Well I finaly did it, I cast my own bullets, but...

[AZPaul]

I fired up my camping stove, because I have a bunch of propane tanks I bought back in 2000 just in case the world ended, figured it would be a good reason to use them and well.. most of my .40s seemed okay but alot of my .45 didn't come out very good. I think the reason was I didn't rest my mold on the pot while I was pouring.
I was using the Lee Mirco-ban no-sizing molds and a heavy steel pot, kind of what you would see pouring iron at a iron mill but smaller.
It took forever for the lead to melt and the pot had been sitting for quite a few years so it had a lot of junk in it along with rust. I used bullet lube to flux it, but my question is how do you get the pot nice a clean again? Flux and more flux?
My neighbors probably thought I was cooking crack with me waring a mask to so I don't inhale the fumes.
Also my question is how perfect do they have to be to shoot the bullets? Any one have any pictures they can show me? Can they have a flaw or 2?
Thanks in advance.

:brokenima

[mroliver77]

It is better to not have any visible flaws. Having said that, the flaws on the base affect the boolit way more than nose flaws. If you just want to make your gun go bang a half fast boolit will do.
I sandblast my pots to clean them. I dont worry much about rust. I clean if alloy has been contaminated with zinc. A wire wheel on a drill or 4" grinder will work but throws lead dusty about. What are you using for a ladle? I have had no luck with the Lee spoon type but can make nice boolits with the Lyman ladle. What kind of alloy do you have? Pure lead, Wheel weights or unknown? Keep trying and keep asking questions.
Jay

[Leftoverdj]

Pot first. You can clean cast iron by putting it in the middle of a pretty good fire and leaving it there. The rust will burn off. Fish it out of ashes after they have cooled. You can also use a wire brush in a drill to clean it.

Since your 40s came out OK, your .45 mould is probably contaminated. Boil it in hot soapy water. This comes up constantly. Boiling cleans new Lee moulds. Other methods may or may not.

You may also be casting at too low a temperature. There's a simple test. Drop a crumb of wax in the pot. If it bursts into flames in 10-15 seconds, you're at casting temp.

Acceptable bullet quality depends on what you are doing. A Class III freak once told me, "If I could get the sprues to stay in the cases, I'd shoot those." Those of us who want some accuracy have somewhat higher standards, but a CAS shooter might be happy with bullets a bullseye shooter would reject.

Ditch the mask. Unless you have one specifically rated for that use, it ain't gonna do a thing about lead vapors except make you look funny. If you are casting outdoors at reasonable temperators, lead vapor is not a concern. Just don't do something silly like cutting up ingots with an acetylene torch.

[docone31]

Lee Molds need heat!
I have fired about anything from my firearms. Wrinkles, rounded corners, smeared bases, they all fire and some of them even hit the target!
I like to have my sprue freeze to the count of six from the pour. I get good fillouts with that.
As far as cleaning the pot itself, I wet the pot and use a wire wheel to burnish the rust. Anytime heat is involved, rust becomes a major issue. When you burnish the rust down, it slows the process. Useing water when burnishing the dust is minimal if any.
Crank up the heat, and keep casting! You will develop your own rythym and you will be able to read your castings.
I do not add any tin when casting. I add heat. If the mold gets too hot, the sprue does not freeze, dump the castings fast, and let the mold cool between castings. If it is too cold, let the castings stay in the mold longer.
In time, it will come to you. You will get a touch.

[AZPaul]

Leftoverdj:
Both of my molds I treated with the spray on Frankford drop out mold release, would it still have been contaminated?
I guess I should have burned off the rust before I melted the lead in the pot.

mroliver77:
I used a bottom pour ladle or I know I would have had a lot of junk in my bullets. I’m also using wheel weights. I have tons I got when I bought at this reloading equipment from a guy for $250.00. I do not have access to a sand blaster to clean my pot. I learned real quick to leave my ladle in the lead a few minutes before I tried to pour or the lead just cooled quick in it.
I was using bullet lube to flux my lead and it would ignite in just seconds when I put it in the pot. I am casting out doors, we have been having some crazy cool temperatures for June here so I can be out side.

docone31:
Lee molds need heat? Should I rest them on my pot when I’m pouring the lead?

