Drifter
02-16-2007, 03:02 PM
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
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