Adam604
05-22-2008, 01:27 PM
Hi Folks,
I'm new to casting and have been having fun so far. For now I'm casting for 45 ACP with some old used Lee single cavity molds from my step dad.
Lee 90354 45 cal 200 gn RF (looks like lee 452-200-RF 90234)
Lee 90383 45 cal 228 gn RN (looks like lee 452-228-1R 90351)
Melting lead on a old Coleman 2 burner camp stove using a a steel pot, soup ladle, slotted skimmer spoon, stirring spoon and muffin tins for ingots all from the junk store ($5.75). I do my work outside for good lighting, ventilation and spillage. I bought a RCBS ladle and wheel weights and gave it a go.
I've been drinking at your guys firehose of knowledge and have "Leemented" my molds and have been getting shootable bullets.
Been back for more learnin' after the first bit of hands on playing with the "silver stream".
Lessons learned:
Lead is heavy.. Man, a quart of liquid lead really weights a lot! Steady lifting takes two hands... (good thing I was working on top of a sheet of wet plywood ..)
Lead is heavy.. Man a soup ladle of liquid lead really weights a lot! (good thing I was working on top of a sheet of wet plywood ..)
Lead is heavy.. Man a muffin pan of liquid lead really weights a lot! (good thing I was working on top of a sheet of wet plywood ..)
Lead is heavy.. Man a muffin pan of solid lead really weights a lot and muffin pan gets the heck bent up trying to dump ingots. (damn things stuck, did the peel off the pan from the ingots the first go, then I got smart and heated the pan over the Coleman stove and the stuck ingots fell right out, (pan number 2))
Lead stays hot for a while (need a new bucket to collect wheel weights, the ingots were a bit to warm for the old plastic paint bucket and they escaped)
Saw dust and a wood stick make a good go of fluxing the ingot pot. The second batch of wheel weights melted down had almost no lead stuck to the metal clips.
Sort the wheel weights better, man those rubber valve stems really smoke and stink...
Cover the Coleman stove and everything else you don't want covered with lead splatters with aluminum foil
Wheel weights are not free and most tire places around here won't sell them to you either. Les Schwab will for $25 a bucket (about 70 lbs)
Really thick gloves are good.
Good thing no one was watchin' me screw up...
Work out side......
I've been drinking at your guys fire hose of knowledge and have "Leemented" my molds and have been getting shootable bullets.
Also I've used the following tips for smelting and casting:
1. Stir casting pot every 20 -30 casts with a wood stick and skim
2. Don't let your ladle get "gunked"up.
3. Fill ladle by sweeping forward to "clear a path" and reverse scoop-fill in the "shiny path".
4. Keep the ladle spout out of the melt.
5. Watch out for lead smears on top of mold. (cutting the sprue to soon?) got some bull plate sprue lube on order.
6. The sooner you cut the sprue the easer it is, but not to soon. (easier said than done)
7. Don't let your bullets pile up in the "drop zone" unless you want dented bullets.
8. Don't knock off your sprues over the "drop zone" unless you want to sort your sprues out.
9. Gloves own em' wear em', nuff said.
10. Smooth and calm, don't splash.....
11. Fill up the stove with fuel before you start...
12. Set everything up and have everything ready before you start heating up lead....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++
Now to the questions:
My 45 seems to really like the 200 gn RF bullet, but I'm having a hard time seating them without shaving lead. I've flared the cases as much as my Lee dies will do and chamfered the cases too. I sorted the bullets for size and am using the smaller ones. I am using a flared chamfered case as a size checker, if I can start the base into the case its a keeper.
How can I cast to produce "small" bullets, or what are the tricks to cast small? I don't own a bullet luber/sizer.
From my drinking at the well I understand:
Temperature is vital for size. Too cold will drop small boolits. Making the mold hotter will expand it more for a larger boolit but if you get too hot, the lead will shrink more.
Metal alloy also controls bullet size.
Age of bullet also controls bullet size.
++++++++++++
So how can I do this?
Cool my mold on a wet sponge every cast or 2?
Try to not let the melted lead to hot? (don't have a thermometer, any way to check temp without? saw something about a strip of paper, but it seems to burn to crisp right away for me, too hot?)
