Another first time caster and first post.

[brokeasajoke]

Hello all from WNC. Sniffed around here for years so thought I'd finally join. Wasn't much into casting my own but did shoot lead from places like SNS and Acme. Neighbor gave me a plumber's lead pot so I thought I would put it to some use. Mold is a Lee 158 .358 and the sizer is lee as well. Right now I'm getting about 50/50 usable bullets. Still learning. I need a lead pot temp gauge for sure. Got mold too hot first go round and 2nd time took a while to get it up and sprue plate bolt came loose causing flashing on base of bullets(is that the correct term?). Alloy is 100% wheel weights, clip-ons and stick-on. Mold takes several raps to get bullets to fall out so I need to address that and I know there is a thread on that here. Beveled the edge of my sprue plate especially the corner that was scratching the top of aluminum. As of now casting is a novelty. Got a $4.25 toaster oven from a resale store and going to order Smoke's powder coat this week. Thanks.
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[Wag]

Nice looking bullets there.

Beware. They multiply!

--Wag--

[brokeasajoke]

Thanks. Sizes seem to drop in the .362 range and weight is 161.7-162.5 with some around 164gr.

[sigep1764]

Keep going! It won’t be a novelty for long! There are gonna be some rub marks on the top of the mold, don’t worry. Just make sure there is no gouging. Most of us here use synthetic two stroke oil on a qtip to lube the pivot points and the bottom of the spruce plate and the block pins. That’ll keep everything in good working order.

[Misery-Whip]

My 358-158-rf runs heavy too. Everything looks good to me. Keep going.

[dverna]

It is a useful and possibly necessary skill to develop. Stay with it.

[oley55]

Welcome to the forum and the boolit casting addiction. If nothing else recycling cast boolits is so much easier than pulling boolits and fixing reloading errors. LOL

Good on you for including your general location/area. There is a good chance a local caster may PM you and invite you over for a casting session or two.

[brokeasajoke]

I am using 2stroke oil for the lube on pins, sprue bottom and pivot. I'm considering a Rowell ladle as well when I pick up a thermometer. Found a cheap probe type cooking thermometer on Amazon that goes up to 700 for like $12

[oley55]

I am using 2stroke oil for the lube on pins, sprue bottom and pivot. I'm considering a Rowell ladle as well when I pick up a thermometer. Found a cheap probe type cooking thermometer on Amazon that goes up to 700 for like $12

700 will likely not be high enough, sometimes conditions require 725-750 degrees. Although I now use a pid controller on electric Lee pots, I have this one for "this n that" and smelting batches of wheel weights: https://www.amazon.com/PIC-B3B6-TT-Connection-Stainless-Thermometer/dp/B00FBPGYV8/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=lead+casting+thermometer&qid=1662486819&sr=8-9

$18.43 for last one in stock, but be warned this thing is pretty large with a 3" dial and 1/2" pipe threads. I made an adjustable older out of steel Tees and a lead filled bottom base to hold it. It is also adjustable for a true set temp (calibrated via boiling water).

[brokeasajoke]

Would I be good just laying this on the side of the cast pot or should I make up something to suspend it over the pot keeping dial away from propane heat coming up sides of pot?

[pworley1]

It looks like you are off to a good start. Keep it up.

[GregLaROCHE]

Looks like you’re on the right track. Practice helps and molds tend to work better after they have been used for a while.

[Walter Laich]

Would I be good just laying this on the side of the cast pot or should I make up something to suspend it over the pot keeping dial away from propane heat coming up sides of pot?

keep the dial away from direct heat. I made a a stand off holder out of sheet metal. doesn't touch the sides or bottom. that way you're getting temp of lead without any errors

PIDs are great but you'll still need a dial one to calibrate

and welcome to the fun and games

[oley55]

Would I be good just laying this on the side of the cast pot or should I make up something to suspend it over the pot keeping dial away from propane heat coming up sides of pot?

sending a PM

[brokeasajoke]

Just ordered some powder coat from smoke4320 so I'm gonna try this shake and bake thing.

[brokeasajoke]

Haven't checked my die for leading, but sizing with Windex seemed to work pretty well since I'm trying to keep lube off of them for powder coat. I may have read about that trick here. Rubbing alcohol worked but I'd
Swear Windex is slicker pushing the bullets through.

[GregLaROCHE]

Haven't checked my die for leading, but sizing with Windex seemed to work pretty well since I'm trying to keep lube off of them for powder coat. I may have read about that trick here. Rubbing alcohol worked but I'd
Swear Windex is slicker pushing the bullets through.

Why don’t you PC them before sizing?

[brokeasajoke]

Should I? I just figured sizing would be easier in 2 steps. I don't know what I'm doing so I'm up for suggestions. They drop at about .362 non coated. Thanks.

[sigep1764]

Those are pretty fat already before coating. Sizing in two steps is prolly best. What are you gonna use to shoot these? 38 Special or 9mm or???

[John Guedry]

Lots of good information to be had here. Most folks here happy to share with any new guys.

[brokeasajoke]

These will be for smith 38spl and a gp100 7shot 357.
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[Misery-Whip]

Powdercoated will glide right thru a lee sizer. You will notice the ones that were cast with the blocks slightly open...due to more resistance.

The powdercoating will work better if you dont get the oils from your hands on the boolits.

Remember to wear a nitrile glove to handle the powdered bullets before baking. Just get the fingers into the powder first.

