eggwelder
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I did exactly the same thing when i was younger, i think i`ll do this again.
Casting bar
- Thread starter tenngun
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Interesting timing of this thread. I made up some small bars of lead for the purpose of casting balls in camp. I had a friend mill an aluminum bar with groves that are 1/4" X 3/8" X 11". The resulting cast pure lead bars can be seen here:
The idea was to have these for blanket sale at a few rendezvous' this year. Well, we all know how that turned out. The bars weight 6.6 oz or 2887.5 gr. I was also going to supply a chart to determine approximately how many balls one could cast from a bar, knowing the weight of a lead ball:
By dividing the bar weight by ball weight an approximate number of balls per bar could be estimated. Example:
The number of .490 balls per bar would be:
2887.5 / 177 = about 16 balls.
Well, maybe 2021 might be better for gatherings. One can hope and pray.
The idea was to have these for blanket sale at a few rendezvous' this year. Well, we all know how that turned out. The bars weight 6.6 oz or 2887.5 gr. I was also going to supply a chart to determine approximately how many balls one could cast from a bar, knowing the weight of a lead ball:
By dividing the bar weight by ball weight an approximate number of balls per bar could be estimated. Example:
The number of .490 balls per bar would be:
2887.5 / 177 = about 16 balls.
Well, maybe 2021 might be better for gatherings. One can hope and pray.
Shooting BPCR matches taught me that I didn’t know how to cast bullets. I had used an RCBS bottom pour furnace for years for which I was severely admonished by the Masters of the game. I went back to ladle pouring and found a measurable improvement. Bottom pour furnaces almost invariably leave voids in the ball.
Can you explain to me how this is possible? I don't see how ladle vs, a pour spout would make any difference ?
Exactly why I cannot explain in technical terms. The Bevel Brothers explained it in detail in an article in Muzzle Blasts earlier this year. That casting from a hand held ladle produces better bullets is a fact. This can be proven by weighing balls cast from each method. I don't know what I think. I only know what I measure.
I don’t know anything about pots, never owned one. But I do know casting ball with dipper and mold to be all sorts of fun,
Simple. Bottom pour just not fast enough flow for larger castings. Conicals and larger roundballs much more consistent from an appropriate sized ladle. Opening up nozzle of a bottom pour can help, but allows too much flow, at least in my opinion, for smaller castings.
I also use a "Bread stick" cast iron mold that I have had for years. When melting large quantities in my plumbers furnace, I melt, flux, skim, and then cast fifty or sixty bars from this "mold." They bars are quick to melt in my bottom pour Lee, or chopped with my hawk when casting over open fire from my ladle. I also can take a "bouquet" of these, tied in leather thongs, as a blanket prize. Usually very attractive to the winner!
ADK Bigfoot
ADK Bigfoot
eggwelder
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I agree, especially for the larger ones like Minies
Ok, that perspective makes sense. Many commercial casting machines are bottom pour .
I shot N-SSA for twelve years, shooting a two-band PH Enfield and a Musketoon of the same manufacture. I shot about 5000 rounds a year, casting all my own minne's. From a bottom-pour Lee furnace. After the first ten, they all were perfect. By weight and measurement.
ADK Bigfoot
ADK Bigfoot
RjSixgun
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I've been shooting in the N-SSA for 30 years, I still cast on a propane stove in a steel pot with a ladle. I don't think length of time in the N-SSA has anything to do with it though. Its how I was taught and what I like.
I feel I have more control over the mold and the pour, and yes I did open the hole in my ladle to pour a higher volume faster.
Accuracy? I have framed pictures of 5-shot groups at 50 yards that are one ragged hole. 5 shots, rapid fire, in less than two minutes.
ADK Bigfoot
ADK Bigfoot
Griz44Mag
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Bar like in????
When smelting or reducing big bars into little bars - I use Lyman molds - they make 1# bars
The LEE mold makes 1# and 1\2 pound bars....
Griz44Mag
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Funny - I have been casting from a bottom pour Lee for decades.
And I weigh all my bullets and balls.
Whoever told you that is not a "master of the game", at least not a master of the cast.......
A properly heated pot and mold does not get "voids" in the bullet, no matter if you are dipping or bottom pouring.
Don't be so gullible.....
If you were getting voids in your bullets, your mold is too cold... PERIOD
No that not what I was thinking. Ingots of a similar shape were made in the past. But a simple bar that looked like a lead bread stick was common. You could cut it with a hand axe and cut little hunks and melt in a ladle
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