I'm just using straight Wheel Weights for lead now, would adding tin or something help?
I'm new to casting and have been having fun so far. For now I'm casting for 45 ACP with some old used Lee single cavity molds from my step dad.
Lee 90354 45 cal 200 gn RF (looks like lee 452-200-RF 90234)
Lee 90383 45 cal 228 gn RN (looks like lee 452-228-1R 90351)
Melting lead on a old Coleman 2 burner camp stove using a a steel pot, soup ladle, slotted skimmer spoon, stirring spoon and muffin tins for ingots all from the junk store ($5.75). I do my work outside for good lighting, ventilation and spillage. I bought a RCBS ladle and wheel weights and gave it a go.
I've been drinking at your guys firehose of knowledge and have "Leemented" my molds and have been getting shootable bullets.
Been back for more learnin' after the first bit of hands on playing with the "silver stream".
Lessons learned:
Lead is heavy.. Man, a quart of liquid lead really weights a lot! Steady lifting takes two hands... (good thing I was working on top of a sheet of wet plywood ..)
Lead is heavy.. Man a soup ladle of liquid lead really weights a lot! (good thing I was working on top of a sheet of wet plywood ..)
Lead is heavy.. Man a muffin pan of liquid lead really weights a lot! (good thing I was working on top of a sheet of wet plywood ..)
Lead is heavy.. Man a muffin pan of solid lead really weights a lot and muffin pan gets the heck bent up trying to dump ingots. (damn things stuck, did the peel off the pan from the ingots the first go, then I got smart and heated the pan over the Coleman stove and the stuck ingots fell right out, (pan number 2))
Lead stays hot for a while (need a new bucket to collect wheel weights, the ingots were a bit to warm for the old plastic paint bucket and they escaped)
Saw dust and a wood stick make a good go of fluxing the ingot pot. The second batch of wheel weights melted down had almost no lead stuck to the metal clips.
Sort the wheel weights better, man those rubber valve stems really smoke and stink...
Cover the Coleman stove and everything else you don't want covered with lead splatters with aluminum foil
Wheel weights are not free and most tire places around here won't sell them to you either. Les Schwab will for $25 a bucket (about 70 lbs)
Really thick gloves are good.
Good thing no one was watchin' me screw up...
Work out side......
I've been drinking at your guys fire hose of knowledge and have "Leemented" my molds and have been getting shootable bullets.
Also I've used the following tips for smelting and casting:
1. Stir casting pot every 20 -30 casts with a wood stick and skim
2. Don't let your ladle get "gunked"up.
3. Fill ladle by sweeping forward to "clear a path" and reverse scoop-fill in the "shiny path".
4. Keep the ladle spout out of the melt.
5. Watch out for lead smears on top of mold. (cutting the sprue to soon?) got some bull plate sprue lube on order.
6. The sooner you cut the sprue the easer it is, but not to soon. (easier said than done)
7. Don't let your bullets pile up in the "drop zone" unless you want dented bullets.
8. Don't knock off your sprues over the "drop zone" unless you want to sort your sprues out.
9. Gloves own em' wear em', nuff said.
10. Smooth and calm, don't splash.....
11. Fill up the stove with fuel before you start...
12. Set everything up and have everything ready before you start heating up lead....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++
Now to the questions:
My 45 seems to really like the 200 gn RF bullet, but I'm having a hard time seating them without shaving lead. I've flared the cases as much as my Lee dies will do and chamfered the cases too. I sorted the bullets for size and am using the smaller ones. I am using a flared chamfered case as a size checker, if I can start the base into the case its a keeper.
How can I cast to produce "small" bullets, or what are the tricks to cast small? I don't own a bullet luber/sizer.
From my drinking at the well I understand:
Temperature is vital for size. Too cold will drop small boolits. Making the mold hotter will expand it more for a larger boolit but if you get too hot, the lead will shrink more.
Metal alloy also controls bullet size.
Age of bullet also controls bullet size.
++++++++++++
So how can I do this?
Cool my mold on a wet sponge every cast or 2?
Try to not let the melted lead to hot? (don't have a thermometer, any way to check temp without? saw something about a strip of paper, but it seems to burn to crisp right away for me, too hot?)
I'm just using straight Wheel Weights for lead now, would adding tin or something help?