oh yes that is nice. now i can better plan my new bench.
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oh yes that is nice. now i can better plan my new bench.
Went out to work on the drawer for the sizing dies and decided I need drawers for moulds also so I built 4 drawers for moulds. Got the drawers put together and filled the holes. I can now sand and coat the drawers with Danish oil, probably the day after tomorrow as I have appointments in town tomorrow. Then I have to build a cabinet around them. That will be a challenge for me.
I didn't get down stairs at all today. Between entertaining guest, a Dr appointment and the ache from yesterday, today was a bust!
Yesterday I reloaded my first Tula steel cased .45acp.
'Brass' was picked up while scrounging the local range. Worked perfectly. Now my curiosity is satisfied.
Just sat and enjoyed a couple of cold beers thinking about all the things I should be doing . :drinks: :bigsmyl2:
20 rounds of 38-55. Trying out some new boolits. Hoping one of the charges regulates to the sight elevator steps.
I'm in the process of packing my casting and loading area up for a move in about a month.
Couldn't sleep past 3:30, so I got up and attacked more of the swaging the primer pockets, I think I am over 2/3 done, then the fun cam begin.
Opened packages! Got some new Starline brass for 45-70, 5 boxes of factory 45-70 ammo and a die for 45-70 that all came from my trade for the Marlin LTD V.
Boxed up a package of bullets. Opened up a package that contained 30-30 and 444 Marlin Brass. Bagged up the new to me brass and placed them in the appropriate storage boxes. Hoping to have some free time this weekend to convert the 444 brass to 356 Winchester.
I started setting up my casting area. I have been buying some equipment and doing a lot of reading. I haven't ordered a pot yet, but I'm getting there. I set this hood up so I can open the window and pop the wood in so it can vent to the outside when casting. When I open the window on the other side of the basment, it works great. Variable speed squirrel cage blower up to 600 cfm should do it.
http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/...eating74/3.jpg
AFK, if you can find a retired forced air furnace, get the blower unit from it.
Complete overkill. A small drive will move 1200 CFM on average. They come in 3 ton and 5 ton from the manufacturers. You don't need to move three tons of air. Remember that you need to makeup any air that you exhaust. I've found no need for a hood over my casting pot. It doesn't produce any toxic fumes. The only thing that goes into it is lead.
Well, I work at an appliance store and this was a damaged unit that was going to get scrapped anyway so I figured it couldn't hurt to hang it. It's a handy thing to have in the shop for other things as well. I am very familiar with make-up air also. It is becoming part of the building code around here. Anything over 400 cfm now requires a make-up air system.
I have quite a few squirrel cages mounted to 4x4s. They make great fans in the warmer months. Thankfully I rarely have to use them because I haven't been installing equipment for over a decade.
I dont understand where the 3 and 5 ton comes in. I built an air recirculator out of an older furnace blower unit over my den that moves the warm air from the wood burning stove to other parts of the house. I have it wired on the slowest fan speed. and by the way, I do not cast in doors.
I made a list
Those are the sizes the blowers come in. Basically the small units can handle up to 3 tons of AC. The larger ones can handle 5 tons. Companies like Trane and Carrier have the specs in the model number. You don't get a furnace that's matched perfectly to your AC size. They give you two sizes to cover them all. A real small furnace like a 40k BTU will most likely have a two ton drive in it. But they are oddball furnaces. Yes, the motors are multispeed. But even on low they move to much air for a hood application. They are also loud.
the blowers I am referring to are pre Forced air A/C blowers. +20 year old furnaces.
Dip lubed the 303 slugs I cast last week. Lube is a home brewed combo of two tubes of RCBS pistol lube, two skinny candles, about 2/3 of a bottle of Lee LLA and about 4oz of moly general purpose axle grease I got at Walmart. It seems to work fine for my purposes.
Two days ago I belled and primed 1000 45 auto cases. Not the most fun with a hand primer! Yesterday I nursed my sore hands by casting and powder coating about 400 each of lee 311-93's and lee 309-180's. Now I get to load 'em!
Starline sent me a box of 327 Federal brass so I bagged that all up and put it away. Also received a package from Titan that contained some die sets and turrets. Put them together and organized the shelf to make a spot for them.
Loaded up 100 223 soft points
My blower unit came out of an older home natural gas furnace. Does not look huge. 7 inches wide and 12 inches in dia.
Absolutely NOTHING!!! It is hunting season here in Pa and I am doing my best to shoot my first game animal with cast! Keep seeing some, and had my crosshairs on a doe last eve, was slowing my breathing, and steadying the crosshairs, and she moved. It is terribly thick where I hunt as it was logged out 15 years ago. Plus we had 7 inches of fresh snow and it was sticking to the trees, making it difficult to see far. Anyway, wish me luck as I go out again this afternoon!!!
Today I mounted the four jaw chuck on my lathe and started work on a new set of mold blocks. I also finished making the form tool for cutting the bullet cavities in this:
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/y...212_142950.jpg
I recently acquired a large piece of 7075-T6 aluminum that should make for a much more robust mold than the gummy aluminum that Lee uses. My form tool is a copy of their 175 grain .401 TC bullet. While I have the mold in place on the lathe I'm going to go ahead and drill and ream the cavities for HP pins. I finished my blocks to about .400" wider and taller than the Lee blocks. I'm hoping that will eliminate the warping issues that plagued my earlier hollow point conversion project.
Been cleaning and "organizing". Now I'll never be able to find anything. Did do some consolidating and stored away some seldom used "stuff" making room for more stuff.....
HOPEFULLY I intend to cast some then PC some I cast last time. But you know how the best laid plans go!
Loading some 200gr SWC in 45acp and some 250gr SWC in .44Mag.
Websterz be vary careful with 7075 t-6 when trying to make a mold it's annealing temp is lower than 6061, it is harder also but its hardness comes in the form of zinc which can leach out. some of us casters are bumping up to the homogenizing temp of 842f and the annealing temp of 249f will be reached real quick which will soften it. also it builds aluminum oxide faster than 6061, I am not saying don't try it just be mindful of the properties of it.
Today nothing. Various odds and ends the last few days-
Sorted and cleaned a bunch of once fired 45 ACP brass. Cleaned and prepped a bunch of 45-70 brass. Turned the necks on 50 270 W cases. Loaded 5 test rounds of 270 W with Rel 19 and 110gr TSXs. Trimmed the noses of 50 450gr 458 TSXs. Loaded 5 test rounds of 450 Watts with Varget and modified 450gr TSXs. Loaded 10 rounds of 30-06 with 5744 and 314299 cast bullets.
nothing today, but will start loading 44 mag in the morning if this rain keeps up.
Just cast up some Lee .44-310 boolits. Not really the gun room, but out in the shop. Finished loading some 120gr Lee 9mm boolits also.
Gas checked/sized/lubed about 600 .358's
1Shirt!
I converted 60 pieces of Federal 30-06 brass to 8x57...... Last batch is in the tumbler now....Then I will anneal the lot and head to the range to blow out the cases to my chamber
Nothing! A couple of cast boolits from my reloading room are the reason I've been working to put a nice hog and a spike buck in the freezer tonight.
My hunting season is over, freezer will be full by the time I'm done tonight. :bigsmyl2: THEN I get to try out some new moulds and do some loading. [smilie=w:
Loaded 200 rounds of 158 grain LSWCs for my Uncle's snub nose 38. Was going to weigh my rifles so I could enter the info in Quickload but I ran out of time.