Little Wattsy
69 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2008
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Found this on the "net" and was wondering does seem accurate. IE can I folow these directions?
Bullet Casting
Jim Colburn
(Safety warning: By its nature, casting bullets exposes the caster to some risk. You will be working with potentially toxic materials at temps high enough to cause severe burns. Protection from lead poisoning is generally simple. You should have good ventilation. Wash your hands after handling lead. Don't eat, drink, or smoke while casting. Wash the clothes worn while casting immediately after casting, separately from other clothing. Cast in an area protected from rain. Don't let sweat, etc., fall into the molten lead. Both will result in an explosion of lead. Be prepared to apply first aid to any burns.)
In its simplest form, bullet casting consists of melting lead in a ladle, and pouring the molten lead into a mold. When the lead cools, open the mold, tap the hinge with a stick to knock the ball from the mold, and cut the sprue off with a pair of side cutters. Simple, low tech and cheap. Dippers suitable for this can be bought at any store that sells supplies for casting fishing sinkers. The heat source can be a campfire, a propane burner, almost anything capable of heating the lead to around 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Molds are available from a variety of sources-sporting goods stores, mail-order houses, or even at some shooting matches.
Usually, it is a little more complicated than that. To set up to cast balls on a larger scale, you will need a heat source, possibly a lead pot, a ladle, a mold, a mallet, flux, a spoon for stirring the alloy, and -of course- you will need lead.
Heat Source: For most of us, the most convenient way to melt the lead will be in an electric melting pot. I use an RCBS, it was on sale when I needed a new one and it met my qualifications. It has an electric thermostat calibrated in degrees -not some arbitrary scale. It has a 22 pound capacity. And it has sufficient clearance for my bullet molds. Most electric lead pots are available as bottom pour pots -by lifting a lever lead is allowed to flow through a spout in the bottom. I really like this -I don't get burned as often!!
You can also use a cast iron pot over a flame type heat source -a campfire, a gas burner of some kind, etc. Lyman still sells one designed to fit the burner opening in a wood burning stove! It is a great pot, and the price is very reasonable. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, USE A POT FOR COOKING ONCE YOU HAVE MELTED LEAD IN IT. You can't be sure that all traces of lead have been removed. DO NOT USE AN ALUMINUM PAN TO MELT LEAD. THE MELTING POINT OF ALUMINUM IS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THAT OF LEAD THAT THE BOTTOM MAY DROP OUT OF THE PAN. Lyman and RCBS both make good ladles. Usually, bullet casters call ladles "dippers".
Molds: Basically the choices break down to aluminum and steel, with one or two makers using bronze or brass. There is no way I can tell you which will work best for you. Price may be a factor -aluminum molds are frequently less expensive than steel. The other factor to consider is what type of mold do you want? If you want a mold similar in appearance to those used 150 years ago, you will want what is frequently called a "bag mold". If you buy a Lyman or RCBS mold, you will need to get handles. As purchased, molds will need to be cleaned. I usually do this by laying them cavity- down in a shallow dish half-full of acetone. After they sit for a few minutes, I swab them out with a cotton swab dipped in acetone, until the swab comes out clean. Be careful -acetone is extremely flammable!
Several outfits sell a fancy caster's mallet. I have used hammer handles since I began casting. That's handle -not hammer. Never strike any part of your mold with a metal hammer. I buy hammer handles at the hardware store. A good $2 handle is good for about 25,000 or so bullets. Why pay $20 for a mallet?
Flux can be as simple as a pea sized ball of wax or as complicated as a two part commercial flux that requires a fume hood to use. I usually use Marvelux -it doesn't smoke like many of the other fluxes do.
My lead stirring spoon is a tablespoon I bought at a rummage sale in 1980. It has "lead' stamped on the handle so I won't accidentally mix it up with tableware.
Lead: Lead selection depends on your desired purpose. Like most folks who cast ball for their ML guns, I salvage lead. I guess the difference is that I had a commercial bullet casting firm at a time when I had access to a metallurgical lab. I had some tests done on the most common alloys available as scrap. Casting at home, there are a few problems we all commonly encounter, and a few misconceptions that create further problems. What is often considered as 'pure' lead isn't, and what is considered as 'unusable' for our purposes often actually is.
