I see where most say to drop cast round balls on soft cloth..when I cast bullets for handguns using wheelweights I dropped them into a 5 gallon bucket of water..is there a problem doing that with lead roundballs? Will it make them to hard?
Water Quelching
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rabbit03
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No, it will just turn them BLUE
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
I really can't see where that would hurt. I use the soft cloth method. Another fellow I shoot with left his good balls home and by mistake took the culls with him to the state championship. Guess what? He won the Championship with them, frosted balls, holes, and air pockets and all!
:m2c:
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
I really can't see where that would hurt. I use the soft cloth method. Another fellow I shoot with left his good balls home and by mistake took the culls with him to the state championship. Guess what? He won the Championship with them, frosted balls, holes, and air pockets and all!
:m2c:
Guest
I put a towel in the bottom of the bucket (filled with water) so they don't dent or ding.
I like the water quelching because it cools them off quick for easy handling. I heard somewhere online that it makes the wheelweight bullets harder.
Reading the Lee mold instructions making roundballs harder is better than getting them too soft. Even advocats adding wheelweights to the mix.
I haven't been able to find any lead at the junk yards..all these jerks around here act like I'm an idiot for asking..did find some at a plumbing supply for $12 per $5lbs ingot so guess I will get a couple of those..high but still better than roundball prices.
I've got a free supply of wheelweights so will try some of those also.
Reading the Lee mold instructions making roundballs harder is better than getting them too soft. Even advocats adding wheelweights to the mix.
I haven't been able to find any lead at the junk yards..all these jerks around here act like I'm an idiot for asking..did find some at a plumbing supply for $12 per $5lbs ingot so guess I will get a couple of those..high but still better than roundball prices.
I've got a free supply of wheelweights so will try some of those also.
Guest
Quenching lead doesn't make it markedly harder because the metal doesn't behave like steel - more like copper, which gets softer when heated and quenched. However, as you noted, it does cool them off quickly.
My casting pot is up on a bench and the bucket is on the floor so water doesn't splash high enough to land in the pot. I also don't add scrap back in to the melt without checking to make sure it's dry.
Try tire shops for wheel weights and plumbers or roofers for pure lead. Lead is hazmat so the scrap yards take it as a courtesy but it's hit-and-miss whether they'll have any at a particular time.
My casting pot is up on a bench and the bucket is on the floor so water doesn't splash high enough to land in the pot. I also don't add scrap back in to the melt without checking to make sure it's dry.
Try tire shops for wheel weights and plumbers or roofers for pure lead. Lead is hazmat so the scrap yards take it as a courtesy but it's hit-and-miss whether they'll have any at a particular time.
I get all the wheel weights from a guy I know who owns tire company..also got some lead tonight. My girlfriend got me about 30lbs. from the Radison Hotel where she works. Looks like roofing flashing..real soft..maybe too soft. I may have to add some wheel weights.
Guest
Too soft eh? I take it off your hands! Just throw it in a flat rate USPS Priority Mail box and I'll pay the postage. Wouldn't want you to waste your wheel weights trying to harden it. :kid: or am I?
Just :m2c:
Just :m2c:
Claypipe..I never heard of this too soft stuff until I read the Lee Mold instructions..here's what it says.
Pure lead is too soft to make good bullets for all but very light loads or black powder guns.
The problem is and was is that I didn't catch the part about or black powder guns.
I still think I'll throw some wheel weights in there anyway just to balance them out good.
Pure lead is too soft to make good bullets for all but very light loads or black powder guns.
The problem is and was is that I didn't catch the part about or black powder guns.
I still think I'll throw some wheel weights in there anyway just to balance them out good.
Guest
That's for cartridge bullets. I like wheel weight balls for penetrations, and pure lead for the knock down.
Just :m2c:
Just :m2c:
