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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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Posted: 6/3/2024 2:30:17 PM EDT
[Last Edit: dryflash3]
If you missed the smelting thread, https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Did-some-smelting-today/42-552175/
Set up my casting table inside my woodshed, it can get moist here in Wa. state. Lyman furnace on custom stand, hot plate for preheating molds. If you like fully formed bullets on the first pour, get a hotplate, I run mine on medium. 6 gang Lee 7mm 135 gr RNFP "soup can". For fire forming loads in 7TCU and 7-30 Waters. 5 gang Arsenal 10 mm 200 gr RNFP, no lube groves. I like heavy bullets in 10mm. 4 gang Accurate brass, 357 180 gr RNFP. I like heavy bullets in GP-100 and Marlin. The XTP is accurate, so trying cast. 4 gang Accurate brass, 45 255 gr RNFP (45 Colt) 6 gang 155 gr .310 Spire point. After PC, Sized to .310 = 300 blk, 308, and fireforming 30-30 AI (Ackley Improved) , sized .312 = 7.62x39 Molds in tray under custom shelf, wood chips from planer for fluxing, small blue bottle of 2 cycle mix for lubing mold moving parts. Can with Lee scoop in can with dross. Bean can full of reject bullets to be remelted. Upper left, custom tray with pan, covered with 2 towels to drop hot bullets on. Bullets roll down into a pile on the bottom. I never drop hot bullets from mold on top of cooling bullets. So no dents and dings. Sharp eyed readers can see I had to switch to my Lee 20 pound pot, because plug on Lyman melted. Will fix later. This why I have a custom tray. It elevates furnace to a better height to see furnace spout. But mostly gives me room to place my molds and sprues in. I NEVER put sprues back in the melt. Anytime I add lead to the furnace, I flux. Sprues get added when refilling pot. I pick up a mold, cut off sprue, refill and place back in tray. Then on to the next one. With this method I run my furnace full on, and get good fill out on the molds. Never get frosted bullets. Fluxing, stirring the post with Lee dross spoon after wood chips were added. Clean lead after fluxing and dross removal. Layer of wood chips on fresh fluxed mix. Chips are left on the melt until pot is emptied and fresh lead added. Close up on custom bullet drop tray. Bullets dropped about 1/4 way down and roll to the bottom. Here is what I got when a pot was emptied. Notice bins for sorted bullets that passed inspection. This is what I do is sort bullets while waiting for the furnace to melt the lead I added after emptying it. These are the rejects from the pic above. Voids, wrinkles, not fully filled out, get rejected and remelted. I'm getting better as in the past I would reject half of the bullets of a melt. Those brass molds work really well and rarely throw a bad bullet. So all of you that posted in the past about brass mold, I finally listened. And of course you were right. These pics are from the last 2 days, Sunday and Monday. Going to cast today also. Rained all day yesterday, but being under cover, I didn't have to stop. Sunny so far today. All of these bullets will get PC, powder coated, sometime soon. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
[#1]
I just ran out of lead over the weekend
I love casting threads |
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Battle Of West Appalachia Survivor
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[#2]
Addictive, isn't it? I'll never run out of bullets. More cast, and on the shelf, that I will ever shoot.
My experience with a bottom pour pot, identical to yours, is to keep the lead pretty pristine, avoiding clogs of the little valve at the bottom. I don't think I ever fluxed in the pot. Scooped off dross, a bunch. And all your culls go right back into the pot - which makes casting bullets one of those hobbies where mistakes are happily dealt with. Cheers! |
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[#3]
One of these days, I will get around to it:
Attached File I got the invoice right here too….dated “7.4.2015” Never been used…..(sigh) |
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[Last Edit: ravinluna]
[#4]
Nice write-up and equipment.
I have a Lyman 66 pot with a PID I added as the old mechanical thermostat was worn out. All but one of my molds are 2 cavity. I'm an old school lube and size with my Lyman 450 and a beeswax based lube. |
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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[#5]
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Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[#6]
Originally Posted By WeimaranerDad: One of these days, I will get around to it: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/369122/BB0F1B7F-D2F7-4F91-B141-0E30BC672AA8_jpe-3231389.JPG I got the invoice right here too .dated "7.4.2015" Never been used ..(sigh) View Quote |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
|
[#7]
Originally Posted By ravinluna: Nice write-up and equipment. I have a Lyman 66 pot with a PID I added as the old mechanical thermostat was worn out. All but one of my molds are 2 cavity. I'm an old school lube and size with my Lyman 450 and a beeswax based lube. View Quote Got tired of cleaning leading from my bores. I started with 2 gang molds. My first 6 gang Lee ruined me on 2 gang. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
[#8]
I cast up a little over 500 bullets for my Mosin over the weekend. Already have them coated and checked. Now to let them settle for a month or so before loading and shooting. I forgot how nice that Accurate Mold was to use. Its been hiding in the back of the shelf for about 5 years since I last used it.
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[#9]
Originally Posted By dryflash3: You will love those brass molds. View Quote I had used Lyman 4 banger molds before that. I wish I had taken measurements of the Lyman handles versus the Lee handles these MP molds take. The Lymans really stretched out my left hand….enough that hand fatigue was an issue. |
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[#10]
Originally Posted By dryflash3: I could never just get the old school lube to work for me. Bullet size and hardness just eluded me. Got tired of cleaning leading from my bores. I started with 2 gang molds. My first 6 gang Lee ruined me on 2 gang. View Quote I had my Star lubri-sizer tricked out with heated base and the pneumatic ram. I could dial down the pressure and the heat, but something was letting the lube leak by. I could step away from the bench for five minutes, and the Star basically turned itself into this: Attached File I’d have one big, long lube spaghetti noddle in the akrobin where my lubed boolits were supposed to go. I sold the Star (with full disclosure about what I thought was a leak by) and the Lyman molds on cast boolits. They went very fast. |
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[#12]
My set up from a month ago
Attached File Attached File I have to cast some more. I already loaded up all the .45s I cast. |
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I am not an AFT agent.
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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[#13]
Well done, great pics.
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Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
[#14]
For those without tools or talent to make a bullet drop try like dryflash's, a folded towel in a soda flat works great. When the towel starts to fill up, just pick it up by an edge and your castings roll off into the flat. Place the towel back down on top of the castings and you have fresh landing area.
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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[#15]
Today was mostly repair of the Lee furnace.
The top hold down screw came loose from the spout mechanism. Took furnace apart, and ended up putting a larger screw so the screw would grab on to metal. So only got one load run through the furnace. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
[#16]
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Battle Of West Appalachia Survivor
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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[Last Edit: dryflash3]
[#17]
Originally Posted By chase45: Im curious what does the wood chips do? Just further helps keep the lead clean after fluxing? Got around to coating some with hitek I made before I exhausted my lead. Sigh I guess Ill just have to order some more antimony lead from rotometals https://i.imgur.com/83VEVa7h.jpg View Quote Got that trick from here, http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm Chapter 4. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
[#18]
Tagging, love these threads with all the great pics, pretty inspiring stuff DF3, thanks!
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Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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[#19]
Originally Posted By WeimaranerDad: I had my Star lubri-sizer tricked out with heated base and the pneumatic ram. I could dial down the pressure and the heat, but something was letting the lube leak by. I could step away from the bench for five minutes, and the Star basically turned itself into this: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/369122/005BCDC1-F02E-4D95-955D-5F75C5597645_jpe-3231735.JPG I’d have one big, long lube spaghetti noddle in the akrobin where my lubed boolits were supposed to go. I sold the Star (with full disclosure about what I thought was a leak by) and the Lyman molds on cast boolits. They went very fast. View Quote Made me LOL... thank you! |
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[#20]
Looking good gents! One of these days....
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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[#21]
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Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
|
[#22]
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Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
[#23]
Originally Posted By chase45: Im curious what does the wood chips do? Just further helps keep the lead clean after fluxing? Got around to coating some with hitek I made before I exhausted my lead. Sigh I guess Ill just have to order some more antimony lead from rotometals https://i.imgur.com/83VEVa7h.jpg View Quote Waste of time and is a mess. You don't need to do it. |
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[Last Edit: chase45]
[#25]
Still had about 10 pounds or so in the pot so I casted a short while
Small batch of mp molds 359-125. I've tried this in both 9mm and 38/357 with ridiculous accuracy. The kids didn't quite cooperate this session with naps but it's enough to batch up a test box Going to load in 9mm after hitek coating. Hoping to get a high velocity load for it as well as a low velocity for subsonic. We'll see if that pans out though Attached File |
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Battle Of West Appalachia Survivor
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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[Last Edit: dryflash3]
[#26]
Nice looking bullets chase45.
Cast some more today and began with the same molds as yesterday, about midway added some other molds; .311 94 gr RM for 7.62x25 .356 90 gr RNFP for 380 .308 71 gr RN for 32 Auto Kept casting with the .356 120 gr TC mold for 9mm. I'm gonna have a pile of these. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
[#28]
The above pic ^^
@dryflash3 about that powdercoat, how thick is the coat? Wondering about the final diameter of a given round and possible rise in pressure due to oversize, or do you cast them a bit smaller initially to compensate? |
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Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
WA, USA
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[#29]
Powder coating adds .002 to the diameter.
Run through the sizing die after powder coating, 357 bullets will be sized to .358, 44 cal .430, ect. Lead bullets are normally .001 larger than the jacketed bullets for a caliber. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other. |
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