miner49r
01-26-2013, 08:51 PM
I have read and learned a lot from the wealth of knowledge in this forum. But no matter how much you read there is no better teacher than experience. That being said, I been practicing.
I have three Lyman molds. 2-398091 .38 cal. 150gr WC amd 1-452460 .45 cal. 200gr SWC.
The first few sessions were a complete waste of time. I made every rookie mistake in the book. (alloy too hot, alloy too cold, mold too cold, mold too hot, etc...) Good thing about this is you just toss everything back in the pot.
Had read in several threads that a hot plate is really helpful to pre-heat the mold so I bought one. EUREKA! Casting with the 200gr. SWC netted 148 bullets ranging from 204gr-208gr of which 93% were in the 205-207gr range. Not perfect, but showing improvement. My technique varried from pressure casting to about an inch below the spigot and I didn't have a rythm till near the end of the session. This is when I noticed the heavier bullets had what appeared to be an "x" on the nose. Examining the mold proved there is a scribed line across the nose in the front cavity. (OK Dad, Why did you do that?) Calipers don't lie. The bullets from the "x" cavity are .002" longer and out of round nearly .004". I will refer to each cavity as "x" as the front and "o" as the rear" from here on.
Next session netted 238 bullets of which 45% were 207gr from "x", 41% were 205gr from "o". From the previous session I had found that pressure casting worked the best for this mold. I devloped a good rythm by cutting the sprue when the puddle stopped wiggling, drop, close, pour, repeat. I figure if both cavities were identicle it would have been an 86%+ success.
Todays cast was nearly identicle to the last. 40% at 205gr from "x" and 44% at 207gr from "o".
"OK Dad. Did you try lapping the front cavity?" No answer from the heavens. If I were casting for Bullseye I would have to decide which I would use for competition and use the rest for practice.
The alloy temps ranged from 650-750 and the CWW alloy bullets dropped bright from the mold and frosted within a minute. I think the mold might still be too hot and the bullets could be a little less frosted.
I have three Lyman molds. 2-398091 .38 cal. 150gr WC amd 1-452460 .45 cal. 200gr SWC.
The first few sessions were a complete waste of time. I made every rookie mistake in the book. (alloy too hot, alloy too cold, mold too cold, mold too hot, etc...) Good thing about this is you just toss everything back in the pot.
Had read in several threads that a hot plate is really helpful to pre-heat the mold so I bought one. EUREKA! Casting with the 200gr. SWC netted 148 bullets ranging from 204gr-208gr of which 93% were in the 205-207gr range. Not perfect, but showing improvement. My technique varried from pressure casting to about an inch below the spigot and I didn't have a rythm till near the end of the session. This is when I noticed the heavier bullets had what appeared to be an "x" on the nose. Examining the mold proved there is a scribed line across the nose in the front cavity. (OK Dad, Why did you do that?) Calipers don't lie. The bullets from the "x" cavity are .002" longer and out of round nearly .004". I will refer to each cavity as "x" as the front and "o" as the rear" from here on.
Next session netted 238 bullets of which 45% were 207gr from "x", 41% were 205gr from "o". From the previous session I had found that pressure casting worked the best for this mold. I devloped a good rythm by cutting the sprue when the puddle stopped wiggling, drop, close, pour, repeat. I figure if both cavities were identicle it would have been an 86%+ success.
Todays cast was nearly identicle to the last. 40% at 205gr from "x" and 44% at 207gr from "o".
"OK Dad. Did you try lapping the front cavity?" No answer from the heavens. If I were casting for Bullseye I would have to decide which I would use for competition and use the rest for practice.
The alloy temps ranged from 650-750 and the CWW alloy bullets dropped bright from the mold and frosted within a minute. I think the mold might still be too hot and the bullets could be a little less frosted.