Rookie needs details

[jcalex2]

Hello everyone,
New to the bullet casting game, have cast around 500 or so. Pretty good results so far, but some come out perfect without grooves and are shiny, and some come out a little dull and with grooves. Am thinking this is a temperature and/or metal mix problem. Have read extensively, but can't find a recipe for the perfect mix of lead and tin. Anyone got one, (in weights please, i.e., so much lead to so much tin) And if applicable what percentage antimony ( I see some use it and some do not) Casting bullets for 38, 9MM, 40mm and 45.Thansk in advance

[badbob454]

for what you are shooting i would use 2% tin 3-4% antimony and the rest % is lead ........./ PURE antimony , will not melt easily in a smelting pot so get rotometals superhard alloy or linotype to add hardness , your cheapest bet would be 100% clipon wheelweights a near perfect mix , i would add @ 1% tin to this to make nice boolits .... good luck and welcome ...
p/s the shiny boolits are under temp and the dull is called frosted , try to get your temp in between , your first few or more will not fill out properly but will fill out once you get the mold up to temp...

[jcalex2]

for what you are shooting i would use 2% tin 3-4% antimony and the rest % is lead ........./ PURE antimony , will not melt easily in a smelting pot so get rotometals superhard alloy or linotype to add hardness , your cheapest bet would be 100% clipon wheelweights a near perfect mix , i would add @ 1% tin to this to make nice boolits .... good luck and welcome ...
p/s the shiny boolits are under temp and the dull is called frosted , try to get your temp in between , your first few or more will not fill out properly but will fill out once you get the mold up to temp...

Thanks very much.

[Buffalo Arms Co]

Give us a call, (280 263-6953) our foundry certified lead is used by almost every Creedmoor shooter in the country and ships cheap thanks to USPS flat rate boxes. 1-20 is by far the most popular alloy.

[jsizemore]

The grooves are probably from lube or oil contamination in the cavities of your mold. Clean with brake cleaner or soap with toothbrush.

[runfiverun]

for the cartridges you list a mix of 1% tin and 3% antimony would be enough, you could go up to 2% tin and 4% antimony for a little more hardness and a slightly easier casting alloy.
anything in-between or even close to them would of course work just fine also.

mold temperature is the defining matter when it comes to casting consistent boolits.
if you got wrinkles it's too cold if you got galvanizing it's too hot.
I get a nice grey color when I cast mainly because I use a lower tin amount in my alloy.
[I'm cheap] and I keep my mold within a temperature window when I cast.

alloy temp is nothing more than a way to add heat to the mold or to make the alloy flow better.
keep it [the alloy] in the 700-725-f area and adjust your casting cadence [speed] to keep the mold in a temperature window that works for you.
keep a consistent fill time, cool off period, dumping the boolit time and back to filling again.
keep a count in your head or get a clock that ticks and keep a consistent rythmn.

[lwknight]

The shiny casting without good fill out are from the mold being too cold.
The dull ( we call frosty) with good fill out are when your mold gets to a good casting temperature.