First set of cast boolits.......questions

[Frank V]

jayhkr

The frosty bullets won't hurt anything they will shoot just fine as has been said just turn the heat down a bit & keep going.
If you open the sprue plate too quickly (before the lead has set up) you will get lead smears on the underside of your sprue plate & the top of the mould. This is a pain so I usually wait till I see the puddle turn a dull color before I open the sprue plate.
The particles in your bullets are probably from not fluxing enough. I will put a pea sized piece of parifin on my moulton lead, stir it, & skim off the dross. This will get rid of impurities in the metal. From the looks of your last bullets you are on your way to good bullets. Keep at it it's more of an art than a science, you will soon develop a "feel" for your lead pot, lead, & mould.
let us know how it's going, but I think you are on the right track.

[Tom W.]

If they are not severely wrinkled and the bases are good, they'll kill a target a lot better than you would think.

Don't be afraid to flux your alloy in the pot to help get rid of the inclusions.

Once you get the hang of things you'll find that the 6 cavity mold will drain your pot pretty quickly, and as you wait as you refill it, your mold will cool off some. It will help to leave the cavities full when you do this as was said earlier, aluminum molds cool off quickly. Full cavities will help to retain some of the heat.

[country gent]

Its amazing what actually will perform well. My shooting partner pulled a bunch of 45 and 40 cal rifle bullets with side cutters and reused them in a couple local shillouette matches. The shot good enough out to 500 yds. Do I recomend it, No. But it can be done. Wiegh them into groups and shoot some at dead on perfect no flaws no wieght variations then shoot some groups with perfect looks and 1 grn variation high to low wieght. then several groups with slight visable flaws and see what the actual diffrence is in your firearm is for you. Keep in mind on a 125 grn boolit 1% wieght variation is 1.25 grns just something to think about

[jayhkr]

So are these minor flaws keepable or toss them back in? I don't want to be over OCD, but I kept about 90 of the 150 I casted. I only kept the absolute 100% perfect ones. Pictures soon to come of them!!

[jayhkr]

So here is what I had success with. Had my pot at 725*, placed my mold on my hot plate and had it cranked to the highest it would go (no idea it was a "bargain plate" at Savers), Lead was 9#'s COWW and 2oz of Pewter Tin. I knew when I would have better boolits by looking at the molten lead on top of the mold after the pour. If it stayed liquid for longer, then the boolits came out better (hotter mold). I would call these minor frosted, but if frosting doesn't really matter then I'm not going to worry about it. Going to see if I can get by with 1oz of pewter tin next batch, then once I get it down right, I'll make up batches of ingots using that recipe. Anyways, onwards to more pictures (that's why we're all here anyway!)



Then I wanted to try my hand at the ASBBDT that got started last year. I'm on page 16 of like 31 on that thread but BOY HOWDY does that stuff work great! Need to adjust my dies in my Dillon reloading press to allow a slightly larger case opening, but besides that it's awesome. Given I'm a Glock user, I need something to keep my barrel from leading, this is the trick for sure!





So in the end I'm pleased. I'm anxious to get out and try them out honestly. That's the true WORTH of this whole ordeal! If we can go from $.11-.12 a round to $.04-.05 a round that just gives us more ability to shoot more! Thank you to each of you for helping me and giving me ideas on this. I always seem to over complicate things like this, but I'm a person who likes to be sure when it comes to things that can potentially injure me and others.

[plainsman456]

They will work well.

Those look like lipstick tubes.

[mongoose33]

I clean my molds with pure acetone. You can get a can of it at the hardware store or home center for (at least here in Wisconsin) about $11 for a gallon, about $4 for a quart. Either will last a lifetime.

I'm still relatively new at casting. Besides have the mold clean, and then smoking the mold, the element I've found makes the greatest impact is mold temperature. Some old-timers won't even look at boolits from the first 8 or 10 pours, they just toss them back as the purpose of those initial pours is to heat up the mold.

A six-gang mold is a different deal, but I have some smaller molds where, once they get up to temp, I can use my gloved thumb to just flick the sprue plate open. That's a sign the mold is up to temp for me.

Aluminum heats up fast, cools fast. If you're waiting for new alloy to come up to temp, your mold *will* cool down unless you take pains to keep it up to temp. One way to help is lay it across the top of the pot. Another is to get a hot plate and set up something to not only bring it up to temp but keep it there while you add more alloy. There are a bunch of variations on that theme, here's the one I use:



One other thing: I had trouble w/ the Lee six-gang mold in that bullets toward the handles would often be incomplete fills or otherwise unacceptable. Guess what? Those handles draw off heat, causing the mold on the end where the handles are to cool faster than the far end.

Solution is to pour the boolit at the handle-end first and move toward the far end. Otherwise there's too long a time lag and the mold will cool more on that end.

[Frank V]

So here is what I had success with. Had my pot at 725*, placed my mold on my hot plate and had it cranked to the highest it would go (no idea it was a "bargain plate" at Savers), Lead was 9#'s COWW and 2oz of Pewter Tin. I knew when I would have better boolits by looking at the molten lead on top of the mold after the pour. If it stayed liquid for longer, then the boolits came out better (hotter mold). I would call these minor frosted, but if frosting doesn't really matter then I'm not going to worry about it. Going to see if I can get by with 1oz of pewter tin next batch, then once I get it down right, I'll make up batches of ingots using that recipe. Anyways, onwards to more pictures (that's why we're all here anyway!)



Then I wanted to try my hand at the ASBBDT that got started last year. I'm on page 16 of like 31 on that thread but BOY HOWDY does that stuff work great! Need to adjust my dies in my Dillon reloading press to allow a slightly larger case opening, but besides that it's awesome. Given I'm a Glock user, I need something to keep my barrel from leading, this is the trick for sure!





So in the end I'm pleased. I'm anxious to get out and try them out honestly. That's the true WORTH of this whole ordeal! If we can go from $.11-.12 a round to $.04-.05 a round that just gives us more ability to shoot more! Thank you to each of you for helping me and giving me ideas on this. I always seem to over complicate things like this, but I'm a person who likes to be sure when it comes to things that can potentially injure me and others.

I'd shoot those no problem. They look pretty good actually. I've never tried powder coating, the have thought about it a lot.
I'm a big fan of Glock too, I've been using plated bullets, they are great guns.
Good shooting.

[jayhkr]

I was told that powder coating would add .001-.002 to the thickness, however these are coming out at .356-.357. I bought a .358 sizing die, is this wrong? Should I purchase a .356 sizing die instead? Seems that when I size them, SOME are going through VERY effortlessly, and maybe a few go through where I need just a bit of pressure. Really excited to try these out soon. Hopefully next week! The process is just so simple! Wish I had a slightly bigger oven so I could do more than 50-60 at a time, but either way, I only spent $10 on the oven so I can't complain much AT ALL! Those of you on the fence, here's the break down: $6 for a bottle of HF powder coat, $15ish for a used oven, $15 for a bottle of air soft bb's (that will last a few lifetimes) 2 minutes of shaking, 10 minutes of baking and WHALLA! Less than $40 to get started!!

[bruce381]

you are fine as long as the base is flat and sharp that steers the boolit.
PC i do not do but for cast size 1-2 tho over grove diameter if you have not tryed slugging there are stickes or just try them pretty simple.

too small may lead and tumble I do not load 9mm but .357 is most common?

[jcren]

If it chambers, let em fly. Running them through a sizer is a good idea for uniformity, but I have fired .455 lead through a barrel slugged to .451 with no problems and good accuracy.

[captaint]

OP - Looks like your doing real well. Even the power coating looks great. BUT - I'm gonna say (or ask) it. If powder coating only came in clear finish, so when you looked at it, it would hard to see, I have to wonder how many guys would make the effort.
I guess I'm of the opinion that guys powder coat because it looks cool. And it does look cool. I know, I'm just an old grump, resisting change. As long as everybody is happy, I guess....

[Frank V]

jayhkr

I'm a Glock fan too, been using plated bullets. Those look like they will work well. Have you miked them before & after powder coating? I'm wondering how much diameter it adds?
Thanks.

[blikseme300]

Getting a Lee 6-banger up to temperature takes a little more help than just casting as broken sprue cutter handles usually result from the effort to cut too cold sprues. As Mongoose33 pointed out the handles themselves suck up a lot of heat before the mold works well. The solution to this is to heat soak the mold & handles on a hot plate before starting casting.

I have more than 20 Lee 6-bangers molds and my method is to place the mold on a solid hot plate maxxed out for at least 30 minutes before staring the casting. I rather start with a mold that is too hot than too cold as it is easier to cool off a mold than heat it up. The first few castings are typically too frosty and these are recycled later. Watching the sprue change from shiny to frosted and the time it takes gives a good indication of the mold temperature but this is learned over time. Smaller cavities need a faster casting tempo while the large ones carry so much heat that the sprue can be cut too quickly. I think of heat being poured, not volume. Small cavities allow a smaller amount of heat to keep the mold up to temperature than large ones.