ANALYSIS
Test 1: Clip-on wheelweights. These are the ones everyone thinks of as 'hard'.
Lead 95%
Antimony 2.5%
Tin .5%
Arsenic .1%
Trace elements 1.9% (Cadmium, calcium, silver, copper, etc)
Test 2: Adhesive wheelweights. These come in strips, and are stuck onto mag wheels.
Lead 98%
Antimony .25%
Trace elements 1.75% (Arsenic, cadmium, calcium, copper, silver, tin, etc).
Test 3: Plumber's lead (caulking lead). The stuff usually recommended for ML use. Bought from a local plumber in factory ingots.
Lead 98.3%
Antimony .20%
Tin .10%
Trace elements 1.4% (Cadmium, calcium, copper, silver, tin)
Test 4: Salvage lead (from houses built about 1930-1950). Lead flashing, caulking, pipe, shower and tub liners, etc.
Lead 97.8%
Antimony .21%
Tin .10%
Trace elements 1.8% (The usual stuff).
As a test, I also had a test run on 'pure' lead from a chemical supply house. It came back as lead 99.8% lead.
The dead-soft lead used for pipes, caulking, etc, that is so nice and soft when found in the junk yard was extruded, not cast. One source said tin and antimony were controlled to give more desired characteristics in the extrusion process. When lead is extruded (or swaged, as in sizing a cast bullet or swaging a ball) it softens. It pays to be aware of this when scrounging for lead.
I really can't see any difference between the salvaged adhesive WW, the plumbers lead, and the salvaged lead pipe for use in a muzzle loader or cap and ball revolver.. Cost is a major factor. The WW runs (locally) about 10 cents/pound. The salvaged plumbers lead runs about 13 cents/pound at a local salvage yard. The lead from the plumber was around a buck a pound.
There is no safe way that a person at home can remove tin, antimony, etc from lead. Once it is alloyed, it requires a refinery to remove. By actual test (using an alloy that started as 95% lead, 2.5% antimony, .5% tin, .1% arsenic, and 1.9% trace elements), after 12 hours at 850 degrees F skimming every 20-30 minutes (about 30 times), the alloy was 95.21% lead, 2.51% antimony, .31% tin, .07% arsenic, 1.9% trace elements.
I alloy my lead up in 50# batches, then take one 1# ingot from each batch to make up a 20# lot. At least that way, there is some consistency in what I have!
Got all your stuff together? Let's get started! Put your lead in the pot and start the heat. Once the lead is molten, you will need to flux.
Fluxing: Why fluxing is necessary, what effect it has on the alloy, and how to do it.
Clean metal casts most easily and well. Fluxing is the process whereby we clean our molten metal. The 'dross' (slag and other contaminants) is in part oxides of the metal, and unoxidized metal in the form of very small spheres (shot). The 'shotted metal' is held in that form by a thin layer of oxides and contaminants, the surface tension of the oxide layer prevents the shotted metal from being wetted by the molten metal. The purpose of the flux is to break down the surface tension, and allow the molten metal inside the shot to return to the main body of the metal. The loosened oxides appear to be coagulated by the flux and suspended in the flux body. This can then be skimmed off. This is the only effect that fluxing the molten alloy has. The only way fluxing can change the alloy is by returning shotted metals to the general mix. Generally, this will have little effect on the alloy's composition. Most of the dross will be in very small particles distributed throughout the pot. The flux acts almost entirely on the surface though-which is why it is necessary to stir the metal thoroughly when fluxing.
Once the lead is melted, drop in a pea sized piece of wax or the appropriate amount (per instructions) of a commercial flux. If it smokes, light the smoke with a match. Stir the lead, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot. After a bit, a bunch of brown junk will rise to the top of the molten lead. This is the dross -use your mixing spoon to remove it and place it in a safe container. Repeat the cycle two or three times.
