SAIA: Silver Boolits

[Airborne Falcon]

I know it has probably already been asked a few hundred thousand times, but I did a search and couldn't find anything. Everything hit on "silver" stream or you know, silver "colored" this and that but my question is, has anyone actually ever cast any honest to gosh for real certified .999% pure silver boolits? Vampire, Werewolf killin' boolits?

Here's why I ask just so you don't think this is crazy.

I've got a good friend, a bit of a dumb@$$ but a good old friend still ... and he's all into this Zombie, Vampire stuff lately - watching all of the shows, prepping like crazy, etc. He's one of those guys that has everything, because he has made an incredible amount of money in the Internet business ... but my wife was talking to his wife about an upcoming birthday party and she wanted to know if I could cast some silver bullets for him for his birthday. She is going to give me several silver dollars to do it with ...

... and so, has anyone ever done it? I need direction. I'm wondering if my pot will even get hot enough?

[Mooseman]

Real silver melts at 1763.2 °F. Your pot wont get that hot.
I would suggest contacting a jeweler as he can use a bullet and make a mold to cast a silver boolit...it will be spendy more than likely...Cheaper if you supply the silver like a 1 oz silver eagle .999 coin or some boullion silver bars.

[runfiverun]

a jewler could handle it.
a couple of hundred bucks in silver quarters should cover it.

[DrB]

Uh, so since there aren't any werewolves to shoot, would he really notice if you conserved the silver and cast some nice silver shiny hard lead bullets?

+1 on the jeweler, but they will be making a lost wax mold, so the thing to do would be to take them some bullets cast in wax (i seem to recall beeswax works fine). After you talk to the jeweler I expect you will end up making several wax investments, as you will get one single use mold per wax investment if they do it the usual way. Ya might also talk to the jeweler about their casting setup to see if they have any use for your wax sprues for the mold funnel... Probably not as I imagine the usual inertia caster has a particular setup they weld a sprue onto the investment for.

Best regards
DrB

[Airborne Falcon]

I actually attended jewelers' school down in Sebring, Florida twenty years ago and learned the lost wax investment casting method - we did silver, gold and platinum back then. I just don't have the vacuum casting equipment or a pot that would get hot enough ... but I do happen to know a couple of good jewelers.

Good idea men. Didn't think of that. All I need to do is take him a few fresh outta the box 240 grain Gold Dots ... no, wait.

Why couldn't I just let him cast directly into one of my molds? I wonder if it would be too much heat for one of my molds?

Better yet - if my molds would handle it couldn't I invest in one of those small smelting crucibles, one of those ceramic jobs, melt it down with a torch and then cast into my own molds?

She is giving me silver coins, silver dollars. I doubt he'll ever fire the dang things but who knows ... just in case, I wanna make sure these bad boys go bang without any problems so I gotta get them close to weight and still be able to lube'em up right.

I'm not sure if having an jeweler make a casting tree out of several factory pills, but make them solid silver .... wait, I guess it would have to be similar to solid copper.

[DrB]

I actually attended jewelers' school down in Sebring, Florida twenty years ago and learned the lost wax investment casting method - we did silver, gold and platinum back then. I just don't have the vacuum casting equipment or a pot that would get hot enough ... but I do happen to know a couple of good jewelers.

Good idea men. Didn't think of that. All I need to do is take him a few fresh outta the box 240 grain Gold Dots ... no, wait.

Why couldn't I just let him cast directly into one of my molds? I wonder if it would be too much heat for one of my molds?

Better yet - if my molds would handle it couldn't I invest in one of those small smelting crucibles, one of those ceramic jobs, melt it down with a torch and then cast into my own molds?

She is giving me silver coins, silver dollars. I doubt he'll ever fire the dang things but who knows ... just in case, I wanna make sure these bad boys go bang without any problems so I gotta get them close to weight and still be able to lube'em up right.

I'm not sure if having an jeweler make a casting tree out of several factory pills, but make them solid silver .... wait, I guess it would have to be similar to solid copper.

I'm confused. Why wouldn't you just make a wax investment with your mold a la gloobit? If you took them a copper bullet they're not going to be able to melt that out of the mold.

I would suspect that you would want an unholy preheat to get good fillout with a steel mold (possibly causing warping), and aluminum might give you problems with compatibility. Isnt that one of the reason jewelers use those inertia casters that sling the alloy into the mold (and use an investment mold material that insulates better than metal?

