Preparing for first molding.

[Justlucky5588]

I am preparing for my first molding session. Any suggestions are requested and welcomed.

Molds- Lee .309 170f &. Saeco .311 150 f

Lead - wheel weights and unknown other ingots. Some are labeled “s” for soft but family member that prepared lead has passed.

Plan to powder coat and pan lube. Recipe for lube some combination of beeswax, candle wax, petroleum jelly, and carnuba wax. Thinking 1/3 each beeswax and candle wax and remaining 1/3 petroleum jelly and carnuba.

Hornady 30 cal gas checks

I have a older Lyman 45 lubesizer but don’t know what die to get? (.309 - .311)
To be used in a win 30/30

[WHITETAIL]

Welcome to the forum!
I would say get a 311 sizer, and do not look back.
You will not be sorry.
I would start by making some booolits first.
Then measure them to see if they are big enough to size down.
You may have to lap the mold to get size.
Take baby steps first, and keep it simple.
Do not be afraid of asking questions here everyone is great here.
And no matter what problem you have someone ( has been there done that!!!! ):coffee:

[Cast_outlaw]

I would slug your bore on the rifle befor getting a sizer and be sure you got the right one I got a 311 for my 303 and turns out I needed a 313 so definitely slug it cerosafe is not that expensive and works great

[mdi]

To cleanly and accurately shoot lead bullets it your rifle (what are you loading for?) you need to know your gun. Start with slugging the barrel...

[Conditor22]

welcome to CB Justlucky5588
sorry to hear your family member passed.

What you are asking about is your first casting session with molds.

I would suggest you start by reading the stickies
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?35-Classics-amp-Stickies
and stickies at the beginning of the forums.
the search box at the top right of each page is your access to ALL the knowledge on this site. IF you can't find the answer there just ask.

This gives you a basic idea about casting boolits (boolit = lead bullet) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IskEkFsg0WU&ab_channel=Mr45-70

first you need to make sure the molds a clean and free of any oil or whatever they were stored in. I'd scrub the cavities using a nylon brush (toothbrush/denture brush) first with acetone (if you don't have any brake cleaner works) then with hot water and dawn dish soap (wash and rinse several times)

Next it would be helpful to know what casting pot you are using

slugging a barrel: get a piece of soft lead a little larger than the bore of your barrel (fishing barrel sinkers work great) or cast a boolit out of pure lead
run an oiled patch down your barrel and lightly oil what you a slugging the barrel with
brace your gun and set the oiled slug on the bore, put a piece of wood over the slug and hammer the wood until the slug is in the barrel ( a rubber, leather, plastic, wood mallet can be used)
you can start the slug down your barrel 1-2 inches using a short wood dowel --DON"T try to drive the slug all the way through the barrel with a wood dowel!!! wood dowels can shear and get stuck in your barrel
use a brass or aluminum rod to hammer the slug through your barrel DON'T hit the barrel with a metal hammer
wipe off the slug and measure the largest diameter with a micrometer or caliper. -- You will want a boolit .001 to .003 larger than this measurement, usually start with .002 http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?355708-Cast-bullet-size

put 5-10 pounds of lead wheel weights (hopefully they are lead clip on wheel weights COWW) in you pot and bring the temperature up to 720° there should be a lead thermometer or other means to measure the temperature in his stuff

smoke the cavities of the molds lightly with a butane lighter or a kitchen match

IF he has a hotplate, warm the molds up to 400° if no hotplate hold the mold closed and stick the end of the mold into the molten lead until the lead stops sticking to the mold

now you are ready to start casting boolits

You don't need to lube powder coated boolits

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Yes, a clean preheated mold will get you going.

[BK7saum]

Do you know for certain that "s" equals soft? I use "s" to designate solder. It would be a shame to cast and shoot up $5-10/lb solder alloy.

[BK7saum]

Easy enough to tell between the two. you can scratch pyre/soft with a thumbnail.