simple Hi-Tek coating

[Vettepilot]

HITEK now has a Blue.
It is a very dark Blue, Nice and shiny. check it out.
https://i.imgur.com/xIVLkxD.jpg

Blue isn't particularly my favorite color, but that really is just beautiful! Nice!

Vettepilot

[dansedgli]

I got a new open gun in 9mm a few weeks ago.

Not looking for my 38 super brass and still shooting open is the best.

[Tazza]

I got a new open gun in 9mm a few weeks ago.

Not looking for my 38 super brass and still shooting open is the best.

No one likes a smarty pants :)

I'd like one for night steel matches

[Ausglock]

OK... we have been playing with the Blue.
Here is the latest result.
The new lighter blue after Fankensteining the dark blue on the right.
The picture doesn't do it justice.
For all the Aussies on here that remember the HRBC Bluehawks, This is the exact same colour after the first coat bake. I have just coated a 2nd coat and will bake tomorrow night...
Very promising...
https://i.imgur.com/3Ffdm7g.jpg

[Tazza]

Awesome, might be in my next order with joe

Looks good, i liked that colour

[Petander]

Looking very good,sort of like metallic turquoise.

Here is my TMG Gold/Candy Apple-mix. It has 25% TMG Gold mixed with Red.

242517

[HI-TEK]

Looking very good,sort of like metallic turquoise.

Here is my TMG Gold/Candy Apple-mix. It has 25% TMG Gold mixed with Red.

242517

That is a strange and awesome colour. I don't know what you can call it.

[Ausglock]

That is a strange and awesome colour. I don't know what you can call it.

Donkey Snot Booger Brown???

[Tazza]

Donkey Snot Booger Brown???

If my donkey had snot that colour, i think it needs a vet! that, or putting down

For a projectile, the colour is pretty good look'in

[Ausglock]

OK... here it is... The HITEK Blue.
Steel Blue....
Look bloody great in the daylight.
This pic doesn't do it Justice
https://i.imgur.com/0heheNp.jpg

[Warhead]

I'll buy some soon as it is available in the US. :-P

[kbstenberg]

Other than being a different color. Does it do anything the other colors don't do?

[Ausglock]

Other than being a different color. Does it do anything the other colors don't do?

No...

[Gremlin460]

Trev you got a 145 to 158 SWC in 358 you don't need? Got a req from a friend to load some 38 specials for her Pythons. If not looks like a trip to CBE up in toowoomba.

[Petander]

Picked some shotgun projectiles from the berm today.

242602

[Ausglock]

Trev you got a 145 to 158 SWC in 358 you don't need? Got a req from a friend to load some 38 specials for her Pythons. If not looks like a trip to CBE up in toowoomba.

G'day Grem. Sorry, Mate...No go. The closest we have is 156RNFP

[Tazza]

I have 158 swc, but they have all been sized to .357 :( unless you think they could do the trick.

With how tight they were to get through the die (almost needed a 6 foot bar on the press), they could have easily been sized to .358, they automatic one i made hates SWC, so all by hand

[eljefeoz]

Picked some shotgun projectiles from the berm today.

242602

Good adhesion,Petander.
How many coats and what loads? I have some Lyman 500 gr slugs coated with bronze haven’t got a chance to test them. Been laid up with a bad back over a week now.

[HI-TEK]

I have 158 swc, but they have all been sized to .357 :( unless you think they could do the trick.

With how tight they were to get through the die (almost needed a 6 foot bar on the press), they could have easily been sized to .358, they automatic one i made hates SWC, so all by hand

Tazza, if you used Aqualube they would have slipped through like Duck you know what. Down sizing alloys even if hard ones, you should get very good load reduction on sizing equipment and possibly up to 50% load reduction, and may be more, depending on alloy and amount of Aqualube used. Using extension bars certainly opens up possibility of damaging your equipment.

[Tazza]

Tazza, if you used Aqualube they would have slipped through like Duck you know what. Down sizing alloys even if hard ones, you should get very good load reduction on sizing equipment and possibly up to 50% load reduction, and may be more, depending on alloy and amount of Aqualube used. Using extension bars certainly opens up possibility of damaging your equipment.

I may have to give some of it a go next time i order from you just for these 158s, they have always been a bit tough to size. They are meant to drop at .357-358 i think, plus coating which brings them up even wider. I manage to squeeze them down with an old lee classic C

[dansedgli]

Lube helps a lot. I broke my lee C press handle.

Now i use less leverage on my star sizer with a bit of one shot lube in each handful I throw into the bullet feeder.

Picked up another 150kg's of lead from my pistol club last week, it's almost time to do another casting session.

[Petander]

Good adhesion,Petander.
How many coats and what loads? I have some Lyman 500 gr slugs coated with bronze haven’t got a chance to test them. Been laid up with a bad back over a week now.

Three coats. Loads are 1300-1500 fps, all these have gone through some snow first,then hit icy berm.

I have a bucketful of slugs to collect. :)

Edit: Aqualube is the slipperiest thing that ever slipped.

242629

[Gremlin460]

I have 158 swc, but they have all been sized to .357 :( unless you think they could do the trick.

With how tight they were to get through the die (almost needed a 6 foot bar on the press), they could have easily been sized to .358, they automatic one i made hates SWC, so all by hand

You mean your automatic one hasent got a 3/4ton capacity!!! tsk tsk.
If you have any not sized gimme a yell, I think I hasve 200 or so 38super mixed brass looking for a new home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLIehTaANcg

[Tazza]

You mean your automatic one hasent got a 3/4ton capacity!!! tsk tsk.
If you have any not sized gimme a yell, I think I hasve 200 or so 38super mixed brass looking for a new home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLIehTaANcg

I have actually not done the math on what tonnage it puts out, i'd think it would be fairly high, but some styles they just flip me off when they try and go through the die :) It's a 1/8 hp motor with a 25:1 reduction box to give me a max of 60 RPM @50hz but i can over run that a bit with the VFD

Sadly they are all sized..... The only way around it is to put a few more coats of hi-tek on them? do you rekon that could bring them up the one thou bigger required? The lead they are made from is about wheel weight hardness. You are welcome to give it a go if it will get you out of trouble.

[HI-TEK]

Sadly they are all sized..... The only way around it is to put a few more coats of hi-tek on them? do you rekon that could bring them up the one thou bigger required? The lead they are made from is about wheel weight hardness. You are welcome to give it a go if it will get you out of trouble.

Tazza,
for each coat of Hi-Tek, (at about 20g to 100 mls mix), each coat adds about one thou plus or minus. If you simply want to add 1 thou, coat again and dry, bake as usual. Then measure finished diameter.
For accuracy, make sure measurements for diameter is at comparable temperatures for before and after adding another coat.

[Tazza]

Tazza,
for each coat of Hi-Tek, (at about 20g to 100 mls mix), each coat adds about one thou plus or minus. If you simply want to add 1 thou, coat again and dry, bake as usual. Then measure finished diameter.
For accuracy, make sure measurements for diameter is at comparable temperatures for before and after adding another coat.

That is what i thought too. One coat should do the trick if needed

[hunter74]

One of my IPSIC customer claims, after a bit of testing, that he gets higher velocities with Candy Apple Red coating, than with my previous batch coated with Gold 1035.

This is with the same boolit, casted from the same alloy, in the same casting run, but coated at a later time, and of course tested at a later time.

Have any of you experienced the same? What do you think, could the different coatings cause this or are other variables responsible for this? I'm thinking temp, humidity and so forth, when chronoing.... And maybe when backing. To me the Candy Apple coating seems a bit thinner than the Gold when mixed with the same ammount of accetone.

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[asmith80]

I posted this down below, but I'm hoping the Hi-Tek crowd can chime in with some advice. I'm using Hi-Tek to coat some boolits for 303 Brit, and right now I'm using a mold design that has a gas check shank. I'm getting tired of playing around with the gas checks, and would like to move to a plain based design.

I know some people are saying PC acts like a gas check up to a certain velocity, and I'm wondering if Hi-Tek does the same. I'm only planning on pushing these boolits to around 2000 fps, and if I can get away with a coated plain based boolit and not have accuracy issues or fouling, I'd be happy

[Petander]

I shoot lots of 45-70, my lightest bullet goes 2000 fps. 325 grain plain base with Hi Tek TMG Gold.

Clean barrel,good accuracy.

242702

[Ausglock]

One of my IPSIC customer claims, after a bit of testing, that he gets higher velocities with Candy Apple Red coating, than with my previous batch coated with Gold 1035.

This is with the same boolit, casted from the same alloy, in the same casting run, but coated at a later time, and of course tested at a later time.

Have any of you experienced the same? What do you think, could the different coatings cause this or are other variables responsible for this? I'm thinking temp, humidity and so forth, when chronoing.... And maybe when backing. To me the Candy Apple coating seems a bit thinner than the Gold when mixed with the same ammount of accetone.

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

I think Old mate has environmental issues causing his velocity variations.

[Petander]

I think Old mate has environmental issues causing his velocity variations.

Too much beans does that to me. But I love english breakfast.

[Petander]

Got some soft (10-12 BHN) big bullets ready for 45-70 to try.

242717

[hunter74]

Got some soft (10-12 BHN) big bullets ready for 45-70 to try.

242717At what velocity are you planning to launch them?

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[Petander]

At what velocity are you planning to launch them?



1650 fps. These are 465 grainers,I've been shooting these for 15 years - but never this soft. We'll see. This alloy is really tough and malleable. I wish I had a ton of wet newspapers to see what happens.

