Casting questions

[50cal.cliff]

This post says it all. No, I have never cast my own balls but I am getting geared to! So since they say the only dumb questions is the one you forgot to ask, here goes! :grin: Years ago I learned how to pour lead joints over Oakum and pack them but that's been along time ago.
Is there a site online with info about this subject?
Am I correct in that you add beeswax to the melting lead to make any impurities rise to top so they can be skimmed?
Do you need to soot the mold, seems like I remember someone saying somthing about it?
If so you don't have to that between all pours do you?
Is their a trick to dipping and pouring out of a cast iron pot? (can't afford a fancy lead pot)
Would it work to warm the mold on the same fire as the lead, using a double cavity Lee REAL mold with a .490 ball, or do I need to be careful about getting the mold too hot? :hmm:
Any info or advice along these lines would be helpful

 

[Blizzard of '93]

yes, it helps to flux the melt.
yes you must soot the mold
yes you have to be cautious about mold temp.
REAL should be as pure lead as possible.
good luck casting. don't use wheelweights at all. :thumbsup:

 

[smokehouseman]

Give this site a try, I found it extremely informative..........
[url] http://goatlipstips.cas-town.com[/url]

 

[Bubba45]

What are you planning for a heat source?
What type of pot or you going to use?

One of those elect. hotplates(1000w+) with adjustable thermostat should be enough heat for a small 5# pot like Lyman sold,even an old cast iron frying pan from the second hand.
Might even find an old gravey dipper spoon and put wooden handles on it.


I think lee recommends dipping the corner of the mold in the melt for 15 seconds or something.I dip the corner until lead wont stick to it.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Thanks for the advice and the info everyone.
Bubba45, I will be using my homemade fish cooker,for a heat source. I made it with a burner out a propane furnace. It will boil a 5 qt cooker of water in just a few minutes.
This is what I will be using for a pot.[url] http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=523105&t=11082005[/url]
This going to be my dipper.[url] http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=286579&t=11082005[/url]
I think that will work. What do you all think about that combo?
I am still unclear if you need to soot between pours or just initially?
Looks like it you had to stop and do it between each pour the mold is going to get too cold.
I know you are suppose to cushion the fall of the newly cast balls.
What do you all use to dump the balls out on after casting?

 

[Stumpkiller]

I soot at the beginning and maybe once again every 50 casts or so. I use "Emergency candles" that I found at a dollar store (eight in a box). When I'm done I leave the last ball in the mold to seal it from moisture.

I use a Frisbee with two Neoprene mouse pads under a piece of aluminum foil as a drop spot.

 

[jercon]

I dump them on a folded towel don't let the wife catch you LOL! aso I use a heave glove and just push the sprue plate around. I don't hit it with a dowel like most casters say.for mold soot I use (Rapine mold prep from Rapine Molds) it is great stuff you will not have to redo it for a while.

 

[Bubba45]

That will do nicely :thumbsup: With that burner you'll be able to get it up to heat quick and throttle back easy enough. I have a 8"Hx12"w pot I welded up and use on a turkey fryer burner for melting wheel weights to clean them up and make ingots.
Get an old spoon and extend the handle length for fluxing and dipping the dirt/dross out of the pot.

I use a bic lighter to soot the cavity of mould then resoot if the balls start sticking.

Its almost as addictive as gun building :grin:

 

[arquebus]

The ladle & pot you are buying will work fine, though that 10lb pot may be a bit small for your propane ring. I use a similar set-up but with a small cast iron Dutch Oven I bought from a camping store, it must hold 30lbs. Those RCBS/Lyman ladles do a great job with most any size roundballs & smaller caliber bullets, but for a larger conical mould I found enlarging the pour hole slightly, to get a faster flow, helped alot. I have two ladles, one with each size hole.
As for dumping the bullets onto something, I just use a folded up T-Shirt to cushion the fall. I would also recommend using a gloved hand to open the sprue plate, rather than a mallet or dowel, as the soft lead we use doesn't take much effort to shear & it's less stress on the mould. Some moulds I coat with candle or Bic lighter smoke before a casting session & will do so again only when the bullets show signs of sticking. Other moulds I have don't seem to need it, usually the iron & brass ones. I preheat my moulds by resting them on the edge of the pot while the lead is melting, & that way it's pretty much good to go after one or two pours. Please be sure to do your casting in a well ventilated area, those fumes can get to you!

 

[Many Klatch]

Lots of good advice here. I dump the newly cast balls into a paper egg crate the kind you buy at the grocery. It helps to keep track of how many dozen I cast at one sitting.

Just remember to keep pouring the lead after the mold fills. If it is a larger caliber, the lead in the mold will shrink as it cools and if there is no hot lead on top of the mold, there may be a holiday in the finished bullet.

Many Klatch

 

[MikeChapin]

I have used that same setup with an electric buffet range for the last thirty years. It works great. Get your temprature to where you are casting balls that are not wrinkled(too cool) or frosty looking(too hot). Once you get into the zone you can push out a lot of balls in a short amount of time.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Thanks for all the great info evryone. Does bring up a few more questions though!
What is the optimum temperature for casting lead?
Do you all use a thermometer or just eyeball it?
If you use a thermometer where do you get it?
A cooking thermometer wouldn't go high enough or stand the heat would it?

 

[rabbit03]

You mean like this? :grin: Dang Plumbers anyway! :blah:

rabbit03

 

[Bubba45]

A thermometer isnt really needed unless you are alloying.For running ball Just keep the lead hot nough to make filled out ball.Mostly its a balance act between ball size,mould type,amount of lead in pot and so forth but also your casting speed rate.Its something you will need to play with until you get the balance just so.You will get it pretty quickly :thumbsup:

 

[jercon]

Get a Lyman thermomete,It has the casting Temp's on it I have use one for years and it it is just about right for everything.

 

[jercon]

Like the Pictuers Rabbit we have all been there!

 

[MichaelPetersen]

it has allready been said, but it's worth saying again: beware the leadfumes.

even though i've only been casting 8-10 times, and allways outdoors, a recent blood testing revealed a leadlevel 4 times normal.

so if you're doing it indoors, get an exhaustfan and if you're doing it outdoors, check that the wind is carrying the fumes away, not just 'round and 'round.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Yea Rabbit, that's pretty much what I had in mind! :grin:
Thanks everyone for the advice I remember enough from learning to lead pipe joints years ago the cautions to know to be careful.
Seen where the instructor had told someone about water and hot lead and the fool didn't belive him.
He spat in the pot :shocked2: and it blowed up about 8-10' in the air and hit the bottom of old metal AC duct. Looked like it had been shot with buckshot. Fool lived but he wern't too purdy after that they said! :shake:
I take the lead poisoning thing serious too! That and welding Galvanised steel. The later nearly killed my Dad after an extended welding session!

 

[50cal.cliff]

Have any of you all used this product? :hmm: It's suppose to a lube and release agent in one![url] http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=763758[/url]

 

[Bubba45]

Yessir, it works good.But if you dont get the nozzle cleared good and it sets on a shelf very long it will setup in the oriface