Hello, I'm new here...

[Lone]

Hi all, I hope you don't mind the "newbie" post or what is probably a dumb question. I have been handloading for my .45 Blackhawk for about a year now and as of this week I just got into casting my own bullets for it. I haven't had a chance to test fire them yet (hopefully that will be this weekend). I bought a Lee melter for ladle casting and had some old lead ingots donated to me. When I melt one of them down I manage to get about 35 or so bullets out of it (the ingot is the size of a cornbread muffin since a muffin tin was used for the ingot mould) and the rest of the metal, a good half of it, is this nasty brown crusty powdery mess that I can barely scrape out of the pot of my new melter. Am I doing something wrong or is this just some really impure metal?

Thanks guys, I look forward to posting here if you don't mind another newbie. I run a discussion board devoted mostly to combo guns like the old Savage 24 on another site, here's the link: http://disc.server.com/Indices/180203.html. If you like combo guns feel free to drop by and chat. Thanks

Lone

[Char-Gar]

A residue of brown crusty stuff is fairly normal. The amount depends on how clean the metal is and other factors such as metal content, fluxing and tempreture.

You will quickly get the hang of these things and get way up the learning curve.

If you want to clean your post the easy way, fill it with water and turn it on and boil it for a while.

Welcome to the board and casting. I started casting in 1959 with a gasoline fired plumbers furnace and a single cavity mold. In short order you will be producing bullets that are far superior in performance to anything you can buy.

If you dont have the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, then get a copy and read it "quiver to quiver". It will answer most of your questions. This handbook can stand an updating, but it is still the best single volumn on bullet casting.

[Pilgrim]

Welcome...No question is a dumb one or one that you should be ashamed of asking. Try doing searches on this site and you will more thatn likely find answers to all of your basic questions as all of them will have undoubtedly been addressed one of more times. Usually quite thoroughly. Or just ask again like you just did if you feel like you want fresh info. It is highly unlikely the info will change, but...whatever makes your heart thump happily...:o)

That crud is dirt and other impurities that you don't want in your melt/alloy.

If it was me, I'd dump all of the bullets back into the pot as they undoubtedly have lots of impurities in the bullets and those impurities won't help accuracy, or your barrel for that matter. Add more of your "volunteered" alloy until the pot is nearly full and then flux and clean the whole mess two or more times (at least as it is really dirty). Keep fluxing and cleaning until you don't get any more of that crud on the surface of the alloy. Then cast your bullets. Bad bullets are a pain in the butt.

Do a search on this site and you will find one or more strings on fluxing. A short course is as follows - Make sure your alloy is thoroughly melted and hot before starting. Flux using any oil, grease, candle wax, bullet lube or anything similar as the flux. You don't need much flux. Something a bit smaller than the size of a lima bean or so is sufficient. Do it outside as it will smoke and smell a bit from the fluxing. After you add the flux to the pot, light it on fire and stir. Be careful you don't fling lead all over you and the environs around you. Skim the crud off of the surface of the melt and what remains is the good stuff. FWIW Pilgrim

[dragonrider]

Be very certain that you do not introduce any moisture into your pot once it is hot. If you add any ingots to the pot after the first melt, warm them first to ensure that all moisture has evaporated from the ingot and that it is hot but not melting before it goes into the pot. I hold my ingots with a pair of pliers and heat them with a propane torch before adding to the pot.

[wills]

Welcome...

If it was me, I'd dump all of the bullets back into the pot as they undoubtedly have lots of impurities in the bullets and those impurities won't help accuracy, or your barrel for that matter. Add more of your "volunteered" alloy until the pot is nearly full and then flux and clean the whole mess two or more times (at least as it is really dirty). Keep fluxing and cleaning until you don't get any more of that crud on the surface of the alloy. Then cast your bullets. Bad bullets are a pain in the butt.

... FWIW Pilgrim


It would be a good idea not to do this in the Lee pot. Get a cast iron pot or Dutch oven for the lead smelting procedure.

[steveb]

Welcome to the forum Lone. [smilie=s: LOTS of info here.

[Buckshot]

..............Lone, welcome to the board! Sheesh, another peestol guy :-)

............Buckshot

[Frank46]

Lone, welcome to the board, watch out for the cats and sheep. Frank

[keeper89]

Lone, welcome to our little corner of bedlam! And don't feel bad about being a peestol guy--I cast exclusively for peestolas for over 20 years before I decided to plunge into rifle casting--and boy am I ever saving money (har-har) but I am shooting a lot more! Good luck and feel free to mine this well of information--casting is a pastime where no matter how long you have been doing it, someone always can give you a tip that you wouldn't have come up with yourself!!:)

[Larry Gibson]

Lone

Welcome to the forum, I started back in the late '60s casting my own with a Lyman set up pretty much like your Lee set up. Had two single cavity moulds; one for my .44 Hawes revolver and one for my M1 Carbine. For the revolver I cast over 5K Keith bullets for the .44 and loaded them with a Lee Loader before moving on to other equipment within a couple years. I loaded more for the M1 Carbine with the Lee Loader but did not track the rounds. As mentioned I'd also suggest remelting the bullets with the "crud" and fluxing really well. The crud may be a lot of the tin in your alloy. I'd also suggest you get a copy of Lymans cast bullet loading manual. It will give you lots of very useful information that a newbie needs to know. It will be reference book you will constantly refer to for years to come also. Again, welcome.

Larry Gibson

[GP100man]

Lone big welcome we all started out some where. the money I save he he I spend on gas rounding up stuff to melt!!! but its a satisfying feeling when the group is small with YOUR custom ammo.

[454PB]

Welcome, Lone. I got started in this stuff over 35 years ago with a .45 Colt made by Hawes. I'll never forget the joy of shooting my own home made ammunition. At the time, I had two babies and damn little money. It amazing how much you learn trying to do it on the cheap. Latter, I learned my boolits shot better than store bought, and went crazy from there.