i have lead, have pot, have time, have a mold dont have and know how.

S

Smokescreens

New member
last spring i started to collect lead when i found it at what i felt like was a good deal when i pulled the trigger on it. i have somewhere around 4lbs of it stacked in the corner of the garage in crates. pure lead - linotype but i jave only played around with casting ingot and a few 230gn 30 cal for my 300 blackout subs.

i have not had much luck with "perfect casts" so far. but like i said, only tinkered with it. maybe 200 projectiles thus far. i can get the molds to fill out easy enough but i always have a wrinkle in the finish. like a shallow stream, nothing like the grand canyon. just like something dragged accross the surface of them. is that "ok"

i have tried fluxing more. hotter, colder, heating the mold up more, mold a little cooler, different lead, longer cooling time in the mold and shorter time in the mold.

am i worried over nothing or missing something?
 
Wrinkles are from cold alloy, cold mold, or contaminants (oil, grease, etc.).

Sometimes, the mold is fine, the alloy is fine, and the mold is clean, but the sprue plate is cold.


Are you using a thermometer in the pot?
 
Hensley and Gibbs #68 semi-wadcutter mold. 200g .45 ACP. I loaded these for years. Loaded them on my balcony, little pot. It was a 4 cavity mould, I had no problems.
Had a means of putting beeswax into the grease grooves. It is many years ago that I loaded my own ammo.
 
There is a place devoted to nothing but casting and loading lead bullets .
After casting for 40 years I joined 10 years ago ...learned a lot of new tricks .
If you want to learn there is a wealth of information on the site and a forum where you can ask specific questions .
It's not rocket science and you can keep things simple and cast good bullets .
I use a electric pot , a Lyman spouted dipper and a mould. I don't have a thermometer , PID , hot plate or any other piece of "special equipment" and cast perfect bullets with this set up . If I'm going to cast em...I want perfect bullets and the open top pot Lyman dipper and one , two & three cavity moulds do the job.

Check out www.castboolits.gunloads.com

They do have one little idiosyncrasy ....they refer to the cast lead projectiles as " boolits"
as long as you call them boolits and not bullets you will be fine .
Since most are stuck at home you get a lot of replies from the members ...Nice Bunch .
Gary
Let me add ...Pick up a copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition .
The first 18 chapters deal with everything related to casting , lubing sizing and alloys to use ...the rest is cast bullet loading data rifle and handgun .
Get one ...it will be your casting bible ...study it !
 
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Make sure you wear a mask. Good buddy of mine got lead poisoning that they believed came from all the casting he did.
 
My way

I'm new to casting too.

I put a 1-2 lead ingots into the and melt it with my propane torch. The melted lead warms up the pot faster. When that lead liquifies, I add more ingots or fill the rest of the pot with scrap lead like range scrap. Again, I use the propane torch to melt the lead from the bullets on top and remove the copper jackets. I use the ladle and screw driver to take our the rest of the brass jackets and sludge. With the pot about full, I insert the Lee mold partially into the lead and the heat transfers to the mold. It'll heat up quick. If your mold isn't warm enough after 20 seconds touching the lead in the pot by now and casting nice bullets, it will after two casts. Don't put the mold on concrete or the mold will cool. The Lee pot has a plate that insulates it well.

As for ventilation, I took a large box and partially put the lead pot in it. Both ends of the box were opened on both sides, lengthwise. I fold up the box when I'm finished with it. Then I take a small fan to blow the fumes through the box to the bushes outside the garage. A filter would be better. That's how I deal with the fumes.

A lot of guys probably have a better setup. I'm new at casting bullets but it's fun.
 
pot is a lymag mag25 mold is a lee 2 cavity alum.
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Smokescreens,

I use the very same Lyman Mag25. Love it. Since I don't know what temperature your Mag25 is set at, about the only advice I can give you is cast fast - aluminum sheds it's heat fast.

Don
 
Make sure you wear a mask. Good buddy of mine got lead poisoning that they believed came from all the casting he did.
Click to expand...

Highly unlikely. Lead oxidizes at temperatures well above casting temperatures. I've been casting for about 40 years without a mask, and my lead level remains low. Shooting in an indoor range is what you really have to watch out for.

Don
 
I rented an indoor range for my classes. For 25 years. When we moved to Orlando, I had lead poisoning! My nails where blue! No indoor ranges anymore.
A few months, LP was gone. And never returned. One visit per year for Re-Ql. G License.
Into an indoor range. Same Glock 19 4th Gen. TruGlo night sights. It surprises me how many Security Officers still use the Glock Plastic sights.
My 60-year-old son is used to his 84-year-old Dad beating him! "Use the time allotted!"
Quote, I. (As he owns the Company! It doesn't phase him)
The light is not the best, so focus on the 3 green dots!
 
Lee aluminum molds need a really good scrubbing with hot water and good dish soap like Dawn to remove the oil used in cutting the cavities. Usually i do this a couple times before I even start to cast. Once that is done some even use rake cleaner. I would rather just scrub a couple times.

Once you've done that you'll need to preheat it and get it up to temp before you start. For a 2C Lee you can usually just set them on the edge of the pot rim while you alloy is heating up. Maybe the first couple of pours might not fill out right but you just keep throwing them and as the mold gets almost to the alloy temp they usually get better. If they get a frosty or sandblasted look to them slow down and give the mold a few seconds more to cool before you throw more.

If your still having problems, might add 4-6" of some 95/5 solder to the pot and stir it in good. Sometimes that's all it'll take.

Might also look into the following link, Articles of Glen Fryxell while there download his PDF book. There is a wealth of tips and knowledge compiled there that you can make a nice binder which is handy to have close to the bench. I have referenced it many time while having one or another issue.

Hope that helps.
 
I've been casting lead for a few decades now - always outdoors. gaming figures first and later bullets. I've never used a mask. I've been tested for lead twice with no results. Rules of thumb, don't cast where you eat - Don't eat while you cast. There are numerous possible sources of lead poisoning, but in my experience, casting responsibly isn't one of them.

My process involves melting my scrap lead in a metal pot, fluxing with saw dust, skimming the junk and contaminants out of the pot with a metal spoon that has a hole drilled into it to allow molten lead to go back into the pot. This cleaning melt then goes into ingots. I use a small muffin tin to mold my ingots.

When I'm casting, I flux with a pinch of borax laundry powder and continually skim the residue off the casting pot. Preheat the mold - expect the first few drops to only heat up the mold. Then after that, I start getting clean castings.

One note - never cast during or after it rains. High humidity and any moisture will cause voids and bubbles in your castings.
 
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I preheat on the stove...and I always flip it to warm the sprue plate as well. Get good bullets right from the get go with both Lee and NOE molds.
 
The alloy can affect the casting. Try half lino and half wheel weight, or add some tin to the wheel weights(50/50 bar solder). I ran straight lino for years, made beautiful bullets. Normally, too hot bullets will be frosted, too cool will have wrinkles. Mold has to be clean and dry, oil of any kind in the mold will mess things up.
 
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