Cast my first bullets today!

[bigarm]

I think I had success. Cast bullets for a few hours this afternoon. They were pretty bad at first, but by the end were not looking as bad. Not perfect by any measure, but probably usable. Used one of my new (and only) molds from Hardline. It is a 200 grain 40 without lube grooves to be powder coated at a later date. Weighed one at the end of the casting session and it weighed 198. something grains, so pretty darn close. Not sure the PID is working quite right because the green light that is supposed to turn on when it is within 15 degrees never came on, or I did not set it right. I was outside so it was hard to see the lights, but I could see the amber light which glows when the thing is plugged in. Going to have to have another training session and some emails with el34 to nail this down. Many thanks to el34 for helping me with the PID and encouraging me. Many thanks to Bullshop for inviting us to his house and teaching me the beginnings. Bullshop - you really helped me, but I certainly am no Bullshop at casting! Many thanks to all the people on this forum. This is the best forum for help and encouragement of any of the forums I frequent. Now I have to powder coat these bullets, so will be asking questions on that sub forum. Then I have to melt the wheel weights I have and cast ingots. Used some ingots I bought from jetsfan on this forum this time. They worked well for me!

[osteodoc08]

What alloy?

preheat your mold.

pick up a cheap thermometer to look at alloy temp and check your PID settings.

[bigarm]

I used equal ingots of clip on wheel weights and stick on wheel weights. I did preheat the mold with a hot plate, but had not used the hot plate before so I put it on medium. Probably needed to be hotter. I did put a thermometer that in pot after I started to check on things. Didn't think of it at first. Thought the PID would be on and who knows maybe it was. I have to research the programming on the PID to see if I did it right or not. El34 sent me an instruction manual via email, so need to read it carefully! Each time I took a break and put sprue and ugly bullets back in the pot and let it heat up and melt again, the pour spout on the Lee pot would not work. I messed with it. Knocked off the lead. Tried to put a wire up it, but think the wire was too thick. Fooled with the screw, raising it and lowering it. Eventually it began to work again. Is there some trick to keeping it working?

[Yodogsandman]

Heat the spout with a barbeque lighter to get it working.

[gwpercle]

Congratulations bigarm!
You are now the creator of the silver orbs of destruction and master of your own bullet supply. The mould gives you unlimited power, Aaahh the power, it is wonderful !
Practice makes perfect so just keep on casting.
Gary

[btroj]

Come on, go shoot em! How did they work?

[IraqVet1982]

Heat the spout with a barbeque lighter to get it working.
Great tip!

And show us the pics of the new boolits!

[Bullshop Junior]

I used equal ingots of clip on wheel weights and stick on wheel weights. I did preheat the mold with a hot plate, but had not used the hot plate before so I put it on medium. Probably needed to be hotter. I did put a thermometer that in pot after I started to check on things. Didn't think of it at first. Thought the PID would be on and who knows maybe it was. I have to research the programming on the PID to see if I did it right or not. El34 sent me an instruction manual via email, so need to read it carefully! Each time I took a break and put sprue and ugly bullets back in the pot and let it heat up and melt again, the pour spout on the Lee pot would not work. I messed with it. Knocked off the lead. Tried to put a wire up it, but think the wire was too thick. Fooled with the screw, raising it and lowering it. Eventually it began to work again. Is there some trick to keeping it working?

I turn my hot plate all the way up. It is easier to cool the mold down once you start casting, then it is to heat it up.

[bigarm]

I turn my hot plate all the way up. It is easier to cool the mold down once you start casting, then it is to heat it up.
So, are you Bullshop's son, or one of them. He told me that he had one son that lived in Texas.

[Bullshop Junior]

The Texas son would be me, although heading back to Montana in a week.

[bigarm]

Well, you certainly have a nice family. Really enjoyed my time there.

[Hardline]

I think I had success. Cast bullets for a few hours this afternoon. They were pretty bad at first, but by the end were not looking as bad. Not perfect by any measure, but probably usable. Used one of my new (and only) molds from Hardline. It is a 200 grain 40 without lube grooves to be powder coated at a later date. Weighed one at the end of the casting session and it weighed 198. something grains, so pretty darn close. Not sure the PID is working quite right because the green light that is supposed to turn on when it is within 15 degrees never came on, or I did not set it right. I was outside so it was hard to see the lights, but I could see the amber light which glows when the thing is plugged in. Going to have to have another training session and some emails with el34 to nail this down. Many thanks to el34 for helping me with the PID and encouraging me. Many thanks to Bullshop for inviting us to his house and teaching me the beginnings. Bullshop - you really helped me, but I certainly am no Bullshop at casting! Many thanks to all the people on this forum. This is the best forum for help and encouragement of any of the forums I frequent. Now I have to powder coat these bullets, so will be asking questions on that sub forum. Then I have to melt the wheel weights I have and cast ingots. Used some ingots I bought from jetsfan on this forum this time. They worked well for me!

We ship the molds out with WD-40 to prevent any rust. The downside to this is that the WD-40 penetrates the cast iron and needs to be burned off before you get perfect looking bullets. We put them on a hot plate at 400 for an hour before casting with them which burns all the WD-40 off. Then go directly into casting and the mold is at the right temperature to get perfect bullets after the first cast or two. We have a RCBS Pro melt that is set at 750F on the dial, but that's not necessarily the exact temperature of the lead. Alternatively you can just put in a good 30 minutes of casting to burn off the WD-40.

[cbrick]

I think I had success. Cast bullets for a few hours this afternoon. They were pretty bad at first, but by the end were not looking as bad. Not perfect by any measure, but probably usable.

Bullshop - you really helped me, but I certainly am no Bullshop at casting!

That should be the very least of your worries. Not a single person on this forum, or anywhere else for that matter, has picked up a mold for the first time and cast perfect bullets. It's really not rocket science but it does take a bit of practice & experience, keep pouring them and before you know it you'll be wondering what the problem was. :mrgreen:

Rick

[bigarm]

We ship the molds out with WD-40 to prevent any rust. The downside to this is that the WD-40 penetrates the cast iron and needs to be burned off before you get perfect looking bullets. We put them on a hot plate at 400 for an hour before casting with them which burns all the WD-40 off. Then go directly into casting and the mold is at the right temperature to get perfect bullets after the first cast or two. We have a RCBS Pro melt that is set at 750F on the dial, but that's not necessarily the exact temperature of the lead. Alternatively you can just put in a good 30 minutes of casting to burn off the WD-40.

Thanks for the information. I want to try out the 45 mold, hopefully today, and will put it on the hot plate for a lot longer.

[gwpercle]

Bigarm, be careful when pre-heating aluminum moulds, you can get them too hot and damage them. Steel moulds might be tougher in this respect. But follow the manufacturer's directions on pre-heating.
Casting is a art that is learned through experience. Just keep working at it. Be aware that different moulds, even those from the same maker , might require a different technique.
Hotter, cooler ,slower , faster...you just got to cast and try and remember what the mould likes.

[bigarm]

Well, I used the mold for 45's today. It worked really well. I followed the directions to heat it for an hour and it made nice bullets from the start. I decided to cast in the shop today instead of outside. Opened both garage doors for ventilation. By casting inside I was able to monitor the lights and temp lights on the PID better and it worked great. Thanks again, el34.

[Ricochet]

Way to go, bigarm!