It is fairly common to toss the dross removed when fluxing into a coffee can. KEEP THAT STUFF DRY. Under the right conditions, certain contaminants in the dross can release stibine gas, which is toxic. Recently, I have gone to using a NEW 1 gallon paint can. Cost two bucks at a paint store, but now I have no excuse to forget to cover the dross can. I figure the can will hold several years of dross at the current rate I am generating it. Some years back, the NRA set up a deal with various lead refineries to take dross so it would be recycled. Contact the NRA for information on this.
Once the lead is clean, you can start casting. If you are using a bottom pour pot, you just hold the mold below the nozzle and actuate the lever. When the lead over-flows the top of the mold, release the lever. If you are using a dipper, float the dipper on the surface of the molten lead until the lead no longer sticks to it. Dip the dipper into the lead, pull it out about half full. Carefully pour it into the mold til the cavity overflows. Return the dipper and remaining lead to the pot.
If you are using a modern mold -one with separate sprue plate- use the mallet to knock the sprue plate to the side. Tap on the hinge joint of the handles to loosen the ball in the cavity, and drop it onto a folded towel. Old style molds -"bag molds"- have no sprue plate, so you just open them up and tap on the hinge joint til the ball falls out. The towel will pad the fall of the ball.
Notice the wrinkles? It may take a bunch of casts to get the mold heated up enough to cast good balls. Once you get a good ball, you should be OK. If the mold gets too hot, the balls will come out with a frosted surface. Let the mold cool, I usually just set it on a concrete floor for a few minutes.
If you get a smear of lead on the top of your mold, you need to slow down your rate of casting. The sprue isn't hard when you are cutting the sprue. One way to tell when the sprue is solid is to tap the sprue (on top of the mold) with your mallet. If the sprue isn't hard, you will see a flash of silver-this is the unsolidified lead. When you no longer get the flash of silver, the sprue is hard.
You will find, with any luck at all, that after a time you will develop a rhythm in casting. Pour, allow the ball to solidify, cut the sprue, drop the ball, do it again. It can actually be a relaxing pastime. Be careful!
Copyright ©1998 Jim Colburn
Bullet Casting
Jim Colburn
(Safety warning: By its nature, casting bullets exposes the caster to some risk. You will be working with potentially toxic materials at temps high enough to cause severe burns. Protection from lead poisoning is generally simple. You should have good ventilation. Wash your hands after handling lead. Don't eat, drink, or smoke while casting. Wash the clothes worn while casting immediately after casting, separately from other clothing. Cast in an area protected from rain. Don't let sweat, etc., fall into the molten lead. Both will result in an explosion of lead. Be prepared to apply first aid to any burns.)
In its simplest form, bullet casting consists of melting lead in a ladle, and pouring the molten lead into a mold. When the lead cools, open the mold, tap the hinge with a stick to knock the ball from the mold, and cut the sprue off with a pair of side cutters. Simple, low tech and cheap. Dippers suitable for this can be bought at any store that sells supplies for casting fishing sinkers. The heat source can be a campfire, a propane burner, almost anything capable of heating the lead to around 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Molds are available from a variety of sources-sporting goods stores, mail-order houses, or even at some shooting matches.
Usually, it is a little more complicated than that. To set up to cast balls on a larger scale, you will need a heat source, possibly a lead pot, a ladle, a mold, a mallet, flux, a spoon for stirring the alloy, and -of course- you will need lead.
Heat Source: For most of us, the most convenient way to melt the lead will be in an electric melting pot. I use an RCBS, it was on sale when I needed a new one and it met my qualifications. It has an electric thermostat calibrated in degrees -not some arbitrary scale. It has a 22 pound capacity. And it has sufficient clearance for my bullet molds. Most electric lead pots are available as bottom pour pots -by lifting a lever lead is allowed to flow through a spout in the bottom. I really like this -I don't get burned as often!!