One last question, I know these Lee molds are supposed to be non-sizing bullet molds, but should I size them anyway and the Lee Alux bullet lube do you thin it down and what container do you use if you don’t have a empty peanut butter jar?

:coffeecom

[Leftoverdj]

Paul, if you did not clean them before you sprayed them, they would still be contaminated. The residual cutting oil can seep right into and through that thin layer of graphite.

Additionally, that mould release makes the bullets smaller and Lee moulds are small enough already. I treat my moulds with it with bullets in the cavities. Coating the tops of the blocks, the underside of the sprue plate, and the contact points with spray graphite prevents galling and greatly extends the life of aluminun moulds.

I size even TL bullets. It's largely unneeded, but once iin a long while you get a fat cast. It's just easier for me to run them all through a sizer even if 99% don't need it. One fat bullet that ties up the gun will ruin your day.

Use any expendable container handy to TL bullets. Some even use ziplock bags. In warm weather you may not need to thin, but some batches of LLA are thicker than others. If you thin, use mineral spirits. Try for pancake syrup consistency either by thinning or by heating.

[docone31]

After my pot is up to temperature, I rest my mold on the melt. After waiting for about a minute, I begin to cast. From there I watch the sprue.
Lee molds do not need mold release anything. At the proper temperature, they drop right out. Or a slight push with a dowel and they pop out. I also water drop my castings.
So far, I have not gotten any leading.
With cleaning,
I soak my molds in mineral spirits for a few days before I cast. Lots of flakes of aluminum come off the molds.

[AZPaul]

Leftoverdj:
I see you just use the mold release around the bullet area.
I’ll clean them in soapy water, the wife’s away so I can have that stuff laying around and not get in trouble.

docone31:
and I’ll soak them in mineral spirits after words.

[sundog]

A suggestion for the Drop-Out. DO NOT spray directly on the mould, especially in the cavities. Wet a q-tip and mop it. As it dries, keep mopping so that only the slightest amount is left on the mould. Of course, you need to start with a cold mould, never put Drop-Out on a hot mould. It'll turn to goo. With mopping, there is no discernible loss of size, and you get the advantage of easier drop outs. I like the stuff.

Coleman or Ozark camp fuel works pretty good for a mould cleaner, as does MEK (my favorite).

I suspect your biggest problem is that you are using half priced gas... :mrgreen:

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Congratulations it sounds like you are hooked on casting! The other guys have answered your questions for the most part, but I would like to add some info that I wish had been more emphasized to me when I first got started in casting a few years ago. Lead poisoning is a VERY REAL thing. It can give you permanent health damage in your respiratory and brain, it can make you dumb and serile, and in extreme cases turn you into a Liberal! Always cast outside with a good breeze or fan, and try to cover as much skin as possible (long shirt, long pants, gloves, hat, face mask). As one guy said the mask will not keep you from breathing in any fumes, but it will cover most of the skin on your face.

Stay safe and have fun!

[WILCO]

because I have a bunch of propane tanks I bought back in 2000 just in case the world ended...

You should see the stuff I bought. :mrgreen:

[AZPaul]

Congratulations it sounds like you are hooked on casting! The other guys have answered your questions for the most part, but I would like to add some info that I wish had been more emphasized to me when I first got started in casting a few years ago. Lead poisoning is a VERY REAL thing. It can give you permanent health damage in your respiratory and brain, it can make you dumb and serile, and in extreme cases turn you into a Liberal! Always cast outside with a good breeze or fan, and try to cover as much skin as possible (long shirt, long pants, gloves, hat, face mask). As one guy said the mask will not keep you from breathing in any fumes, but it will cover most of the skin on your face.

Stay safe and have fun!

I was using leather gloves while I was molding and had a good wind blowing.
But I was in shorts and sleeveless shirt.

[AZPaul]

A suggestion for the Drop-Out. DO NOT spray directly on the mould, especially in the cavities. Wet a q-tip and mop it. As it dries, keep mopping so that only the slightest amount is left on the mould. Of course, you need to start with a cold mould, never put Drop-Out on a hot mould. It'll turn to goo. With mopping, there is no discernible loss of size, and you get the advantage of easier drop outs. I like the stuff.

Coleman or Ozark camp fuel works pretty good for a mould cleaner, as does MEK (my favorite).

