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Post by fanofthefortyone on Oct 25, 2015 20:24:13 GMT -5
I've been slowly buying casting equipment over the last 7-8 years. RCBS pro melt, Molds by MP, NOE, RCBS, Lyman, Lee . bought alloy when I could ,just never got around to using any of the stuff. Over the last few days that changed, finally got around to trying this casting thing, last thing I cast was fishing sinkers when I was about 12-13 used a coffee can back then to melt the lead. I cast for the 480 using the MP 477-640 molds PB and GC and a NOE mold 480-375 . Burnt my fingers, got lightly splashed with hot lead but managed to end up with 60 pounds of usable bullets!   Ronnie |
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Post by boatswainsmate on Oct 25, 2015 20:34:14 GMT -5
Looks like you got a nice mold fill out. Happy Shooting!
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Post by fanofthefortyone on Oct 25, 2015 20:45:33 GMT -5
Lots of "culls" that went back in the pot! Tried dropping them on a towel but that got old real fast, started dropping them in water and things went smoother for me. When I got started I was just sitting the mold under the spout, lots of wrinkles, then I finally held the mold about 1" or so below the spout and no more wrinkles! I now have a fire brick under the spout to rest the mold on.
Ronnie
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Post by tek4260 on Oct 25, 2015 20:57:05 GMT -5
Better watch out.... This casting thing is just as fun as shooting them!
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Post by fanofthefortyone on Oct 25, 2015 21:07:31 GMT -5
Just waiting on a sizing die! Then there is that powder coating thing that Tank and 6 shot do. You'd think I would get around to shooting that new Ruger 480 in the safe, it's been there 9 days!
Ronnie
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Post by sixshot on Oct 25, 2015 21:09:44 GMT -5
Ronnie, sounds like you are hooked, good job on casting 60 lbs, thats a good start. Don't you have a mould guide on your furnace, sure makes it easier to get your mould close to the spout. You might want to pressure cast the first 10-15 casts until your mould & alloy gets up to the right temp. That is, hold your mould right up against the nipple on the bottom of your furnace, you will get really good fill out that way. Maybe later you can lower the mould, you'll just have to experiment.
If you are casting HP's you won't want to water quench them, that defeats the purpose of the HP, you will be making them too hard. Put an old T shirt or something over your towel, that way the bullets won't stick to the fabric. Also with big bullets many times its necessary to run 2 or even 3 moulds to keep from getting the mould blocks too hot. You'll figure it out, good luck! When casting you need the right alloy temp, the right mould temp, & the right velocity of your alloy coming out of the pot, find that sweet spot & you will make good bullets.
Dick
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Post by fanofthefortyone on Oct 25, 2015 21:31:56 GMT -5
Dick, thanks for the info. Yes it has a mold guide, but I bought this about 7 years ago and who knows where the instructions went, so I was kinda winging it! By the time I figured out how the mold guide worked I was already using the brick. I'll try the t shirt when I try again tomorrow . and the mold guide!
Ronnie
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,388
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Post by Snyd on Oct 26, 2015 0:17:07 GMT -5
Nice job!
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Post by bagdadjoe on Oct 26, 2015 11:42:18 GMT -5
One thing I learned while making stained glass panels several years ago...still a good hint that is true when I cast: hot lead looks just like cold lead. ;-)
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,388
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Post by Snyd on Oct 26, 2015 16:34:26 GMT -5
One thing I learned while making stained glass panels several years ago...still a good hint that is true when I cast: hot lead looks just like cold lead. ;-) Yup.... I've beed branded a time or two...  |
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jsh
.327 Meteor
Posts: 884
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Post by jsh on Oct 26, 2015 17:01:49 GMT -5
I cull pretty hard myself. An voids, round edges etc. are culls. If you settle for so so, you will settle for so so results. YMMV.
I quit water quenching about 5-6 years ago for the most part. My groups tightened up enough to notice.
All I heard when I started casting was hard hard hard. So I did. My results were less than pleasing to say the least. But, by then I had started onto the chase of Lino type. I gathered a fair amount and now only use it to "sweeten" with.
Keep notes on molds and what they like. Data for them just like certain guns comes in handy and keeps down the issues. You won't remember, take my word for it, lol.
Jeff
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Post by whiterabbit on Oct 26, 2015 17:48:05 GMT -5
if you are waiting on a sizing die from LEE, I have a tip Get a press with an indexable handle (such as LEE classic cast for 50 BMG) and flip it upside down. You can index the handle to make the press work as per normal. Put a bucket under the press to catch the bullets. It makes the sizing go REALLY fast. Drop a boolit into the die which self aligns, then bring the ram down. No handling of the finished product till you empty the bin. Will take you 15 minutes to go through 60 pounds of boolits  |
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Post by fanofthefortyone on Oct 26, 2015 21:05:24 GMT -5
Cast a few for the 41's today, air dropped these. The 2 on the left are from the 41-265 true shot from MP, the solid weighs 256 and the HP weighs 243 grains. The penta HP is from MP mold 413-640 and weighs just 205, the 2 round nose are from the same mold MP 411-640 the large HP weighs 169 and the small weighs 176. I'm thinking I'll use the penta and the round nose for the 41 special.   Ronnie |
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steve
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,502
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Post by steve on Oct 26, 2015 21:41:02 GMT -5
Excellent job! Its, finally starting to cool down here. I can't wait 'til it gets a bit cooler, I do all my casting for the year during late fall and winter. If I can get into a rhythm, cast 40 or so pounds of bullets seems like it take no time at all.
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Post by boatswainsmate on Oct 26, 2015 21:52:34 GMT -5
My meager little outdoor set-up.  |
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