this point is to cast fast. When you have your melt and Mold to temp, don't hesitate. Start casting as fast as you can fill, cool the sprue, cut and dump. Don't look at the boolits, don't fuss with the pot. Keep a couple of ingots pre-warming on the top of the pot or on the hot plate (or both) and replace them as you use them. As long as the ingots are at least 400 degrees, they will have a minimal impact on your melt temperature if added one at a time to a 20 pound pot. Add metal while the sprue cools. You'll have your thousand cast a lot quicker than you think. 4 3/4 to 6 hours is my guess. Good luck!
If you don't size them, you'll probably have some problems. A LEE or NOE push-thru sizer is the way to fly--you can easily do 10 per minute once you get the hang of it and organize your work station.

[Burnt Fingers]

With my eight cavity MP molds casting 1000 in a batch is easy. I usually manage around 1400-1500 with those molds. One key is to use that hot plate to pre-heat your ingots so your pot doesn't lose temp when you put new ingots in it. I can turn out 25 lbs of boolits in about a couple of hours.

With my four cavity HP molds I can get to 1000 in a batch pretty easy. It takes me about 3 hours.

I prefer to Hi-Tek my boolits.

[shootinfox2]

Your post got me thinking. Dangerous. I tried my luck today. 2000 .45 200 gr RNFP in about five hours. Two Lee 6 cavity molds. Pour, set aside, pour the second, break sprue on number 1 and dump, refill, break sprue on number 2, dump, refill. It sounds easy, but you have to keep the rhythm or it falls apart. Sprue gets too hard, etc. can be done.

Fox

[shootinfox2]

Your post got me thinking. Dangerous. I tried my luck today. 2000 .45 200 gr RNFP in about five hours. Two Lee 6 cavity molds. Pour, set aside, pour the second, break sprue on number 1 and dump, refill, break sprue on number 2, dump, refill. It sounds easy, but you have to keep the rhythm or it falls apart. Sprue gets too hard, etc. can be done.
I know you were casting hollow points, so the timeline is different, but I had to try.

Fox

[KCcactus]

I don't cast often, so most of my sessions are over 1,000 at a time. Running two pots makes a big difference. Drain one and use the other while the first one gets up to temperature after refill. That way you can keep going longer with the mold working well. Boolits pile up fast if you keep the mold at the temp it likes.

[guy_with_boolits]

Very interesting to see the common theme of a hot plate for preheating the mold...eager to try mine out

I

[brewer12345]

Guy, I would suggest concentrating on one step at a time. I cast the same boolit in solid form with a Lee 6 banger. This is easily my favorite design of all and I shoot buckets of them. The hot plate is a key process improvement and you should definitely use it for every casting session. Aside from that, concentrate on one thing at a time. Casting is first. Once you have quality bullets cast, you can alox them, powder coat them, size them, fill the cavities with weasel grease or whatever. But you cannot do any of it until you have a bunch of quality cast boolits. So work on the casting first.

Generally I toss my sprues in as part of reloading the pot when it gets low, but I do not try to cull as I cast because it takes too much time and attention. Save the culling for when you are done and melt them in the next casting session. Make sure you have enough tin in the alloy for good fill out.

[guy_with_boolits]

Your post got me thinking. Dangerous. I tried my luck today. 2000 .45 200 gr RNFP in about five hours. Two Lee 6 cavity molds. Pour, set aside, pour the second, break sprue on number 1 and dump, refill, break sprue on number 2, dump, refill. It sounds easy, but you have to keep the rhythm or it falls apart. Sprue gets too hard, etc. can be done.
I know you were casting hollow points, so the timeline is different, but I had to try.

Fox

that is impressive..two molds requires some skill

[David2011]

Grasshopper, to abuse an old saying, the longest journey begins with a single step. You’re definitely overthinking the job. Don’t focus on the overall size of the task. Just start and persist. When you have all the boolits you want, start powder coating. Continue with each step until you have a pile of loaded ammunition.

[AlHunt]

Thanks for all the tips. Some take aways:

-using the #2 pencil as lube for pins

Let me just caution to be certain it's really a #2 pencil. I'd recommend an American name brand pencil. I once grabbed a pencil that only said "Made In China" ... I don't know WHAT that pencil was made of but I chased wrinkled bullets for a long, long time until I figured out that the cheapo pencil had contaminated my molds with who knows what ...

Actually, all you're really after there is the graphite, which you can buy all by itself. It's lock lubricant. Just be sure to read the container and be sure it's 100% powdered graphite.