Diamond coated 3/4 round sharpening stick. Oil it roll Lee sizer on a flat surface or pant leg. Doesn't take much time at all.
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Diamond coated 3/4 round sharpening stick. Oil it roll Lee sizer on a flat surface or pant leg. Doesn't take much time at all.
I got a sample bag Thursday in the mail of 125 grain round nose 9mm pills sized to .355 as a promo. (Thanks Donnie!) These were NOT coated by me, but arrived pre coated with Hi-Tek Supercoat, Green.
My diminutive Kahr PM9 leads, so I was anxious to try these, even though sized a little small for this sub-compact auto. I loaded 4.7 grains of Unique, and headed to the farm this evening, after it cooled down a bit outside. It likes a stout load, for proper functioning.
Well I was pleasantly surprised that there was no leading. The POI (Point Of Impact) was waaay low, but this weapon is meant for "Social Work" up close and personal, and I have no plans for competition. I don't concealed carry with Cast Boolits, because of some articles I've read about possible legal ramifications, should I EVER...have to defend myself or someone in my care.
I'm probably going call tomorrow and check Hi-Tek stock. I've been very reluctant to order the kit, but Donnie @ Bayou Bullets now has my full attention.
I just realised that I am using a Lee FCD die at the last station on my press for the 40S&W.
You can feel the FCD squeezing the finished rounds. Maybe this die is squeezing the bullet to below .401.
I am going to load some and then pull the bullet and check the Dia.
Ya never know....
Break out the Carbide ring or get a real pistol seating die.
So if you remove the Lee Factory Crimp Die (which I REALLY like...) how do you apply the proper crimp? I'm sure you know better than I, that the 9MM "head spaces" from the neck and the proper fit can be a potential problem. I've never actually had any that wouldn't drop in the chamber freely, so maybe I'm overthinking this....
G'day All.
Yes. the FCD appears to be the problem. made 3 dummy rounds last night. measured the bullets before loading all .401.
loaded and crimped 2 as per normal and 1 was seated but not crimped.
you could feel the carbide ring in the FCD squeezing the rounds as they went through.
These 2 were pulled with a hammer bullet puller. it only took 1 tap for the bullets to exit the cases.
These bullets were re-measured and found to be .399
The 1 that was not crimped was also pulled. it took 5 good hits of the puller hammer to unseat the bullet. this bullet was measured at .401.
So I think the FCD will get the flick. I have ordered a Dillon Crimp die that does not have the carbide ring.
I could have knocked the carbide ring out of the die, but I use this die to bulge bust my 40 cases in an O frame press.
Cast and coated a few 1000 45 bullets last night. The ejector on my Para GI Expert has to be changed out as it is an extended ejector and rounds loaded with the Lee 230gr RN TL will not eject out the port. Have ordered a stock length one from Brownells.
Also loaded a few 100 Lee 125gr RN in 38 Supercomp for my Racegun. these are running at 1350fps to make major powerfactor. It will be a good trial for the home coating. Commercial Supercoated bullets (Topscore Projectiles) run fine with no leading or lead buildup in the comp ports.
Thanks.
I guess with FMJ or other J-words the factory crimp die shouldn't be an problem. But with our particular hobby, I could see how the factory crimp die *might* be an issue. I just hadn't thought of it that way. I'll pull some boolits and measure them.
Try Harbor Freight for Powder ccoating. Looks interesting.
HF PC is not great material. If you are going the PC route at least get a good quality PC from anyone else. PC has two advantages Its cheap and you get colors. But it has no background and is not going to work like you want it to. It is not the same thing as HT coating. It is just a coating. In fact if you want two pounds of it Ill send it if you pay shipping.
I (FINALLY!!) ordered a liter of the red copper from Bayou Bullets. Having had no real experience with any of this stuff, I fired a few of Donnie's 9mm pills in green and got no leading despite the fact that they were undersized for the particular gun I used for testing.
I was a hard sell....following this thread and others for many weeks. I'm not saying that powder coating in general is a bad idea, or that Piglet's trick doesn't interest me. It does.
I just became a believer MOSTLY due to my own range trial yesterday. That, and I've finally read enough good reviews to spring for "the good stuff" and not try the powder coating at this time. We'll see how my own coating techniques develop...with bullets sized for my own rigs.
