Casting PICS HEAVY (Read 5860 times)

chapnelson

Casting PICS HEAVY
« on: April 22, 2011, 03:30:32 PM »
I took pictures during my last casting. Mahalo, Chaps



Here's everything I use. I put a cast iron pot on the side burner of my grill.
I cut a piece of plywood to fit the inside of the grill as a work top, I also cut
a piece of scrap and wrapped it in foil to cover the space between the pot
and the plywood.

The wood on the pot is a splash guard when i put scrap weights into hot lead.

The blue bucket is full of scrap weights I got from a tire shop.

The white bucket under is full of water for quenching bullets.

I keep the mold on the burner to heat it up; sprayed with pam - nice and brown so it doesn't stick.

I use a cheap yard sale ladle and a used grill fork with bent tines as tools.

There's a cheap brown oven mitt on the right, on top of a yard sale aluminum muffin pan I use
to make ingots out of the leftover lead.
'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' - George Orwell

chapnelson

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2011, 03:32:04 PM »


Close up of the pot.



Pile of stuff that doesn't melt, like the weight clips, and also zinc weights. I sometimes
use a magnet to skim the surface.
'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' - George Orwell

chapnelson

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2011, 03:33:40 PM »


Want Scrap?



I like the Lee 2 cavity molds. Cheapo muffin pan. Squirt bottle in back for bullet
lube for finished bullets, and also to lube the mold.
'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' - George Orwell

chapnelson

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2011, 03:37:14 PM »


Bag of flux, made up of shredded credit cards and left over candle wax.
Sawdust works well too. Once everything is melted, and you've pulled out the
stuff that won't melt, you skim the dross of the top - cloudy stuff. Then when its
mirror looking on top, you drop just a little bit of flux on top which ignites the gas
that forms on top of the metal and burns it off. It leaves a little cloudy stuff on top
and you skim that off.


Safety gear: Eyepro, mask, oven mitt. I also wear overalls and closed toe shoes.
Hot metal splashes are a bummer.
'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' - George Orwell

chapnelson

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2011, 03:37:44 PM »


Need to skim!



Just dropped the flux in.
'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' - George Orwell

chapnelson

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2011, 03:38:45 PM »


Just ladled lead into mold; shiny stuff on top cools on sprue plate. I use a peice of
wood to tap the sides of the mold and then tap the sprue plate open to knock the
excess back into the pot. Then I just reach down, open the mold and drop the bullets into my bucket
under the grill.



230gr .45 ACP Bullets quenched in water. Some like to drop them on a soft towel
and just air quench them. If you water quench, use a deep bucket, not a shallow bowl,
so the bullet passes through a lot of water while it cools so its hard when it hits the bottom
and doesn't dent.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2011, 03:48:14 PM by chapnelson »
'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' - George Orwell

chapnelson

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2011, 03:44:32 PM »
I usually do this for a couple of hours at a time. Takes about 15 mins to set up, same to tear down. Once I get the rythym going I get 2 per minute.
When I get tired I just pour the remainder from the pot into the muffin pan, and set it on the concrete to cool. Each muffin is about 2-3#s of refined
lead alloy.

Hope this is useful - casting is a lot of fun, and a cheap way to keep stocked in bullets.

Mahalo, Chaps  :shaka:
'In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' - George Orwell

Dregs

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2011, 03:59:57 PM »
That is VERY informative. Thank you much!! Definitely interesting!!

2aHawaii

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Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2011, 06:02:20 PM »
Yes, Thanks.
I am not a lawyer.

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Antithesis

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2011, 10:51:17 AM »
Mmm Mmm, bullets: it's what's for dinner. 

Great post Chapnelson
"Si vis pacem, para bellum"
If you wish for peace, prepare for war

bass monkey

Re: Casting PICS HEAVY
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2011, 07:20:12 PM »
Sorry to bring up a old thread, but where do you get your bullet mold from?  Or where can i find some?  Want to try get into reloading