1st time casting + powder coating

Armored Metal

Armored Metal

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Hey guys,

Did some casting for the 1st time today. The mold I used is the LEE 452-228-1R with Wheel weights. The first 30 boolits sucked and were thrown back into the pot. I then encountered my 1st problem wich was a loose sprue plate due to the screw backing out. Second problem was me not paying attention to the quality of my boolits (I was in a rhythm) and not realising that my mold was too hot and producing very frosty boolits.





Thr powder coating was easy and produced nice results. Will be doing the hammer test before sizing them.






Overall a great experience. Can't wait to see the results on paper.
 
Good job! I've casted lots of frosted boolits, they tend to fill the mold better and shoot just fine.

A PID will fix your temperature issues, cheap to boot.

M
 
Don't even bother wasting a bullet with the hammer test. They will be just fine. The Lee 2 cavity molds do have a problem with the sprue plate loosening up but unless it's really flopping around it won't cause a problem. Don't try over tightening it or you'll strip the threaded hole. Next time make sure your mould is hot before you start casting. If the mould isn't hot enough not only will the bullets be wrinkled (as you discovered) but the alloy will be hard enough that you will really have to pound on the sprue plate to get it to cut the sprue. This is what causes the plate to loosen up. I believe Lee says to dip the corner of the mould in the melt for 15 seconds to warm it up. In my experience that is not nearly long enough. 45-60 seconds will give better results. Some guys even pre-heat the mould on a hot plate top make sure it is up to operating temperature. Overall it looks like you're off to a good start.
 
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ted_dent said:
Don't even bother wasting a bullet with the hammer test. They will be just fine. The Lee 2 cavity molds do have a problem with the sprue plate loosening up but unless it's really flopping around it won't cause a problem. Don't try over tightening it or you'll strip the threaded hole. Next time make sure your mould is hot before you start casting. If the mould isn't hot enough not only will the bullets be wrinkled (as you discovered) but the alloy will be hard enough that you will really have to pound on the sprue plate to get it to cut the sprue. This what causes the plate to loosen up. I believe Lee says to dip the corner of the mould in the melt for 15 seconds to warm it up. In my experience that is not nearly long enough. 45-60 seconds will give better results. Some guys even pre-heat the mould on a hot plate top make sure it is up to operating temperature. Overall it looks like you're off to a good start.
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Good advice here :)
 
Al Bear said:
Been casting boolits for about 20 years. I bring my moulds up to operating temperature with a propane torch.
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That will also work although I have heard (not from personal experience) that there is the possibility of mould warping if the heat source is too high. I can't see it happening with a hot plate but a propane torch might generate enough heat to do it if its application was a little too enthusiastic. Obviously you haven't had that problem.:cool:
 
ted_dent said:
That will also work although I have heard (not from personal experience) that there is the possibility of mould warping if the heat source is too high. I can't see it happening with a hot plate but a propane torch might generate enough heat to do it if its application was a little too enthusiastic. Obviously you haven't had that problem.:cool:[/QUOTE

Mould makers warn about brass moulds warping ... so I stick to steel or aluminum.
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Looks very good. I spray my sprue plate and mold with liquid graphite from Canadian tire. Then cast 1000 bullets without issues. I just started PC bullets and have very little to support yeh or neh to the mix.
 
You guys got me interested ... so someone answer these questions:

1 Who are the more common Canadian suppliers of pc?
2 I shoot casts because you can shoot way more (towzins n towzins) before the barrel loses its accuracy; has anyone noticed whether the baked-on pc is harder on a barrel?
3 Are the various brands more or less similar to each other ... or are there some brands to avoid?

Thanks, eh.
 
there is no need to beat on sprue plate ....wear welders gloves ...simply twist the plate off with the ladle hand.......this will also give you a feel for how hard or hot the sprue is and if its to easy just slow down....try the bigger ball type ladle it keeps to temp longer stay away from any moisture wear those glasses have fun read up on black color powder coat,,,,,,,it is a little abrasive compared to any other col.......pigment used i expect
 
Al Bear said:
You guys got me interested ... so someone answer these questions:

1 Who are the more common Canadian suppliers of pc?
2 I shoot casts because you can shoot way more (towzins n towzins) before the barrel loses its accuracy; has anyone noticed whether the baked-on pc is harder on a barrel?
3 Are the various brands more or less similar to each other ... or are there some brands to avoid?

Thanks, eh.
Click to expand...

Emerald Powder

There is actually less friction so barrels might last longer.

There is a stickey somewhere about which powders work the best
 
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