And check the actual temp of your oven before you make powdercoated discs....ask me how i know.....

Have fun.

[lar45]

You could make up dummy round and see if they will chamber with the bullets unsized. It will save you a step.
For my 38 special cowboy loads, I use a light coat of 45-45-10 and don't size.

If you preheat your bullet mold, you will probably have a better percentage of good bullets. If you still get wrinkled bullets with a preheated mold, you might try lightly smoking the cavities with a BBQ lighter.

[David2011]

Welcome to Castboolits!

That’s a great boolit. The reason for the different spelling is to differentiate between cast boolits and jacketed bullets without spelling out the whole term.

Misery-Whip is right. Powder coated boolits size easily IF you don’t let them sit around too long. Wheel weight metal age hardens over about two weeks and gets much harder to size. It’s best to cast, PC and size within 2-3 days.

I cast some .38 wadcutters earlier today and immediately sized them before powder coating. It reminded me to PC first. Lots more effort required before PC.

[brokeasajoke]

Powder coat from Smoke came yesterday so after work I'm going to try the shake and bake thing. I have some number 5 containers but I do not have any BBs. May have some craft beads around here somewhere with 3 girls in the house.

[pmer]

It sounds like you have some boolits that are sized to .358? It might be a good idea to see how they fit through the throats of the cylinders. If they slide through the cylinder of one revolver better than the other that one might be better to try your first reloads on.

Generally speaking if one of the revovlers have tight throats it can size the boolit small by the time the boolit hits the rifling which can cause leading. if you have trouble with leading in the barrel those copper cleaning pads like Chore Boy make quick work of removing lead. Sounds like fun good luck!

[Cast10]

LOOKING GOOD! Get a good thermo/PID and monitor your temps. I like to run mine 700-725. You can tell by how liquidus the melt is and how it flows into the mold. I PC first, then immediately upon cooling a bit, size. My bullets are around 90 degrees when I size. I use a Lee sizer, too. I also spray the inside of the sizer die before starting and let it dry a bit. When you feel it getting sticky, give it another light shot. Good Luck and Welcome to the BEST forum there is! Good folks. They helped me tremendously!

[brokeasajoke]

LOOKING GOOD! Get a good thermo/PID and monitor your temps. I like to run mine 700-725. You can tell by how liquidus the melt is and how it flows into the mold. I PC first, then immediately upon cooling a bit, size. My bullets are around 90 degrees when I size. I use a Lee sizer, too. I also spray the inside of the sizer die before starting and let it dry a bit. When you feel it getting sticky, give it another light shot. Good Luck and Welcome to the BEST forum there is! Good folks. They helped me tremendously!

Spray with what?

[bruce381]

very accurate bullet from lee no less, I shoot out of 38 and will shoot 1 1/2 inch if I really hold well,

Ans yes size after powder coating.

[brokeasajoke]

304298 Looks pretty good to me. P.S. don't use wax paper it don't work. You can see the nose of one down on the paper. The red ones all have a wax paper base lol. Not sure why pics are sideways either.

[El Bibliotecario]

Right now I'm getting about 50/50 usable bullets. Still learning.

I have been casting for decades and am still learning. One thing I learned recently, after my initial effort with a new mold produced a high number of culls, was that when loaded and shot, the culls performed as well as the 'good' bullets. While this may be a comment on my mediocre shooting skills, I offer it as a caution that culling bullets can progress beyond discarding those seriously deformed and become a cosmetic obsession.

Alloy is 100% wheel weights, clip-ons and stick-on

You may well know this, but segregating the stick-ons provides a source of softer lead which can be appropriately alloyed.

Mold takes several raps to get bullets to fall out so I need to address that

Use a bigger hammer.

As for thermometers and PIDs, at the risk of being labelled a heretic, I have yet to feel a keen need for one. I don't delude myself that the variable rheostat scale on my electric pot gives exactly that temperature, but its close enough that I quickly learn optimal settings for specific alloys.

[brokeasajoke]

Also don't leave Windex in your sizing die. It will rust.

[Thin Man]

As long as you are considering a casting thermometer, take a look at Rotometal's offering. Their thermometer is very competitive in price and I would trust their quality as they are a major supplier for casting lead. I am very close to ordering one of these myself.

[murf205]

Welcome to the madness brother, you will quickly become as addicted as the rest of us. Lots of good people here that have lots of knowledge and willing to share. You will have best luck with non-stick aluminum foil for pc'ing boolits and I have had good results with light machine oil (3n1) for lubing pc'd boolits in a Lee die. When the resistance gets noticeable, I run one with the oil on it through the die. If you have a WalMart nearby they have 6mm airsoft BB's and they work like a charm for shake n baking. You first batch looks a heckuva lot better than mine did. Congrats.

[brokeasajoke]

So what's the trick for non stick? Dull side non stick foil didn't work for me. May try parchment paper next.

[murf205]

I don't remember which side I used but my piece of foil has been used do much
it is dull on top. I have used this one piece of foil through 10 or more bakings.

[Cast10]

Spray with what?
Sorry……Hornady Case Lube

Also, i use the copper grilling mats for PC……

[brokeasajoke]

Sorry……Hornady Case Lube

Also, i use the copper grilling mats for PC……

For baking?

[Cast10]

For baking?

Case Lube is what I spray the sizer die with.

Copper grill mats for baking PC boolits.