First Ever Boolit Casts...Opinions, Please!

[Abidingguy]

So after years of reloading but never casting my own pills, I finally took the plunge and cast some .452s and .358s using some used Lee molds. I've been melting wheel weights I've stockpiled (lucky to still have a source out here in the country) since last year, so all that was needed was for me to stop "nuking" things like I normally do and just do it. And for what it's worth, it pays to read this forum....invaluable advice here.

I haven't any idea on the BH of these pills, but I did sort mark the ingots "softer" or "faster/harder" depending on how they soft/hard they felt when I was stamping them. Yes, it's a crude, rudimentary way of figuring our "hardness," but it's a start. And I couldn't decide if these were all frosted, or if it was just the color of the lead.

Now I'm just trying to figure out if I want to tumble using Lee's Alox, or use the pan dipping method.

Thoughts? Thanks for taking the time to help a n00b.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NEpuxqBKJ1Lxqx27V0vx1UwVZ0CKPMR1/view?usp=sharing

[tazman]

Those look very good. Tumble lube the 45s since that is what they are designed for. The 38 caliber boolits can be done either way.

[OS OK]

Read this, I think I have all the angles covered for a new caster...I use my own mistakes & 'uh-oh's' as illustrations.

https://thereloadersnetwork.com/2018/04/21/new-casters-forensics-of-a-casting-session/?channel=charliebrassstuffer

[Abidingguy]

Read this, I think I have all the angles covered for a new caster...I use my own mistakes & 'uh-oh's' as illustrations.

https://thereloadersnetwork.com/2018/04/21/new-casters-forensics-of-a-casting-session/?channel=charliebrassstuffer

Fantastic article....thanks much, sir!

[Abidingguy]

Those look very good. Tumble lube the 45s since that is what they are designed for. The 38 caliber boolits can be done either way.

Thank you, sir!

[stinjie]

I've used that Lee .358 bullet ,tumble lubed with alox.Loaded for 38 spl without a gascheck,it is surprising accurate.

[kevin c]

VERY good article, OS OK. I like the examples, explanations and suggestions. The only observation I might add, perhaps heretical to some, is that I personally find that I get the best fill out and highest rate of keepers when I have a light matte frost on my casts, so I actually adjust alloy temp and casting cadence to get it.

Abidingguy, welcome to the fun! Your first casts look much better than mine did. I think I see a few dark speckles on some, which might be inclusions from stuff in your alloy or pot. Not a deal killer, but perhaps something to attend to in the future.

Lots of lubing options that you've probably already started to read about. Tumble lubing probably is one of the easiest starts.

[Conditor22]

For the first time, those look great!!! I hate to remember what my first time (self-taught) looked like.

You asked us to be critical -- IF you see a line on both sides of the boolit, -- the mold isn't closing all the way; a piece of lead between the cavities or an alignment pin might have moved or just didn't squeeze the mold closed all the way (you don't have to go crazy squeezing it :)

If you see a "fin" on the base of the boolit the sprue plate isn't (1) tight enough (2) isn't flat with the top of the mold, -- warped? sometimes people try to screw in the sprue screw to tight and raise the metal around where the screw goes into the mold; sand/file that flat and see what it looks like

[Abidingguy]

For the first time, those look great!!! I hate to remember what my first time (self-taught) looked like.

You asked us to be critical -- IF you see a line on both sides of the boolit, -- the mold isn't closing all the way; a piece of lead between the cavities or an alignment pin might have moved or just didn't squeeze the mold closed all the way (you don't have to go crazy squeezing it :)

If you see a "fin" on the base of the boolit the sprue plate isn't (1) tight enough (2) isn't flat with the top of the mold, -- warped? sometimes people try to screw in the sprue screw to tight and raise the metal around where the screw goes into the mold; sand/file that flat and see what it looks like

Wow....really appreciate the positive comments! Really didn't expect these to come out as well as they apparently did, but I made sure to absorb as much as I could before doing my first pour. And as far as the "fins" on my pills, I started holding the mold a little tighter towards the end of that session, and it sure helped.

I also alternated between molds to ensure that they didn't get too hot when casting.

[toallmy]

Good start and that's the hard part for most , just getting started . About the lube - I vote for trying them all possibly start out with tumble lube because it's quick , cheap & easy so you can get some of your new cast boolits loaded in brass . After you get a chance to make a little noise you can worry about figuring out the rest .
Don't be discouraged if you run into problems loading cast , or hitting the target that's part of the fun .
We like pictures they are worth a thousand words .