242736

[TonyN]

Has Hi-Tek changed there formula in the Dark green metallic ? My first.batch was lighter and had a higher gloss to it. This new batch is a more darker less gloss and little color comes off but they pass both test. I'm liking this darker color. Just wondering if the formula was changed?

[Petander]

Here we go,565 grains @ 1670 fps Marlin SBL.

242788.

I fired 20. Accuracy was good. Got some gray in the first dry patches when cleaning,no visible leading. Eliminator gave some gray as well but the third pass was clean.

Gonna shoot 50 rounds next time,I expected more leading with 10-12 BHN. Only got minor traces. Me happy, thanks Joe! This is TMG Gold with a hint of Red.

PS the New Blue would look great with this nickled brass... wink wink...

[Jatz357]

OK... here it is... The HITEK Blue.
Steel Blue....
Look bloody great in the daylight.
This pic doesn't do it Justice
https://i.imgur.com/0heheNp.jpg

Looks great, I bet the colour is awesome in daylight!

[Petander]

A very mild and accurate 200 grain 45ACP load here @ 820 fps. BHN 8 , Mihec. All clean.

STI works fine with mild loads,too.

242874.

[dansedgli]

I'm gearing up to do my next loading session.

170kgs of lead collected from my range last week and my master caster should be automated by the weekend. :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAWO7EguNlk

What size household ovens are you Australian guys using? I want to get a bigger one but can I power it with a 10 or 15 amp plug or will it not be powerful enough?

[Tazza]

I just run a free standing kitchen oven, no issues at all.

I'm interested in your automation, i hope you start a thread on what you did, looks interesting.

[Ausglock]

Any domestic over so long as it has the convection fan in the back wall with a circular heating element around it.

I have a 900mm wide oven and have tried it with 4 trays of 2.5KG on each. it will do it in 10.3 minutes, but there is a colour variation. I think the fan is not strong enough. The normal wall oven I use works fine and will bake 2 trays in 7 minutes.
Both are 15 AMP

[Petander]

Dang this Mihec 200 HP / Hi Tek TMG Gold/Red is very,very accurate. 900 fps,nice and easy. ES was 15 m/s for ten with old mixed brass.

242948.

Barrel stays ridiculously clean. I'm still tweaking, looking for the optimal expander setting.

[Balta]

Trevor,
is this SWC made with MP Molds? or..Look great.

[Balta]

This is Me and My Mate, Tony.
We are Susan Island Bullets.
Based in Grafton NSW Australia.
Our bullets are used primarily by IPSC and ICORE shooters, With many Australian and World Champions using our Green Goodness.
We use Kryptonite Green Exclusivley in Australia.
https://i.imgur.com/KSTz9mX.jpg

Trevor,
is this SWC made with MP Molds? or..Look great.

[Ausglock]

Molds are Hardline from memory.. Sadly they no longer exist.
We have new ones from Tom at Accurate Molds.

[Petander]

More is more.

242996

[Gremlin460]

Hmmmmmm Blood test came back today, I am still sitting at 7.5 Lead, same as last year. Doc wants it down around 5.
Make sure you guys use nitrile gloves on the raw cast. After coating they fine to handle bare handed.

Mike.

[Ausglock]

Get mine done next week.

[PAT303]

Still getting fantastic results with Hi-Tek, I mostly shoot service rifle these days with my 303's and my scores are consistently better compared to liquid lubes, the lack of greasy dies and guns is a nice bonus.

[PAT303]

I posted this down below, but I'm hoping the Hi-Tek crowd can chime in with some advice. I'm using Hi-Tek to coat some boolits for 303 Brit, and right now I'm using a mold design that has a gas check shank. I'm getting tired of playing around with the gas checks, and would like to move to a plain based design.

I know some people are saying PC acts like a gas check up to a certain velocity, and I'm wondering if Hi-Tek does the same. I'm only planning on pushing these boolits to around 2000 fps, and if I can get away with a coated plain based boolit and not have accuracy issues or fouling, I'd be happy

Where are you, Australia?.

[PAT303]

OK... here it is... The HITEK Blue.
Steel Blue....
Look bloody great in the daylight.
This pic doesn't do it Justice
https://i.imgur.com/0heheNp.jpg

Is this colour available in the powder?, I'm thinking of trying it and a different colour at the same time.

[Tazza]

Is this colour available in the powder?, I'm thinking of trying it and a different colour at the same time.

It is still being tested, when Trevor confirms it's working as it should, Joe won't be far behind with releasing it.

[asmith80]

Where are you, Australia?.

I'm in the US

[HI-TEK]

Is this colour available in the powder?, I'm thinking of trying it and a different colour at the same time.

Hi Pat303

This colour is powdered as others, and if all goes well, should be in the US in two or three weeks.
Initially, it will be available in limited quantity.
It is best to keep in contact with Donnie at Hi-Performance Bullet Coating to secure your supply as some product becomes available.

[PAT303]

Joe, I'm in Perth with a growing band of military rifle casters, is it for the US market only or can I get it here?.

[HI-TEK]

Joe, I'm in Perth with a growing band of military rifle casters, is it for the US market only or can I get it here?.

Hi Pat303
Early days with the Blues. From successful tests so far, on a couple, with at least 3 more to be tested, if all goes well, I will be sending a small quantity to the US to see if results can be reproduced there. Locally there is a commercial caster who already requested exclusivity of the lighter shade of Blue. AS yet, I have not even supplied them samples, as I am waiting on small amounts of materials to make small batch. I am hoping arrival mid to late next week, and thereafter I start playing.
If all works out, and there is adequate volume interest, I will have to commit a lot of dollars up front to get materials.
It is a risk for me to lay out large dollars and have materials sit around for years. It is just not viable if that happens. There is a saying "hasten slowly".

[PAT303]

No problems mate, I might just buy some black and add it to my Texas Tea and make it black, I've been shooting TT for a while and want a change.

[hunter74]

Another praise of the coating. Some of my customers made it their goal to make my boolits with 2 layers of coating to fail! The good news is that they have given up [emoji23] So far the 125 TC boilits holds up nice at 2000 fts in 9mm, with no leading in the barrel or comp.

A stady diet of this is clearly not recommended for the gun, but after xray-ing the barrel, the Tanfoglio open gun, and his bull barrel suffered no damage[emoji23]

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[Petander]

What? 125 grain boolit @ 2000 fps in 9mm Tangwang? How?

[hunter74]

Apparently a crazy load with vv 350

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[hunter74]

Both a doppler radar and a chrono showed the same result so it was not a misreading

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[Ausglock]

The Chrono would have been reading the Tanwog destroying itself... no way 2000fps of of one of those wog chariots. Not in 9mm.
Maybe in a 38 Super with a 90gn bullet and a gutfull of AP-70

[Gremlin460]

I'm gearing up to do my next loading session.

170kgs of lead collected from my range last week and my master caster should be automated by the weekend. :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAWO7EguNlk

What size household ovens are you Australian guys using? I want to get a bigger one but can I power it with a 10 or 15 amp plug or will it not be powerful enough?

Hi , I also use a normal wall oven on a stand, I took the grill element out and retro fitted it into the bottom . So it has 2 elements now, one top one bottom. Fan in the back and 5 thick clay bricks in the bottom to act as heat capacitors.
Mine is wired to 3 phase, but only because its close to the oven, 15A would have been fine.
Also rigged with a PID for temp stability.
Mike.

[dansedgli]

Thanks Mike.

Moving stuff around and fitting an oven to the shed will be my next project I think.

I broke a piece of my master caster last week, the little post that opens the sprue. It might have already been broken, Im not sure. The part was $40 so I think it's time to buy a welder so I can fix it. :D

Anyway I ordered another part last Wednesday night around 10pm and it arrived yesterday, Monday, the Queen's birthday public holiday. How's that for service. Had something else sent by Aus Post on the same day. Still haven't got it.

I ordered a new 145 grain round nose mold so gave that a run last night. My compressor only turns on every hour. The automation seems to work well.

Is the HiTek blue dedicated to a current bullet maker or do we have a new guy coming soon?

[Tazza]

I had mine break years ago too, i welded it back on, no issues since.

Magma don't mess about with postage, i got my paws on moulds within 5 working days, they shipped Monday USA time, i had them in my hands Friday our time, they are awesome.

I was wondering that too, we need to step up our game :)

[Ausglock]

Is the HiTek blue dedicated to a current bullet maker or do we have a new guy coming soon?
I have a funny feeling HRBC might want it to rekindle their Bluehawk line of bullets...

Dan....Mate... No welder????? Jesus H. Christ on the dunny....I'd be lost without the Mig, TIG and Plasma cutter...

[dansedgli]

I had one but sold it years ago when I stopped playing with cars and started shooting.

I think I paid rent on the mig gas bottle for 3 years and used 1/4 of it. :S

I hear you can buy the bottle now though.

[Tazza]

I have a funny feeling HRBC might want it to rekindle their Bluehawk line of bullets...

Dan....Mate... No welder????? Jesus H. Christ on the dunny....I'd be lost without the Mig, TIG and Plasma cutter...

I totally agree, i can't live without my toys.

Dassedgli - you are spot on, the rent is the killer, i don't use my welder enough to warrant hiring bottles.

[Ausglock]

Yep. Bunnings has Coregas $300 first pay $200 deposit and $100 for first gas. Then $99 swapover when empty.
You get the $200 deposit back when you have finished with them.

[Tazza]

Yep. Bunnings has Coregas $300 first pay $200 deposit and $100 for first gas. Then $99 swapover when empty.
You get the $200 deposit back when you have finished with them.

The only concern i have with an "owned" bottle is they can change the rules or possibly go broke. Back in the day, you could buy CIG bottles, but then it became BOC and you couldn't get them filled anymore without a rental account. I was lucky enough to have owned bottled for a while, but once you needed an account to fill 'em, i was boned :(

[HI-TEK]

The only concern i have with an "owned" bottle is they can change the rules or possibly go broke. Back in the day, you could buy CIG bottles, but then it became BOC and you couldn't get them filled anymore without a rental account. I was lucky enough to have owned bottled for a while, but once you needed an account to fill 'em, i was boned :(

TAZZA
I heard, and I hope it is not correct, that Argon as used in inert gas welding is running out. There are several countries that are hoarding many hundreds of tonnes, (if not thousands of Tonnes) as they are trying to safeguard their industries.
It is similar with Helium and other inert gasses. If this is true, many businesses who produce gasses for welding and other industrial applications will be going out of such business of supply. Apparently, recovery of these gasses is almost not possible or not practical, due the very low concentrations contained in the atmosphere.
Making theses gasses may be only option if possible.
If gasses cannot be made and or supplied, what happens to all welding shops, engineering, supplies, and other industries who have no alternative that need shielding gas?.

[Tazza]

TAZZA
I heard, and I hope it is not correct, that Argon as used in inert gas welding is running out. There are several countries that are hoarding many hundreds of tonnes, (if not thousands of Tonnes) as they are trying to safeguard their industries.
It is similar with Helium and other inert gasses. If this is true, many businesses who produce gasses for welding and other industrial applications will be going out of such business of supply. Apparently, recovery of these gasses is almost not possible or not practical, due the very low concentrations contained in the atmosphere.
Making theses gasses may be only option if possible.
If gasses cannot be made and or supplied, what happens to all welding shops, engineering, supplies, and other industries who have no alternative that need shielding gas?.

I sure hope not too, the googles says that it's "fairly abundant" in the atmosphere at almost 1% that figure seems really low, but they say that Helium is in the parts per million, so it's not at all feasible to get helium from the air and it's getting harder to find. I know it's formed from atomic decay, can they not get it from nuclear power plants?

Making gasses surely has to be even more costly? Thankfully with most welding, there are alternatives, MIG welding steel i was pretty sure started out using CO2, i have tried it and it does work, but messy, argon gives a prettier weld.

Medical gear needs liquid Helium for cooling, so we really do need it.

[Stephen Cohen]

Well I finally got to try out the new to me Candy Apple Red that Joe sent me, I got first coat on today before I went to range and will finish with two coats tomorrow. I was wondering how much I could dilute the mix with Acetone so I did some at half strength as in twice the acetone and it passed the tests so fare, will see how it goes tomorrow with final coats. I just love this Hi-Tek. Regards Stephen

[ioon44]

I have used a lot of Candy Apple Red mixed 125 ml / 20 gram and just used 2 coats.
When using it at 100 ml / 20 grams with 2 coats I would end up with really thick coats, both mixes worked fine as long as I got the coats dry before baking.

[hunter74]

I use 230 ml accetone to 40 g powder. It's a bit thinner than reccomended but it makes the lube grooves easier to coat. I then use 22 ml pr 10 kg boolits.

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[Jatz357]

I’ve used a lot of Candy Apple and mostly use a mix 120ml to 20 grams 1st coat and 105ml to 20ml for 2nd coat. For both mixes I use around 30ml to 14kg. I still vary mixes and amounts depending on projectile type / size and ambient temperature. Lots of adjustments to find what works best for me.

[SpotHound]

My candy apple red looks a lot like red copper

[TonyN]

My candy apple red doesn't look like I would think it should look. That and gun metal both don't look like they shy they do. I like the other colors tho.

[Stephen Cohen]

I usually use 120ml acetone to 20g powder and do 2 coats for pistol and 3 coats for rifle or the 460 SW. TonyN the colour will vary depending on heat you cook them at and how long you cook them but as long as they are cooked correctly they are fine regardless of the colour variations, not 100% sure but I suspect some alloys of giving a different colour but I may have been drinking that day. Regards Stephen

[Gatch]

I'm not sure whether it's my technique with the hitek, or whether the lee 356-125 rnfb is just a painful design to work with but I haven't had any success yet. I do suspect that I haven't left the newly coated boolits to dry off long enough before baking. Though the first batch I baked passed the wipe and smash test, but still leaded badly after 10rds.

So I have a new MP mold on the way which is what I want to shoot and has no lube grooves, so is way more similar to the 145gr jwords I've been using. I've also added the pid to my boolit oven, bought a .358 sizer to try and am investigating making a bigger expander/powder plug for the dillon.

Also does anyone know if making new colours at home is as simple as blending 2 different hitek powders ?

[Ausglock]

Blending is what I do best.
Blend away.
15gms of red254 and 5gm Gold 1935 makes Candy Apple like colour.
If you are getting leading, try a larger dia. or a slower powder.
AP-50 will lead with some bullets, where AP-70 will not...go figure..

[Gatch]

Everything I've loaded thus far has been ap70. 4.0 gr of ap70 with 125gr is about minimum to make pf and it leads up something fierce. I do have some ap50 laying around but haven't used it yet.

[Ausglock]

Size bigger... .357

[TonyN]

Anyone have a picture of The candy apple red and Kryptonite green? Mine turn our beautiful but I don't know if I see candy apple red in mine. I bake 400 F for 10 min. I would post a pic but some reason it always says file to large.

[Jatz357]

Anyone have a picture of The candy apple red and Kryptonite green? Mine turn our beautiful but I don't know if I see candy apple red in mine. I bake 400 F for 10 min. I would post a pic but some reason it always says file to large.

Here are some Candy Apple with a bit of red122 added, about 10%
243676

2nd image is pretty much same colour just different light / flash. Lighting conditions change the look dramatically.
238141

[Ausglock]

https://i.imgur.com/Kcleom3.jpg

[TonyN]

I see that Dark green metallic changed in color with the newest batch I have now. Its darker and isnt as glossy.

[TonyN]

The Black K15 sticks some to the tray. Should I add more acetone to the mix? I'm at 100ml/20 grams right now.

[Tazza]

The Black K15 sticks some to the tray. Should I add more acetone to the mix? I'm at 100ml/20 grams right now.

You may be using too much or dumping out a little early

[Papercidal]

[QUOTE=TonyN;4668894]The Black K15 sticks some to the tray. Should I add more acetone to the mix? I'm at 100ml/20 grams right now.[/QUOTE

When I got my last batch of the k15 Donnie sent a note with it that the standard ratio of 20gr to 100ml was far too thick and recommended using 8-10 gr to 100ml. I have had my best results using 10g K15 powder to 150ml acetone.

[Ausglock]

I use the K15 Black to cover bullets use to test new coloured coatings.
Mix it 20gms:100mls. 2 coats covers really well.
These bullets get 4 actual coats and perform perfectly.

The easiest way to clean coating from trays used for coating only is to soak them in a tray of acetone for 5 minutes and them wipe with cloth etc. Or scrap with a razor blade and them wipe with Acetone on a cloth.

[dansedgli]

What containers do you guys use to mix the acetone and powder together?

I've been using cheap Kmart plastic lunch containers with 4 clasps that are water tight but the rubber o ring seal gets hard after a while.

I have to buy something else tonight.

Got a welder, welded a 12mm post in place of the 6mm post and it has been good for 6 or so hours of run time. I love spending $600 to save buying a $40 part to get free bullets. :lol:

At least this time my wife didn't see it. :D

[Tazza]

I use old glass jars, the seal does get soft and puffy over time, but then i just ditch it. It allows me to put a syringe in and suck up the liquid easily.

I have used old PET bottles from coke or pepsi, they handle the acetone pretty well, but hard to suck up measured amounts of Hi-Tek liquid. The odd thing is, they bottle did shrink somewhat.... Not a lot, but you do notice it. Others have bought a bottle of acetone from Bunnings and used this to mix it in, chemical proof and it seals.... Drop a few old projectiles in it to assist with mixing when you shake it up. Yet the same issue exists, getting the measured liquid out. I have just poured a little into a container to suck up from then re-fill as required. Do it in little batches as you want to keep mixing the liquid hi-tek, especially if a metalic is used.

Think of the welder purchase as an investment, you will be able to weld all those things the wife wanted you to, so you really did buy it for her :)

[Papercidal]

What containers do you guys use to mix the acetone and powder together?

I've been using cheap Kmart plastic lunch containers with 4 clasps that are water tight but the rubber o ring seal gets hard after a while.

I have to buy something else tonight.

Got a welder, welded a 12mm post in place of the 6mm post and it has been good for 6 or so hours of run time. I love spending $600 to save buying a $40 part to get free bullets. :lol:

At least this time my wife didn't see it. :D

1/2 pint mason jars are perfect for mixing you do have to replace the lid once in a while as the acetone eats the seal after a while.

[Ausglock]

Glass Jam jars are good. can mix 300mls at a time.
Kantong chicken tonight and pickle jars work great as well.
Easy to get a syringe into.

[Tazza]

Glass Jam jars are good. can mix 300mls at a time.
Kantong chicken tonight and pickle jars work great as well.
Easy to get a syringe into.

I use valcom panang jars, we use a few jars of that a month, so easy to get. Just don't sniff my coated projectiles, they may smell a lit like curry :)

[Jatz357]

I use a sauce bottle that doesn’t have a separate seal in the lid. The shape of the lid clamps on the top of the bottle and doesn’t leak. The stopper cap works very well and the bottle can sit for months without much evaporation. Just give the cap a quick wipe with acetone while any spilled coating is still fresh and it cleans straight off. Don’t bother using a syringe, found stainless measuring spoons are perfect. Good shake of the bottle right before pouring stirs up any settled coating. Once coating measured and poured, simply put the spoon in a jar and cap when not being used. Once there is a bit of coating buildup on the bottom I thin with acetone and that can be used again.

If you are experimenting with many colours then using recycled containers would be a cheaper alternative.

I’ve been using this bottle for at least two years.

243724
243725

[Gremlin460]

0.50 cent sauce bottles from the cheap shop.

[dansedgli]

Don't you spill the powder putting it in a sauce bottle?

[Jatz357]

Don't you spill the powder putting it in a sauce bottle?

I use a funnel for the powder, saves a big mess. Normally use a bit of wire with the end curled a bit to push powder through if it gets stuck then pour the acetone through the funnel and that cleans it too.

[Burnt Fingers]

What containers do you guys use to mix the acetone and powder together?

I've been using cheap Kmart plastic lunch containers with 4 clasps that are water tight but the rubber o ring seal gets hard after a while.

I have to buy something else tonight.

Got a welder, welded a 12mm post in place of the 6mm post and it has been good for 6 or so hours of run time. I love spending $600 to save buying a $40 part to get free bullets. :lol:

At least this time my wife didn't see it. :D

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P9Z21I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These work like a champ for me.

[Tazza]

I use a sauce bottle that doesn’t have a separate seal in the lid. The shape of the lid clamps on the top of the bottle and doesn’t leak. The stopper cap works very well and the bottle can sit for months without much evaporation. Just give the cap a quick wipe with acetone while any spilled coating is still fresh and it cleans straight off. Don’t bother using a syringe, found stainless measuring spoons are perfect. Good shake of the bottle right before pouring stirs up any settled coating. Once coating measured and poured, simply put the spoon in a jar and cap when not being used. Once there is a bit of coating buildup on the bottom I thin with acetone and that can be used again.

If you are experimenting with many colours then using recycled containers would be a cheaper alternative.

I’ve been using this bottle for at least two years.

243724
243725

I like this idea..... Measuring spoon, so no need put the liquid in another container to suck up with a syringe. Now to find the 50c sauce bottles Gremlin is talking about!

[dansedgli]

Thanks fellas. I bought a couple coles small air tight lunch box containers. $2 each. I'll try the sauce bottle idea I think though. I've got some 115ml cerakote bottles but I might order the next size up next time. I reckon they would last well. I end up doing everything in black anyway.

Did the first coat on a few thousand 145's last night for my 9mm. Recoated this morning and will finish them off on my lunch break.

[Michael J. Spangler]

I prefer old wine or bourbon bottles with a cork.
I don’t like anything with threads. I tend to make enough to last a while and the threads get gunned up while pouring.
If it seems like some has evaporated since last use I just add a splash more acetone.

[Stephen Cohen]

I like this idea..... Measuring spoon, so no need put the liquid in another container to suck up with a syringe. Now to find the 50c sauce bottles Gremlin is talking about!

If you want to be real cheap use Rosella or such tomato sauce squeeze bottles, I have used them since I started. You may notice my Sir name is Jewish and Granma was Scottish you don't get no tighter than that. Regards Stephen

[Tazza]

If you want to be real cheap use Rosella or such tomato sauce squeeze bottles, I have used them since I started. You may notice my Sir name is Jewish and Granma was Scottish you don't get no tighter than that. Regards Stephen

hehehe

Don't think of it as being tight, i figure the more money i can save, that means more money there is left over to shoot with. Well, what's left after the wife raids my wallet.....

[Gremlin460]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svu6oHcd7d0

back in the day of liquid coating, powder is exactly the same procedure

[Stephen Cohen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svu6oHcd7d0

back in the day of liquid coating, powder is exactly the same procedure

Haha I remember seeing this when you first posted it, I had to admit my eyes watered with the crack about the gloves as I had only just visited my glove wearing doctor a few days earlier. For what its worth mate its a bloody good production an starts with a joke as all enjoyments should. Regards Satephen

[Petander]

A Lee 2cm3 powder measure has worked for me for a year. It's melting down but very slowly. Easy to use with a dressing bottle.

243748

[ioon44]

I like the 14 oz dish soap containers that have a snap on lid for my coating and use spoons to measure the coating, a 1 1/2 teaspoon is about 7 ml of coating. These dish soap bottles will shrink a little but have lasted for several years now.

[Conditor22]

https://i.imgur.com/5vBEnBt.png

[Avenger442]

hehehe

Don't think of it as being tight, i figure the more money i can save, that means more money there is left over to shoot with. Well, what's left after the wife raids my wallet.....

My wife happened to read this and said "it sounds like your wife is like her husband".:D

Like ioon44 I like the dish soap bottles with the snap on lids. they don't let the acetone evaporate. I've got some with year old mix in them that I'm still using. Used the restaurant ketchup bottles from Wal Mart for a while. But they were not tight enough and the acetone evaporated.

By the way, she loved that photo of the animal and wanted to know what it was.

[gundownunder]

I'm with Tazza on the drink bottles, but I get two lids, one to seal the bottle between uses, and the other with a hole drilled in it, which is sized correctly to take a piece of 4mm retic tube which goes all the way to the bottom of the bottle and has a slight slope on the bottom. The top of the tube extends about 2 - 3 cm above the cap. Then I just insert a syringe into the tube and suck up 5 ml at a time to do each batch of bullets. Between batches, the syringe acts as a stopper for the tube.

[Avenger442]

Completely off the subject. We had a group of police officers execute a search warrant in another county. Subject was not at home but when they entered the residence they found meth, money, some firearms and an attack squirrel. It seems that the subject of the warrant had been keeping the squirrel in his house and feeding it meth to keep it aggressive.

243809
Somehow that doesn't seem to scare me.

[Tazza]

Squirrels look far too cute, but from what i have seen, they are just a nuisance.

We have possums that can be quite friendly and cute, but they eat everything in sight. If they get in your shed/shop they have no issues piddling and pooping on anything. My parents had one in their house, he/she had a spot in the wall that it took up residence in, at night it would chew on the timber to make the hole bigger, it had very limited success.

[Gatch]

In NZ possums aren't protected, so they get "dealt to" in any manner possible. So it was a shock to me when I found a possum in my shed over here and found out I cant get rid of it :/

[Ausglock]

Like most things in OZ, our possums are about 4 times larger than the possums in the USA. And they are mean!!!

[Tazza]

In NZ possums aren't protected, so they get "dealt to" in any manner possible. So it was a shock to me when I found a possum in my shed over here and found out I cant get rid of it :/

I figure what people don't see won't hurt me. I have had possums that i have relocated, they have been caught and moved to another location, so they weren't knocked on the head. The thing is, you need to take it more than a street or two away or else they will find their bay back. We have done this with goannas and scrub turkeys before

[Tazza]

Like most things in OZ, our possums are about 4 times larger than the possums in the USA. And they are mean!!!

The O possums they have look real mean, all those teeth....

[Avenger442]

There are two types of possums where I live. The white haired ones are not very aggressive. They will pretend to be dead sometimes. The ones with black tipped hair are not that way.

When I was about twelve a buddy and I slipped out of our houses after midnight one summer night and went wandering around. We had just crossed a little creek about ten miles from my house when he spotted a possum coming down the ditch. He decided he was going to throw his jacket over it and catch it. I tried to tell him what my father had told me many times, leave the black ones alone. He didn't listen. It shredded his jacket and almost got him in the process.

Ausglock
How is the testing on the blues and other colors coming? Same no lead and performance?

[Tazza]

There are two types of possums where I live. The white haired ones are not very aggressive. They will pretend to be dead sometimes. The ones with black tipped hair are not that way.

When I was about twelve a buddy and I slipped out of our houses after midnight one summer night and went wandering around. We had just crossed a little creek about ten miles from my house when he spotted a possum coming down the ditch. He decided he was going to throw his jacket over it and catch it. I tried to tell him what my father had told me many times, leave the black ones alone. He didn't listen. It shredded his jacket and almost got him in the process.

Ausglock
How is the testing on the blues and other colors coming? Same no lead and performance?

Wow, our possums are not aggressive, the only time they will have a go at you is if you corner them. Any other time, they go in the opposite direction

[Ausglock]

There is a working blue. It is very touchy as to temperature.
At 200 Deg C 7.5mins, it will start to go turquoise, but at 190 Deg C 7.5mins, it will stay blue.
More tweaked samples are due this week for further testing, So I will be busy with these.

[Avenger442]

Thanks for the update.

[Stephen Cohen]

I figure what people don't see won't hurt me. I have had possums that i have relocated, they have been caught and moved to another location, so they weren't knocked on the head. The thing is, you need to take it more than a street or two away or else they will find their bay back. We have done this with goannas and scrub turkeys before

I have been know to relocate a couple of scrub turkeys myself over the years, I like them next to the baked potatoes myself. I used to shoot the odd goanna in the fowl coop as a kid but like to see them around now. Regards Stephen

[Ausglock]

The Good blues...
https://i.imgur.com/foKw4SP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Kms7Vkl.jpg

[Tazza]

I have been know to relocate a couple of scrub turkeys myself over the years, I like them next to the baked potatoes myself. I used to shoot the odd goanna in the fowl coop as a kid but like to see them around now. Regards Stephen

I have considered doing that with the turkeys, my wife would freak out :)

We don't have issues with goannas now, ll he chooks have since died off, before the goannas would go after eggs and some times the chooks, so they were thrown in a container and driven to a new home.

Ausglock - they are looking good!

[Stephen Cohen]

+1 on those Bullets Trevor they do look good. Regards Stephen

[Avenger442]

This color is one of the two that I've been looking for in the Hi Tek.

[Ausglock]

It's still a bit dark.
Hopefully some of the tweaking Joe is doing will lighten the colour up a bit.

