Learn me something!

[NickelGL]

So finally got my new lee 20# pot in last night after the first one was used as an exercise mat. Loaded it up and went to town pouring. I think I have it figured out now. I think the 10# pot just couldn’t get hot enough with the volume of of lead being used for a 420 grain bullet. Once I got in a rhythm I probably only culled 7-8 bullets. Pretty happy with my results

 

[HC]

Those look Great

 

[Kingwalter]

Nice looking bullet!

 

[4stringdude]

I hope they shoot as good as they look!

 

[NickelGL]

I hope they shoot as good as they look!

About to go find out. They throw at .504 and are pretty tight so I just got a 501 sizer. Hopefully they shoot good with a wad.

 

[jlynch75]

I had an old pot and could never get my 460gr bullets up to that weight. I've had a Lee for about a year and it makes get bullets. I am using the setting for temp between 7&8, as I don't have a way to check the temp. Just made a batch of 37 and discarded 6.

 

[edmehlig]

First off that’s not too bad if you are not weighing your bullets. Are you heating your mold before you start casting? When weighing I strive to get all of mine within a half a grain.

 

[NickelGL]

I had an old pot and could never get my 460gr bullets up to that weight. I've had a Lee for about a year and it makes get bullets. I am using the setting for temp between 7&8, as I don't have a way to check the temp. Just made a batch of 37 and discarded 6.

I crank mine all the way up to get everything loosened up. Once I’ve the whole pot melted I run it between 7&8 as wel

 

[NickelGL]

First off that’s not too bad if you are not weighing your bullets. Are you heating your mold before you start casting? When weighing I strive to get all of mine within a half a grain.

When I power up my pot I set my mold sprue plate down on my pot to preheat it. I haven’t started weighing them yet.

 

[jlynch75]

I weigh every bullet I make an only keep the ones that are +/- .5grs of 460. Preheat the mold by placing about 1/4" of bottom in the melted lead.

 

[edmehlig]

I would put the mold down on the pot as that is what needs to be heated. What I do is put a rubber band around the handles to insure the mold is fully closed. I then insert the end into the melted lead. For my Lyman steel molds I leave it for about 2 minutes. My Accurate Molds about 7 minutes. I use a flat edge to scraped the lead off the mold and begin casting.

 

[eekjellander]

I use a hot plate to get the mold heated to temp while the lead is melting , they both get there and in case I have to leave for a min or 10 the mold stays ready to go/Ed

 

[jlynch75]

I guess whatever works for you is the way to do it.

 

[WP79Vet]

I drilled out my nozzle a little. But waiting for the lead to get really hot helped me get rid of my wrinkles.

I am starting down the casting trail, and trying to resurrect a Lee Production Pot IV that I bought for my son about 20 years ago. We used it for sinkers, and Tommy played with it a lot, so I found lots of junk in it. It heated up fine, though, and I was able to clean out a lot of the junk by repeatedly scraping after it was heated, then skimming.

Bottom pour is pretty slow, even with the pot set on 8, and the nozzle seems to keep clogging up, no matter how many times I poke it with a wire. About a year ago I watched IdahoLewis' bullet casting video before YouTube took it down, and he said something about drilling out the nozzle to get fast enough flow for use with big bullet. But.... I can't remember what size drill he used. Did anybody download a copy of the Lewis' video and save it? If not, what size drill did you use MM, and how's it working?

Thanks!

 

[WP79Vet]

Well, I just found one of Lewis' posts, and he drilled out his 4-20 nozzle to 3/32 inches. Is that the drill size that you used, MM?

My pot is just a IV. I hope that it's a big enough pot to cast maybe 40 400 grain bullets at a time....

Thanks!

