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Thread: BruceB's Speed Casting Method

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Thumbs up BruceB's Speed Casting Method

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    "Doing The Bruce B."

    SPEED CASTING


    By Bruce B. In Nevada

    The title is not unseemly vanity, but it seems that this is the internet name for the process, so....?(Blush)
    This process was developed over quite a few years, and evolved gradually as I tried different things and ways of doing it. Below is a distillation of what WORKS BEST, after trying a variety of techniques.


    SPEED COOLING:

    The major factor in using this method for high-production casting is the speed-cooling of the sprues, which eliminates both a LOT of waiting time and also stops the smearing of alloy on mould-tops and sprue-plates.
    Speed-cooling is accomplished by pressing the top of the sprue against a WET cloth pad for just a couple or three seconds. Wait just until the draw-down dimple in the sprue has stabilized and the sprue has solidified before cooling the sprue. The best method I've found is to use a shallow water-filled dish, maybe 1.5" deep, with a rolled-up cloth pad which bulks up ABOVE the edges of the dish. This keeps the pad WET, and still allows easy access to the pad with the mould. If the pad starts getting hot, just roll it over in the dish to bring up a cooler side. Keep the dish full of water.

    If it seems that the mould itself is getting too hot, press its bottom against the pad for a few seconds, too.

    Speed-cooling is a large factor in high-production, but other things also impact the process.


    FURNACE AND ALLOY MANAGEMENT:

    I was using a 10-pound-capacity SAECO pot when this all started, and I now use a 22-pound RCBS furnace. Only bottom-pour furnaces have been used to date, for obvious reasons. The technique should work with larger Lee pots as well, but I don't know about the smaller ones. Capacity has an impact on speed-casting, and here's why:
    My RCBS pot has a max temperature of 870 degrees, the pot is set at maximum temperature ALL THE TIME with WW, and my casting is almost entirely with wheelweight alloy. I make 10.5"-long 3-pound ingots in a mould made from 1.5" angle iron. (10.5" fits perfectly in a .50 can for storage) A crosswise row of four or five of these ingots is placed on top of the furnace to preheat, with the front ones directly over the melt. They get HOT, to the point that adding the hottest (frontmost) ingot only drops the pot temp about 30 degrees, and this means that I DO NOT STOP CASTING AFTER ADDING AN INGOT. As ingots are added to the pot, the row is moved forward and cold ingots placed at the rear of the row to begin pre-heating. The pot should be kept AS FULL AS POSSIBLE, which keeps the flow pressure constant to aid bullet consistency, and also keeps its heat-sink function at maximum for fast melting of fresh alloy.


    BENCH LAYOUT AND EFFICIENCY:

    "Bullets per hour" is the easiest production concept to grasp, in my experience. ANYTHING that takes more time than necessary in casting detracts from the bottom-line production figure, and therefore those who want max production should study their every motion used to produce bullets.
    I use only ONE mould at a time, and there's a reason. In timed runs, I found that the extra hand motions involved in setting-down and picking-up the various moulds simpy lost too much time. In my current method, the mould is NEVER set down. It gets shifted from hand-to-hand, but never does it sit on anything except briefly on the mould guide for filling. (I'm a left-hander, so attempting to describe all my hand-motions will only confuse the dickens out of everyone.)

    Carefully consider where the various items you need are placed. Every time the mallet is put down, for example, it should be PRECISELY where it was placed the last time, so your hands know exactly where to go for it. The sprue receptacle likewise should be carefully placed, so you don't have to stretch for it, or cramp yourself if it's too close-in. Same for the bullet box, if you're using one. EVERYTHING counts for efficiency. If I'm water-dropping the boolits, I want the pail in such a postion that NO extra motion is needed to place the mould at the right place above the bucket. A simple swivel motion of the body, the mould is RIGHT THERE in the correct place, drop the boolits...and swivel back to the furnace. I position the bucket on a high stool at my side, which minimizes the splash, and tape a loose cloth over it, drooping it into the water to slow the bullets as they pass through a slit in the cloth.

    One added advantage to FAST casting lies in this water-dropping process, because the high casting speed means that temperature variation of the bullets entering the water is minimal. If anything happens to disrupt the rhythm on any one filling of the mould, those bullets go into the sprue can instead of the quenching bucket.


    HOW FAST, and HOW GOOD????

    Those who've seen me 'performing' this process (NVcurmudgeon, Buckshot, Deputy Al, among others) can testify that I'm really not hurrying. No herky-jerky abrupt gotta-hurry-gotta-HURRY histrionics are necessary.....but the mould gets filled four or five times per minute. In one timed run at my normal rate with a SINGLE-cavity Lee .30 mould, I made 159 good bullets in thirty minutes. This translates to over three hundred per hour from a one-banger mould. It's not unusual to get well over 500 good 'uns in an hour from my Lyman or RCBS two-cav jobs, and 400 'bph' is easy. Lyman four-cavity moulds can give me over 1000 per hour on a good day. Casting heavier bullets takes a bit longer due to longer mould-filling-time than is required by lighter boolits.
    Bullets cast with this high-speed method are just as consistent as those I've cast with any other technique. Extreme weight spreads of less than one grain in 200-grain bullets are normal, and my RCBS 416-350s typically show LESS than one grain ES even on large samples of boolits. I only rarely weigh bullets these days, as visual inspection shows me more flaws than weighing....and there are VERY few flaws. I strongly suspect that the high temperatures involved greatly aid in perfect fillout. Dimensions in my fast-cast boolits are also very consistent.


    SAFETY:

    Be aware that water IN the melt, meaning below the surface of the alloy, will create a violent steam explosion and throw molten alloy everywhere. This means that water in the sprues, for instance, is to be avoided at all costs. Pre-heating the ingots reduces the chances of their carrying moisture into the pot, too.
    My sprues are dropped into a coffee can, which has sides high enough to prevent any spray or droplets from the cooling dish to reach the interior. I do remelt the sprues as the can gets half-full or so, and have never had a problem. Note once more that the sprue should NOT be knocked into the receptacle until ALL VISIBLE WATER has disappeared from the mould, sprueplate, screws, handles, etc etc etc.! Water ON the melted alloy, such as a stray drop from the quenching bucket, will just sizzle and bounce around until it evaporates. I tested this several times in a controlled situation with scores of water-drops falling directly on the molten alloy.


    CONCLUSION:

    There you have it! The speed-cooling is certainly the core of the process, but the other things mentioned also contribute to great time savings. The nice thing is that, for almost no increase in actual effort, we can cast vastly-larger quantities of equally-good bullets in a given time frame.
    Many folks have tried the speed-cooling in one way or another, but I've no idea how many may have tried the "full-court press" as described above. Personally, I find it highly worthwhile.
    Regards from BruceB in Nevada

  2. #2
    Boolit Bub
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    Archived at http://web.archive.org/web/200802140...lits/cst1.html

    And I got tired of searching high and low for it every time I needed a reference.

    Could a mod please move this to stickies and classics?

    Thanks
    syh

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    I printed it.
    NRA Endowment Member

  4. #4
    In Remembrance


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    I`m sorry, but I have to say the only reason I can see casting like a bat out of H##L is because you are making a business out of it. I prefer to cast at a given speed for a given amount of time for a rough number amount of boolits from a given mould. I cast as a relaxation and hobby, not trying to get a ton cast by sundown cause it is there. I guess you should remember the traffic warning that speed can lead to accidents. I guess that is the reason I have retired, to get away from the RUSHRUSHHURRYHURRYHURRY world. You may out produce me in numbers cast, but I`ll bet you I take longer recess breathers and enjoy my coffee breaks more. Robert

  5. #5
    On Heaven's Range

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    " I guess you should remember the traffic warning that speed can lead to accidents. I guess that is the reason I have retired, to get away from the RUSHRUSHHURRYHURRYHURRY world. You may out produce me in numbers cast, but I`ll bet you I take longer recess breathers and enjoy my coffee breaks more. Robert"

    Well Robert, you covered a lot of ground in a few sentences.

    Did you actually read the article, particularly where I said there IS no hurry or "RUSHRUSH" involved?

    All that I have done is streamline the time I spend casting, and it's no more work than any other method. You may well be correct about your "longer recess breathers" and enjoying your coffee breaks more. That's because temperature consistency is a key part of the way *I* cast, and I'm reluctant to allow the temperatures involved to fluctuate. Naturally, there would be a large temperature variance every time I took recesses and coffee breaks, so I don't. Also, when I get in "the zone" and everything's going fine, I hate to disturb the ambiance by interrupting it.

    The way I've seen it for a long time now, is that if I'm going to spend a certain amount of valuable leisure time casting, I may as well maximize the output, especially when it takes NO MORE EFFORT than the way I used to do it. I cast to shoot, not just to cast. Do you think 100 good bullets are as useful as 500 good bullets, each cast in the same amount of time? Not me, bro.

    Still, it all comes down to how each individual approaches his activities. I'd be the last to say that it's my way ONLY and everyone else is wrong. All of us seem to manage satisfactory results, and that's the critical thing.
    Regards from BruceB in Nevada

    "The .30'06 is never a mistake." - Colonel Townsend Whelen

  6. #6
    In Remembrance


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    Bruce, Yes , I read the entire posting you submitted on how to get more done by your "streamlined" way of doing it. In fact I re-read the post again to see if my old eyes missed something, nope didn`t miss anything. So I guess I`ll settle for my 100 perfect castings and the solace and enjoyment of transforming a pile of chunks of lead into 100 perfect boolits. So I`ll stick to my old fashioned way of actually enjoying what I`m doing, my way. Hope you have some of that valuable leisure time left over to load and shoot those 500 perfect bollits you made.Robert

  7. #7
    Old War Horse
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    Thumbs up I like it!

    Bruce... For brevity's sake I just am replying without the quotes...

    I like everything you wrote... And I like the way you think and work... In fact I have used the damp cloth techniques quite a bit. Just that I tried my best to not get my casting gloves wet...

    Doing things "quickly and efficiently" is not like trying to do the 95 MPH shuffle...

    Good Post, and I personally intend to use your ideas as much as possible... please forgive me for stealing the ideas...
    Last edited by Jim_Fleming; 07-04-2009 at 11:07 AM.
    Jim Fleming

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  8. #8
    Moderator Emeritus robertbank's Avatar
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    Like a lot of things in life we have choices. Bruce I have used part of your method for sometime now and will include the sprue cooling now to complete the technique. I cast thousands of 9MM bullets - I have consumed just over 10,000 since January. With a four cavity mold that works out to 2500 pours - acutallly more when you consider I have another 3,000 lubed. Speaking about lubing, using my RCBS Lubricator that represents 13,000 pulls of the lube handle. For me anything that speeds this process up is a god sent.

    The bottle neck is now the lubing process and I am motivated to start whinning for a Star lubricator for Christmas. I am told it is faster....

    Take care my friend and have a great summer.


    Bob
    Its been months since I bought the book, "How to scam people online". It still has not arrived yet!

    "If the human population held hands around the equator, a significant portion of them would drown"

  9. #9
    Old War Horse
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    Thumbs up

    Bob,, might I suggest that you give the Lee Tumble Lube method a try? That liquid alox is good stuff, and if you like the results, it'll TOTALLY eliminate lube/sizing.

    It's also pretty darned cheap at $5.00 a bottle, and that 4 oz. bottle will do thousands of blue pills.
    Jim Fleming

    I will bleed, Red, White, & Blue forever.

    USAFR (Retired)
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  10. #10
    Moderator Emeritus robertbank's Avatar
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    Jim I have some but never tried it on 9MM bullets. Will run a few boxes using my Lyman 356402 bullets. Does it reduce the smoke as well?

    Take Care

    Bob
    Its been months since I bought the book, "How to scam people online". It still has not arrived yet!

    "If the human population held hands around the equator, a significant portion of them would drown"

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Well I think I will try BruceBs' method to increase my output starting in the morning. I can understand that one does not have to hurry if wasted motion is eliminated to do more "work".
    I have use a sponge in a pan of water on the bottom of the mould blocks and even this one thing increases output.
    I'll let you all know how it goes tomorrow.

  12. #12
    Old War Horse
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    Thumbs up

    I would have to try some lubed blue pills, to be honest Bob. It's been a long time since I've fired a lubed/sized blue pill. I've been shooting a few tumble lubed rounds I had made up from years ago, but the smoke level seemed to compare favorably with jacketed rounds.

    Another benefit I just "discovered" (read that as reminded of), is that over time the liquid alox creates a varnish like coating as it dries. That same benefit does for a fact coat the entire surface (nose and all!) that is never going to be as pretty as the nice grey oxidized lead surface, but that's minor, in my opinion...

    I honestly think you'll not be sorry you tried it. Just think... All that time you were sizing you could've been loading and shooting... lmbo!


    Quote Originally Posted by robertbank View Post
    Jim I have some but never tried it on 9MM bullets. Will run a few boxes using my Lyman 356402 bullets. Does it reduce the smoke as well?
    Jim Fleming

    I will bleed, Red, White, & Blue forever.

    USAFR (Retired)
    NRA Endowment Member
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  13. #13
    Moderator Emeritus robertbank's Avatar
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    If this works as well as you guys say it does, I will have lubed my last 9MM bullet.

    Best site on the net!

    Take Care

    Bob
    Its been months since I bought the book, "How to scam people online". It still has not arrived yet!

    "If the human population held hands around the equator, a significant portion of them would drown"

  14. #14
    Old War Horse
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    Thumbs up

    well... I've used the liquid alox on FULL HOUSE .357 loads 158 gr SWC (tumble lube design from Lee) in my 6 in. Dan Wesson for a long time now. It's also been a darned long time since I cleaned that 'Old Boy's barrel, but my accuracy is right there... The gun's a better shot'n I am, that's fo sho!

    I don't have a chronograph yet, so I can't honestly say what my FPS is, but the load is something like 5.8 or 5.9 gr of Unique... I don't honestly recall, it might even be a full 6.0 grs of Unique, it's been so long I don't remember Bob....

    Good Luck, Brother


    Quote Originally Posted by robertbank View Post
    If this works as well as you guys say it does, I will have lubed my last 9MM bullet.
    Jim Fleming

    I will bleed, Red, White, & Blue forever.

    USAFR (Retired)
    NRA Endowment Member
    VFW Life Member

  15. #15
    Moderator Emeritus robertbank's Avatar
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    I'm going to crank up my press in the mornign and will report back here. I am sure more than ever this is the way to go.

    Take Care

    Bob
    Its been months since I bought the book, "How to scam people online". It still has not arrived yet!

    "If the human population held hands around the equator, a significant portion of them would drown"

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Well, didn't even come close to a thousand boolits an hour while casting today. Not that anything is wrong with Bruces' method. Has alot to do with my arthritic old hands!
    I also did not have ingots of a size convenient to preheat on the pot.

    This was my first time casting with a Lyman 4 hole mould. Quite a bit heavier than a Lee 6 holer, but the boolits that dropped out looked real good and were pretty consistent in weight.
    Had a little trouble regulating the flow from the 20# Lee bottom pour spout. If the flow was too strong it would leave voids in the base of the boolit. Got it figured out now.
    I probably will never get to 1k on hour, but should be able to increase productiona good bit.
    Thanks for the info Bruce B.

  17. #17
    Boolit Bub
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    Bruce I tried out your casting method yesterday.....you rock

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    thank you to all who give so freely

    To all. Im a newbe, but read Bruces thread befor my first pour. Very inf. artical an for me the pictures by Goatlips in his artical taught me a lot. Ive only 2 casting sesions so far.
    Question though. When useing a 5 /6 cavity mold. Do you just use 1 mold at a time. Because of the speed required to keep the mold HOT enough
    sincearly Kevin

  19. #19
    Moderator Emeritus robertbank's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by leadman View Post
    Well, didn't even come close to a thousand boolits an hour while casting today. Not that anything is wrong with Bruces' method. Has alot to do with my arthritic old hands!
    I also did not have ingots of a size convenient to preheat on the pot.

    This was my first time casting with a Lyman 4 hole mould. Quite a bit heavier than a Lee 6 holer, but the boolits that dropped out looked real good and were pretty consistent in weight.
    Had a little trouble regulating the flow from the 20# Lee bottom pour spout. If the flow was too strong it would leave voids in the base of the boolit. Got it figured out now.
    I probably will never get to 1k on hour, but should be able to increase productiona good bit.
    Thanks for the info Bruce B.
    One thing I have found when using my Lyman 4 holer and my bottom pour pot is to try my best at havng the pouring lead hit the side of the sprue hole. This imparts a swirling action as the mold fills and reduces the voids you get at the base of your bullet. It also helps to leave a generous but not excessive sprue. Try that when next you cast. It may eliminate some of the void bullets.

    Take Care

    Bob
    Its been months since I bought the book, "How to scam people online". It still has not arrived yet!

    "If the human population held hands around the equator, a significant portion of them would drown"

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy Tippet's Avatar
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    With all due respect to anyone who prefers to move more slowly, I can really relate to this thread and the described method. Yes it isn't really hurrying.

    As a relatively new caster I'm pleased to have divined some of these principles on my own. I haven't tried speed cooling, and frankly I'm not inclined to as I hesitate to run any risk of introducing water to the melt when I put the sprue back into the pot.

    So far I've only cast 218gr .45 HP's, and the sprue cools pretty quick as it is. With that Lee fixed-pin mould I can drop 3 or 4 per min just moving at a steady pace, although those days are gone because I essentially ruined that mold in the course of learning how to use it lol.

    I've got a Lyman HP I've been meaning to break in, and soon enough I'll have my MiHec 2-cav Cramer-style. I think the Lyman might be slower than the Lee, but I've got no doubt the MiHec will rock.

    The main thing I want to emphasize though, is Bruce's point about hurrying is right on the money- all you have to do to maximize production is keep a steady rythym and be consistent. I don't expect to drop 1k/hr, but if I do it won't bother me. The state of being in that rythym is as relaxing to me as lollygagging is to Robert. That is the real reason for doing all this right? Are any of us still telling people we're doing this to save money?

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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GC Gas Check