Going to try my first cast tomorrow......

[jayhkr]

So I finally got around in ordering what I think is all the equipment I need to finally start casting my own boolits. I already have 2 Lee pots, 10 and 20# and of course the lead. Here's my question, I'm really only wanting boolits for plinking. I have 370+ pounds of CCWW, around 50 pounds of SOWW, and maybe 20 pounds of pewter tin. So many posts about mixes, and % its a bit confusing to me. I see most people use about 2% of tin to their CCWW lead, but what about the SOWW? Is this even necessary to mix in? I want to mix small batches at first, but what am I REALLY looking for when I cast? I'm very familiar with pouring lead for sinkers, but there is no need to worry about the imperfections I get with those. Obviously I know I want a nice, FULL boolit, but what else should I be looking for? These boolits will be shot from a Glock 19, and coated with the FAMED BB tumble in Harbor Freight powder. So leading shouldn't be any issues. I guess I just need to know if the SOWW is necessary to be mixed, if so how much to the tin and COWW and what exactly should I look for with the boolits after I pop them out? I'm sure it'll all make sense tomorrow when I get going, but wanted to ask now. Also, I've slugged my barrel at right around .355-.356 so I bought the .358 rezier kit. The molds I purchased both say they drop at .357, my assumption is after I coat them, they should be .359-.360 and the resizer should take care of that, correct? Lots of testing to do tomorrow, and I'm excited and nervous as I don't want anything to happen to my gun (or me) when I go to shoot them. Thanks everyone for the help!

[Yodogsandman]

Keep it simple. Use COWW's with just enough tin added to get good mold fill out. Maybe 2 ounces tin to a 20 lb pot. Look for square bases and cleanly filled out bands with no wrinkles. Save the stick-ons for later when you're more confident to mix alloys.

At this point, keep it simple with the lube, too. Just tumble lube with Lee Liquid Alox and go shoot. You can start powder coating anytime, why have more variables?

Good luck with those first boolits!

[scottfire1957]

Have your wheel weights already been rendered and cleaned and made into ingots?

[jayhkr]

Have your wheel weights already been rendered and cleaned and made into ingots?

Oh yes, spent better half of a full day doing all 360+ pounds. Cleaned and double fluxed.

[country gent]

Use the CCWW with 1%-2% tin added to enchance fillout and make casting easier. Use a good thermometer to help maintain a known consistent temp of alloy around 700 degrees. Keep good detailed notes on blend of alloy, pot settings ( these will vary slightly due to ambient temps breezes ect ect) actual temperature of alloy and anything everything that seems pertitent. These notes allow you to duplicate success and not repeat mistakes. Get a comfortable set up with everything needed hand and available with in easy reach and in a way it is accessable, remeber you should be wearing gloves to things may need to sit a little higher from table top. Vont forget saftey gear gloves apron heavy clothes and shoes saftey glasses mininum. Clean molds good with soap and water, lightly lubricate joints and friction areas. Pre heat molds and work at a comfortable pace. What to look for in your bullets is complete filloit of form no wrinkles or voids no rounded edges square sharp bases. Also a consistent wieght range. May not be exact wieght mold is stated but they should be in a narrow range of wieghts. Pour heavy sprues to start with over filling to heat mould and keep bases molten as long as possible. Have the tools needed handy to adjust sprue plate as needed also.

[62chevy]

Scrub the living daylights out of that mold and use a hot plate to get it up to temp.

[49FMarlin]

GOOD LUCK
Im hoping to be where you are soon, let us know how it goes and post some pictures?