The new additive may even work to give a pink and purple...will wait and see how it goes.

[Tazza]

I know someone that would love pink or purple......

I don't know how Joe hasn't gone completely mad from developing these colours, he has mentioned the issues he has had. What new colours can we request to test his grey matter? :)

[Avenger442]

243905

[Tazza]

243905

hehehe, the challenge is set!

The thing is, different looks have been done, Ausglock made deadpool ones with red and black, looked pretty sweet. I wonder how close to this could be done with a tweak to the application? Even if you have the 2-3 coats then the final coat for the "look" so it's fine to be patchy.

[OldBearHair]

Caught a possum in a Hav-A-Hart trap. He was hung down in the angled part, his teeth caught in the wire, one fang broken out, and nose all bloody. Turned it loose after prying it's teeth loose. Three nights later ....he got caught again.... same way exactly and same bloody nose. They seem to never learn....It was told to me as a kid one time that if you put a possum and a tomcat in a box together, the possum wins the battle. It seems that a lot of cruel things happened long ago.

[Ausglock]

hehehe, the challenge is set!

The thing is, different looks have been done, Ausglock made deadpool ones with red and black, looked pretty sweet. I wonder how close to this could be done with a tweak to the application? Even if you have the 2-3 coats then the final coat for the "look" so it's fine to be patchy.

Leave it with me....Will have a play at tiger stripe over the weekend. gold and black should be close enough??

[Tazza]

Wow, that sure shows they aren't real smart.

The possums we have aren't real large, i don't think they would over power a tomcat, but you never do know.

[Gremlin460]

HMMMM CBE no longer will take the lube grooves out of a new mold, so I am looking for a 145-150 grain 358 4 cav mold with no lube grooves and either semi wad cutter or low profile round nose.

Anyone got a direction I can go in?
Mike.

[Stephen Cohen]

HMMMM CBE no longer will take the lube grooves out of a new mold, so I am looking for a 145-150 grain 358 4 cav mold with no lube grooves and either semi wad cutter or low profile round nose.

Anyone got a direction I can go in?
Mike.

I recon you could run a reamer into a 125gr Lee mould removing the lube grooves and get near That, I did it to a Lyman 150gr semi wad cutter and got a 170gr semi wad cutter which shoots, Regards Stephen well.

[Stephen Cohen]

I know someone that would love pink or purple......

I don't know how Joe hasn't gone completely mad from developing these colours, he has mentioned the issues he has had. What new colours can we request to test his grey matter? :)

Someone who would love pink or purple? Your not trying to drop a hint that you are coming out are you Tazza?. HEHE. Regards Stephen

[Tazza]

Someone who would love pink or purple? Your not trying to drop a hint that you are coming out are you Tazza?. HEHE. Regards Stephen
Ooh mean, i need to be less friendly it seems, ti gey my man card back :)

[Stephen Cohen]

Ooh mean, i need to be less friendly it seems, ti gey my man card back :)

Have to admit my granddaughter would love pink bullets, but firing them from my guns may get me ti gey man card at my club. Regards Stephen

[Gremlin460]

I had a run through Accurate molds web site, by the time i had what I wanted I was looking at $220usd, around $300 aud including freight.

Not the price I thought it would be.

[Ausglock]

Well... you will stick with brass. I use Tom's Ali molds. they are great.

[HI-TEK]

I know someone that would love pink or purple......

I don't know how Joe hasn't gone completely mad from developing these colours, he has mentioned the issues he has had. What new colours can we request to test his grey matter? :)

Tazza,
the grey matter is all dried up. I am crazy enough, to keep trying to make impossible colours.
New ones, made up for testing last week, may in fact produce a pink of sorts if plan works. There may also be a Purple, if all is well according to plan.
There is already a "cammo" colour that was made overseas using two or three colours.
I am trying for candy cane colour, so it spins faster due to the red stripes...lol...lol.

[Petander]

More is more. Just got this UOW confirmed working good, LBT 425 grain plinker @ 1100 fps. TMG Gold.

243945

[emorris]

I have been struggling with this coating for some time and am in need of help. Mine pass the wipe test but fail the smash test. My next to last batch actually passed the smash test initially, but they leaded badly. I re-did the smash test and the coating flaked off the ones I tried. Loading in 9mm and a few others.

What I tried and my process is as follows:
I use freshly casted bullets with wheel weight alloy. I start the coating process as soon as they air cool. I tried the 20 gram to 100 ml mix and I have tired 20 gram to 120 ml. I use a syringe to measure 1ml per pound of bullets. I do it in 5 lb batches and I have gone as low as 4 ml to 5 lb of bullets. I weight the powder with my powder scale and weight the bullets on a postal scale. I use a glass measuring cup to measure the acetone. I let the mixed solution set for 30 min to an hour shaking it every so often. After applying the solution to the bullets I let then dry. I have used a fan and even let them sit overnight before baking. I use a convection toaster over and use an oven thermometer to verify temperature. when the over is warming up I place my first tray of bullets on top to warm up. Baking time has varied from 15 min once the oven thermometer reaches 400 degrees to around 45 min. I have varied the temperature from 400 degrees to 420 degrees. After they cool I do the wipe test and smash test. I haven't had any issues with the first coat passing these tests. I then recoat and usually bake the second coat the next day. Some fail the smash test at this point and so far the ones that pass will fail when I check before I load them (maybe a month later). I read about zinc contamination and I tried soaking in acid over night. Washed them the next day and let dry in front of a fan or overnight before I start the coating process. Still no luck. Colors are black, gold, and red. Tried two different brands of acetone.

[Avenger442]

Usually failure on the smash test is due to coating not dry or too thick a coat. Have had both with my bullets. But reading you description you don't seem to have those problems. Are you sizing after first coat? I ask this because you said the first coat didn't fail the smash test. Usually when the first coat doesn't fail you have easier success with the other coats sticking. Photo of a failed smash test might help. Do it with the bullet laying on a white paper or cloth and the photo.

There are other reasons for leading. What else have you tried in the gun that is leading?

What do you other guys think?

[Ausglock]

Sounds like you are doing everything OK.
I'd be concerned with your alloy...
do a trial of 1 coat on fresh cast using 20gms to 100ml.
Bake as normal.
Let cool and do a smash test.
Wait for a few days and then re-do the smash test on the same batch of bullets.
See if the second smash fails.
If it does, your alloy is the problem.
Leading is usually due to the bullet being undersize for the bore.

[Stephen Cohen]

I have always used the high metal content colours since I use the coating for rifle and hotter pistol loads eg 460SW at top end loads. I have always been happy with the results obtained as are many of my friends who use my bullets. A few weeks back Joe sent me some Candy Apple Red and I must say it is the smoothest and shiniest colour I have ever used, I have found it to be what I would consider the perfect colour for beginners as it just seems impossible to stuff it up. I have noticed the colour variations one can get by over baking until I realized it baked several minutes faster that other coatings in my oven. I have not as yet tested the coating in my firearms but I am sure all will be as it should. I have to say Candy Apple was the perfect name for it as it has that candy glaze colour. I love this colour Joe. Regards Stephen

[Ausglock]

looks good... doesn't it...
But wait for the new 122 Pink metallic. Mixed it today... baking tomorrow.

[Tazza]

Tazza,
the grey matter is all dried up. I am crazy enough, to keep trying to make impossible colours.
New ones, made up for testing last week, may in fact produce a pink of sorts if plan works. There may also be a Purple, if all is well according to plan.
There is already a "cammo" colour that was made overseas using two or three colours.
I am trying for candy cane colour, so it spins faster due to the red stripes...lol...lol.

Need something to keep you busy in the shed!

Racing stripes have to make it go faster, works for cars, right?

[Avenger442]

244041
They were called "go faster stripes" on this car but I'm pretty sure they didn't
244042
Now on this car they may have?

Note they are close to the correct color for the new lighter blue Hi Tek. So if that color makes it go fast, maybe we call it "go fast blue".:shock:

[Ausglock]

A commercial maker here in OZ is making Jellybean bullets.
https://i.imgur.com/7STgRRk.jpg

[Tazza]

So many shinies! look awesome

[HI-TEK]

A commercial maker here in OZ is making Jellybean bullets.
https://i.imgur.com/7STgRRk.jpg

I would love to see the maroon and gold, state or origin colours

[Ausglock]

State of Origin is Blue and Maroon... Go the Blues..
https://i.imgur.com/KHxWQID.jpg

[Stephen Cohen]

I like those jellybean bullets, you just gota love this coating. Regards Stephen

[Petander]

Jellybean as a single powder?

[Mike_60]

Are any of the powdered colors easier to work with than the others?

[Ausglock]

Jellybean as a single powder?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha........Um.... .............NO!

[Ausglock]

Are any of the powdered colors easier to work with than the others?

K15 black, Red 254, Gold 1035, Dark Green, Red Copper, 502 Bronze and Kryptonite Green are all easy to use.
Some ot the other colours tend to be more heat sensitive when your baking process isn't spot on.

[Tazza]

That's why i like K15, i can't F it up :)

[Mike_60]

K15 black, Red 254, Gold 1035, Dark Green, Red Copper, 502 Bronze and Kryptonite Green are all easy to use.
Some ot the other colours tend to be more heat sensitive when your baking process ins't spot on.

Thanks

[Gremlin460]

WHY?? have the jellybeans got lube groves???? No one ever tell them that they are redundant?? Less sealing surface, less to engauge in the rifling, harder to cast... Like selling a new age car with wooden wheels..

Or is that for people you like to use grease lube on hitek coating??

