Newbie Here, Trying To Get It Right

[Drifter]

Hello Everyone

This is my first time to post on Cast Boolits but I've been reading this forum for several weeks trying to figure out what equipment to purchase and the correct procedure to do things, and so far so good (I think). I'd also like to thank everyone for all the qreat information that has been posted here.

So far I've purchased a Lee 20# Pot, a Lee .45 cal .452 dia. 200 gr. SWC six cavity mold, a lead thermometer, a Lyman Ingot mold and have ordered a Star Lube/Sizer, boolit lube, Bullshop's bullplate lube and a 10# Lee Pot to feed the 20# pot (I don't like waiting).

I starting stopping by the local tire stores and collecting WW's a few weeks ago and ended up getting 4 five gallon buckets about 70% full (about time to go back again). I smelted these at 600-650 degrees in a large cast iron pot on a two burner LP stove (both of which I already had) and found about 5 or 6 Zink weights floating on top of the melt which I through away. I fluxed the melt with sawdust and ended up with 344 pretty one pound ingots[smilie=w: .

I really hadn't planed on casting any boolits until the rest of the equipment came in but I couldn't stand it. I thought I'd just play around a little bit with the temp. of the melt and the preheat temp. of the mold just to see how things worked. When I first started casting my temps. were too cool and gave me boolits that looked like prunes. I put about 70 boolits and the sprues back in the pot to remelt and waited for the temp. to come back up and tipped the front of the mold in the melt for preheating. About that time the phone rang, I answered and talked maybe 5 minutes and then went back to the casting bench picked up the mold and started trying again. This time my mold was a little too warm (sprues took too long to harden) so I cooled it by sitting it on a damp cloth for a few seconds and then tried it again. This time the boolits were coming out perfect and just in a few minutes I had about 300-400 boolits laying on my towel (I had a hard time quitting). I learned that I needed my melt between 700 to 750 and the mold needed to be pretty hot also. I looked thru probably 150-200 of the boolits and so far I haven't found any bad ones :-D .

I slugged my barrel and it came out at .452 and my boolits are coming out at .453 when I ordered the Star sizer I ordered with a .452 sizer die, I hope this is right.

If I've done anything wrong so far please let me know for I'm open to any suggestions.

I do have a couple of questions:
1. Can you go ahead and cast your boolits and at a later date size & lube them right before you load them (days, weeks, months)?

2. I'm also going to be casting boolits for 9mm & .40 cal. in the near future. Does anyone have any mold preferences for these two calibers? These will be used in 1911 pistols and I'm wanting accuracy, I prefer SWC but they don't have to be.

Thanks again for all the useful information.

:drinks:
Dave

[SharpsShooter]

Sure sounds like you have the situation going your way. Welcome to the board! Certainly you can cast now and lube & size later. Many of us do it that way. In fact, I usually just lube and size what I intend to load at that particular time. I can't help you on the 9mm or the 40, but I am sure there are several here that will chime in with that info.


SS

[UweJ]

Hello Drifter
Welcome to the forum.From what I´ve been reading you´ve done everything right so far. I know just how feel, as soon as anything can be done you have to start right away,was the same with me.
To answer your questions 1.Yes you can cast in advance, I do that too so that you have boolits when ypu need them.Also with time your boolits will get a little harder which is good.
2. SWC is a good choice but you have to check on feeding in the 9mm,sometimes this can become tricky with SWC depending on the angle of the ramp.
Well that`s my 2 cents worth,good luck
Uwe

[arkypete]

Say guys don't ya just hate when a new guy gets it right, right up front?
Kind of makes us dinosaures obsolete.
Welcome Drifter.
Jim
PS
Screw something up so we'll feel needed.

[singleshotbuff]

Drifter,

Welcome to the board.

For 9mm, I can reccomend the Lee TC design, I believe its 124grs, would have to dig mine out and look. It's kind of a pointed boolit with the point chopped off, single lube groove. Feeds and shoots great in my SA XD when sized to .357".

SSB

[leftiye]

You might try using those boolits without sizing.

.001" over groove dia. is a very goog place to end up. That is if they'll chamber in your auto, or if they are the same size as the throats in your revolter. Whichever it is you're casting these for.

If it's a revolter, and your throats are smaller than the boolits, you could enlarge them either by having someone ream them (if they're very much smaller), or if only a thou or so small, you can enlarge them with abrasive paper on a dowel. Open them up until the boolit sticks in the throat, but can be pushed through fairly easily (squeeze fit- without sizing the boolit down). Finish opening to size with 600 grit or finer.

As the other guys said it's almost irritating when things go so well on someone's first attempt at casting! Good on ya!

[cbrick]

Drifter,

Great start. Your a slave to the shiny goddess now.

The only thing in your post that I would change is the .452" sizing die. Is this for a revolver? If so, leftiye is correct, size to a mild snug fit in the throats, if not a revolver size .001" to .002" over bore diameter.