 

[bronko220002]

Glad you started getting good bullets with the new pot. Now if you don't have one get yourself a casting thermometer. They're invaluable

 

[WP79Vet]

Glad you started getting good bullets with the new pot. Now if you don't have one get yourself a casting thermometer. They're invaluable

Haven't cast any bullets yet, or even bought any bullet molds. Right now I'm just trying to see what I've got on hand, and what I need to buy. Thermometer, leather gloves are on top of the list. No rush... because I don't have a safe (ie well ventilated) indoor place to cast, and it won't be warm enough to do any outdoor casting around here until May or so.

Keeping the mold hot and keeping the lead at the right temperature seem to be the keys to casting good bullets. If I remember Lewis' video correctly, he heats the mold up with a propane torch, casts a bullet or two while it cools down to the right temp, and then establishes a casting rythm which keeps the mold at the right temp. Others have mentioned setting the mold on a hot plate to keep it warm.

Today I was looking at Accurate molds, and there are several designs of different weights I'd like to try. You can save a pile of money by getting a 3 bullet mold, with each cavity a different design.... what are the drawbacks to doing it that way? Is keeping a big 3 bullet mold at the right temp while casting single bullets the issue?

Thanks!

 

[eekjellander]

Haven't cast any bullets yet, or even bought any bullet molds. Right now I'm just trying to see what I've got on hand, and what I need to buy. Thermometer, leather gloves are on top of the list. No rush... because I don't have a safe (ie well ventilated) indoor place to cast, and it won't be warm enough to do any outdoor casting around here until May or so.

Keeping the mold hot and keeping the lead at the right temperature seem to be the keys to casting good bullets. If I remember Lewis' video correctly, he heats the mold up with a propane torch, casts a bullet or two while it cools down to the right temp, and then establishes a casting rythm which keeps the mold at the right temp. Others have mentioned setting the mold on a hot plate to keep it warm.

Today I was looking at Accurate molds, and there are several designs of different weights I'd like to try. You can save a pile of money by getting a 3 bullet mold, with each cavity a different design.... what are the drawbacks to doing it that way? Is keeping a big 3 bullet mold at the right temp while casting single bullets the issue?

Thanks!

Most accurate for serious target is a single cavity ,if multi with different weights try keeping (like weighted )in the mold the same mold .
And probably never with more cavities , precision casting is hard and multiples impossible for me .


Multi for me is pistol (not rifle) and I have a hard time keeping up (with compression casting) and
heat changing ( lead volumes) cadence involved along with those pesky flat bases/lube grooves can sure slow you down (at least me) Lastly it is not a speed competition but precision that results in winning ! /Ed

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Well, I just found one of Lewis' posts, and he drilled out his 4-20 nozzle to 3/32 inches. Is that the drill size that you used, MM?

My pot is just a IV. I hope that it's a big enough pot to cast maybe 40 400 grain bullets at a time....

Thanks!

Yes, thats what i used, too.
I have a couple Accurate molds but all are single cavity. Like Ed said, multi cavity molds are more complicated and im not in a hurry to get perfect bullets. I started with cheap Lee molds for pistols and smaller rifle bullets. I still cast Lee molds sometimes. I bought a kaido mold, Lee aluminum 6 cavity, what a pita!

 

[WP79Vet]

Yes, thats what i used, too.
I have a couple Accurate molds but all are single cavity. Like Ed said, multi cavity molds are more complicated and im not in a hurry to get perfect bullets. I started with cheap Lee molds for pistols and smaller rifle bullets. I still cast Lee molds sometimes. I bought a kaido mold, Lee aluminum 6 cavity, what a pita!

Fortunately edmehlig posted a Rumble copy of Lewis' casting video here: Casting Tip: Mold Temperature for PURE Lead, (scroll down - it's towards the bottom of page 5) so it's still available. After watching the video last night, and reading your and eekjellander's responses to my question about multi-cavity molds, I think I'll stick to single cavity molds, despite the higher cost. I can see that it would be difficult to maintain mold temperature with a multi-cavity mold, and Lewis makes it clear that the right mold temp is critical to casting good bullets.