First real boolits!

[Beaverhunter2]

I got my Lee 476-400 mold from Midsouth yesterday. Since I didn't have any material (except pure lead), I started looking for enough wheelweights to make at least 1 bullet. I'm not the patient type! :lol:

Stopped by a tire store and asked about used weight. After a little haggling and a call to a scrap dealer to get the "market price", the woman who owned the place (she wasn't the pleasant sort) agreed to sell me what she had for $.50/lb. She estimated she had 20 lbs. in a bucket. For ten bucks I was on my way to the bench!

After melting all the clips and stuff out, I casted a handful of my new .480 Ruger projectile. They seem a little dull colored compared to the RBs I was molding from pure lead for my squirrel rifle. Is this to be expected? Or was I running my metal/mold too hot? A few of my bullets were obviously frosted, but I cooled things down and they still seem a little dull. They filled out nicely. Will they still shoot OK?

One other thing. When I finished cleaning the weights, I weighed all the ingots I made. 48lbs of clean metal left. Is $.21 per lb too much to pay for clean WW alloy? ;)


John

[mtgrs737]

LOL! sounds like that gal is about as good at estimating weight as most women are. You done good! Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Oh, and welcome to the addiction if no one has welcomed you already! I can tell your going to be here for awhile. :drinks:

Mtgrs737:castmine:

[opentop]

Welcome aboard and congrats on you ww find.

WW's will cast a little duller than pure lead.

[Scrounger]

Did you add some tin? About 2% is all you need. That might brighten up your bullets a little.

[454PB]

We need to see a picture of your boolits to pass judgement, but there is nothing wrong with a lightly frost coated boolit. It's an indication of the temperature being slightly too high, or casting too fast, but it's way better than a wrinkled, poorly filled, shiny boolit.

[Beaverhunter2]

I'll try to get some pictures up soon. I got some more metal today and I'm cleaning it up right now. I threw the boolits in the pot with the WWs I got today. I'm having so much fun casting the boolits I don't mind redoing them. I've got a 1 1/4# bar of 50/50 solder. How much do I add to get the 2% tin? I took all my math classes twice. :oops:

BTW I got 20lb of diver weights in today's find. Any idea what alloy they are? I have use for pure lead for my blackpowder shooting so I figured I'd take them and hope the Master Casters on this site would know what they are.

This is fun!

John

BTW I didn't get such a good deal today. $.75/lb for 8lb pure lead, 20lb Diver Weights, and 25lb of clip-on wheel weights. I should have enough to keep me going for a little while.

[opentop]

to make lyman #2 aloy

9 pounds ww
1 pound 50/50 solder

if using pure lead

5 pounds lead
4 pounds linotype
1 pound 50/50 solder

[fishhawk]

well most if not all my dive weights were are wheel weights if you smelt them down start from a cold pot with them there may be voids that are holding water and as we know water in a lead pot is troble if it's under the surface

[Beaverhunter2]

Thanks, Guys!

Fishhawk, good point on the cold pot. I hadn't thought of water in the weights.

I think I've got the frosting thing figured out. It was too much heat. I slowed way down and now they're nice and shiny. I'm telling you- this casting thing just keeps going! :lol: Now I'm looking at lead thermometers!

Thanks again for the advice!

John