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Casting big bullets

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I think that those that love their bottom pour have never used a high quality pot like a waage and or they are not that tight on quality control for weights.

My quality control improved greatly with a waage pot. My needs for quality bullets are a lot more than for a round ball and yes I am a serious round ball shooter as well.

Fleener
 
redwing said:
I have never seen any data regarding a ladle poured bullet was better than a bottom pour pot. The type of alloy that is being poured is more important. :)

I am sure I posted it here a long time back. When I went from a bottom pour pot to a ladle I gained over 4 grains per bullet. These bullets were weighing 456 grains and went to 460 gr when I used the ladle. The lube grooves filled out better and they were more accurate. Ron
 
Heat control alloy and flux determine the fill in a mold. Alloy flow and fill depends on tin. A lead bullet made of a 20-1 lead to tin gives a good fill. A 4 grs. difference on a 460 grs. bullet gives a better fill? :confused:
 
Was melting down some chemical plant piping yesterday because of needing .575 round ball to use for fire lapping. Was avoiding the piping tie ins but all of the sudden I had tin in the pot. Couldn't even cast a round ball without it having fins all over from the air vents cut in the mold blocks. I'm saving that stuff for .458 bullets for the fast twist TC New Englander.
:thumbsup:
 
Speed of casting is not an issue for me.

My own casting technique gives me a better fill out by using a ladle whether I'm casting ball, bullets, or decoy weights.
 
redwing said:
Heat control alloy and flux determine the fill in a mold. Alloy flow and fill depends on tin. A lead bullet made of a 20-1 lead to tin gives a good fill. A 4 grs. difference on a 460 grs. bullet gives a better fill? :confused:

I am thinking you were posting to me but your post is some what confusing. When using a bottom pour pot the lead cools off too fast as it flows into the mould. This was causing wrinkles and fill out problems. And yes after using the ladle the bullets were 4 grains heavier. Ron
 
The volume means better heat transfer, just makes the ladle a better deal. Yall start using a dipper and you'll think it's finer than frogs hair. Some tin makes for better flow but using tin is a waste unless you're making a structurally better bullet.
One proviso, when molding long heavy bullets the wetting characteristics that tin gives to alloys helps to avoid internal air pockets.
 
How does a bottom pour pot cool faster than dipping lead and then pouring? :confused: It sounds like you have a cold mold. The lead is flowing until it contacts the mold block. If the block is of a lower temp you get wrinkles. :wink:
 
redwing said:
How does a bottom pour pot cool faster than dipping lead and then pouring? :confused: It sounds like you have a cold mold. The lead is flowing until it contacts the mold block. If the block is of a lower temp you get wrinkles. :wink:

Bottom pour pots in general do not pour as fast as a ladle that is a fact. The bottom pour pots tend to clog over the course of making bullets that is also a fact. This slow down WILL cause a cool down in the lead as it is going into the mould. The slower rate of pour WILL also allow the mould to cool.
I take it you have never poured bullets over 400 grains with a ladle. Ron
 
If you slow your pour a bit on the finned bullets it will probably stop and still give you a full size ball or bullet.
Round balls are the simplest cast to make by far. MD
 
No matter what you use to melt your lead or what you use to pour your lead, the most important thing about making bullets or balls is to get your mould hot and keep it hot.
I figure on making a few imperfect balls that end up back in the pot to be remelted.
The first two or three pours into a cold mould, I let sit for a minute or so to heat the mould through.
Once you get good balls or bullets, keep pouring.
 
Last night I made my first batch of 50 cal round ball and r.e.a.l. bullets last night from a Lee mold. Fantastic mold they make. Like you said, 3-4 fills to get a good result, then the next 50 were great.

I found I needed a wet sponge to occasional cool the mold down but it didn't really slow down the process... I only needed to cool it once I noticed the lead not cooling nearly immediately on the sprue plate.
 
At ten bucks a hundred that is very true if you were doing it for pay but I still prefer to cast my own. It would take me about 1.5 hrs to run a hundred with my single cavity mold once I got going. My lead is free and so is my labor to me so it pretty much is only electricity that has any cost once you have acquired the gear and that can't be more than a dollar for 1.5 hours. Mike D.
 
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