[Markopolo]

yep Conditor spotted it... if looking carefully, those with fins indicate a mould not closing all the way... also, was curious, did you add any tin to your alloy? it appears that some of the flat nose boolits have rounded edges on the groves... but it could just be my older eyes..

one other thing... get yourself a "damp" sponge and set it apart a bit from your casting setup... when you are casting hot and heavy, you can just touch the bottom of he mould to the damp sponge to cool it just a bit.. be sure its just slightly damp. you should be able to hear a bit of sizzle...

much better overall then my first... looks like the temp is running just about right.. no wrinkles... really nice job!!!

marko

[Abidingguy]

OK, so following up on my first pill casting, I got around to lubing them using a video I found to create the 45% Johnson's Furniture wax, 45% Lee Alox and 10% mineral spirits mix. I applied what I thought was a light coat, and let them dry overnight. Did I put too much or too little? They didn't feel too tacky, just a tiny bit.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OuX90upb9pWW2yWe0WtKlJ4hXJGfdVbk/view?usp=sharing

The lube got thick again....is this normal and I should just expect to warm the mix up some?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OxRyvo3OmYg7aYADuZOfcn14WQysjYjb/view?usp=sharing

And here is a gratuitous pic of my bench...I'm proud of it!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OkkQ5Uccj7-f00IfIusTafT8T6uk1MOe/view?usp=sharing

[Doubles Shooter]

Powder coating works great too. I love that bullet. It feeds and shoots great.
256059
256060

[Land Owner]

OS OK nice article. I take away your idea for heating the mold (with thermal "tent") and HP pin from that.

To the OP, well done. Those look great. How do they shoot? That is truly the Tale of the Tape.

[onelight]

Your bench looks great !
Looks like you are setup for loadin a little to a lot :Fire:

[mdi]

Looks like you're on the right track. When you ask a question on a forum you will get a lot of methods/opinions, but remember they are just suggestions and you will develop your own methods and as long as you get good bullets and are satisfied, it's good...

I reloaded for mebbe 15 years before I got a hardness tester. I used almost all wheel weight alloy for all my casting, with an occasional range lead + WW alloy. The main aspect of shooting cast bullets is bullet to gun fit over BHN. I tried the formula for PSI to BHN but once I found I needed a 23 BHN bullet, so I dropped that idea completely. Today I have several BHN alloys running from about 10 BHN to 16 BHN and just mark the ingots with a marking pen. As long as I have a good bullet to gun fit I can use my softest alloy in my 44 Magnums with no excess (very little) leading...

I have a few T/L design molds and I have pan lubed and "dip lubed" many (I didn't care for the brown noses when I tumbled). I often use some 45-45-10 warmed a bit and grab a bullet by the nose either with my fingers of tweezers and dip the bullet deep enough to cover all the grooves, set them upright on a piece of aluminum foil to dry. Works for me, clean bullet noses no excess lube in seating die.

Probably the best place to find info for all aspects of bullet casting is right here on castboolitsgunloads.com. Just look around and you will surely find an answer to any question/problem you have with casting boolits...

[tazman]

OK, so following up on my first pill casting, I got around to lubing them using a video I found to create the 45% Johnson's Furniture wax, 45% Lee Alox and 10% mineral spirits mix. I applied what I thought was a light coat, and let them dry overnight. Did I put too much or too little? They didn't feel too tacky, just a tiny bit.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OuX90upb9pWW2yWe0WtKlJ4hXJGfdVbk/view?usp=sharing


That coating looks good to me. Load a few up and shoot them. Your barrel will tell you if you need more lube.
45ACP usually doesn't need a lot of lube. Low pressure and fairly low velocity.

[Abidingguy]

That coating looks good to me. Load a few up and shoot them. Your barrel will tell you if you need more lube.
45ACP usually doesn't need a lot of lube. Low pressure and fairly low velocity.Great to hear, thanks much for letting me know. I need to size, re-lube and then load some of these, hopefully this weekend. There's always some honey-do list to finish....

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[ACC]

Looks good. I see that 2 bullets that I can see have pin holes in the base. Time to remelt those.

ACC

[kmw1954]

One of the advantages of Lee's Tumble Lube Bullets is that they were not meant to be sizes. They were meant to be shot as cast. I too have been using the alox 45-45-10 tumble lube on even bullets with lube grooves and it works very well. Just remember a little goes a long way. Mine after 24hrs or so are completely dry to the touch and not sticky.

I think both the cast bullets and the lube look good to go.

[Abidingguy]

Finally got around to shooting my own cast boolits, and they shoot great! Many thanks to Mr. Richard Lee for making these inexpensive and functional casting tools available to the masses.

38SPL from S&W 627:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VLezqO1YTidSeLa0GXShVZv5vCoG090P/view?usp=sharing

45ACP from M&P2.0:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VU-eFv3rNOCZcdIJsWoJwGjHYdgPs8eY/view?usp=sharing

Pics showing how clean barrels are after shooting. A little 45/45/10 really does go a long way!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VcXuqv_kJs5WlP85bnrhKXvBLejxwX0f/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Var2V5l5upTSQF0gH8FMfKXMTcsVNPtF/view?usp=sharing

Thanks again to all those who gave me pointers along the way to this result!

[onelight]

Good shooting , looks like you have already found some good loads for your new boolits .

[kmw1954]

You're hooked!