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I should know this...
How long after casting do you do it? I've heard not before 3 days since it is undergoing precipitation hardening and dimensions are changing, possibly shrinking.
Sizing during this time would yield under sized boolets
Sizing later means more effort to size but it keeps stored boolets clean.
Thanks
I see my "i" fell out of "size" sorry
I usually wait about a week or more.
As I need them. Have done as soon as cool and as needed. Have seen no difference. I do use pure lead for all my bullets.
Honestly ... whenever I have the time to do it and when Mother Nature cooperates .
I cast and size in an unheated and uncooled out building in South Louisiana ....
when it's so hot and so humid that you can't breath ... I stay inside the house .
Cast boolits might sit for 6 months ... just before the heat of last summer set in I finished sizing a big batch that were cast in the winter of the previous year ,
I have , on occasion , cast them on Saturday and sized them Sunday .
I like to use a mould that casts close to the diameter I'm going to size to , a .001" size down is easy on equipment regardless of boolit hardness .
My Advice ... just do it whenever it's convenient .
Gary
I would say about 40% get sized pretty soon after casting.
I generally do sizing before tumble lube and after PC.
Around 40% get set aside and are sized whenever the need arises.
About 20% get tumble lube but remain un-sized.
Almost everything I cast now is going to be with range scrap. Hardness after casting and water dropping is probably in the 8 to 9.5 BHN range. It may get a little harder over time, but not enough to cause me any problems.
Most of the time I cast one day and pc and size the next
I fixed it for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Luber
I do it when I get around to it.
Usually within a week, sometimes a little longer.
If you are powder coating it makes no difference.
There's a book answer around here somewhere, if my memory is correct its something like 2~3 days for the metal alloy to stabilize after the heating/casting cycle. There is a bit of shrinkage that happens during this time and the metal hardens a bit more than when freshly cast.
Like most others i cast a bunch and usually by the time I get around to sizing/loading its at least a week or more after casting
I have never concerned myself with it. Typically they will sit at least a few days. Considering I PC most stuff now, between casting until I get around to PC, it could be a couple weeks. If I am in a hurry I could cast, PC, and size all in one day. Never noticed a issue.
Had an aunt who lost an eye, I feel for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Luber
I cast one day and size the next, usually. I roll my eyes at some of the superstitions that pop up. When you size makes no difference, unless you are heat treating boolits.
I size most of mine after PCing them. That’s when I add the gas check if using one. It could be a few hours or weeks. I’ve found PC boolits are very forgiving about things like that.
I wait for a full moon then rub crushed Garlic over all the boolits before sizing, while chanting Viking curse words.:???: