Smokey Joe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,617
This is a report from a newbie bullet caster--actually, I haven't even gotten that far--YET!
Got a screaming deal I couldn't pass up on an RCBS bottom-pour bullet casting furnace a while back. So of course I had to get all the other "stuff" that went with it, which I have been accumulating here & there, catch-as-catch-can.
Also have been bringing fired bullets back from whatever range I'm on, as well as accumulating Pb from whatever source.
So the first step in bullet manufacture is to smelt some lead of a mix to cast bullets. I figured the easy way would be best for a newbie--Just melt up the fired bullets, clean off all the dirt and various jackets, etc, and cast ingots! Today was the day. I'll use these to make target bullets, so if they're a little soft, well, they won't be going very fast anyhow. Hard-cast hunting bullets will be later.
Pic # 248 shows the set-up. Pic # 252 is a closer look. Actually I had 3x that much dross--emptied the little cans twice before! Pic # 249 is the finished product--the first ingots poured are on the upper right--HA! Practice makes perfect. The 2 plastic jars were each about 3/4 full of bullets, for the raw material for this project. Pic # 253--My wife being absent for the afternoon, Rajah assumed supervisory duties.
Results & Conclusions:
1. This is easy--If I can do it then anyone can do it. I wore all-cotton, plus work boots, safety glasses, and work gloves. There was no splashing of molten lead or any other bad cess.
2. Products that worked: Frankford Arsenal (Midway's house brand) Drop Out coated the inside of the Lyman ingot mould, and the ingots fell right out when the mould was turned over. Likewise the Frankford Arsenal Clean Cast Fluxing compound did its job also. Used Birchwood Casey's Gun Scrubber to hit the frying pan, the big ladle, the small spoon, and the ingot mould before starting. (But non-chlorinated brake cleaner would have worked just as good and is cheaper.) An ordinary stainless steel teaspoon was great for picking out bullet jackets and dirt floating on the molten lead. The big ladle worked fine for dipping lead and pouring it into the Lyman ingot mould, after I figured out to heat it before dipping. The Lyman mould itself also worked just fine, and the ingots will fit into the RCBS furnace nicely.
3. Products that didn't work so well: The propane-fired iron cook-stove didn't heat the lead very well--the lead kept trying to solidify around the edge of the pan, and the bullets took FOREVER to get melted. I used the little propane torch to "augment" the cook-stove, and to heat the ladle before dipping and pouring with it. The cook-stove may just need some adjustment--it burned with a partly yellow flame.
It was time-consuming: This little smelting job took about 4 hours to set-up, do, clean up after, and tear down & put away. I expect it'll go faster when/if I can get my cook-stove adjusted properly. On the other hand, I've now got material to cast a couple hundred target bullets. Already got the mould for that, and a Lyman lubricator/sizer.
So there you are, FWIW.
Got a screaming deal I couldn't pass up on an RCBS bottom-pour bullet casting furnace a while back. So of course I had to get all the other "stuff" that went with it, which I have been accumulating here & there, catch-as-catch-can.
Also have been bringing fired bullets back from whatever range I'm on, as well as accumulating Pb from whatever source.
So the first step in bullet manufacture is to smelt some lead of a mix to cast bullets. I figured the easy way would be best for a newbie--Just melt up the fired bullets, clean off all the dirt and various jackets, etc, and cast ingots! Today was the day. I'll use these to make target bullets, so if they're a little soft, well, they won't be going very fast anyhow. Hard-cast hunting bullets will be later.
Pic # 248 shows the set-up. Pic # 252 is a closer look. Actually I had 3x that much dross--emptied the little cans twice before! Pic # 249 is the finished product--the first ingots poured are on the upper right--HA! Practice makes perfect. The 2 plastic jars were each about 3/4 full of bullets, for the raw material for this project. Pic # 253--My wife being absent for the afternoon, Rajah assumed supervisory duties.
Results & Conclusions:
1. This is easy--If I can do it then anyone can do it. I wore all-cotton, plus work boots, safety glasses, and work gloves. There was no splashing of molten lead or any other bad cess.
2. Products that worked: Frankford Arsenal (Midway's house brand) Drop Out coated the inside of the Lyman ingot mould, and the ingots fell right out when the mould was turned over. Likewise the Frankford Arsenal Clean Cast Fluxing compound did its job also. Used Birchwood Casey's Gun Scrubber to hit the frying pan, the big ladle, the small spoon, and the ingot mould before starting. (But non-chlorinated brake cleaner would have worked just as good and is cheaper.) An ordinary stainless steel teaspoon was great for picking out bullet jackets and dirt floating on the molten lead. The big ladle worked fine for dipping lead and pouring it into the Lyman ingot mould, after I figured out to heat it before dipping. The Lyman mould itself also worked just fine, and the ingots will fit into the RCBS furnace nicely.
3. Products that didn't work so well: The propane-fired iron cook-stove didn't heat the lead very well--the lead kept trying to solidify around the edge of the pan, and the bullets took FOREVER to get melted. I used the little propane torch to "augment" the cook-stove, and to heat the ladle before dipping and pouring with it. The cook-stove may just need some adjustment--it burned with a partly yellow flame.
It was time-consuming: This little smelting job took about 4 hours to set-up, do, clean up after, and tear down & put away. I expect it'll go faster when/if I can get my cook-stove adjusted properly. On the other hand, I've now got material to cast a couple hundred target bullets. Already got the mould for that, and a Lyman lubricator/sizer.
So there you are, FWIW.
:banghead: This uploading takes forever.
