first casting report

[targetshootr]

Decided to try casting for the first time today since it's raining and l was too pooped to work after spending yesterday under a house. Went at it about an hour and once l got the hang of it they were rolling out at a decent clip.

lt was incredibly fun but they were all wrinkled at first which freaked me out cause the pot was full of melted lead and l didn't have a clue what was wrong. I think the mold must have been too cool. The furnace spout seeemd to be clogged cause lead only trickled out so I used the ladle and the mold warmed up and the boolits looked much better.

This is the two square feet of space l cleared on the bench.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b233/targetshootr/Im002310.jpg

And this is how they look up close. Three weighed average 248 gr but some are frosted cause I had the temp up to 850 after the first wrinkled ones.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b233/targetshootr/Im002322.jpg

l didn't get enough tin into them but l was anxious to just try it and get my feet wet and the first mistakes over with. Now l need to find a day to size and lube some which may be another week at the rate it's going. Is the tin critical?

[buck1]

On the right side of your pot on the top is a screw that controls the flow of lead (handle stop). wrincles are a cold -mold-, frosted are from a very hot -mold-.
Slow casting to cool a mold and speed up to heat it up!
They look better than my first ones, hang in there you will get a feel for it with time.
Tin helps fill the mold , but when useing wheel wts lots of people dont add any, they just run the pot hotter. I use 2-3% tin. Buck

[44man]

You never said what alloy you are using! If it is WW metal, you do not need any more tin and if you do add any, don't go over 2% as it is wasted.
If your boolits get frosted and fill out good, keep casting, they are just fine. If you want them shiny, just reduce the heat a little.
Wrinkled boolits are caused by the lead and/or mould too cold. Once everything is hot you should make good boolits from 700 to 750 degrees.
Pre-heat the mould by holding one end in the hot lead until no lead sticks to it. Make sure the pot is up to temperature before doing anything. The point at which the lead is just melted is still too cold.

[targetshootr]

Ok, thanks. I'm using wheel weights and bought some 95% solder but it looks like you need about 1/2 pound per 20 lb potfull, and keep adding as you go but that's gonna be hard to figure while casting because of the percentage of tin still in the pot so I may not bother with it.
The furnace is used and it was full of trash on the sides which is why I think the nozzle is clogged. I loosened the screw hoping more lead would flow but it didn't make any difference so I need to figure out how to unclog it.

Can't believe anything this much fun is legal.

[buck1]

Ok, thanks. I'm using wheel weights and bought some 95% solder but it looks like you need about 1/2 pound per 20 lb potfull, and keep adding as you go but that's gonna be hard to figure while casting because of the percentage of tin still in the pot so I may not bother with it.
The furnace is used and it was full of trash on the sides which is why I think the nozzle is clogged. I loosened the screw hoping more lead would flow but it didn't make any difference so I need to figure out how to unclog it.

Can't believe anything this much fun is legal.
About 6 oz of solder would be about right.
A small nail and a pair of needle nose plyers should free the crud. I would do that and drain my pot and clean it well. Dont leave the handle down when cooling or it will freeze at the spout.BE CAREFULL to have a steel pan big enugh to catch all the alloy in case you cant get it to stop flowing(watch those fingers!)
Also I recomend you pre make your alloy in a old cast iron/ stainless pot and pour yourself some ingots (cupcake tins will work). That will keep your casting pot cleaner and keep the mix the same.
But like 44man you dont have to add tin to ww. I do as a just in case thing.

[targetshootr]

I worked a thin nail up there but managed to break it off. hehe. I'll have to drain it next time and take it apart.
Then I noticed lots of wings in the batch I just cast due to space in the middle but nothing appears to be in there holding the sides apart.

[Bucks Owin]

Frosty is cool.....(little pun there...) :roll:

But IMO it's better to be "too" hot than too cool. In the photos it appears that the boolits aren't filling out as they should at the base. (Maybe the mould was still a little coolish?)

Kinda fun isn't it? :-D

Dennis

[rebliss]

You're going to need more space on your workbench real soon!

[targetshootr]

Every foot of the garage looks like that, sad to say, but one day l'll straighten it all out, yep, and throw stuff away and get organized, yesiree.

Wound up with about 500 after the second batch. Does anybody makes a six cavity 429421?
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b233/targetshootr/Im002328.jpg

[Goatlips]

Every foot of the garage looks like that, sad to say, but one day l'll straighten it all out, yep, and throw stuff away and get organized, yesiree.



Yep, I been saying that for a couple decades, maybe next year, for sure.

Goatlips

[targetshootr]

I'd post a pic of the garage just for laughs 'cept it leans a bit toward embarrassing. Btw, Your webpage was the next best thing to having someone on hand to help.

[buck1]

True story! Watch for sharp corners on the boolits, rounded ones wont give good results.
Like Bucks said your looking a little too cold......Buck1

[C1PNR]

Does anybody makes a six cavity 429421?
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b233/targetshootr/Im002328.jpg
Watch Catshooters Group Buys. I think (I know, dangerous for me[smilie=1: ) they are planning a 429421 6 banger Lee buy in the not too distant future. But don't quote me, it might be the 429215.:???:

[targetshootr]

Good deal. The Lyman 4 cav did fine the first time but now it's leaving lots of fins and I can't find the bur causing the gap. Prolly send it back cause I likes casting. Up to 2k so far but had a fair amount of bent bottoms today, I guess because they give when they land on another bullet.

[Topper]

"Yep, I been saying that for a couple decades, maybe next year, for sure." :-D
I'm guilty of that too Goatlips.
Nice link you have there, great read on speed casting.
Looks like your doing fine for targetshootr if this is your first go at casting.

[454PB]

Up to 2k so far but had a fair amount of bent bottoms today, I guess because they give when they land on another bullet.

Don't let them hit each other:( I dump the hot boolits on a large cotton towel, then just pick up the edge and gently roll them to other end after they cool.

[Dale53]

If you're mould is finning, one of two things is happening. A very small piece of molten bullet metal could have splashed onto the mould between the blocks, holding them apart.

Another possibility is if you have "slammed" the blocks together, you can raise a burr around the alignment pins. It only takes a whack or two to cause that and that will definitely hold the blocks open. A hot bullet mould is very soft and it doesn't take much to damage it. Treat them like a valued Swiss watch - they are nearly as delicate.

Dale53

[kodiak1]

targetshooter I think your first batch of boolits look beautyful. Keep it up and I read you saing that it was fun! You damn right it is it is one of the best ways I know of to relax and just forget about everything. Next is loading them lead buggars in to cartridges.
Thanks Ken.

[Bret4207]

Forget the tin, you don't need it from the looks of what you've got. For the finning- let the mould coold and go over every inch of the faces with 4/0 steel wool. The lead or burr will catch and show up quick. Welcome to the family.

[doc25]

If you're getting fins something is blocking the moulds. This happened to me look closely at the bullets and see if the grooves are properly aligned. I loosened my sprue plate and now I have to look and make sure the blocks are aligned when I close them.

[SharpsShooter]

Your first attempt looks fine. Heck my first try was an evening of producing lead raisins. :-D Forget the tin addition with wheel weights and concentrate on temperatures of the alloy and mould. Once both are correctly hot, you will see no wrinkles and sharp square bases and bands. Until you see that, continue to increase pot heat and casting speed. BTW frosted boolits are the more likely to be equal with regard to weight when using wheel weights and if you don't like the frosted look, it wipes right off with a paper towel.

This is an addiction.......You do know that.........Right???


:coffee:

[targetshootr]

I see how it can become an addiction. Today I cast about 800 more and got the sizer to work so some are now functional boolits but it wasn't nearly as much fun as casting. Maybe I can convince one of the neighbors kids it's a blast. Todays bullets landed on a towel which cut way down on the defect rate but now my arms feel like lead themselves. What is it we do with these things again?