first pour...

[bigted]

yes i finally got everything together to pour my first boolits...im a very read VERY happy camper. here is what my storie is.

went to my tire guy and asked if they had any wheel weights i could experiment with. his assistant graciously explained that a 5 gallon bucket of em was gonna cost $50.00 well i choked a little and looked at my friend who runs the place and as he grinned he said he wasnt gonna charge me a penney but that they were getting 50 for a 5 gal bucket. [ a by-line here is worth the words as well...does any body know what a 5 gal bucket full of ww's weighs??]. well the two of them loaded it into my p/u with a pipe in the carry handle of the bucket but i paid no att to this till i got home and unloaded this bucket...kinda heavy even for my 6 foot 5 inch frame that is fairly in shape for a 54 year old oldie.

i fired up the two burner camp stove with the propane and shoved an old dutch oven in the flame and proceded to start putting ww into the huge cavity of the dutch oven. as i wondered off the smell overpowered me and as i whirlied around i observed smoke pouring out of the lean to constructed outside my generator house and paniced thinking i had started a fire somehow. nope instead what i observed upon lurching inside my lean-to was smoke pouring out of the dutch oven. didnt expect to be trying to melt valve stems and the rubber that encapselates the stems...along with murpheys soap and a variety of cigar butts and cigar plastic stubs.

well i learned that a small amount of patience will net a not so smokey melt if i sort out the "other" stuff that happens to be dropped into this bucket.

next i learned that the zink weights dont redilly melt...witch i assume is a good thing as i was able to dig them out of my melt along with the copious amount of steel clampons that nearly chocked me with a surprisingly large amount. the huge pile of ww i put into the dutch oven melted down to a more esilly handled amount. after i skimmed off the undesireable crud i had a shiney melt that resembled more what i was expecting.

i started to pour ingots and as i poured the ingots began to get dull and cloudy as they cooled...too hot i expect.

after i got some small amount of ingots i decided to try my lee bottom pour heater and my lyman 400gr mould

the first cast were so wrinkled that i nearly stopped after pouring around 30 or so. i put the mould up on the top of the lee pot and sat thinking about what i was doing wrong. i first suspected my melt but it looked rite so i suspected a cool problem so i heated my mould on top of the lee pot and tryed again. still wrinked and not sharp fillout. now im stumped so back up on top of the pot went the moulds as i wondered what could be hapening. then it hit me that my bottom pour pot may be to blame. i was being carefull not to pour too fast as i didnt want a mess under my spout. so i picked up my mould and lifted the handle as far as i could get it and when the sprue plate started filling i dropped the pour handle. as it sat there i allowed the sprue to suck down into the boolit then i waited an additional half minute or so before i knocked the sprue plate off and opened the handles.......im telling you what now.......i nearly wept with joy as i beheld that first fully filled out and no wrinkled boolit.

i continued pouring till i had 25 perfect boolits to play with before i stopped. man i feel so good about these boolits...they are the coolest boolits ever...i may never shoot them as they are the product of just not giving up.

next i ran them inside to meassure them and weigh each.

the lyman mould is # 457463.......its suppose to throw a 400gr boolit but mine came in from 421gr to 426gr with the majority of them being 424gr + or - 1/2gr.

the other thing i observed is that they run 4585 to 459 in diameter. i need 459's for my marlins min so can i just shoot these without sizing? pan lube then load rite?

im so excited about these boolits i cant stand it...cant help but wonder what the feelings going to be like when i put meat on the table with these or other boolits i load after melting and making them myself.

ok ok thats my tale and im still grinning.......man what a hoot.

[x101airborne]

You are right to be excited. I am new to this also, so i understand your joy. I even recently aquired a marlin 336 waffle top with a shiney bore and have cast some lyman 311466 160 gr. rn for it and got a load grouping under 3" at 100 yards. Deer season rifle opens in around 7 hours and Im ready to go!!! This is definately the most rewarding, frustrating, learning experience i have3 undertaken as a "hobby". So, learn, grow, and enjoy yourself!

[docone31]

BigTed, excellent write up. Well stated.
I found, some Kitty Litter on top of the melt in the Lee Pot, keeps the dross down, and I can set my mold in it to prepour. I use mineral spirits to clean new molds.
Sounds like you hammered it there. Good for you.
There is indeed some satisfaction to making your own.

[mooman76]

A 5 gal bucket weigts somewhere around 120-150# but verries according to content of coarse. I used to get 90% lead back from all that but now adays there's alot of zink and steel out there so who knows. Great start though.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Very good write-up about your first experience. Mine was not very long ago. After I have the clips skimmed off and had fluxed the pot, I almost made a real big mistake. I was going to reposition the cast iron pot with the handle. As I lifted the pot by the wire handle, it almost tipped over. I learned real quick not to do that!

[gray wolf]

Nice job and a nice story.
For some of us the great feeling you experienced never goes away.
For me it's almost like the first time every time.
Now go and take care of the table and the freezer.

Sam

[shootingbuff]

I was hoping I was not the only one that got all excited when I got my first good bullets. Then when I shot them I was very pleased with the results. I get off on telling folks I shoot cast bullets that I cast myself and what my cost is per box. Not to mention how well they perform.

Enjoy.

[bigted]

just recieved my lyman 500 mould for 458 [ the 458125 ]. cant wait to shell out some of them from the ww's. i also ordered an rcbs 500gr that i hear tell will function thru my marlins. this will be super as a hunting load im sure. altho i doubt that any of the critters here could withstand more then one or maybe two if these 424gr flat nose at black powder velocitys. i rarely shoot at anything past 150 yds anyhow so these should do fine.

the other question i had was...can i shoot these without sizing them? they are already at the nominal dia i need without running them thru my sizer. also the pan lubing thing is new to me so any hints will be apreciated. i already have a couple x-tra 45/70 cases that im gonna sacrifice for a cutter to cut them outta the lube trey once they are solid again.

thanks for all the kind thoughts here. i have and will redilly admite that without this site i would have floundered a bunch...thanks all for the writups both in answer to mine and the older posts that still have so much info to glean from.

[mdi]

Pics, fotos, piktures, whatever. Show us

[bigted]

here is my pictures of my first casts. both 400's and some 500's







so that is the rest of the storie. these boolits are a little undersized as is so i will try them as cast in my winchester or sharps. they are under too much for my marlins. the 500's especially came in at 458 and under. wish i could figure out why these are so small...can i have them enlarged somehow...the moulds that is?

[runfiverun]

leementing.
it's in the stickies.
look up lapping also.

[HangFireW8]

these boolits are a little undersized as is so i will try them as cast in my winchester or sharps. they are under too much for my marlins. the 500's especially came in at 458 and under. wish i could figure out why these are so small...can i have them enlarged somehow...the moulds that is?

My first boolits were also a Lyman 457 round nose, the 457124. They are fondly remembered in my avatar here.

Don't rule them out of your Marlin just yet. Even though they aren't 460, they shot just fine in my MicroGroove without leading. I think it is because I used a load with enough pressure to get them to obturate. Also because 45/70 is a fairly forgiving cartridge for cast boolits (go figure).

-HF

[liljohnnie]

Dang big fella,you had me excited there for a minute too.

[Doby45]

You might have a few too many stick ons in your alloy mix. That will drive your weight up..

[WHITETAIL]

bigted, Welcome and great job!
If you have a extra 45-70 shell
use it like a punch and make a few
waxpaper gas checks.
Use a side of a milk carton for your
waxpaper.
Put it in over the black powder and under
your boolit.

[Mavrick]

Welcome aboard.
I still get excited every time I pour. I'm learning every time go out. I've only been at it 30 years! There is always something new to try. I sure never thought there were so many things to try.
When I was "back home," (I lived in Juneau) I bought an M71(mine is a Browning) and have since converted it to .375/348 Improved. When I go back, I'll not be afraid to take on anything up there.
For moose, I've got some 300gr and some 270gr flat-point cast of linotype, and loaded to .38/55 velocities, but I can load it up to almost .375 H&H, if I want.
Your boolits should "lighten up" a little if you can get some tin to dilute. You might try solder or you can order tin bars from RotoMetal(see above) or Midway. It doesn't take much, ie more than 5% is a waste of tin. Casting at a higher temp with more alloy will sometimes result in a larger boolit. "Beagling" is an option for a larger boolit, too.
When you "pan-lube," you might put a bunch of boolits in a pan, pour a totally liquified lube around them, then, when it set up a little, put 'em in the freezer part of the fridge. Let 'em rest a while, say 15-20 minutes, then push each boolit out of the cake with your fingers. Ta-da!!! Lubed, and "as cast" in size.
Have fun,
Gene

[GP100man]

I started in `83 & get that giddy feelin with every new mold !!!!

Have Fun , Be Safe !!!!!

[Cherokee]

The satisfaction of casting my own and shooting them has not gone away in 40+ years of doing it. Enjoy....

[bigted]

thanks for all the kind words and helpfull suggestions. this is a hobbie that ive never grown tired of...[shooting...reloading...now casting]. hopefully ill be able to add blackpowder loads to my addictiond soon. i know i love my muzzleloaders.

[bigted]

well finally got a few days off work again so after the snow gets shoved away from the drive and house ill get back to it. i formulated a groove mess that i hope will pass for lube ahead of the blackpowder im gonna load today. i melted a toilet ring with 1/4 cup lard and 1/4 cup shortining along with a 1/8 cup peanut oil. put my 500gr boolits in a pan and poured it around them till it came up to the last groove then a small bit more to cover the last. into the freezer for 20 min then let stand in the room temp for 2 hours. i used a 45/70 shell that was opened to 463 and the primer pocket drilled out to accept a small philipes head screwdriver that i flattened off on the grinder to push them back out of the "cookie cutter" shell and BINGO i have greesy boolits.

gonna load them in fromt of 63gr of 2f and let the smoke fly n see if i have a starter of a load n lube. more news when i clear the smoke enough to peer down the bore of the hiwall to see if there is success or not. im hoping to not see long streaks of lead after i shove the bp crud out. guess ill have more after i get my chores done.

ted