blarby
Member
I would never use pam on an ice tray. I dont want oily beverages.......
Casting your own bullets?
- Thread starter Ruger44mag
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The Lyman Big Dipper kit has the Lyman casting manual. Dipper. Ingot mold with handle. 3-4 different lubes to mess with. Of course the furnace. My only experience is round balls for muzzle loading. I get my lead at a local metals shop for $.75 a pound.
The kit is about $80.00 give or take. And the manual is awesome with part numbers for moulds etc.
The kit is about $80.00 give or take. And the manual is awesome with part numbers for moulds etc.
This is what I did after reading the customer reviews. Seems like every other person posts the same advice. I was surprised how small even the 20 lb pot was when it arrived. For reclaiming scrap lead, you definitely need something bigger.
With a bottom pour, you don't have to flux while you cast. Notice that the shape of the Lee furnace is rather tall and thin. The oxidized layer covering the top remains undisturbed by dipping, and it effectively shields the rest of the alloy from atmospheric oxygen. You can pretty much keep casting until the pot is nearly empty without fluxing. No fluxing means no smoke, means you can even cast indoors with only modest ventilation if you wanted to.
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Pierce
Member
the equiptment is basic with minor variations. I found having multiple molds important to maintain temperature control. A single mold gets really hot quickly and alternating is important. Smoking the molds is a technique to assure good release. I drop my bullets into a 5 gallon of bucket of cold water straight from the mold and the hardness seems more consistent. It takes a little practice to get uniform weights and I still sort them after I cast them. Ive only loaded handgun 44's and 38s no rifle yet. A good bottom drop melter makes life so much easier and a thermometer is really something you want on hand it tells you more than how hot things are. Just do your homework and plan on a learning curve. Its fun and maybe a little frustrating until you discover how to control the heat, its important that your molds dont overheat.
blarby
Member
Correct timing sequence, or a cool relief period, also cures this issue.
Some of my molds are $160 each. I cant afford two of them. I can afford 15 seconds between pourings, give or take.
Certaindeaf
member
If I understand correctly, water dropping merely makes them as hard as they can/are going to be immediately where normal air cooling achieves that same maximum hardness in like three weeks or something. I don't bother with water dropping. Sometimes I heat treat though.
Or a cool damp rag to set the mold on for a breif time, any moisture evaporates right off. I also have an air line coming off the wall by my casting area so I have a short hose and nozzle that I will blow the mold, it speeds up cooling plus keeps them clean.
Most hp molds(MP & NOE are 2 types I have) require as much heat as possible, cooling off will never be an issue. Usually I have to take a torch to heat the pins(not red) every so many pours just to keep the noses filling out good. Those molds end up with frosted bullet because of all the heat, but not much that can be done about it. There is a small window of good fillout and non frosted that is hard to keep into.
Air cooling won't allow them to age harden as much as water dropping. A more consistant way to get all bullets the same hardness(important for max accuracy)is to oven harden them. You place all the bullets in baskets and heat them in an oven to specific temps and keep them there for 1/2 to 2 hrs depending on hardness desired. Then quickly take them out and dunk in cold water. This way all bullets are heated to the same temp and cooled the in same time period.
Most hp molds(MP & NOE are 2 types I have) require as much heat as possible, cooling off will never be an issue. Usually I have to take a torch to heat the pins(not red) every so many pours just to keep the noses filling out good. Those molds end up with frosted bullet because of all the heat, but not much that can be done about it. There is a small window of good fillout and non frosted that is hard to keep into.
Air cooling won't allow them to age harden as much as water dropping. A more consistant way to get all bullets the same hardness(important for max accuracy)is to oven harden them. You place all the bullets in baskets and heat them in an oven to specific temps and keep them there for 1/2 to 2 hrs depending on hardness desired. Then quickly take them out and dunk in cold water. This way all bullets are heated to the same temp and cooled the in same time period.
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blarby
Member
If you time your castings, water dropping produces a similar result.
The benefit to water dropping becomes much more evident if you cross section a bullet.
You end up with multiple layers of different hardness if you start with the right alloy, which can have a profoundly useful effect in bore sealing.
bigmouth
Member
I said you wipe it on, not spray on. You can wipe out all you can & enough remains to work great & no oil or taste. Now back to casting.
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