Jayhkr, your boolits look very good and I commend you for striving for perfection and that you are willing to put in the effort. Let us know how they shoot.

[jayhkr]

Thank you everyone for the inspiration!! As soon as I get back to my pc (on phone now) I will answer the few questions asked!! So much fun and so much extra I can shoot now!!!

[jayhkr]

you are fine as long as the base is flat and sharp that steers the boolit.
PC i do not do but for cast size 1-2 tho over grove diameter if you have not tryed slugging there are stickes or just try them pretty simple.

too small may lead and tumble I do not load 9mm but .357 is most common?

I have slugged my barrel and it came out at .355-.356 as best I could judge.

OP - Looks like your doing real well. Even the power coating looks great. BUT - I'm gonna say (or ask) it. If powder coating only came in clear finish, so when you looked at it, it would hard to see, I have to wonder how many guys would make the effort.
I guess I'm of the opinion that guys powder coat because it looks cool. And it does look cool. I know, I'm just an old grump, resisting change. As long as everybody is happy, I guess....

Actually the color is just a bonus, the fact that I never have to have sticky hands, worry about leading, etc.... is what I was more after. Not to mention it's cheap and so dog-gone easy!

jayhkr

I'm a Glock fan too, been using plated bullets. Those look like they will work well. Have you miked them before & after powder coating? I'm wondering how much diameter it adds?
Thanks.

I will check (well re-check) next time I start PC'ing. Just casted over 1,000 of these little buggers tonight so coating will have to wait till next week on my next day off. But I will report back when I have the answer!

Getting a Lee 6-banger up to temperature takes a little more help than just casting as broken sprue cutter handles usually result from the effort to cut too cold sprues. As Mongoose33 pointed out the handles themselves suck up a lot of heat before the mold works well. The solution to this is to heat soak the mold & handles on a hot plate before starting casting.

I have more than 20 Lee 6-bangers molds and my method is to place the mold on a solid hot plate maxxed out for at least 30 minutes before staring the casting. I rather start with a mold that is too hot than too cold as it is easier to cool off a mold than heat it up. The first few castings are typically too frosty and these are recycled later. Watching the sprue change from shiny to frosted and the time it takes gives a good indication of the mold temperature but this is learned over time. Smaller cavities need a faster casting tempo while the large ones carry so much heat that the sprue can be cut too quickly. I think of heat being poured, not volume. Small cavities allow a smaller amount of heat to keep the mold up to temperature than large ones.

Jayhkr, your boolits look very good and I commend you for striving for perfection and that you are willing to put in the effort. Let us know how they shoot.

This is exactly what I do, I have an old coil style hot plate that I just crank up to max and set the mold on there. 25 minutes later when my 20# pot is ready, the mold is pipping hot. I load the mold from the handles to the tip, let it sit for 5-7 seconds till it's a dull grey then the sprue cutter effortlessly glides across! I did notice that the hotter the mold, the easier the boolits release from it too. Fine line between cutting to soon, and to late.....that's for sure! Lets hope that next week allows for me to get out and take them for a "spin"!!

Thank you again everyone for the continued help, support, and feedback! This forum is bar none, the best there is when it comes to community help!

[Frank V]

Wow casting 1000 in one sitting is a pretty good days work.
I'll be staying tuned to hear how they perform at the range well I'm betting. When you get a chance to mike them I'd be interested.
Thanks.

[44man]

Most hot plates have a thermal fuse underneath that will blow if too hot. It will quit all of a sudden. I jump the fuse with wire and solder it. Yeah I defeat the safety but have had no problems. Don't leave it alone.

[jayhkr]

Most hot plates have a thermal fuse underneath that will blow if too hot. It will quit all of a sudden. I jump the fuse with wire and solder it. Yeah I defeat the safety but have had no problems. Don't leave it alone.

So far my plate has given me no issues shutting off. It may be so old that I won't ever have to worry about it. Can't wait to shoot these Wednesday. Going to do quite a few experiments to see how they perform to the coated bullets I've been using!!! So nice to be able to reload at $.04-.05 a round now!!!

[62chevy]

OP - Looks like your doing real well. Even the power coating looks great. BUT - I'm gonna say (or ask) it. If powder coating only came in clear finish, so when you looked at it, it would hard to see, I have to wonder how many guys would make the effort.
I guess I'm of the opinion that guys powder coat because it looks cool. And it does look cool. I know, I'm just an old grump, resisting change. As long as everybody is happy, I guess....

No not at all I started PC this year to stop leading, make the gun easy to clean and the number one reason is stop that blasted smoke from the lube.