[Petander]

WHY?? have the jellybeans got lube groves???? No one ever tell them that they are redundant?? Less sealing surface, less to engauge in the rifling, harder to cast... Like selling a new age car with wooden wheels..

Or is that for people you like to use grease lube on hitek coating??

My guess is,many customers still want the proven H&G 68.

[Ausglock]

Also... some of the most popular bullets have the lube groove..
ie: the 9mm 125gn Conical. still the most popular bullet for Open Div shooters in IPSC.

[Gremlin460]

Also... some of the most popular bullets have the lube groove..
ie: the 9mm 125gn Conical. still the most popular bullet for Open Div shooters in IPSC.

So you are telling me that the lube groove is beneficial to the projectile? So the most popular bullet for Open Div shooters in IPSC is actually lubed and not coated?.
Also by way of deduction your blue and maroon pictured above are not popular in the Open Div in IPSC because they have no lube groove.
Interesting. Here i was mistakenly thinking that a lube groove was the ancient way of lubricating a projectile.

Wonder why jacketed rounds have no lube grooves, they will never be popular like that hey!.

[Ausglock]

Grem... Mate... push back from the weed.
All are coated.. the groove is a throwback to the old days.
A certain caster makes a grooveless 125Con. but it is not popular.

[Gremlin460]

And the lack of popularity is because?

Now we are getting to the question I did not ask, but inferred. Is removing the lube grove a good or a bad thing?
My personal opinion is its a good thing. However that is based on speculative thinking.
For example no LG allows for more sealing surface and more engagement with the riffling. Also being a gain or two heavier should in theory have a positive effect on "bullet drop" over pistol distances, however minor.

Smoothbore molds are also easier to handcast from, this I know is factual.
Also , should grooveless molds not be cheaper?, the cherries cost less to manufacture, the design is simpler, so making the molds would be slightly less complicated?

I know this is not about coating itself, but it has a direct connection to coating. Are we hanging on the the throwback grove for nostalgia sake, or is there a performance reason to retain something, that now is no longer nessesary?

PS I ran out of weed 45 years ago.

[Stephen Cohen]

My God you two crack me up. If I may put my two Bobs worth in, I have removed the lube grooves from a couple of moulds myself and like Gremlin460 my main reason was to get more bearing surface for hotter rifle loads, there were another up sides as well. I ended up with a design known for accuracy which ended up some 30% heavier and shorter for that given weight, and in my case a win win win. I also have moulds that still have the lube grooves and I am quiet happy to put up with them as they perform well and as the old adage goes ( why fix what aint broke). I have a wonderful CBE .460 mould that drops a 460gr bullet and it is by fare the most accurate cast I have used in my 458wm and my mate swears by it in his 45/70, I would love to remove the lube grooves and see how it performs with more bearing surface at higher velocity. I also have to wonder does the removal of lube grooves raise pressure compared to a grooved bullet of similar weight and design. In your own way Grem you have raised a few questions in my mind. Regards Stephen. PS if you need some weed my yard is full of it, nothing like the Bindi buzz.

[Gremlin460]

Bindi's I have by the ton, (reminds me need to go to bunning for new Victa today).

I have 4 CBE molds, all but one have no lube grooves, I also have a Lee which I ran a reamer through, it has marks or a mini rings where the grooves used to be. All shoot fine. but remember I am a social sports shooter not a IPICAC Rambo style shooter,or what ever they are called.. The arrogant SOB's at the other end of the range.
Back on topic..
I wanted a CBE mold from David, 148g SWC in 358 to size for 38 and 357mag He got the one, but balked when I asked for a groove free one. Lost my custom right there, I pay for a mold *I* want, not one someone wants to sell me.

This got me wondering if Grooves were really that big a deal. Ergo I poked Trevor, and, as predicted he fired up as all them funny NSW guys do..
I dunno, I just like the smooth profile of a lube grooveless projectile. Has anyone had a pill that stopped performing after having the groove removed? I can only ask to find out.


Right off to Bunnings, my last mower exploded spectacularly, complete with flame ,smoke and a disc the took the front axle clean off as it vacated the yard.
Cya's..

[Ausglock]

And the lack of popularity is because?
these bullets are shorter without grooves to maintain the 125gn weight.
Now we are getting to the question I did not ask, but inferred. Is removing the lube grove a good or a bad thing?
My personal opinion is its a good thing. However that is based on speculative thinking.
All new RN molds are grooveless
For example no LG allows for more sealing surface and more engagement with the riffling. Also being a gain or two heavier should in theory have a positive effect on "bullet drop" over pistol distances, however minor.

Smoothbore molds are also easier to handcast from, this I know is factual.
Also , should grooveless molds not be cheaper?, the cherries cost less to manufacture, the design is simpler, so making the molds would be slightly less complicated?
Nobody making machine caster molds uses a Cherry any longer. they are all CNC cut.
I know this is not about coating itself, but it has a direct connection to coating. Are we hanging on the the throwback grove for nostalgia sake, or is there a performance reason to retain something, that now is no longer nessesary?
the 125gn Conical is the only groove bullet we make. all the rest are groovless.
PS I ran out of weed 45 years ago.
Good... you QLDers are stupid enough without it.

[Stephen Cohen]

Good... you QLDers are stupid enough without it.

You crack me up. I can't find fault with your observations especially the last one, old age is hard enough without trying to keep the bong alight. Regards Stephen

[Tazza]

This got me wondering if Grooves were really that big a deal. Ergo I poked Trevor, and, as predicted he fired up as all them funny NSW guys do..
I dunno, I just like the smooth profile of a lube grooveless projectile. Has anyone had a pill that stopped performing after having the groove removed? I can only ask to find out.



I'd love to test this too, i have such a mould, a 125 con that i have two peeps that have had tumbling issues with them, but none with 125rn, the mould is flogged out, so i have no issue potentially sending it to the recycle bucket if i mess it up when removing the grooves. Still trying to figure a way to do it and keep the BB, i was thinking of a 9mm carbide round nose end mill and come in from the open half and just touch the bump and take it off. but i bet that the round nose end mill will not be a nice round nose that will match the contour of the cavity. The other way was to get a 9mm end mill in HSS and cut a groove in it so it will clear the BB area and cut the lump for the groove out. I figure if i slightly under cut this, when the hi-tek goes on, it will fill up this slight dent and when sizing, it will leave it silky smooth (good in theory hey?)

[Vettepilot]

I trashed my 9mm Lee tumble lube mold trying to mill it out. One of these days I will try to salvage it by milling it out to make conical boolits for my 1858 Remington .44 black powder revolver.

Meanwhile, for 9mm, I just bought another Lee mold in the non-tumble lube type.

Vettepilot

[Stephen Cohen]

Tazza one of the moulds I removed the grooves from I did with a Dremel and burr, it was slow and difficult being a steel mould, the result was great after I lapped it and removed all minor marks. This was a gas check mould so it presented the same problem you face with retaining the bevel base. I have seen others done this way that looked a bit rough but after sizing all is good. Regards Stephen

[Ausglock]

Tazza.
A 23/64ths ballnose endmill will work. not cheap, but does a great job.
Just set the half up and coat the cavity with layout spray to see where you are going.
Real steady on the feed and make sure you zero out the axis' with a dial indicator to ensure the cavity is parallel. cavity... not the mold block.

[Tazza]

Tazza.
A 23/64ths ballnose endmill will work. not cheap, but does a great job.
Just set the half up and coat the cavity with layout spray to see where you are going.
Real steady on the feed and make sure you zero out the axis' with a dial indicator to ensure the cavity is parallel. cavity... not the mold block.

Thanks for the tip, i'll see what i can find and see if i can not mess it up too badly, i really don't trust my eyes enough to do as Stephen advised with a dremel, i know i''d make a big 'ol mess. Sadly i don't have a dial indicator to line it all up with, so it may be zeroed with marking compound as you said, i can use the lube groove as the marking point, so if i scratch it, i't snot a big deal.

hopefully i'll get to this in the not too distant future, i have so many things on the go now, it's silly...

[Stephen Cohen]

I'd love to test this too, i have such a mould, a 125 con that i have two peeps that have had tumbling issues with them, but none with 125rn, the mould is flogged out, so i have no issue potentially sending it to the recycle bucket if i mess it up when removing the grooves. Still trying to figure a way to do it and keep the BB, i was thinking of a 9mm carbide round nose end mill and come in from the open half and just touch the bump and take it off. but i bet that the round nose end mill will not be a nice round nose that will match the contour of the cavity. The other way was to get a 9mm end mill in HSS and cut a groove in it so it will clear the BB area and cut the lump for the groove out. I figure if i slightly under cut this, when the hi-tek goes on, it will fill up this slight dent and when sizing, it will leave it silky smooth (good in theory hey?)

Your idea about relieving the endmill so it does not come in contact with bevel base is similar to how I lapped my mould after the Dremel work. I used a brass rod as a lap and it was relieved so it did not come in contact with the gas check shank. Regards Stephen

[Petander]

TMG Gold and superhard .500 bullets.

244541

[Tazza]

Thanks for the details Stephen, when i get some time and find a suitable end mill, i'll give it a go. Seems that 23/64 end mills aren't easy to get locally..... I don't have enough to order from travers to make it worth while. Shame drill bits aren't very good at side cutting, i have those in that size, cut it down so it doesn't wobble as much.

That is some hard looking lead right there, the grain looks awesome.

[Stephen Cohen]

TMG Gold and superhard .500 bullets.

