Still new to casting

[Coonazz]

If (a) Coonazz from South Louisiana hasn't found a better way the rest of us might as well give up and follow your lead. Where in SE Louisiana? I spent a few years in Thibodaux. Welcome to CastBoolits!

David

David,
First and foremost, thanks for the welcome. I am from a little bitty place called Pass Manchac; my family(the German side) has resided here since 1800. The Cajun side moved to Madisonville a few years before that. I currently live in Madisonville on the old, old (did I say old) family farm.
I lived in New Mexico for 4 years, too. Whereabouts are you? I lived in Cloudcroft. Drew an either sex permit for Elk in the Gila Wilderness while I was a resident....Shot a nice 5x5 bull there with a 300 WM @535 yards. My dad ranged it for me(w/a rangefinder) and still to this day he says "I wished you would've missed". Real nice of him; he sure as hell didn't turn down any of the spoils, however!!
John
PS- didn't mean to hijack this thread...just had to answer

[Coonazz]

Back to the OP,
Give up on the sawzall; I have tried this with metal blades to the most aggressive blade that I could find. Steel doesn't behave like lead when tryin to cut.... Just my .02
John

[Jim..47]

Welcome to Cast Boolits

A couple quick tips for you to try.

When you first start a casting session and are wanting to get your mold up to temp, (whicl eliminate most wrinkled boolits) leave the boolits in the mold for a longer time. This will allow the mold to suck the heat out of them.

To clear your spout or anything else needing cleared or fluxed, try a generous portion of paraffin.

The good boolits look real nice, so you are getting there.

[dbosman]

A band saw with a metal cutting blade works nicely.

[Cane_man]

a PID temp controller is the bottom pour pot's best friend

[eljefeoz]

Welcome and nice pics there RT
I used to run a call sign a long time ago, too much QRM now, prefer to cast.
Just did my first run of 145 RCBS-Sil for the 7x57.getting better with each session- over a 100 perfect projjies.Not much I can add, except, yeah, lurking pays off. I did it for about a year...

[USMC87]

Hey everybody has rejects, You have some nice looking bullets to load and shoot. Keep at it and you will be 2nd to none.

[bigbore3x]

Hey all, new here but the best way I've found to deal with large chunks of lead is a bigger pot over my turkey fryer burner and pour it into 1lb ingots. easier to store and work with and fits the lee pot perfectly.

[max range]

As mentioned, you can toss your rejects back into the pot. If they aren't around, nobody can see them. If nobody sees them, they don't exist. hahaha. Every caster has a few rejects, its part of the game.

[markshere2]

I used a circular saw to chunk up some thick lead for my buddy. Keep the blade speed up and forward advance slow.

worked fine.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Nobody ever sees me major mistakes. Although a partially open Lee Leakomatic did make a fine sculpture and I have it over my workbench so I do not do it again.

[Grumpa72]

The Lee bottom pour pot does get some "stuff" trapped at the bottom at least for me. Every two or three casting sessions, I empty the pot (unplugging it of course) and then disassemble the rod that shuts off the flow. I then take a piece of stiff wire and run it up and through the hole to clear it out. Then, I take a steel "tooth" brush and invert the pot and scrub it. When I am done, the inside of my pot is very clean and has nothing left to clog the hole. Don't file the point of the rod or drill out the hole. The lead will come out too fast.

[bear67]

I stole the idea from someone else, but I break big "hunks" of led up with my gasoline log splitter. Just put a piece of 2x lumber between the lead and the anvil and "split" away. I did a 220 pound weight off of a sailboat keel once.

[leeonious]

I am a NOOOB TOO thanks for giving me encouragement. Looking forward to the laughs!!
Thanks for having me everyone
PEACE

[melter68]

WEll i have been casting for about ten years and you still learn new tricks and tips, so class me as a NOOB too.

Peace too

[TXGunNut]

Still feel like I'm pretty new to this, had a pretty humbling experience with a new mould last session. Probably had more re-melts than keepers but I had a nice pile of shiny boolits when I got it figured out so it's all good.
Your boolits look good, you know what to do to make them better and we'll always be looking for ways to improve our process so you're off to a great start.

[Garyshome]

Ha Ha cut lead with a swazall? I tried not that easy

[Vinne]

I stole the idea from someone else, but I break big "hunks" of led up with my gasoline log splitter. Just put a piece of 2x lumber between the lead and the anvil and "split" away. I did a 220 pound weight off of a sailboat keel once.

Hay, now that's an idea!!

[Radioteacher]

Thanks everyone for the pointers, tips and tricks.

Melted fifteen pounds of lead on May 26. I used two molds. The first is my new Lee Tumble Lube 124gr 9mm six place mold. (TL356-124-2R 9mm Luger). The second is the two place 230gr .309 300 Blackout Lee Tumble Lube mold. (TL309-230-5R) I think that Midway has an exclusive on this mold.

I made about 300 124 grain 9mm and about 300 230 grain .309 boolits. I had very few issues and did very well.

I added a box fan to do a better job controlling lead fumes and to keep me cooler.

This time I really did a good job cleaning and fluxing the pot. I had very few drips. The lead flowed very well from the bottom spout.

I cleaned the molds in the sink with Dawn soap, used toothbrush and toothpaste to polish the new molds. After that I washed the toothpaste off with Dawn and dried the molds completely. I smoked the molds with a lighter and heated them up on the pot.

Bullets dropped free most of the time. Had to tap the handles a few times but not very often.

I took all of the boolits that did not pass inspection from the first run and remelted them. I had a really good run. Very few rejects and remelts this time.

I did not grip the 9mm mold very well once and created bullets with wings.....they flew back into the pot.

Did not have to use the big ingots this run. I am ready to melt them down in a cast iron pan and pour them into a one pound mold with a ladle.

I know that Tumble Lube Boolits are not favored here...but it is what I have.

Liquid ALOX is a bit sticky....so, I use 1 part Liquid ALOX to 1 part Johnston (floor) paste wax with a 1/2 part of mineral spirits.

Does anyone have a different Tumble Lube recipes I could try?

Here are two photos from the run.
My wife said "You look like the Walter White character from Breaking Bad with that gear on!", then she giggled and walked away. Certain jobs require safety equipment what can I say.



Heating up the 9mm mold.

[Radioteacher]

I bought the leather apron, gloves and face shield at Harbor Freight.

I am going to get a second apron from them and sew them together to make a wider apron. When sitting the single apron does not cover both legs. I did not have an issue with burns but I can see that my jeans would not protect me as good as leather.

Safety First!!