Casting is new to me. I'm in CA where we have to use non-lead projectiles and have had fine performance from ITX and Thor bullets. But they're costly and sometimes not readily available. A friend who is charged with helping promote lead-free ammo among hunters has given me some materials to cast some .480 round ball & test it in my 1:48 twist rifle. The gear he gave me is pretty simple: a 6-cavity mold, a ladle, a large pipe cap for a melting pot, a ladle and some kind of bismuth alloy ingot.
Last night, I put the cap on an electric 1-burner cook plate and melted up some of the bismuth. I warmed up the mold and ladle and tried my hand at casting a little. Some were good, some were bad. Things improved once I cranked up the heat as high as the little little cook plate could go. But I have oddball nubs at various points around the screw. Most look almost like there are little bits of metal that are attached to the ball. So if anybody knows what I'm doing wrong here, I'd appreciate the tip.
A couple other questions I have on the casting process is whether I need to flux the bismuth like lead or if that's unnecessary with most of these alloys. If so, I'm assuming beeswax is still appropriate? How much do I need for small batch? I'm also curious if I should be doing a water quench or if dropping them on a wet rag is fine.
Sorry -- I'm jumping in before doing my usual homework. If things work out and I like the results at the range, I'll definitely pick up a book & learn a lot more about it.
Last night, I put the cap on an electric 1-burner cook plate and melted up some of the bismuth. I warmed up the mold and ladle and tried my hand at casting a little. Some were good, some were bad. Things improved once I cranked up the heat as high as the little little cook plate could go. But I have oddball nubs at various points around the screw. Most look almost like there are little bits of metal that are attached to the ball. So if anybody knows what I'm doing wrong here, I'd appreciate the tip.
A couple other questions I have on the casting process is whether I need to flux the bismuth like lead or if that's unnecessary with most of these alloys. If so, I'm assuming beeswax is still appropriate? How much do I need for small batch? I'm also curious if I should be doing a water quench or if dropping them on a wet rag is fine.
Sorry -- I'm jumping in before doing my usual homework. If things work out and I like the results at the range, I'll definitely pick up a book & learn a lot more about it.
