First Batch of Round balls .45 cal

[TraprMike]

fired up the campfire tonight, got my new/used .45 cal Lymans round ball mould, melted a ~half pound~ of soft lead and went at it.

Lessons learned
1. keep your fire going. the RBs at first came out better then towards the end. fire was going down and barely melting the lead.
2. keep every thing hot.
3. get a smaller wood beating stick. I used my trappers trowl and handle was too long (combersome)
4. Once it gets dark, time to quit.
5 need to find a RB mould for my .54 now.

I'll post pics of my beauties tomorrow. had to have some adult beverages after I was done.

Thanks to all who post here. i don't post much, but read just about every thread weekly.

keep your powder dry, and your lead hot.

 

[Rifleman1776]

A half pound of lead?
At best that is about 25 balls and you would be scraping the bottom of the pot to get those last bits.
We need some pics of your set-up and balls to help.
BTW, a casting session that small does not qualify you for an adult beverage. It takes a session of no less than 200 balls for that. :wink:

 

[ohio ramrod]

I find that adding a exrension handle to the cut off lever simplies the cutting off the sprue and avoids the possibility of knocking the mold out of alignment. I have seen many molds that were damaged by people just picking up "any heavy thing" and pounding the cut off lever. Often hitting the mold sides. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[Many Klatch]

I gave up using a beater to open the sprue cutter years ago. I wear heavy leather welding gloves and I just open the sprue cutter with the gloves.

I recently demonstrated casting ball at an event using charcoal in a brazier as the heating agent. I seemed to get just the right temperature for about 15 or 20 ball then I had to add charcoal and wait for the lead to come back to temperature.

Many Klatch

 

[TraprMike]

Once I found out how easy it was to open the top, I did use my heavy glove to just open and cut the overage off.. very easy.
I bet I cast closer to 50 or 60, but those looked like Hershey choco drops.. just threw those back into the mix.
yup, no way saying i'm an expert,, just a newbie that tries.. and proud that I can make a few. everyone starts somewhere.

 

[mooman76]

Good for you. It isn't really that difficult, just takes a little common since and a learning curve.

 

[TraprMike]

Round 2 of casting.. fewer out of round, round balls this time. :thumbsup:

2 or 3 are wrinkled a little. seem to be ok.

I'm asking around if I can borrow a small scale to see how much difference is weight there is among the batch.

Did not use any beater stick. Like someone stated earlier, not necessary. gloved hand worked very well.

got to keep the mold hot though.

I made 32 good ones. I only had to redo maybe 10 this time. I used a small ingot left over from last time. My son even made a few. what a great time around the campfire. Wife was impressed with my Longhunter skills. Now to find a range day.

Still looking for a .54 round ball mold..

I'm using a Lyman with changeable molds. seems real loose where it attaches to the jaws. guess i'm not going to worry about it until it wears out.
Tonights success:

I even found an old style Altoid can without the embossing to make into my next char cloth maker thingy..

 

[George T.]

Investing in a good scale will teach you a lot about the quality of your casting. When I first started I thought I was doing great but my accuracy was very bad. When I started weighing them I found the problem. Geo. T.

 

[410-er]

:thumbsup:

 

[MSW]

when you do spring for a scale, don't feel compelled to buy the fancy electronic gadget, accurate to a zillionth of a grain, teflon coated flat black low drag high speed gee whiz ... for BP stuff, I still use the beam scale I bought many years ago

it is, if I remember correctly, a Lyman 500 ... these go for about $60 new, and theres' one on fleabay for about a bit less ...

the use of a scale helped me a lot.

make good smoke!

 

[Old Creek]

looks like the hornadys ive been shootin, keep us posted on how they shoot.

a bag mold is high on my list, like you its just another skill i want to learn.

keep up the good work.

creek

 

[Bill Hall]

I gave up using a beater to open the sprue cutter years ago. I wear heavy leather welding gloves and I just open the sprue cutter with the gloves.Many Klatch

:thumbsup: One of the fastest ways to wear out a good mold is to smack it with a stick. When I cast, I wear one welding glove on my left hand, used for opening the sprue gate and cutting the sprue. Cuts like butter. Once in a while I will LIGHTLY tap the side of the mold when a ball doesn't fall out. If you have an aluminum mold, it's even more important to keep from hitting them. Just saying. Bill

Actually, I don't even tap the mold. I hit the steel part of the mold handles.