Casting lead bullets, any tips please?

[hammo]

Here we go!
Mains power melting pot and bullet mould arrived today, after a tortuous week shuttling around the parcel-farce system (three days of 'its arriving today' texts, each one a fib!)
I am not yet complete on setting up a bench in the garage; but have secured a source of free lead, in exchange for supplying a couple of rabbits for the pot, on an ongoing basis. That is a classic little bartering deal, right there
Awaiting a free second-hand worktop with sink, then Im all set, though I have a temporary stack of concrete blocks to work on top of, for now.

Any smelters on here have any nuggets of wisdom? the whole affair seems pretty straight forward (famous last words?) :-

Get as much ventilation as possible through the work area!
Smoke off the moulds the first few uses, to add freeing the bullets from the mould.
Add a pea sized chunk of candle wax as flux on each new melt, or when it seems needed.
Skim off the waste and discard.
Warm the mould atop the melter before starting off.
Drop fresh bullets into a bucket of water to quench.

Going by the above will get me off to a start, but I know others may have learned the odd trick or two along the way; please share, and possibly save me learning from painful experience.
Also, will I be a smelter or just a melter?

As an aside, I remember getting in 'hot water' with Dad, for melting down roofing lead in his jam making pan, when I was a pre-teen. How I ever thought I would clean the thing out and get away with that one, I cant imagine - haha!
That was a very, very long time ago. What a carefree time we had back then.
I pity some of todays kids, never knowing the simple joy of entertaining yourself, and not demanding to be entertained.

 

[salukiwhippet]

What calibre/cartridge are you casting for? May not be any need to water quench, it's just adding a variable and potential hazard.

Be patient when preheating the mould, or rush it and just cast a few crap bullets at the start of each session like i do .

Get into a rhythm to keep the mould temp correct and have fun. Carefully!

 

[hammo]

.45 muzzle loader, 200 gr conical point.

 

[Stalker62]

Your précis is pretty much spot on.

However, (there is always a ‘however’), I would miss out the bucket of water.

I just used a damp old towel to drop the new Bullets onto.

Water and hot lead can be…disfiguring.

 

[salukiwhippet]

.45 muzzle loader, 200 gr conical point.

In that case I wouldn't be quenching, you don't need any extra hardness or you won't get the buggers to load .

I shoot the Lee REAL in my .45 pistol, shoots really well. The longrifle hates them though.

 

[takbok]

20:1 Lead:Tin (Lead free solder) and beeswax flux works well for me and is very easy.

 

[Liveonce]

be careful if adding lead pipe if ends bent so sealed as it can be if scrap, if any moisture inside it explodes violently as the water flashes to steam throwing moulted lead around, don’t ask how i know

 

[enfieldspares]

I used to do it commercially maybe now thirty years ago. I used pure linotype as, simply, that way I knew each bullet would weight the same as every other bullet. I'd buy half a metric tonne at a time, delivered, from Wilson & Jubb in Leeds. Now long gone BTW! But the secret is this. You must, must, must get a consistent alloy mix from batch to batch to batch. So that every bullet regardless of whether cast on Monday, or Tuesday or late Friday weighs the same as every other.

I used two moulds at a time. Pairs of Hensley & Gibbs six cavity "custom matched moulds". H & G are also now long gone. The man valued his name and reputation that when he retired he closed the company rather than see his name used to sell an inferior product. But the lesson here is use two identical moulds in tandem and that for all day use six or eight cavity is better than ten cavity.

Next need is a bucket of water. That way when the mould gets over hot and the bullet starts to show signs of that you take a mould you've just filled and still holding it plunge it into the water. Then after maybe three seconds pull it out. This will keep the mould hot enough as works best but cool it from being over hot. Over hot moulds cast bullets that have a crystalline surface look. A filled mould not an empty mould...that's dangerous. USE YOUR BUCKET ON THE GROUND TO YOUR RIGHT HAND SIDE FOR COOLING THE MOULDS - NOT DROPPING BULLETS INTO.