244541

Man that is hard, how did the hammer stand up. Regards Stephen

[Ausglock]

I have been asked what motor and gearbox I run on the Sizer I built. So here is the data plates.
https://i.imgur.com/rhkxRru.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ntbAPaV.jpg

[Jatz357]

I have been asked what motor and gearbox I run on the Sizer I built. So here is the data plates.
https://i.imgur.com/rhkxRru.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ntbAPaV.jpg

If I read the worm drive plate correctly the ratio is 25:1?

I’ve made a couple of sizers with different feed mechanisms and have used a 3 phase motor with a VFD and used 10:1 worm drive. They work well but a 15:1 drive would help with tighter projectiles. Both run well at around 85 - 90 strokes a minute. The last one I built will run at 144 a minute but don’t know how long it would last at that speed. One sizer has probably sized about 600000 so far and going strong.

[Ausglock]

yep 25 to 1.
This does 1 per second with plenty of power for sizing.
I'm going to build a slightly bigger one similar to the Magma Size master but with solenoid powered bullet feeder bar.
Probably go to a 1kW motor 2880rpm and an MNRV 050 at 20 to 1. feeder will be a Mr Bulletfeeder pro. larger and faster to feed this sizer.

[Jatz357]

One of mine runs .37kw motor about 1400 rpm and MNRV 040 10:1 and the other is .75kw and MNRV 050 10:1. Both worm drives are just generic brand. Check the specs of the worm drive you are going to use because most I researched had a max input speed of around 1450 - 1500 rpm

[Tazza]

Here are piccies of the motor and reduction box i'm running.

http://i67.tinypic.com/5aruid.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2zi7l29.jpg

1350 RPM at 50 hertz with a reduction box of 28:1 run with a VFD. It has no issues sizing any 9mm projectile i throw at it. It doesn't love 158SWC though, i think the mould is a bit large, but i can live with that, my feeder doesn't like them either, so most of them are sized by hand, i don't do a whole lot of them so that's not a big deal.

[Jatz357]

Higher ratio drive will boost smaller motor torque. At 10:1 I had to reduce the stroke length to short as possible to help with torque. Next sizer will definitely have a higher ratio worm drive.

Anyway the use of Hi-Tek Aqualube helps quite a lot. Very slippery stuff.

[Tazza]

Mine has a pretty short stroke to assist in giving more pushing power. I tried to time it so it was closer to the end if stroke when pushing the bearing surface of the projectile through the die to get as much leverage as possible.

[Gremlin460]

Taking a old Lee 6cav ali mold a guy brought to me a few years ago to try and fix. A 23/64th drill bit, a 6mm bull-nose end mill and a leap of faith..

I now have a fully functional LSWC 6 cav mold that dropped casts @ 152g to start with. I chucked it back in the 4 jaw on the lathe and skimmed the face and now it drops 148g .

Took a few hours to linish/polish out to 358.5 dia and wihile its not a world class finish , it works suprisingly well and sizes nicely to 358.

Going to poke a few over the Crony tommorow and see what it returns in data.

So Taz, if I can do it with the little tools I have, you can too.

Mike.

[Ausglock]

photos???????

[Tazza]

I may have the tools, but not the best with precision like this, but we shall see. Nothing to loose, it will be an adventure

[Gremlin460]

244754
Mold during test run before polishing.
244755
38spl and 357Mag tested today.

38spl had average of 650-660 FPS over 40 rounds.
357Mag did slightly better @ 680-700 over 40 rounds.

Both only running 3.5gn AP70 as a start load, OAL I think is good. Going to try and get them both up into 800fps range.
These had very gentle recoil, groups were tighter on the 38's 357mag groups were 1" or so larger.

Overall happy with first run. sized to 358 and 2 coats off Copper/red , no leading, clean shiney bore.

PS .
mold started life as 125gn conical @ 356 diameter for 9mm.
I put one of my sprue plates on, its thicker than factory and much more stable.

PPS. All rounds made perfect, really perfect round printing. Not one showed signs of tumble or an oval hole.

[Stephen Cohen]

Nice looking button nose wadcutter you created there. Regards Stephen

[Jatz357]

Bit of fiddling around Gremlin, but great result.

[Petander]

What is this?

244763

[Gremlin460]

Bit of fiddling around Gremlin, but great result.

Well it has changed my point of view on old "dead" molds. No longer do I view them as scrap, now they represent a "development" mold.
To be quite honest , I was very apprehensive in doing this project. Molds have a "Aura" about them that provokes mental pictures of gazzilion dollar CNC machinery or Nasa level bi-closing vice holders and a bank of cherries worth you yearly income.

Now i dont think that way so much. Apart from the cost of a new drill bit and ball end mill, I had nothing to loose.
Everyone has a drill press, or access to one. The only thing I used you may not have is a lathe to flycut the top square and parallel.

If anyone has a old Lee Aluminum mold they tossed in the junk draw they dont want, Id be happy to supply my po box address.

Mike.

[Stephen Cohen]

What is this?

244763

Saw them advertised here in Australia, after seeing the blue colour I didn't think they were HI-Tek coated and worth the extra $. Regards Stephen

[Tazza]

Saw them advertised here in Australia, after seeing the blue colour I didn't think they were HI-Tek coated and worth the extra $. Regards Stephen

I saw then advertised in cleavers too, i'm not up for the price on them though.... CCI standard are expensive enough, not looking forward to my next case of 5,000 to feed my buckmark :(

[Gatch]

Interesting that with home cast, reloading for the 9mm is cheaper than even CHEAP 22 ammo. Let alone this fancy schmancy coloured polymer stuff.

[dansedgli]

True that.

Ran my master caster for 5 or 6 hours yesterday while working.

Got a big pile of free bullets to coat.

[Tazza]

True that.

Ran my master caster for 5 or 6 hours yesterday while working.

Got a big pile of free bullets to coat.

Awesome job, i assume it performed well for you? Mine keeps getting lead build up between the mould and the sprue, i have to scrape lead off every 100 or so cycles and give it a drop of oil to keep it at bay. I don't know what the difference is with the commercial machines and how i'm running my MC. The commercial ones would allow the mould to cool off more than what i'm doing, so that may be it? If i let it get too cool, i get a bump as it cuts the sprue, so issues either way.

I'm part way through coating about 13k rounds, then the fun of sizing begins!

[dansedgli]

It has a few hiccups but nothing major.

The sprue plate sometimes opens too far so that needs adjustment to stop it jamming up. Also my pour spout must have been jammed up a bit because it starting throwing not enough lead halfway through the day.

I setup google home at my house so I turned on my pot 30 minutes before I got home for lunch today so I could run the machine for an hour. The bolt holding the main cylinder bracket unscrewed in a few minutes so that must have unwound yesterday and I didn't realise. I'll need to keep an eye on that.

My bullets and sprues mix together when they come out which is annoying.

Apart from that it's great not having to sit there and crank the handle.

My sizer is still manual so that can wait until I run out of loaded rounds. :cry:

[Tazza]

It's a fine start though, you'll fix the little issues. Ill need to start doing the warm up before i get home too, good idea

Yeah, sizing is not fun by hand, lovr my auto one. I spent years doing it by hand

[Ausglock]

Get some of Joe's Mold release.. it stops the led buildup on the bottom of the sprue plate.
Also...I use white lithium spray grease on the edge of the sprueplate that contacts the open and close pins. really smooths out the operation.

[HI-TEK]

Mine keeps getting lead build up between the mould and the sprue, i have to scrape lead off every 100 or so cycles and give it a drop of oil to keep it at bay.
I'm part way through coating about 13k rounds, then the fun of sizing begins!

I am greatly concerned about oil being located in an area where it can drip/weep/creep into surfaces inside the Mould. This will really muck things up when trying to coat the casts.

Two things that will help greatly,
1.
Hi-Tek 500Plus for Sprew plate lubrication and molten spatter release, (dry lube non contaminating) and...
2.
Diluted Aqualube applied onto casts prior to being sized. (dry lube) This significantly reduces loads on machinery and arms.

[Tazza]

I am greatly concerned about oil being located in an area where it can drip/weep/creep into surfaces inside the Mould. This will really muck things up when trying to coat the casts.

Two things that will help greatly,
1.
Hi-Tek 500Plus for Sprew plate lubrication and molten spatter release, (dry lube non contaminating) and...
2.
Diluted Aqualube applied onto casts prior to being sized. (dry lube) This significantly reduces loads on machinery and arms.

Thankfully i have no issues sizing, all the ones i cast, get squeezed through without any issues (i only make 9mm/.38, not interested in bigger ones that i potentially won't use), but i may take you up on the spew plate lube, see if it helps with lead build up.

I have actually had no issues with adhesion, i'm careful to not put much on to get into the mould cavities, so far so good, but only getting about 100 drops before it starts to build up really isn't acceptable when i know it shouldn't happen in the first place.

AusGlock - I put a drop of oil on these pins too, it sure makes a difference, i may need to try white grease as it may last longer than oil does.

[Stephen Cohen]

I have used a soft HB lead pencil to coat top of mould and bottom of sprue plate and it seems to work ok. I thought Joe stopped making the Hi-Tek 500Plus, will have to order some of that as I have a couple of cast that are hard to size when putting checks on at same time. Regards Stephen

[Ausglock]

Aqualube is the sizing lube.
500 plus is the mold release.
The old fart needs to give them better names so people don't get them confused.

[Tazza]

Aqualube is the sizing lube.
500 plus is the mold release.
The old fart needs to give them better names so people don't get them confused.

I wouldn't dare call him an old fart, he may cut me off from his supplies of hi-tek. He is hooking me up with some 500+ and 2kg of powder.

I hope the 500+ solves my sprue issues, I try and cast with the lead as cool as possible to fill out the mould correctly, i don't believe it's over heated.

[Ausglock]

We run our casters at 700 to 730 deg F. Zero leading on the molds or Sprue plates.

[Tazza]

That is quite a bit hotter than i run mine, yet i have one mould, not 8 to keep up to temperature :)

I think i'm currently running at 350c, i was running at 320, but i was getting spout freeze when my PID was on the fritz, i just never went back to 320 after i replaced it.

[Stephen Cohen]

Aqualube is the sizing lube.
500 plus is the mold release.
The old fart needs to give them better names so people don't get them confused.

I best get some of both then. Regards Stephen

[Tazza]

You'll have to let me know how you go with the aqua lube, i know Trevor swears by it.

I haven't had issues with sizing so far *knocks on wood*

[hunter74]

The aqua lube is worth every penny and little goes a loooooooong way!

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[Ausglock]

5 to 10 Mls of Aqualube to 1 litre of Metho sure goes a long way.

[M.A.D]

Just out of curiosity, have any of you Hi Tek coated Swaged lead bullets? Sadly i have been working 7 days a week for the last two months and havnt even had time to try swaging some 30 cal for my 300 Whisper.

[M.A.D]

Awesome job, i assume it performed well for you? Mine keeps getting lead build up between the mould and the sprue, i have to scrape lead off every 100 or so cycles and give it a drop of oil to keep it at bay. I don't know what the difference is with the commercial machines and how i'm running my MC. The commercial ones would allow the mould to cool off more than what i'm doing, so that may be it? If i let it get too cool, i get a bump as it cuts the sprue, so issues either way.

I'm part way through coating about 13k rounds, then the fun of sizing begins!

Only 13,000? Need 7000 more.........lol......

[sierra1911]

I have most of a liter of liquid hi-tek gold which was purchased in 2013. I only used 50 ml and it’s since been stored between 65 and 75 F in the original cans. Any chance it’s still good?

[Avenger442]

I have most of a liter of liquid hi-tek gold which was purchased in 2013. I only used 50 ml and it’s since been stored between 65 and 75 F in the original cans. Any chance it’s still good?

From back then you are talking about the liquid two part. I have some 1035 Gold that I bought back in 2014 and am still using it. As far as function it is the same. The color seems to be darker. Used it on the last cast I coated. It is my personal favorite for my .308 .223 rifles and I'm getting a little low. Will probably switch to the 1035 Gold powder when I run out. It is supposed to be the same. Mine is kept in my basement where temps can run from 40 F to 85 F. It's not conditioned but humidity controlled. I think Trevor recommends keeping in a refrigerator but I have not had a problem.

M.A.D.
I've never swagged any bullets, but from my understanding of the process you leave a burnished or polished surface on the lead like sizing. I have never tried to coat sized bullets because I've been told on the forum that that polished surface and some lubes inhibit the bond of the coating to the lead. You guys correct me if I'm wrong.

[Tazza]

Only 13,000? Need 7000 more.........lol......

:) Starting on the sizing of the 13k today, the collator is playing up a bit, not sure why, it's just being fussy, then i'm on to the task of starting on the extra 7k!

We'll get there in the end!

[Ausglock]

I have coated sized bullets. But the bullets had 1 coat already on them, then sized, then second coat added. worked fine.
I do this for flat base bullets that may have a bit of base fin.

The liquid 1035 should still be OK... a bit darker, but still work fine..

[Gremlin460]

AHhhh Base fins, the bane of one of my molds, one **** hole always (nearly) gives one once sized.

If you swage your casts, may I suggest you put them in a square 4 litre container and tumble them for a minute or two dry.
I tumble ALL my casts raw for a few mins, it knocks off all little flashing's and neatens up the corners.

The reson I mention this is because it leaves a nice finish that the coating sticks too very well. It would not hurt to try a pound or so to see if it helps you in this reguard.

Mike.

[Tazza]

AHhhh Base fins, the bane of one of my molds, one **** hole always (nearly) gives one once sized.

If you swage your casts, may I suggest you put them in a square 4 litre container and tumble them for a minute or two dry.
I tumble ALL my casts raw for a few mins, it knocks off all little flashing's and neatens up the corners.

The reson I mention this is because it leaves a nice finish that the coating sticks too very well. I would not hurt to try a pound or so to see if it helps you in this reguard.

Mike.

I like this idea, i may need to give it a go.

[Gremlin460]

You will be suprised just how nice it makes the casts Taz. If you dont get around to it, I can show you the results in 5 weeks when you front up here for BBQ and B_S session.

[Tazza]

I need to make my "concrete mixer" for projectiles first, so i may have to see your setup first :)

Sounds good, i like talking **, or so my wife says.... Keep me up to date on when this shindig is happening.

[Ausglock]

5 weeks when you front up here for BBQ and B_S session.

Where is my invite??????
Joe would want one too..........

[Tazza]

Where is my invite??????
Joe would want one too..........

It was lost in the mail?

Invite Joe to bring the hi-tek :)

[Stephen Cohen]

It was lost in the mail?

Invite Joe to bring the hi-tek :)

Crikey I would have Joe bring the Bundy Rum, or are you going to Hi-Tek the chops and steaks. Regards Stephen

[Tazza]

I think he lives a bit far away to bring the rum from the distillery.

Hi-tek covered steak is one way to make it so even I couldn't burn them :)

[Gremlin460]

Where is my invite??????
Joe would want one too..........

If you gonna be in the area when we decide to do this, you are more than welcome.
I got 3 people wanting to learn/know about hand casting. so planning for a day of not only how, but why and the reasons we cast the way we do. Also a full breakdown on Hi-tek . All of this with hands on workshop.
Your experience be more then welcome.

[wlkjr]

Google says it's 9033 miles from Atlanta. Doesn't look like I'm going to make this session. Bummer, sounds like fun.

[Tazza]

Google says it's 9033 miles from Atlanta. Doesn't look like I'm going to make this session. Bummer, sounds like fun.

If you leave now, you may just get here in time :)

[T-Bird]

Just don't try to drive!:)

[Jatz357]

Had a productive evening yesterday. 1st batch I’ve done of 136 grain button nose wadcutters. 100kg coated in Candy Apple.
245175

245176

[HI-TEK]

Had a productive evening yesterday. 1st batch I’ve done of 136 grain button nose wadcutters. 100kg coated in Candy Apple.
245175

245176


How pretty are these. Well done with coating. Now keep it going, and post results of your shoots.

[HI-TEK]

Where is my invite??????
Joe would want one too..........

The missus and I need a few days off with a break.. I need a break from working around the clock and am happy to go north to bend Bananas for a few days. Just would need to organize things here first. As in US there was a workshop set up with casting and coating. I would be happy to be there to add my two cents worth. Unfortunately I cant bring meat to the barbeque as it wont be too fresh by the time we get there. It may be great if we can get a few to be attending so we would possibly need a application from people who would be interested in attending.

[Tazza]

A break sounds like it's somerhing you sure need. August up here is still pretty nice, our winters are pretty weak, but it's also ekka time when it's windy and flu is about, so stay away from people :)

[Ausglock]

The Errol Harper Memorial IPSC match is on the 17 and 18th August at the Gold Coast Pistol Club. So that weekend is out for me.

[Jatz357]

Unfortunately I do most of my coating for others and don’t get a lot of time trying these out. Most of my spare time is in the shed tinkering around making and modifying machines to process these projectiles and what remains is time spent with the family and their pursuits. After all that I might get to have a shot.

I’d be interested to meet some of the local Oz blokes, be bit of a drive for me to go North but doable.

[Ausglock]

So... what type of ovens do you use?

[Jatz357]

So... what type of ovens do you use?

Homemade infrared and conveyor, many hours of R&D but happy with results so far.

[Tazza]

Unfortunately I do most of my coating for others and don’t get a lot of time trying these out. Most of my spare time is in the shed tinkering around making and modifying machines to process these projectiles and what remains is time spent with the family and their pursuits. After all that I might get to have a shot.

I’d be interested to meet some of the local Oz blokes, be bit of a drive for me to go North but doable.

I hear ya... When i get time to cast i spent far too much time messing with my machine to keep it running :( Any other time i have, seems to be eaten up with outer projects, normally not for me either, the last little bit is spent with the wife who complains about not seeing me enough...

[Jatz357]

I hear ya... When i get time to cast i spent far too much time messing with my machine to keep it running :( Any other time i have, seems to be eaten up with outer projects, normally not for me either, the last little bit is spent with the wife who complains about not seeing me enough...

Yeah, just back from a day and half away with the fam and I’m back in the shed preparing another batch now. At least this gives me a break from my day job.

[Jatz357]

It’s 8 degrees in the shed and 2 outside now. This is my attempt at a drying rack / compartment. I use it to just lift the temp of uncoated product when very cold and then to quick dry and pre-heat to go into the oven. Haven’t had it fully loaded yet but it will hold 500kg, 30 trays (6 not visible in this photo)

245224

[Ausglock]

interested in your oven..

[Gatch]

How long do you lot leave your hitek to dry ? I'm struggling to get a tray to pass the wipe test.

[Jatz357]

interested in your oven..

Hi Trevor, sent you PM

[Jatz357]

How long do you lot leave your hitek to dry ? I'm struggling to get a tray to pass the wipe test.

Dry time or bake time?

[Gatch]

Drying time. I've been using my ladies old hair drier to speed it up, but have only been waiting 15minutes or so. I'm leaving 3 batches overnight to see if that will help. Bake time will be different for each oven I guess.

[Ausglock]

Gatch head over to Bunnies and grab a $20 Fan heater.
Coat them and put in front of the fan for 10 minutes until they are warm. shake the tray to break their contact and leave for another 5 minutes. then warm on top of the oven and then insert and bake.
Simples..