casting bullets

Well I spent Sunday with racksmasher learning to cast bullets. Didnt start out ok but after a few hundred remelted bullets i managed a few decent bullets. Getting the hang of temp was biggest problem kept frosting bullets . Adjusting temp on my pot as the volume lowered in the pot... and such. Had a retaining pin come out allowing mold half fall off. Lots of fun. Rack made it look easy casting nice bullets with almost every drop. We were casting 480 ruger and 45. I had a great time thanks again rack.... now bring on the piggies. ...

SOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frosted bullets mean the mold is to hot...wrinkled bullets..to cold. Been casting now for 35 years, love it!

Pour lead slowly..to avoid voids. Don't drop the bullets into water, they will crystalize,and shatter upon impact. I always would make the pour, then watch the sprue as it cools, and tap the sprue cutter open just after it got a good haze across the top. Use caution..cast in a well ventilated area..outdoors only if it's not raining, water hits that lead in a molton state..it explodes. Been there,done that. Not nice. I always dropped them onto an old piece of heavy fabric that would not melt or catch fire. It works well to have two pots..if your cleaning the metal, do it outdoors, with an ingot mold. cast first into ingots after it has been cleaned, and recast into bullets inside after cleaning so there is much less dross to worry about. Don't do like I did, and throw away the other metals that you get the lead from..like wheel weights,recycled bullets..Copper is at an all time high..if I had kept all those scrap jackets, I'd have enough money to retire by now. Rick.

Don't worry about water dropping unless using a type metal. Wheelweight alloy does great if water dropped.

Frosty bullets are fine if they are the right size. They'll shoot just as good as others even though they aren't as pretty.

Keep at it and you'll find the groove. Get a Lyman Cast Bullet book and ask lots of questions. There's a few forums out there with hundreds of years of experience.

Water dropped wheelweight alloy from 44 mag and 454 at 200 yards.

http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7700&limit=recent

Thanks for the info guys.

l cast outside using an old Lyman bottom pour 10 lb pot and mostly old Hensley&Gibbs moulds..My lead comes from range scrap and wheel weights..l don't do anything special for mixing alloys except to add a bit of tin solder to help fill out the mould..l try and keep my pot temp uniform by keeping it between 1/3 and 2/3 full. No water dropping but l try and let the bullets sit a couple weeks before sizing.

PS.. For safety NEVER cast in flip flops or short pants

Ouch! Wear a good pair of leather gloves also. Not that I've ever splashed lead on my left hand, but my thumb gets cold sooner now than he rest of my hand.

I water drop all of my bullets and have for over 25 years, no issues. I have checked their hardness and they measure between 14-18 depending on the alloy.

All of my bullets come out frosted as I try to use aluminum molds whenever possible. The hotter they get, the better they work. Frosted bullets are not an issue.

Leather work boots, jeans ,tig welding gloves with long collar above the wrist ,flannel shirt ,safety glasses, open door garage , fan behind us with a good breeze. I was going to wear a ricale gas mask and nomax hood but rack saidn it was a little much.

LOL, that's funny