OK, let's talk about this copper thing (again, for the gazillionth time)
Hopefully this isn't too sore a subject and this thread won't go bad.....
I read everything I can find (and a lot was learned from quotes showing info from some of the deleted posts on the above sticky thread) on this and tried it.
Man, this stuff is TOUGH!! :shock:
Ended up with what I think is about this =
Tin % Antimony % Arsenic % Copper % Silver % Lead %
3.11% 2.88% 0.08% 0.13% 0.08% 93.7%
Wanted more Cu but the 5th 1/8 oz strand of wire didn't dissolve much so I stopped at about 1/2 oz instead of a full oz which would have gotten me to .23 Cu.
LBT 460 530 and Lee 457 405 F dropped into a 5 gallon bucket of water.
Only 2nd time casting, first time with alloy instead of pure lead.
Got lots of only one hole getting filled, one partial, learning how to use the Lyman and Lee ladles, how to prop the handles of the molds so the body stays flat on the saw blade on the hotplate, and other various assorted learning curve issues.
Of those that did get dropped into the bucket most had one or more serious issues. (rounded heels and bands, flashing, TONS of wrinkles, etc)
The LBT mold really drops 'em easy, the Lee not too bad, but those LONG 530s were real bad about wrinkles/voids.
I was casting ~ 650 -700* F (hard to maintain on propane burner) and no idea what the mold temp was. (gonna try my laser remote thermometer next time)
I didn't want to "cook out" my additives/alloying metals so was trying to keep temps down. (pretty sure low temps caused wrinkles)
I'm hoping I can get the defects issue worked out, but my real problem is that, of the few usable boolits I got from the 530s, I'm having a real problem (read: huge amount of force needed on the handle of the Rock Chucker) nose sizing from .460" to .450" so as to load them in my 458 Win Mag and still have room for some powder. By the time I get that big nose far enough back to chamber, 60 grs of 3031 ain't gonna fit and the cartridge looks like a 45-70 with only a little of the boolit sticking out of the case.
Like I said before, these things are TOUGH! Set one of the culls on the concrete and whaled away with a 3LB ball peen about 8-12 wacks and it only mushroomed the nose a little.
My plan is to get another nose bushing from NOE and taper & polish it out to about .455 so as to size in steps, and then will try air cooling, sizing, and then heat treating after sized.
Sorry about long winded post, just trying to anticipate and answer as many questions as I could up front.
ANY questions, advice, cautions, flames, or dire warnings of imminent doom by hideously painful burning death are welcomed....:drinks: