Need more 45 boolits. Will cast some today.

Damn, you’re lazy!!! Still trying to get other people to do your work for you. You should be ashamed of yourself!!! 

I’m casting 90gr 7.62 RN for my Tokarev right now. I learned from the best. Even if that happens to be you! 

Damn, you’re lazy!!! Still trying to get other people to do your work for you. You should be ashamed of yourself!!! 

I’m casting 90gr 7.62 RN for my Tokarev right now. I learned from the best. Even if that happens to be you! 

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Awww....you shooting teeny weeny bullets from your tokarev?
Is that an age problem? I see commercials for doctors that can help you.
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But seriously, I made some of the worst looking bullets this morning because my 40 year old furnace is broken.
The thermostat stays on constantly which overheats the alloy. It creates excess dross which means the alloy is not what it's supposed to be.
I have to manually turn it on and off to keep it from destroying itself. Rcbs told me they will fix it for about a hundred bucks.
Not bad considering a new furnace runs about 300.
I have a new lee pot on the shelf standing by.

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Awww....you shooting teeny weeny bullets from your tokarev?
Is that an age problem? I see commercials for doctors that can help you.
.....
But seriously, I made some of the worst looking bullets this morning because my 40 year old furnace is broken.
The thermostat stays on constantly which overheats the alloy. It creates excess dross which means the alloy is not what it's supposed to be.
I have to manually turn it on and off to keep it from destroying itself. Rcbs told me they will fix it for about a hundred bucks.
Not bad considering a new furnace runs about 300.
I have a new lee pot on the shelf standing by.

I’m still in the learning process. Too hot or too cold. I’m figuring it out tho. I think my Lee pot cost $75 at Midway. Not sure I would fix the old one for $100. This last session I only had a few bad ones at the beginning when the mold was too cold. So I’m getting the hang of it I think. I also figured out I shouldn’t cast for more than an hour or two at a time. My arthritis acts up after a long session so I am keeping my casting times down. We have been having some warm days out here so I have had more days to cast.

So far I have only cast 38/357 158gr SWC and these Tokarev RN. Next I have a 38/357 148gr WC and then 45 250gr SWC.

These were the bullets I made on Saturday. They were of poor quality.
I would never shoot cast bullets the next day because the lead will not stabilize for about 2 or 3 weeks.
But I was curious to see how bad they were. They grouped about 3 inch at 25 yds from the bench.
That is just barely acceptable. But there were no gross flyers which is a good thing.
Not too bad for nearly free bullets. They're good enough for casual practice.

10 shots at 25 yds from the bench.

These were the bullets I made on Saturday. They were of poor quality.
I would never shoot cast bullets the next day because the lead will not stabilize for about 2 or 3 weeks.
But I was curious to see how bad they were. They grouped about 3 inch at 25 yds from the bench.
That is just barely acceptable. But there were no gross flyers which is a good thing.
Not too bad for nearly free bullets. They're good enough for casual practice.

10 shots at 25 yds from the bench.

Why do you always blame the bullets for how bad you shoot?   

That’s pretty good for day old bullets. So what are you going to do about your melting pot?

Why do you always blame the bullets for how bad you shoot?   

That’s pretty good for day old bullets. So what are you going to do about your melting pot?

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You can't blame the person in this new age society.

As for the melting pot, I do have a brand new Lee pot which I might fire up today.
I want to send the rcbs pot in to refurbish.  If it's only a hundred to do a refurb, it's worth it.
The reason is quality. An analogy would be Lee=Kia while RCBS=Mercedes-Benz.
I started casting with a Lee pot and it broke. The RCBS Pro Melt ran almost 40 years.

A new pro melt runs about $300.
Funny side note. I read a critical Amazon review by a disgruntled owner with a similar thermostat problem.
The disgruntled owner was Max Cooper.

Since my old promelt furnace bit the bullet, I finally opened up the NIB Lee 420 pot which was sitting around for years.
I was surprised to see surface rust all over the pot, but it is not a problem.
I set the thermostat to 5 and blended some 94-3-3 alloy.
Running a pair of Lee 6-cavity 45-200 swc (#68 style), I was up and throwing perfect boolits inside of 5 minutes.
The 420 performed flawlessly and I did around 500 before shutting down for the night. It took less than an hour.

Bullets from old and new lee mold...

3/7/21 Lee 200swc green-4.4 TG-15 shots at 25 yds benched
These bullets are one week old. Still a little soft. They take about 3 weeks to stabilize.
The 3 flyers are disturbing, but you get what you pay for.

Lizard people coming for the lead too!

Lizard people coming for the lead too!

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I believe he was searching out the guy that killed his cousins with a bb gun.

I just learned about a company in Slovenia that makes bullet molds.
Ordered  a pair of 6 cav #68 plain base molds.

I had to google it to see where it is. LOL

I just learned about a company in Slovenia that makes bullet molds.
Ordered  a pair of 6 cav #68 plain base molds.

I had to google it to see where it is. LOL

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They got some fast FedEx drivers in Slovenia

First batch with the MP. Mold.
 Calculated a 92-4-4 alloy and cast about 2 or 3 hundred.
As cast weight about 195 with typical diameter 0.453.

So-so test results. Should be better in a couple weeks.

Looks like the bullets from the MP mold are improving.
Here are 8 rounds at 25 off the bench.

Looks like the bullets from the MP mold are improving.
Here are 8 rounds at 25 off the bench.

Ok dumb question because I havent got into casting. You cast the lead and then it 'matures' over time and gets better as the alloy 'settles' , correct?
When parking those 'heads' waiting for them to get 'ripe' does it matter if they are seated onto a charged cartridge or not?
 I guess my question is are you better off waiting for them to reach their metalurgical peak before putting them in a press and making a cartridge?

Ok dumb question because I havent got into casting. You cast the lead and then it 'matures' over time and gets better as the alloy 'settles' , correct?
When parking those 'heads' waiting for them to get 'ripe' does it matter if they are seated onto a charged cartridge or not?
 I guess my question is are you better off waiting for them to reach their metalurgical peak before putting them in a press and making a cartridge?

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Honestly, I don't think it makes any difference.
It shouldn't make a difference.
Not too many bullet casters know about the aging effect of lead-antimony alloys.
But the hardness only takes about 2 weeks to stabilize so in most cases it doesn't make a difference anyway.
I used to water-quench the bullets which is like quenching a knife blade, but I actually prefer a softer 45 bullet now.
I think I get better bore obturation with a softer alloy.

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Honestly, I don't think it makes any difference.
It shouldn't make a difference.
Not too many bullet casters know about the aging effect of lead-antimony alloys.
But the hardness only takes about 2 weeks to stabilize so in most cases it doesn't make a difference anyway.
I used to water-quench the bullets which is like quenching a knife blade, but I actually prefer a softer 45 bullet now.
I think I get better bore obturation with a softer alloy.

Makes me wonder what the measurable difference would be between shock cooling (like when they case harden steel) and  slow controlled cooling (like when they anneal glass castings to let the stress relax out of the investments)

Makes me wonder what the measurable difference would be between shock cooling (like when they case harden steel) and  slow controlled cooling (like when they anneal glass castings to let the stress relax out of the investments)

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Don't get hung up on hardness.
There are many other factors that affect cast bullet performance.
Shape
Diameter
Alloy composition
Lubricant or coating
Gas checks
Mold temperature and alloy temperature
Voids and imperfections
The base of the bullet

It's a hobby, but a useful hobby.
The bullets are practically free.
You can shoot more often, which in turn makes you more proficient.
...and really, isn't that the whole idea? More proficiency?