TES, I've read your posts on another thread, and it seems (to me anyhow) you gave Powder Coating a fair and honest trial, and for that I thank you! I'm glad it didn't cost you an arm and a leg, or a single penny for me.
Stan
I ordered a liter of the Gold coating from Bayou Bullets.
This weekend I coated 2000 cast bullets in 9 mm - 95 grain for loading 380 ammo.
I first tried cooking the coated bullets for only 10 minutes, acetone would remove the coating indicating the coating had not been cooked enough.
I went back to the temperature and time I use for curing powder coat and all was fine 18 minutes at 400 degrees, this includes heating the lead bullets and the stainless steel plate with non stick aluminum foil. I stacked the bullets on their base while cooking similar to the method used for powder coating. I put the bullets close together so more could be cooked at one time.
The plate was full of bullets, they were almost touching, this might be the reason for the first cooking failure since there is a large mass of metal to bring up to temperature.
It took 8 sessions of cooking to put two coats on the 2000 bullets.
The coating passed the smash test and the acetone wipe test.
I used 40 ml of the paint to coat the 2000 bullets. I mixed 5 parts coating to 5 parts acetone to 1 part catalyst.
I used a small measuring device I got at the drug store for giving medicine to children, the small tube holds 10 ml when completely full.
I put two coats on the bullets but looking at the first coat there might be enough coating on the bullets with only one coat.
The gold seemed to coat very well.
I will try the coating on some bullets for an AR-15 in 223 the next time. some friends who shot 3 Gun are trying to make cast lead bullets work in an AR-15.
I do not have a mold for the Magma Master Caster in 223 and will need to cast these bullets by hand.
The Hi-Tech coating application is relatively easy, much the same as curing powder coat, it just takes the time to add the second coat.
I used a Lee push trough sizer for sizing and the bullets went through easily with a small amount of Imperial Sizing Wax.
I will load some for a shot test.
I think the plate might be a problem for you. Donnie recommends, and I use the 1/4" hardware cloth on the oven racks. I used tag wire to hold the cloth (1/4" wire mesh) to the racks. Don't worry about the orentation of the bullets. Just dump them out and lay them in one layer. I cook mine for 10 minutes at 375 degrees (confirmed with oven gauge) and they won't wipe off with acetone of split or peel when flattened.
I have one rack that sets in a plate for the toaster oven, had to drill a series of large holes in it so the bullets would cook right. You need air flow all around the bullets.
Good results.
I have refined my process a bit.
I mix 5 colour to 6 acetone to 1 catalyst.
I cook at 195Deg C for 10 minutes. Better to be too hot than too cool.
When you first coat, leave to dry for 1/2 hour and then warm with a hair dryer to that the bullets are just warm to the touch. Then Cook.
I just use perforated Stainless plate with 1/4" holes for trays.
Let cool then recoat and do the same as above.
The first coat should only just give a light colour to the lead bullets. you should be thinking to yourself "can I see colour or not? " If you think you might be able to, then that is enough. The first coat must be thin. That is why the 5,6,1 mix works best for me with the red/copper coating.
You are all doing very good.
remember the acetone wipe with a white cloth after cooking and the smash test. it is far better to loose a few with smashing than to remelt...Ask me how I know...... :-)
I am very, very interested in the .223 results! If it works satisfactorily, that will be great news for those of us who shoot that caliber a lot.
Piglet
This puts the temperature issue to rest and silicone is a lubricant.
HIGH TEMPERATURE BRUSHED BRONZE (600F - 1200 F) ~ SPECIALTY SILICONE BASED POWDER COATING FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE APPLICATIONS
• CURE SCHEDULE = 450F/20 MIN @ PART METAL TEMPERATURE
• GLOSS LEVEL = < 35% ON 60 DEGREE METER
• RECOMMENDED MIL THICKNESS = 1.0 – 2.5 MILS
• SPECIFIC GRAVITY = 2.00
• THEORETICAL COVERAGE = 45.0 SQ. FT.
• SALT SPRAY RESULTS = 1,000+ HOURS
http://www.ebay.com/itm/POWDER-COATI...item5ae68eb906