diehard
07-18-2010, 01:58 PM
....what all the complaining has been about.
First lets start by saying I really like my Sharpshooter buckshot molds. I've read on this forum a few times where folks have had a problem with a mold not filling out completely and wondered why, since that had not happened to me despite having made a whole lot of buckshot. Until today....that is.
Today I tried out my brand new #4 20-cavity mold, and I tried something very different. I tried casting with an alloy made from 8 pounds of wheel weights and a pound of 5% antimony birdshot. Up to this point I had never used wheel weights in my other ("00") Sharpshooter mold. I couldn't get the new mold to fill at all. When "going for the record" I kept count of five consecutive pours in which I averaged 8 filled out cavities. My highest for the day was 13 cavities, and after an hour and a half of casting, I got a yield of about a half a pound of good buckshot.
I hate losing. So I dumped out my pot, cranked up the burner and put a big lead pipe trap that had two big tin soldered joints on it into the pot. When the melt was ready I started with a cold mold and in my first 5 consecutive pours I got 18, 18, 20, 20, and 20 filled cavites. After that I never had a single cavity that did not fil out. In about one half hour I produced over four pounds of good buckshot from that single plumber's trap.
The moral of this long-winded story? I won't pretend I know much at all about casting, but I suspect that one's alloy-mix has everything to do with how well one's Sharpshooter mold will work. While the tin on the pipe joint probably was a contributing factor, I have had nothing but good luck with pure plumber's pipe as well. So the next time your Sharpshooter mold is giving you a hard time, maybe try some pure lead.
I hope this suggestion is helpful.
Did I mention I like my Sharpshooter molds?
First lets start by saying I really like my Sharpshooter buckshot molds. I've read on this forum a few times where folks have had a problem with a mold not filling out completely and wondered why, since that had not happened to me despite having made a whole lot of buckshot. Until today....that is.
Today I tried out my brand new #4 20-cavity mold, and I tried something very different. I tried casting with an alloy made from 8 pounds of wheel weights and a pound of 5% antimony birdshot. Up to this point I had never used wheel weights in my other ("00") Sharpshooter mold. I couldn't get the new mold to fill at all. When "going for the record" I kept count of five consecutive pours in which I averaged 8 filled out cavities. My highest for the day was 13 cavities, and after an hour and a half of casting, I got a yield of about a half a pound of good buckshot.
I hate losing. So I dumped out my pot, cranked up the burner and put a big lead pipe trap that had two big tin soldered joints on it into the pot. When the melt was ready I started with a cold mold and in my first 5 consecutive pours I got 18, 18, 20, 20, and 20 filled cavites. After that I never had a single cavity that did not fil out. In about one half hour I produced over four pounds of good buckshot from that single plumber's trap.
The moral of this long-winded story? I won't pretend I know much at all about casting, but I suspect that one's alloy-mix has everything to do with how well one's Sharpshooter mold will work. While the tin on the pipe joint probably was a contributing factor, I have had nothing but good luck with pure plumber's pipe as well. So the next time your Sharpshooter mold is giving you a hard time, maybe try some pure lead.
I hope this suggestion is helpful.
Did I mention I like my Sharpshooter molds?