You can also use a cast iron pot over a flame type heat source -a campfire, a gas burner of some kind, etc. Lyman still sells one designed to fit the burner opening in a wood burning stove! It is a great pot, and the price is very reasonable. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, USE A POT FOR COOKING ONCE YOU HAVE MELTED LEAD IN IT. You can't be sure that all traces of lead have been removed. DO NOT USE AN ALUMINUM PAN TO MELT LEAD. THE MELTING POINT OF ALUMINUM IS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THAT OF LEAD THAT THE BOTTOM MAY DROP OUT OF THE PAN. Lyman and RCBS both make good ladles. Usually, bullet casters call ladles "dippers".
Molds: Basically the choices break down to aluminum and steel, with one or two makers using bronze or brass. There is no way I can tell you which will work best for you. Price may be a factor -aluminum molds are frequently less expensive than steel. The other factor to consider is what type of mold do you want? If you want a mold similar in appearance to those used 150 years ago, you will want what is frequently called a "bag mold". If you buy a Lyman or RCBS mold, you will need to get handles. As purchased, molds will need to be cleaned. I usually do this by laying them cavity- down in a shallow dish half-full of acetone. After they sit for a few minutes, I swab them out with a cotton swab dipped in acetone, until the swab comes out clean. Be careful -acetone is extremely flammable!
Several outfits sell a fancy caster's mallet. I have used hammer handles since I began casting. That's handle -not hammer. Never strike any part of your mold with a metal hammer. I buy hammer handles at the hardware store. A good $2 handle is good for about 25,000 or so bullets. Why pay $20 for a mallet?
Flux can be as simple as a pea sized ball of wax or as complicated as a two part commercial flux that requires a fume hood to use. I usually use Marvelux -it doesn't smoke like many of the other fluxes do.
My lead stirring spoon is a tablespoon I bought at a rummage sale in 1980. It has "lead' stamped on the handle so I won't accidentally mix it up with tableware.
Lead: Lead selection depends on your desired purpose. Like most folks who cast ball for their ML guns, I salvage lead. I guess the difference is that I had a commercial bullet casting firm at a time when I had access to a metallurgical lab. I had some tests done on the most common alloys available as scrap. Casting at home, there are a few problems we all commonly encounter, and a few misconceptions that create further problems. What is often considered as 'pure' lead isn't, and what is considered as 'unusable' for our purposes often actually is.
ANALYSIS
Test 1: Clip-on wheelweights. These are the ones everyone thinks of as 'hard'.
Lead 95%
Antimony 2.5%
Tin .5%
Arsenic .1%
Trace elements 1.9% (Cadmium, calcium, silver, copper, etc)
Test 2: Adhesive wheelweights. These come in strips, and are stuck onto mag wheels.
Lead 98%
Antimony .25%
Trace elements 1.75% (Arsenic, cadmium, calcium, copper, silver, tin, etc).
Test 3: Plumber's lead (caulking lead). The stuff usually recommended for ML use. Bought from a local plumber in factory ingots.
Lead 98.3%
Antimony .20%
Tin .10%
Trace elements 1.4% (Cadmium, calcium, copper, silver, tin)
Test 4: Salvage lead (from houses built about 1930-1950). Lead flashing, caulking, pipe, shower and tub liners, etc.
Lead 97.8%
Antimony .21%
Tin .10%
Trace elements 1.8% (The usual stuff).
As a test, I also had a test run on 'pure' lead from a chemical supply house. It came back as lead 99.8% lead.
The dead-soft lead used for pipes, caulking, etc, that is so nice and soft when found in the junk yard was extruded, not cast. One source said tin and antimony were controlled to give more desired characteristics in the extrusion process. When lead is extruded (or swaged, as in sizing a cast bullet or swaging a ball) it softens. It pays to be aware of this when scrounging for lead.
I really can't see any difference between the salvaged adhesive WW, the plumbers lead, and the salvaged lead pipe for use in a muzzle loader or cap and ball revolver.. Cost is a major factor. The WW runs (locally) about 10 cents/pound. The salvaged plumbers lead runs about 13 cents/pound at a local salvage yard. The lead from the plumber was around a buck a pound.