Anyway, one of your jeweler friends should be able to set you up if you take him some good wax bullets.

I would advise against fooling with powder. I expect the bullets will come out undersize for bore... And are you going to test shoot them/do load development at the current price of silver? Actually, might not be that big a deal though.

Be sure to post pics.

[hickfu]

Airborn Falcon,

If your friend ever shoots the boolits.... Please let me know where the range is, I would be there with a metal detector trying to find those!

[badbob454]

or a silver rod turned on a lathe , at a machine shop...

[runfiverun]

aluminum wouldn't cut it.
and you'd most likely trash a mehanite mold.
i'd do the wax and let them handle it.

[tgator]

Use cerrosafe. It looks like silver and will save you $$!


Tim

[popper]

Then there is the problem of defacing US currency. The Lone Ranger thing was tried years ago, didn't shoot worth a darn. Just silver electroplate a couple copper bullets. The plating might hold up to shooting. Keep the coins for $ value. I know, he's got plenty of $$$, I don't know how much silver it takes to kill a vamp zombie, couldn't require too much. I suppose an ash arrow would do the trick too, depending on shot placement.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Then there is the problem of defacing US currency. The Lone Ranger thing was tried years ago, didn't shoot worth a darn. Just silver electroplate a couple copper bullets. The plating might hold up to shooting. Keep the coins for $ value. I know, he's got plenty of $$$, I don't know how much silver it takes to kill a vamp zombie, couldn't require too much. I suppose an ash arrow would do the trick too, depending on shot placement.

It's not the defacing thats the problem, but putting it back into circulation. It's not against the law to deface currency or coins it's just spending it after you do it. As for casting silver bullets, I would just forget it, it will ruin a bullet mold.

I actually have a Lone Ranger Silver bullet, I have had it for a very long time. I don't have a clue what it's made of but it is silver in color. Silver will tarnish, but my Lone Ranger Silver bullet never has.

[mdi]

My idea would be to silver plate some solid copper bullets...

[Airborne Falcon]

Super replies and ideas, thanks - I gotta make this happen.

I actually talked to a jeweler buddy of mine this morning and he laughed and said it was a fairly common request but that he had never done it before.

[Thompsoncustom]

dimes made before 1965 where made of 90% silver.......just saying. I bet you could do it in a steel mold the hard part is going to be finding the temp at which it fills out nice if there is one and what temp to keep the mold.

[762 shooter]

It is illegal to deface US Currency. Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code, defacement, mutilating, cutting, disfiguring, perforating, uniting or cementing together any bank bill, draft, note or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such items unfit to be reissued, shall be fined and/or imprisoned for up to six months.


Doesn't mention coins, unless coins are "other evidence of debt".

I can see it now........One federal prisoner to another, "What did you do?. I melted a dime."

762

[bowfin]

I bought one as a gag gift for my son years ago when silver was $6 an ounce.

The place who made them used graphite molds.

[docone31]

Casting silver boolitts is no biggee. Get a couple of ounces of casting grain, 60$ or so, make six, or whatever wax models to burn out. Cast them up, polish them, I am not so sure on reloading them. They will be real hard, and if fired, might be a bore obstruction.
However, it can be done. They are available on the net also. I have seen them.
Fun idea for the person who has it all. No expansionk, super hard. Wouldn't do much on a Zombie though. No expansion. Small hole in, small hole out.
You gotta get serious with those grey brain eating critters!

[MikeS]

As far as defacing currency, If I was given a bunch of silver dollars I would go to a reputable coin dealer, and trade some of the silver dollars for silver ingots, then melt down the ingots, still got silver, and it's totally legal! However if I was given the task of making some silver bullets, I would go buy a box of those solid copper (or are they brass, or gilding metal, etc.) bullets, and have them plated with a heavy coating of silver. I think if the plating was done heavy enough the bullets would look the same as solid silver bullets, and if he should ever decide to actually shoot them, not that much money is going down range!

[DrB]

I think shrinkage would be in the ballpark of .982... So if your wax investment was around .360", your bullet diameter should be around .353". Might have to really crimp that in there, and dont expect it to hit the barn if you shot it. I doubt you'd have much problem with pressure. Silver has pretty good lubricity.

The crowd suggesting electroplating probably have by far the best suggestion. It would be silver, it would shoot, and it wouldnt break the bank. Shouldn't be too hard to rig an electrolytic cell at home if you wanted to, or take it to your local jeweler or trophy shop.