Anyone else in NE casting boooolits?

[Salmon-boy]

Am I the only one?

I picked up 300 lbs of lead earlier this month and have started making 20% antimony ingots. Now I need to find some cheeep tin. :-D

Just as an FYI, I've been melting and casting Aluminum ingots now for a couple'o years. As soon as I can get my table saw running, I'll be able to start making patterns to cast useful things!

Making the antimony ingots is pretty easy, it melts just below aluminum, so I use the same furnace, then drop in some lead and that melts in very quickly after that!

[Bret4207]

Bunch of us in NY. Don't know about Mass/Ct/NH. Some in Maine.

[jhrosier]

Am I the only one?
...

I'm in Massachusetts and just started again recently. I kept all of my equipment when I stopped casting many years ago. I have been casting for 30 cal and 8mm rifles lately.
I have a posting of the conversion to centerfire and loading for the Vetterli rifle in the special projects forum.
I need to find a source for wheelweights. I have some wheelweights, lino, and scrap lead that I bought a few years back, but I want to try to lay in a good supply for the future. It looks like the prices for loading components are not going down anytime soon.
Since most of what I used to know about casting was wrong anyway, I have made an attempt to learn again from scratch. It has been very interesting and productive, so far. My groups have been about 1" at 50 yards but I hope to improve that as I go.
My only problem has been concentrating on any one gun long enough to bring out its' best accuracy.
It took a lot of elbow grease to pump the 30 year old Lyman black lube out of the sizer. The White Label 2500+ lube has been working great for me so far. I f I had this stuff back then, I probably wouldn't have stopped casting.
I looked at the sizer dies that I had from back then and now realize that one of the reasons that I didn't get good results is that they are mostly too small. I've shot quite a few 31141s as-cast with moderate powder charges and decent results in the last few weeks.
It looks as though winter is going to bring our shooting to a halt, in the Northeast.
I don't get out much once the temps go below freezing.

Jack

[STP]

I just got the 2 cavity "Cruise Missle" from Mid-South for my Karlina and am real glad I did quick casting run when I did. We are in full winter mode here in the Finger Lakes now.

[Salmon-boy]

Jack,
I'm in the same boat. I spent a weekend searching for WW, and wound up with about 80lbs, but gas prices being what they are, don't know if I came out ahead or not.. So I went with buying Antimony and alloying myself.

30 cal eh? Ever loaded for the M1 carbine? I'm wondering how hard to make the alloy for that or if I should just purchase jacketed rounds.. Such a pain in Ma. Can't buy them online!

Chuck.

[jhrosier]

Jack,
...
30 cal eh? Ever loaded for the M1 carbine? I'm wondering how hard to make the alloy for that or if I should just purchase jacketed rounds.. Such a pain in Ma. Can't buy them online!

Chuck.
Chuck,

I've used the 31141, 170 gr GC in '06 and 7.5 Swiss, recently. They both shot ~1" groups at 50 yards with 16 gr 2400. I want to try it in .308 next and maybe my Finnish Mosin. I've never had much luck loading for the carbine, and too many more interesting irons in the fire to give it another try.

There are very few places that will ship here anymore. The antis pretty much run the whole state nowadays. I've been buying powder and primers at the gun shows.
There is a show on Springfield this coming weekend. Where are you located? I'm a few miles east of Palmer.

Jack

[fatnhappy]

I just got the 2 cavity "Cruise Missle" from Mid-South for my Karlina and am real glad I did quick casting run when I did. We are in full winter mode here in the Finger Lakes now.


Just curious, but where in the finger lakes are you? I'm in Rochester myself. I fish Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice and Honeoye pretty regularly. I hunt down to Naples a lot, used to date a girl from Italy Valley actually.

Dean

[Salmon-boy]

Jack,
I'm in the Marlborough area. We mostly shoot handguns at this point. I picked up reloading because the Amex bills from Dicks' were getting too high for my tastes. Thanks for the reminder on Springfield, but unfortunatly I have overriding plans. I was asking about the .30M1 because my wife happens to have a Ruger Blackhawk chambered for it. Boy is that a beast to fire!
I picked up casting because I figured it can't be much harder than casting aluminum. Let me just say that it's different.
Chuck.

[jhrosier]

Chuck,
I would think that if you are looking for user-friendly loads for the .30 carbine cartridge, 32-20 loading data should provide some clues for lower velocity and faster powders with lead boolits.
I also have a .30 carbine BH, but shoot it rarely as I find the muzzle blast too unpleasant.

Jack

[STP]

fatnhappy,
I`m on the southern end of Seneca Lake.

[fatnhappy]

Nice country down there. The thought of driving those hills in the winter though......

[mainiac]

Im up here in central Maine,,, 17 inches of snow around the farm right now! Wasnt it a good storm?! Got tommorow off, and am wondering how im going to get down back to my shooting bench!

[No_1]

Do you have any pictures of your melting setup? I am curious since the alum is at a much higher melting point.

R.



Just as an FYI, I've been melting and casting Aluminum ingots now for a couple'o years. As soon as I can get my table saw running, I'll be able to start making patterns to cast useful things!

Making the antimony ingots is pretty easy, it melts just below aluminum, so I use the same furnace, then drop in some lead and that melts in very quickly after that!

[jhrosier]

Chuck,
What's the going price for antimony these days?

Jack

[Salmon-boy]

Robert,
Give me a couple of days to sort through some recent chaos and I'll add some. Basically it's a 20lb propane tank cut in 1/2, lined with furnace cement and perlite at 50/50 mixture, with a hole created for the burner, which is made from 3/4 in black pipe, a mig torch tip, 1/8 inch brass pipe nipple, and a reducing bushing.. Check the equipment forum and there's photo and/or link to the Reil type burner. Mine's modified a bit.. :-) I can melt copper if I kick up the pressure a bit.

Jack,
I found it on e-pay from Hallmark Metals in Cranston, RI.. for $5.50/lb Shipping was a bit steep though. I suppose I could find better prices elsewhere. Although Antimonyman has it for $11/lb. http://www.rotometals.com/ says $7.99 /lb.

[PineTreeGreen]

I have a .30 M1 Contender bbl. My fave load is getting to be a Lee 130 RN with 5 grs. of "Universal Clays". Lee don't list the C309-130R but they have some in the "surplus section"in single cavity. When I got the mould it would cast about
.3075 so I've had to enlarge it a bit. I'm up to about .309 and things are getting better. :-D

[4thebrdz]

I can get all the WW and Tape W I want for 12 pak of Bud Lite and some for nothing. Never messed with antimony. New Hampshire "Live Free or Die"