A Noob's first cast. (pic) Long winded!

[Recluse]

AK Soldier,

Several things:

1. The suggestion about Bullplate is spot-on. ALL of Dan's products are top-shelf, as is Dan and his entire family.

2. In lieu of Lee Liquid Alox, check out White Label Lubes' link at the bottom of this page (Lars Stuff) and order a small bottle of Xlox. Same stuff, better price and you're helping support a fellow vet.

3. Loading that .45 ACP 2281R boolit requires some careful OAL. One of the best authorities on this entire forum for loading and seating that particular boolit is 35Remington. In addition, he is a walking, living, breathing encyclopedia on the .45 ACP round.

There was a lengthy, sometimes borderline profane thread on the loading and seating of that particular boolit. I have--and load--the TL230RN boolit. But all of my round-nose .45 ACP stuff is very low-velocity stuff. I shoot it for fun and not much else, so I wanted a TL design boolit I could cast, lube, size and load with minimum fuss and maximum flexibility. My preferred shooting boolit in .45 ACP is a 200SWC with a bevel base.

You might PM 35Remington and ask him about a good OAL for that 228 boolit. I think--don't quote me-- I remember him saying there could be some pressure issues versus improper seating that would cause feeding difficulties.

4. Welcome home and thanks for your service.

[Ferdinand]

I just started casting and have broken in 3 Lee Aluminum 2-bullet molds. Despite washing with solvent or whatever, each seemed to need to be cycled 20 times or so before I was saving. I've been casting at 20-30f and it is critical to heat the mold up prior to casting. With a broken in mold, I can warm it by laying across the pot with the bottom in the lead melt, then pull it out and perch it on the rim to let the heat even out through the mold. After heating like this, I'm saving within 2-5 cycles.

I'm using a lead that was a counter-balance from a medical imaging machine. It's not pure, but it's soft. I drop the projectiles into water and I've had some picture-worthy product.

[mmorris]

At the risk of seeming pushy (and redundant and repetitive), I am compelled to repay the tip I was given about Bullplate Sprue Plate Lube when I was wondering what to use.

Here’s the link again:
www.bullshop.gunloads.com/tbs_lube.htm
(this takes you straight to the sprue lube page)

Instructions:
1-Heat mould to casting temperature and fill cavities with alloy
2-Cut sprue & keep blocks together with boolits in cavities.
3-Shake bottle, remove cap, dampen Q-tip on inside of cap.
4-Spread a light film of lube on:
a) the mould block top surface
b) the bottom of the sprue plate
c) the alignment pins and hinge points
5-Wipe away excess lube from all surfaces with a clean Q-tip.

I use just a little more than the dampened Q-Tip.
Always apply with the sprue plate open and the mold cavities full so you don’t get it in the cavities.

Make some sort of base to stabilize the bottle because it is frowned upon to waste the sacred fluid.

Mike

[Snyd]

Thanks Snyd! I bookmarked the site for future use. I thought it was kinda strange that Midway wouldn't ship the sizing dies. I ordered a couple from a shop here in town. And yes, I'm hooked now. I just went into town and picked up a 5 gallon bucket full of wheel weights from a tire shop. 145 LBS. of lead for $25.00.

Now I need to find that thread where the guys were discussing how to determine which weights contain zinc...

Ya, get those buckets-o-wheel weights while the gittins good! I started last spring. I smelted a bunch last summer and ended up with about 500lbs of lead muffins. I got another 8 buckets this fall! Anyway, just sort out the stick-ons. They are pure lead. The zinc ones float when your melt reaches temp to where you can skim out the steel clips. You can get em before they melt. It's no biggie. After you pull the first one or two then you'll know what the look like and can pull while sorting in the future.

[AKsoldier]

Recluse, Ferdinand, mmorris, Snyd: Ya'll are giving me more info than I can process in a month! I don't think I've ever encountered another forum with folks so quick to offer advice. Thanks for the info - I think I need to invest in some more printer paper!!

[JSAND]

Great post and as usual a lot of information and knowledge for the taking, I thank you all for asking the questions you do and the answers, you that know, give. Thank you all for educating a newbie, noob, greenhorn or whatever you call the uninformed. This is another great thread with a lot of useful info. John

[jkkfam89]

Great Job! I just finished my first round. I need a lube sizer though.

[AKsoldier]

Great Job! I just finished my first round. I need a lube sizer though.

Congrats! You and me both - I have to go see if my first one is in today and order another. Welcome to the forum, by the way!

[HORNET]

AKsoldier said:

how to determine which weights contain zinc...

I'll agree with pulling out the stick-ons, they work well for feeding muzzle-loaders or for swapping stock as very soft lead. You CAN skim out the floating ones as things melt , especially if you can keep the temperature under about 750. The Zinc'ers melt about 780 so you still have to watch for temperature swings. Some recommend testing suspicious ones with muriatic acid since the zinc will 'foam' but not the lead. The low-tech method is to check them with diagonal cutters or something similar (I use some old lineman's pliers). The lead ones will be easy to cut into but NOT the zinc. You can also do more than one test if you want to be REAL sure.

[Greenhorn44]

Lees got a press that you can get for around 40 bucks on evil bay. Alittle pan lube sizing die and yur good to go. I just casted my first boolits saturday. 44mags. I need to invest in leather welding gloves. the mold was melting my rag

[AKsoldier]

AKsoldier said:
I'll agree with pulling out the stick-ons, they work well for feeding muzzle-loaders or for swapping stock as very soft lead. You CAN skim out the floating ones as things melt , especially if you can keep the temperature under about 750. The Zinc'ers melt about 780 so you still have to watch for temperature swings. Some recommend testing suspicious ones with muriatic acid since the zinc will 'foam' but not the lead. The low-tech method is to check them with diagonal cutters or something similar (I use some old lineman's pliers). The lead ones will be easy to cut into but NOT the zinc. You can also do more than one test if you want to be REAL sure.

See - this is exactly why this forum is so great. People just volunteer helpful information all the time. Thanks Hornet!

Greenhorn44 - congrats on your first boolits and best of luck getting the handle or glove figured out. My molds are the Lee ones that come with handles.

[HORNET]

Greenhorn44, Are you one of Crash's fans? See http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=40238