Lessons learned - good casting day

[Finnmike]

Had some sun today so broke out the Lee pot and cast up some boolits for my 03A3. Today I used 2/3 WW and 1/3 range scrap lead, and added pewter for the first time. What a difference! With the pot running at 5.5 setting, I was casting filled-out boolits in 5 minutes. Got the timing down too - fill mold, wait 5 seconds, palm off the sprue plate, wait another 5 or more, and the boolits just dropped out. I had Lee-mented the 312-185R after my last crummy cast, and it made all the difference. Nothing mysterious, just long-established principles put into use. Thanks to all who have shared their experiences here to get me into the "swing" or mold, that is...

[Bullet Caster]

Good for you. It's nice to know someone is enjoying the sport and casting. The only way I knew to start out is just get your feet "wet" but not with lead. The more casting sessions you have the better you'll do. It works for me. BC

[Mk42gunner]

Finnmike, good on you.

The pewter added a bit of tin for better fillout.

People gripe about Lee molds, (and I admit they could be better) but the last time I ran my 312-185, it was raining boolits too. When you hit that sweet spot that a mold likes, it is hard to stop before you are out of lead.

Robert

[1Shirt]

Yep, it is sort of addictive when everything runs right. AND- a PIA when it doesn't.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[milprileb]

Not a time I cast that I don't find something to improve in lay out of gear, use of gear, techniques etc.

Congrats on a good day and better ones ahead

[wallenba]

Biggest lesson I learned came after learning from all the mistakes. That is...make yourself comfortable. You will be in one place for quite a while, and fatigue always dictated how many boolits I cast. I finally made an arm rest at a comfortable height for my arms ( especially my mold holding hand) and a mold rest for cool down. I could then just pivot my arm when I needed to move instead of supporting the weight of a full mold.