ebg3
.30 Stingray
Posts: 157
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Post by ebg3 on Nov 10, 2015 17:07:48 GMT -5
I fired up the 20lb Lee pot over the weekend and quickly realized I forgot how to cast! It took a few minutes and quite a few throws to get my Lyman 429421 4 cavity mould making good bullets. Once I got rolling, I kept feeding the pot and made a thousand or so. Once the bullets were cool I went though all of them and it seems like about 10% were not quite up to snuff. My alloy must be a little out of whack as the edges of the driving band and grease groove were rounded and not sharp. I also found that the mould temperature window seemed to be very narrow and it would only cast good bullets when it was just right. My alloy is mainly medical isotope lead that I had cast into ingots earlier. I think I'll add a little tin next time I crank the old pot up. Anyway, after reading about PC here, I bought a harbor freight tumbler, red pc paint, non-stick aluminum foil and I had an old toaster oven. I tumbled 120 bullets with 2 tablespoons of paint for 10 minutes. Next to the colander to remove loose paint and on to the foil(dull side up!) and into the toaster oven. I baked them at about 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes and let them cool. I did not size them as they only measured .431-ish after coating. Bullet with paint weighs 255 grs. I loaded with 23gr H110 and new Starline brass and used Winchester primers that say they are for standard and magnum loads(I'm out of CCI magnums). I'm not crazy about the Win. primers but they seemed to work ok. I did not chrono so I'm not really sure if they are igniting the H110 like it needs to be. Shooting was with a 8 3/8" 629 Classic and accuracy is not bad. Last group was 1.75" at 25 yds for 6 shots fired from a sand bag rest. I only fired 50 rounds of this combo,mainly to see if the bullets would lead and if they would be somewhat accurate. Everything looks good! No leading in the barrel, just some residue that should brush right out. There is no smoke when firing and no bad smells,just a lot of flash from the H110. I'll try some 2400 and maybe Lil'Gun for my next outing. Both of those powders should do better with the Win. primers.
Sorry no pics but there really was not much to see!
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38 WCF
.327 Meteor
Posts: 653
Member is Online
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Post by 38 WCF on Nov 10, 2015 17:59:33 GMT -5
Since I started powder coating I have not done a single bullet the old way. I like the way they handle. About like a slippery jacketed bullet. No problems so far. I like it.
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ProGun
.30 Stingray
Posts: 246
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Post by ProGun on Nov 10, 2015 20:30:38 GMT -5
I powder coated for the first time last week. It didn't look to me like I was getting enough to coat the bullet. I was mixing black and white PC, maybe I should try the red. I'd definitely be able to see how much was sticking on then!
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Post by sixshot on Nov 10, 2015 21:38:13 GMT -5
It can also have a lot to do with the quality of paint you use. Harbor Freight isn't a real high quality paint & you pretty much have to stay with red if you're going to use the shake & bake method or tumble. If you step up to "Powder by the Pound" or one of the other high quality brands & use gloss colors you can do about any combo you want.
Of course you can always use a spray gun & then anything will work.
Dick
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Post by hoover on Nov 11, 2015 19:04:00 GMT -5
I powder coated for the first time last week. It didn't look to me like I was getting enough to coat the bullet. I was mixing black and white PC, maybe I should try the red. I'd definitely be able to see how much was sticking on then! Humidity can have a hand in it. Also, bullets must be dry. Remember, the powder sticks to the bullets by static electricity. Moisture kills static. I just tumble longer until the bullets are totally coated. Then shake them in a colander to remove excess powder and bake. The black HF is harder to get to stick. I use 99% white with .22 rim fire shell worth of black to get grey. |
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ProGun
.30 Stingray
Posts: 246
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Post by ProGun on Nov 11, 2015 19:40:03 GMT -5
It is humid here, however, I had my son run my wife's hair dryer over some freshly cast bullets for about 5 minutes before running them through the tumbler for 15 min with the red harbor freight powder. After cooking them for about 5 min at 400, I could already see that the PC wasn't to my liking. I'm going to try pulling them out of the oven, letting them cool and then run them through the tumbler again... What do you say to that? Good idea, or a bad one?
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Post by fanofthefortyone on Nov 11, 2015 19:55:35 GMT -5
Think I would have let them finish, then if the coating did not suit you, try a second coat or re cast them.
Ronnie
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Post by hoover on Nov 11, 2015 20:11:48 GMT -5
Yes. I would let them finish also. Once the PC melts, that's it. If it is too thin, tumble some more and do a second coat. If it is too thick, or clumpy, you are stuck. It will not remelt! That stuff is tough. On the positive side, you can throw them in the pot and remelt. Be forewarned, that melted PC stinks when it finally does melt. The lead will melt before the PC coating does. Do it in a well ventilated area. I once made an ugly batch of bullets. That's when I started shaking them in a wire basket or colander, to shake off the excess PC. I think it is one of the most important steps to making nice looking PC bullets.
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ProGun
.30 Stingray
Posts: 246
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Post by ProGun on Nov 11, 2015 21:01:09 GMT -5
I guess I lucked out and pretty much did a complete job the first time (must of had them in there longer than I thought). After redoing the process, they've turned out pretty darn good.
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