I suspect your biggest problem is that you are using half priced gas... :mrgreen:

I have all the access to MEK I could possibly need.
How much of the Lee Alux do I put in per bullets?
Also because I put the mold release in the cavities my bullets might be way undersized?

[docone31]

Just clean the mold, get a melt going, cast....
I pan lube so I have no idea on Alox. I know I have a few bottles from the molds themselves still after many thousands of castings.

[wallenba]

AZPaul, go to your local hardware store or even a good drug store and get an electric hot plate, set it on medium heat. When you start your melt, put your mold on it. It will heat your mold more completley and evenly than resting it on the pot. Wrinkles in the nose? Test one to destruction with a pair of vise grips and a vise. Once you see how hard it is too pull it apart you will have more confidence in using minor flawed bullets. CAUTION: wrinkles are caused by cold molds or lead, which can also cause voids inside bullets. Get a thermomometer for the pot. I clean my new molds with acetone and a Q-tip, lube the sprue plate, hinge and guide pins with stick lube (careful not to get any in cavities or between halves). I use a slightly hard alloy mix and find that a release agent is not necessary, just gentle persuasion.

[snuffy]

Congratulations it sounds like you are hooked on casting! The other guys have answered your questions for the most part, but I would like to add some info that I wish had been more emphasized to me when I first got started in casting a few years ago. Lead poisoning is a VERY REAL thing. It can give you permanent health damage in your respiratory and brain, it can make you dumb and serile, and in extreme cases turn you into a Liberal! Always cast outside with a good breeze or fan, and try to cover as much skin as possible (long shirt, long pants, gloves, hat, face mask). As one guy said the mask will not keep you from breathing in any fumes, but it will cover most of the skin on your face.

Stay safe and have fun!

Yeah, and you'll get hit by a meteor, or struck by lightning.

Lead poisoning IS a real threat, BUT metallic lead cannot be absorbed through bare skin. Also casting at normal temps, UNDER 1000 degrees generates little or no actual LEAD VAPOR. It, like it's parent metal, is heavy. What is generated at 7-800 degrees hugs the surface of the melt.

covering the skin is still a good idea, but only to protect it from the inevitable splash of lead, geeze that smarts!:???::(

[Tom W.]

AZPaul, if you go to your local monument dealer--the man that sells gravestones, unless he's just a salespoint he'll have a sandblaster. I know when I worked for the local dealer, we took in iron pots, bedframes and whatever someone had a notion to have sandblasted, and once a month we did the odd jobs....

[AZPaul]

AZPaul, go to your local hardware store or even a good drug store and get an electric hot plate, set it on medium heat. When you start your melt, put your mold on it. It will heat your mold more completley and evenly than resting it on the pot. Wrinkles in the nose? Test one to destruction with a pair of vise grips and a vise. Once you see how hard it is too pull it apart you will have more confidence in using minor flawed bullets. CAUTION: wrinkles are caused by cold molds or lead, which can also cause voids inside bullets. Get a thermomometer for the pot. I clean my new molds with acetone and a Q-tip, lube the sprue plate, hinge and guide pins with stick lube (careful not to get any in cavities or between halves). I use a slightly hard alloy mix and find that a release agent is not necessary, just gentle persuasion.

The equipment I bought has an a electric hot plate I just wasn't sure what to set it at.
I've noticed the lead start melting quicker when you put smaller pieces in it.
My bars where not melting so I broke off small pieces of wheel weights to get it going.
:drinks:

[mdi]

"Yeah, and you'll get hit by a meteor, or struck by lightning.

Lead poisoning IS a real threat, BUT metallic lead cannot be absorbed through bare skin. Also casting at normal temps, UNDER 1000 degrees generates little or no actual LEAD VAPOR. It, like it's parent metal, is heavy. What is generated at 7-800 degrees hugs the surface of the melt.

covering the skin is still a good idea, but only to protect it from the inevitable splash of lead, geeze that smarts!"

I gotta agree with that. If I remember correctly, it it Lead Oxide and Lead Vapors that are toxic, and not "metallic" lead". But California Condors die if they get within 100 yards of a 22 lr bullet, so the "Lead Poisoning Scare" goes on. In CA wheel weights "fly off" of auto and truck wheels and get ground up and then enter the ground water and "poison" all communities near highways and freeways.
Boy, good thing we have all those do-gooders looking out for us!:kidding: