Saw a lead casting pot between 4' and 5' in diameter....

[Harry O]

yesterday. And it was about 3' to 4' high. The lead ingots being fed into it looked just like the ones we use -- expect for the size. The long dimension was 3' or so. A chain hoist was being used to lift the ingots up and put them into the melting pot.

When melted, the worker cast with a 4-cavity mould. Each cavity was a cylinder about 10" or so in diameter and about 2' to 30" high. The mould was water cooled to make the casting speed reasonable.

After the casting was dropped from the mould, each one was moved to a hydraulic press. The casting was placed in a hole in the center of the machine and a hydraulic cylinder came down on top of it. There was a hole in the bottom and the lead was squeezed out of that hole in a long wire that was put on spools. No heat was used. There were several different diameters of lead wire being made.

Anyone want to guess where I was and what I was watching the start of?

[hydraulic]

Hornady in Grand Island, Nebraska. (I read your post about the Hastings gun shop.)

[oneokie]

The start of bullet cores

[Harry O]

Yep. I went through the tour at Hornady. This is the first time I was out there that was not on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. They don't do tours on Friday and aren't open on weekends.

Yes, they were cores. Different machines cut them into different lengths. They kept everything in 10 or 15 gallon buckets that were all over the place. Millions of cores, cups, jackets, lead bullets, and completed jacketed bullets were sitting around in buckets.

They also had punch machines that took gilding metal (jacket mat'l) and punched out cups. Again, there were all kinds of different thicknesses and diameters. Then they showed how the cups were made into bullets. The cup is fed into the first of about a dozen punches. The first half dozen punches stretch out the cup longer and thinner. Then one of the cores drops in and the next punch forces it into the jacket. Then the jacket is trimmed and the final forming is done. Some of them did the final forming on the front and some on the rear of the bullet. Final forming may take two stations. Then the cannelure is added (if there is one) and the bullet goes through a final sizing die (very much like ours).

They were changing a machine over to make .475" dia, x 500gr African big game bullets so they let me pick out one the STEEL jacket cups (with a thin layer of gilding metal on the outside) and ran it through the different stations one at a time. They gave me the bullet when it was finished.

Then I got to see their underground 200 yard test range and where they dimensionally check and shooting test the bullets. The loading bench was much cleaner than mine.

They do not do tours to the brass making facility, the die manufacturing facility, nor the ammunition loading facility, which are in separate buildings on the site. They are expanding some buildings for future use. They said that business is booming (so to speak). They are also getting into the solid copper (or gilding metal) bullets like Barnes because of the rules in California. They were making a lot of them when I was there.

Very impressive and well worth the 15 mile side trip if you every are ever on Interstate 80 passing through the State.

[docone31]

Wow, next time I am near Grand Isle, I will definately stop in.
I had a chance to tour the Schweizer plant in Elmira Ny. It was just as fascinating. Toured the plant, then flew for a few hours. Got to fly a new 1-36. Wowser time.
I would just love to see it in action.
The pros.

[AZ-Stew]

Visited the Sierra manufacturing plant when they were still in Commiefornia. Got to purchase a lot of "seconds" that they sold by the pound. One was a lot of 50 and 55 grain .22 bullets, complete and ready to ship, that had accidentally been poured into the same container. It was too costly for them to separate them, so they sold them as bulk. I sorted them visually (length) and I think I still have a few of them. I think I started with about a thousand of them in a paper bag.

Anyway, it's fascinating and educational to watch the manufacturing processes. I think Hornady's engineering department would be a really fun place to work.

Regards,

Stew

[zampilot]

Hmmm...Federal Cartridge is about 9 miles down the road from me, I wonder if they do tours?

[Harry O]

Anyway, it's fascinating and educational to watch the manufacturing processes. I think Hornady's engineering department would be a really fun place to work.

Stew

About the time my last job went down the tubes (the company had been bought by a Wall Street Raider and sold for parts), there was an ad in the gun places that said Hornady wanted a manufacturing engineer. I thought long and hard about applying, just to be there, but my background is structural engineering, not manufacturing. I had no real experience with manufacturing and knew enough about it that I could not measure up with what they needed or wanted.

They have factory seconds at Hornady, but there were very few this time. I found out that there are a bunch of people in Grand Island who make regular visits to the Hornady facility and buy up a LOT of factory-second bullets. Then they sell them at gunshows at a couple of bucks markup per 100. I have bought a lot of them at gunshows (even with the markup, it is substantially less than full retail) and have had no problem with accuracy with them.

I bought 100 target 30cal factory-second Hornady bullets once and decided to weigh each and every one of them. They were evidently making a changeover from 150 to 155gr bullets. Almost every one was exactly 155gr. However, there were one or two 150gr bullets. The outside measured exactly the same.

I have done that kind of weighing before with other bullets and have found that the maximum weight spread is half as much with the Hornady than with Remington or Winchester bullets in similar sizes.

[dk17hmr]

I love going on factory tours that relate to things I like. When I was down in Jacksonville in November, my brother, mom, and I went on a tour of the Budweiser Brewery....at the end of the tour they give you free beer.

Did Hornady give you any bullets?

[35remington]

Jeez, Harry, it's about durn time you visited.

I live in Lincoln and have found excuses to visit the plant many times in my travels. I'm one of those raiders that in the past has gone through their reject bullet supply, often finding something I need that happens to be available.

Support your local bulletmaker and keep the money you spend in state!
At least for those jacketed thingies, anyway.

[Harry O]

Jeez, Harry, it's about durn time you visited.

I live in Lincoln and have found excuses to visit the plant many times in my travels.

Support your local bulletmaker and keep the money you spend in state!
At least for those jacketed thingies, anyway.

I have been by there many times, but like I said, only on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. I have been in a few times to buy factory-seconds (on Fridays), but never visited during the rest of the week. It is too far for going out there just for that.

I do use Hornady's most of the time when I use jacketed. Mainly because I can get them cheap at gunshows around here.

BTW, they do make pure lead bullets. I use a LOT of the Hornady .357" 148gr hollow-base wadcutters. I use too many to cast them up myself. I asked if they had any of them when I was out there, but like any good bullet caster, I was told that any rejects of the lead bullets went back into the pot.

[docone31]

If anyone is in the vicinity, I could sure use blemished 117gn jacketed for my 25-06.
I do not fire it much, but, I sure want to.
My .30s and .303 is my favourite.
No hurry, just some day.

[35remington]

Getting bullets from Hornady is a timing thing.

You go by the plant and take your chances. If you shoot a lot of different calibers you have a better chance of their having something you want for something you shoot.

Maybe I just invented a new excuse to buy another gun.