Buckshot
12-10-2007, 04:15 AM
............I haven't shot any yet, so just hold on :-) However I did cast with it for the first time this evening. I got the mould out and flushed it well with carb cleaner then set it on top of the pot to heat. The cavities were very clean and no de-burring was called for. Once warmed up I very slightly smudged each cavity with a butane lighter and lightly swabbed on some Bullplate lube.
Anyone using a Lee mould of any pedigree who doesn't use Bullplate lube on it is insane :-). I dipped half the cotton on one end of the swab in the lube, and used this first to apply to the spruplate pivit bolt. After that I used it to draw a circle around each cavity in the blocks, aorund the pour hole on the top and bottom of the sprueplate. About halfway through the casting session I used the same swab and did it again. At the end of casting the tops of the blocks looked like it hadn't even been used.
Per usual when I was ready to cast I dipped one end of the blocks into the melt for a 20 count, then set it atop the pot to let the heat migrate and equalize for maybe 30 seconds. Then I began casting. The pot temp was hovering at 800*. I was producing frosty very well defined slugs. As the sprues began to take awile to cool I went to the damp pad in a saucer of water. I guess I wan't holding it there long enough as I once swung the sprue and opened theblocks to dump boolits, but half of them ran out as liquid :-)
So taking my first break I cleaned THAT up and began again. Obviously the blocks were hot so after several pours I also dragged the bottom of the blocks across the damp pad on my way back to refill. Now I was producing well filled out slugs that looked like newly minted dimes. I continued this way until the pot was delivering such a feeble stream that I began to get rounded bases.
All in all about 17 lbs of lead are now formed as 145gr RN booits for the mighty 38 S&W. The bright shiny slugs weigh between 145.8 and 146.6grs and mike .3646" and .3652". The frosty all over boolits weigh between 145.5 & 146.2 grs and mike .3641/2" & .3648". Either batch is fine and will work well. There is also a bunch in a transitional state between the 2 extremes. These have frosty noses and bright drive bands and fall within the wieghts and dimensions given above.
Veyr probably due to the extremely simple design, all that is required to have the slugs fall out like rain is to open the mould blocks, which a person has to do anyway, HA! I think I only had to tap the hinge bolt 4 or 5 times in the entire session. This is the way it's supposed to be, ain't it?
Neither of my 2 Victory models are match pistols nor is the little IJ top break, yet they've shot the Lyman 35863 WC sized .363" well for what they are, and that's all I'll ask of this slug. One difference however is that the WC has always been of pure lead (as I had cast up a sh*tpot full from the 4 cav Lyman blocks) and these new RN's are 16 BHN.
If all the Lee 6 banger GB's turned out as well as this one did there wouldn't be a bitch in a boxcar load of'em.
Shooting report to follow as soon as possible.
.................Buckshot
Anyone using a Lee mould of any pedigree who doesn't use Bullplate lube on it is insane :-). I dipped half the cotton on one end of the swab in the lube, and used this first to apply to the spruplate pivit bolt. After that I used it to draw a circle around each cavity in the blocks, aorund the pour hole on the top and bottom of the sprueplate. About halfway through the casting session I used the same swab and did it again. At the end of casting the tops of the blocks looked like it hadn't even been used.
Per usual when I was ready to cast I dipped one end of the blocks into the melt for a 20 count, then set it atop the pot to let the heat migrate and equalize for maybe 30 seconds. Then I began casting. The pot temp was hovering at 800*. I was producing frosty very well defined slugs. As the sprues began to take awile to cool I went to the damp pad in a saucer of water. I guess I wan't holding it there long enough as I once swung the sprue and opened theblocks to dump boolits, but half of them ran out as liquid :-)
So taking my first break I cleaned THAT up and began again. Obviously the blocks were hot so after several pours I also dragged the bottom of the blocks across the damp pad on my way back to refill. Now I was producing well filled out slugs that looked like newly minted dimes. I continued this way until the pot was delivering such a feeble stream that I began to get rounded bases.
All in all about 17 lbs of lead are now formed as 145gr RN booits for the mighty 38 S&W. The bright shiny slugs weigh between 145.8 and 146.6grs and mike .3646" and .3652". The frosty all over boolits weigh between 145.5 & 146.2 grs and mike .3641/2" & .3648". Either batch is fine and will work well. There is also a bunch in a transitional state between the 2 extremes. These have frosty noses and bright drive bands and fall within the wieghts and dimensions given above.
Veyr probably due to the extremely simple design, all that is required to have the slugs fall out like rain is to open the mould blocks, which a person has to do anyway, HA! I think I only had to tap the hinge bolt 4 or 5 times in the entire session. This is the way it's supposed to be, ain't it?
Neither of my 2 Victory models are match pistols nor is the little IJ top break, yet they've shot the Lyman 35863 WC sized .363" well for what they are, and that's all I'll ask of this slug. One difference however is that the WC has always been of pure lead (as I had cast up a sh*tpot full from the 4 cav Lyman blocks) and these new RN's are 16 BHN.
If all the Lee 6 banger GB's turned out as well as this one did there wouldn't be a bitch in a boxcar load of'em.
Shooting report to follow as soon as possible.
.................Buckshot