New to casting

To learn and introduce new loaders. Tips and tricks from old timers.

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Klingon00
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Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:47 am
Location: Columbus, OH

New to casting

Post by Klingon00 »

So I finally decided it was time and decided to try my hand at casting bullets after putting it off for too long. I bought a Lee furnace, a lyman 2 cavity .38 / 357 mold with handles, and a 25 lb bag of #5 birdshot to get started and just see if I would even enjoy the process at all.

The shot melted quickly and I was able to flux with some candle and scrape off the dross off the top. I had a little problem with the spout leaking but after tinkering with the adjustments a little, managed to stop that. I then started casting. It took quite a while before I got my first usable bullet, most where wrinkled pretty badly. I'd say out of about 100 bullets cast, about 20 were in good shape with well defined features.

I found it difficult to balance good flow while preventing leaking from the spout. I upped the temperature to about 3 and between good flow and higher temperatures, the bullets started coming out looking good. By the time I had exhausted most of the lead I had far more scrap than anything usable, but I think I'm beginning to get better at it.

I checked the size of the bullets after they had cooled and discovered they are exactly .357 in diameter, with the seam measuring .3575 or 3.58 at most. Will this be a problem of being possibly under sized? I also read that birdshot tends to be of a harder, brittle alloy higher in arsenic and antimony and may only be suitable for magnum loads?

Not having any other sources of scrap metal right now, what would you recommend?
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evan price
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Re: New to casting

Post by evan price »

I hate to ask what you paid for that birdshot per pound!
I just sold 130# of hard clip WW ingots for $1/lb.

The Lee pots are called "Drippers" for a reason, lol.

First empty the Lee pot. Take out the stopper and make sure it and the seat are clean. Apply some abrasive paste to the bottom of the stem where it seals in the base of the pot. Chuck the stem into a cordless drill and spin the two parts together to polish the sealing surfaces. This helps with the dripping. I also keep a small container (an ingot mold) under the spout to catch the drips.

Make sure the mold is clean and degreased. Also get it hot. I let the mold sit on the molten lead while the pot heats up. If your bullets start looking frosty it's too hot. Honestly I don't have a problem with frosted bullets because they take lube just as well. YMMV. Iron molds tend to take longer to heat up and then retain heat longer than aluminum Lee molds.

Make sure you fill the mold over the top so you have a blob of lead in the hole in the sprue cutter. You'll see it harden. Cut the sprue a second or two after it goes hard. You will get the hang of it.

What are you shooting the bullets in? Have you slugged your barrel to see what size you need? You want .001-.002" over the slugged bore diameter for best fit.

Me, I load for a variety of 38/357's, and I run .358 and use somewhat soft (BHN 10) lead. So far it fits everything just fine.

As far as lead, get every scrap you can. I find that the best hardness is velocity divided by 100. So 1200 FPS is 12 BHN max. Don't get hung up on finding the perfect numbers. Good enough is good enough. Size and lube are just as important as hardness.

Wheel weights by themselves (clip ons) are hard enough for nearly anything pistol, 12 BHN typically.
I load a lot of range scrap which for me is a mix of cast commercial bullets, regular FMJ or plated bullets, shotgun slugs, and whatever else. It runs about 8-10 BHN normally.
I grab solder at garage sales and junk sales. Sometimes you can get it nearly for nothing. Its a great source of tin.
Also I haunt thrift stores looking for cheap pewter. Stuff like old cups, candle holders, shotglasses, flatware, etc. I'm typically trying to pay under $2 a pound for junk pewter. It's nearly pure tin.
I advise if you are wanting to buy tin-rich metal for bullet casting- stuff like linotype or other print metals especially- do not buy it if it has been melted down into ingots. Print metal is already in type form, and readily identifiable. There are lots of crooks on eBay who melt down whatever they have and call it "Linotype ingots" or whatever and it's not.
Quick test- drop an ingot on a concrete floor or driveway. If it goes >thud< it is soft lead. If it rings >clang< it's hard lead.
I use the graphite tip of a regular old #2 pencil to try to scrape the surface of unidentified lead. A #2 pencil is HB hardness and that's right at the sweet spot for casting. If a #2 (HB) pencil skips off the surface of the lead it's hard. If it digs in it is soft.
I don't get hung up on trying for EXACTLY BHN12 (or any other number). I kind of get it "hard enough".
"20% accurate as usual, Morty."

Striking down evil with the mighty sword of teamwork and the hammer of not bickering!
Carpe Noctem- we get more done after 2 am than most people do all day.
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