There is no safe way that a person at home can remove tin, antimony, etc from lead. Once it is alloyed, it requires a refinery to remove. By actual test (using an alloy that started as 95% lead, 2.5% antimony, .5% tin, .1% arsenic, and 1.9% trace elements), after 12 hours at 850 degrees F skimming every 20-30 minutes (about 30 times), the alloy was 95.21% lead, 2.51% antimony, .31% tin, .07% arsenic, 1.9% trace elements.
I alloy my lead up in 50# batches, then take one 1# ingot from each batch to make up a 20# lot. At least that way, there is some consistency in what I have!
Got all your stuff together? Let's get started! Put your lead in the pot and start the heat. Once the lead is molten, you will need to flux.
Fluxing: Why fluxing is necessary, what effect it has on the alloy, and how to do it.
Clean metal casts most easily and well. Fluxing is the process whereby we clean our molten metal. The 'dross' (slag and other contaminants) is in part oxides of the metal, and unoxidized metal in the form of very small spheres (shot). The 'shotted metal' is held in that form by a thin layer of oxides and contaminants, the surface tension of the oxide layer prevents the shotted metal from being wetted by the molten metal. The purpose of the flux is to break down the surface tension, and allow the molten metal inside the shot to return to the main body of the metal. The loosened oxides appear to be coagulated by the flux and suspended in the flux body. This can then be skimmed off. This is the only effect that fluxing the molten alloy has. The only way fluxing can change the alloy is by returning shotted metals to the general mix. Generally, this will have little effect on the alloy's composition. Most of the dross will be in very small particles distributed throughout the pot. The flux acts almost entirely on the surface though-which is why it is necessary to stir the metal thoroughly when fluxing.
Once the lead is melted, drop in a pea sized piece of wax or the appropriate amount (per instructions) of a commercial flux. If it smokes, light the smoke with a match. Stir the lead, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot. After a bit, a bunch of brown junk will rise to the top of the molten lead. This is the dross -use your mixing spoon to remove it and place it in a safe container. Repeat the cycle two or three times.
It is fairly common to toss the dross removed when fluxing into a coffee can. KEEP THAT STUFF DRY. Under the right conditions, certain contaminants in the dross can release stibine gas, which is toxic. Recently, I have gone to using a NEW 1 gallon paint can. Cost two bucks at a paint store, but now I have no excuse to forget to cover the dross can. I figure the can will hold several years of dross at the current rate I am generating it. Some years back, the NRA set up a deal with various lead refineries to take dross so it would be recycled. Contact the NRA for information on this.
Once the lead is clean, you can start casting. If you are using a bottom pour pot, you just hold the mold below the nozzle and actuate the lever. When the lead over-flows the top of the mold, release the lever. If you are using a dipper, float the dipper on the surface of the molten lead until the lead no longer sticks to it. Dip the dipper into the lead, pull it out about half full. Carefully pour it into the mold til the cavity overflows. Return the dipper and remaining lead to the pot.
If you are using a modern mold -one with separate sprue plate- use the mallet to knock the sprue plate to the side. Tap on the hinge joint of the handles to loosen the ball in the cavity, and drop it onto a folded towel. Old style molds -"bag molds"- have no sprue plate, so you just open them up and tap on the hinge joint til the ball falls out. The towel will pad the fall of the ball.
Notice the wrinkles? It may take a bunch of casts to get the mold heated up enough to cast good balls. Once you get a good ball, you should be OK. If the mold gets too hot, the balls will come out with a frosted surface. Let the mold cool, I usually just set it on a concrete floor for a few minutes.
If you get a smear of lead on the top of your mold, you need to slow down your rate of casting. The sprue isn't hard when you are cutting the sprue. One way to tell when the sprue is solid is to tap the sprue (on top of the mold) with your mallet. If the sprue isn't hard, you will see a flash of silver-this is the unsolidified lead. When you no longer get the flash of silver, the sprue is hard.
You will find, with any luck at all, that after a time you will develop a rhythm in casting. Pour, allow the ball to solidify, cut the sprue, drop the ball, do it again. It can actually be a relaxing pastime. Be careful!
Copyright ©1998 Jim Colburn