Rick

[Drifter]

Thanks guys,

SharpsShooter said:

Certainly you can cast now and lube & size later. Many of us do it that way. In fact, I usually just lube and size what I intend to load at that particular time.
UweJ also said the same thing.
I'm glad to hear that, I've read several places that you need to size shortly after casting (some said whithin 1 hr.) but that didn't seem right to me.


arkypete said:

Say guys don't ya just hate when a new guy gets it right, right up front?

I think I got lucky when the phone rang otherwise I may still be out in my shop trying to figure out what temp. would be right for the mold.


singleshotbuff said:
For 9mm, I can reccomend the Lee TC design, I believe its 124grs, would have to dig mine out and look.
I looked at that, sure is different from the round nose i'm shooting now.

Thanks for the speedy replys,
Dave

[Dorf]

OK!!! So you're the reason I can't find any wheel weights here in Central KY!!! LOL
Best of Luck, Stan

[floodgate]

Drifter:

Great first post! We oughta put it up as a "sticky", and just refer other newcomers to it.

floodgate

[9.3X62AL]

I agree, Doug--he did good, first time through.

I'm one who casts ahead of time and lubes boolits as the rounds get loaded. Works for me, and the boolits don't pick up grit and s--t while waiting around to get seated.

I like the Lee truncated cone design of the autopistol calibers--9mm, 40, and 45. I don't care for the bevel base, but as I understand it the Star sizer isn't affected by lube on the bevel like boolits in a Lyman/RCBS system are.

If you have 1911A1's in 9mm and 40 S&W, you have some classy platforms for these sometimes problematic calibers. Most 1911-series pistols feature 1-16" rifling twist rates, and this might be the single best improvement for 9mm and 40 S&W barrels shooting cast boolits. I had the chance a few years ago to fire a box-stock Springfield 1911A1 in 9mm, and that critter drove tacks. It might have been the most accurate 9mm I've ever fired, period.

WELCOME ABOARD, SIR!

[Drifter]

leftiye said:

.001" over groove dia. is a very goog place to end up. That is if they'll chamber in your auto, or if they are the same size as the throats in your revolter. Whichever it is you're casting these for.
These are for a 1911. I bought some cast boolits from Oregon Trail a few weeks ago that are .452's and a some of them are a little tight to chamber so I slugged the throat and it is only .453. I haven't had a chance to shoot many of them because of the weather but what few I've shot seem to shoot ok.

Deputy Al said:

I had the chance a few years ago to fire a box-stock Springfield 1911A1 in 9mm, and that critter drove tacks. It might have been the most accurate 9mm I've ever fired, period.
I have two 1911's in 9mm, one is a loaded stainless Springfield and the other is a STI Trojan and both are good shooters. I've heard a lot of people say that 1911's in 9mm have a lot of feeding problems but both of mine are very dependable. I guess I'm a 1911 nut because that's about all I shoot in centerfires but I do have a few other pistols they just don't get shot much.

Dave

[Dale53]

I have noticed a tendency to state that bullets should be sized at a particular size over "BORE" diameter. That is absolutely wrong. They should be sized at a particular size over "GROOVE" diameter.

For those that are confused, bore diameter is the barrel size before rifling. Groove diameter is the diameter of the barrel at its biggest point, the grooves. Groove size is the important diameter.

Comments made to simply "clear the air" not to be critical...

Dale53

[PPpastordon]

Dale53;
Why, you are correct. Smack me in the forehead!
I'll bet we all knew that (or, we knew what was meant, without thinking about what it said) in the back of our minds. We just never made the change.
Personally, a great big THANKS to ya!

[Wayne Smith]

Good on you - such success the first time hopefully does not predict hours of frustration later!

The sizing of bullets immediately after casting relates to those bullets that are water dropped for hardening. They need to be sized soon, as sizing reformulates the surface of the bullet and reverses the hardening that will soon occur after the bullet is cast. If you wait to size you loose the hardening.

[Drifter]

Thanks guys for all the replies.

There seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people here ready to answer questions. I think I may need to play around a little to find the correct sizing die but I feel I'm on the right track.

Thanks again,
Dave

[44man]

It is great when someone does the research and reads between the lines of a lot of us geezers to get a good start.
I hope drifter realizes a lot of us were born with a lead spoon in our mouths and had lead teething rings---think maybe why some uf us are a little screwed up?
Not having the silver spoon made a lot of us want to shoot cheap---until we started piling up molds, pots, sizers and a thousand other tools.
OOPS, don't want to scare Drifter off but I think he is hooked good enough to start to make fun of.
Dale, all of us lead contaminated fogies know what bore size means but thanks for bringing it up for the newbee's.

[Drifter]

44man- Being retired makes you want to shoot cheap also. It's easy to go through a thousand boolits in a week to a week and a half or at least it is for me. I can see where you can kinda get carried away with this hobby, this morning I ordered another mold in a GB and have two more on my wish list from Natchez which I'll probably order in a day or two. I think I'm already hooked, at this rate I don't know if I'll be saving any money or not, but if I don't at least I'm having a good time with a new hobby.
Dave

[44man]

You will never enjoy yourself more. Glad you are here.