Use a lead pot "rest". The L shaped bar on the RCBS Pro Melt works well with long moulds. You need the bar so as to make each pour one long pour not two, or four, or six single pours. That is put the first cavity under the spout and when it fills push the mould along and fill the next, and the next and so on. That way you have one long sprue (or at least on Hensley & Gibbs moulds that had a "trough" on the sprue plate connecting the cavity openings not single drilled conical cavity openings.

Last get a "through lube" type lubrisizer such as a Star not one where you put a bullet on, press it down then bring it back up and take it off the lubing die. And finally...no...I have none of the kit left. Not a thing. Nothing. DON'T USE PLUMBERS FLUX...IT WILL CAUSE EVERYTHING METAL TO GO RUSTY - USE CANDLE WAX, RESIN FLUX OR TALLOW AS FLUX. Good ironmongers will sell tallow for fluxing.

 

[Sampo]

• Just cast a few bullets into the mould than warming them up. The casting warms it up and you can just chuck the first few bullets back into the melting pan. Its gives time to work out your cycle on how things wil be done and can act as a practise.
• Unless you have one of those 6 cavity mould, get 2 sets as moulds do get heated up at times and at least for me it them results in bullets that are way too hot. Keep swapping moulds. I tend to do it for different caliber when casting.
• Avoid the bucket of water, just on a metal pan with some tough cloth works for me.
• Watch the temperature of the casting lead, if its too hot, you may get disfigurement
• I tend to use bees wax as flux once in a while to flush out impurities, espescially when you are adding new load to the molten pot. Be prepared for some smoke and flames at times.
• Avoid all sorts of distractions, kids, pets, ex wives etc. Take breaks at times and if you feel tired stop.
• Leave an inch of lead in the melting pot at the end, it works out a lot faster the next time.
• Do the casting outdoors if possible. Do not rely on the weather report and unless its blue skies, don't even get started.
• Start with low expectation and work your way up. It takes a bit of time to get the hang of it.
• Use clean lead, nothing but lead and only lead.
• Keep a pair of fireproof gloves nearby, just in case.

 

[enfieldspares]

How does using two moulds work? Like this.

Pick up mould one, fill it from the casting pot, put it down. Pick up mould two fill it from the casting pot put it down.

Now pick up mould two, knock the sprue plate and catch the sprue in one place. Now "crack" the mould and empty the cast bullets in another place. Close the mould, close the sprue plate, fill the mould from casting pot, put it down.

Now pick up mould one, knock the sprue plate and catch the sprue in one place. Now "crack" the mould and empty the cast bullets in another place. Close the mould, close the sprue plate, fill the mould from casting pot, put it down.

This is faster than using one mould as you make use the other moulds to make bullets whilst the first mould is cooling and the bullets are "setting". That way the moulds take longer to overheat and, of course, that "setting" period allows the bullets to contract as they set to better drop from the mould.

 

[enfieldspares]

• Unless you have one of those 6 cavity mould, get 2 sets as moulds do get heated up at times and at least for me it them results in bullets that are way too hot. Keep swapping moulds. I tend to do it for different caliber when casting. GOOD ADVICE - THIS. EXACTLY. THREE MOULDS IF SINGLE CAVITY LIKE MY .455 WEBLEY MOULD
• Watch the temperature of the casting lead, if its too hot, you may get disfigurement GOOD ADVICE - ATTENTION TO TEMPERATURE IS HALF THE BATTLE.
• I tend to use bees wax as flux once in a while to flush out impurities, espescially when you are adding new load to the molten pot. Be prepared for some smoke and flames at times. GOOD ADVICE - BEESWAX IS ALSO A GOOD FLUX AND A DAB ON THE HINGE PIN A GOOD LUBRICANT ON A HOT MOULD.
• Avoid all sorts of distractions, kids, pets, ex wives etc. Take breaks at times and if you feel tired stop. GOOD ADVICE
• Leave an inch of lead in the melting pot at the end, it works out a lot faster the next time. GOOD ADVICE - IT DOES WORK FASTER INDEED!

 

[hammo]

Thanks for all the input, will have my first attempt soon and post results.

 

[aris]

Some people hack their electric lead pots with a PID controller to further stabilise the heat

 

[aris]

He has a playlist showing all the steps to make it