Frustrated

[Kevin Alexander]

Well, I tried to cast bullets today. Bismall failure is an understatement. I have purchased a lot of stuff to get into this. This stuff will probably be for sale in the near future. I’m so mad. The problems are listed below.
1. I’m nervous as hell dealing with very hot lead, fumes so on and so forth.
2. My PID controller that I built per instructions didn’t work right off the bat so now I’m flustered and nervous. No way to know my lead temperature.
3 First 6 bullets outta PP BACO mould looked as nice as I’ve seen, open mould and they drop out, then my adjustable hadles got out of adjustment, and I don’t have anything close to adjust them. Put that mould aside and stared with a new BACO Creedmoor mould.
4. First 4 bullets looked darn good but wouldn’t drop from mould, oh yea, forgot to smoke the mould. By this time I’m really getting bent.
5 Temperature must be too high in mould or lead or both, open mould and liquid lead and a partial bullet comes out. Which leaves a lead burr inside the mould, now mould won’t close good enough. I have nothing close to fix that and would just be guessing.
6. Buy this time I’ve cast about 10 to 12 bullets and my hand is already hurting. Not worth the trouble.

I’ve been waiting all winter to get a day that I had time to do this. Today was the only day and the future time doesn’t look promising.

I guess I’ll just break down and try to purchase some. People wonder why more folks ain’t getting into shooting theses matches. Well, my thinking was if I save money and make my own bullets I can atteymore matches this year. Nope.

My opinion, screw thos adjustable handles!!!!


KA

[Nuclearcricket]

A PID can be a PIA. If its not working, check to make sure all your wires are connected. I had that problem when setting up and testing mine. Turns out that one of the wires was just a bit too short and pulled out. Put a longer wire in and that solved the problem.
Kind of sounds like your alloy may be too hot. You do need to take a few seconds and wait for things to cool enough before you open the mold for everything to turn solid.
As for the adjustable mold handles, I can't help you out there as I don't use them. I just use the standard handles and I still make good bullets.
I tend to run my allow at around 725 degrees or so. What seems to work well for me is to use 2 molds, fill one, set it down and fill the other and then open the first and dump the bullet out. Its not unusual for the bullet to stick to one side of the mold or the other. I use a broken hammer handle, or you could use a new one, to cut the sprue and then I tap on the handle hinge to knock the bullet out of the mold. Never beat on the mold its self.
It takes a little time and practice to figure out what works best for you and the alloy your using. It is a learned art, not a grab it and go kind of thing.
Give it a chance, take a step back and look over everything and then give it another try. Remember, you have to squirm before you can crawl, crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run.
Sam

[Hanz]

But you haven't even gotten to the part when you weigh them and they are all over the place!

I started out trying BPCR about ten years ago and have decided the time was right to get back into it. Today I shot some bullets I cast that long ago and started seeing some progress after trying a different powder. This was my third trip out with these bullets. And guess what? I'm out of those bullets!

I now have 150 bullets that I bought that I'm going to attempt to work up a load for.

I remember when I did cast those original bullets that there was definitely a technique to be learned after a lot of trial and error leading to both failure and success.

Keep at it, you'll get the hang of it.

[Kevin Alexander]

    Ok, after I cooled off I rethinked a few things, went back out to the casting room from Hell and cast 55 bullets. E Z P Z. Turned out awesome. Smooth as silk. Weighed them. 50 are writhing a grain of each other. The other 5 are darn close.

[Hanz]

Ok, after I cooled off I rethinked a few things, went back out to the casting room from Hell and cast 55 bullets. E Z P Z. Turned out awesome. Smooth as silk. Weighed them. 50 are writhing a grain of each other. The other 5 are darn close.

Excellent! I'm glad to hear it.

When I start casting again I'll be looking for your advice.

I'm glad a cooler head got you the results you were after.

[Kevin Alexander]

Ok, after I cooled off I rethinked a few things, went back out to the casting room from Hell and cast 55 bullets. E Z P Z. Turned out awesome. Smooth as silk. Weighed them. 50 are writhing a grain of each other. The other 5 are darn close.

Excellent! I'm glad to hear it.

When I start casting again I'll be looking for your advice.

I'm glad a cooler head got you the results you were after.

I got about $1,000 in new top quality moulds and other accessories. If someone would have offed me $200 for it all this morning I would have overnighted it to them

[Hanz]

I got about $1,000 in new top quality moulds and other accessories. If someone would have offed me $200 for it all this morning I would have overnighted it to them

My first time out with my new rifle I was shooting 3 foot groups at 200 yards. I know exactly where you were at.

[Hiwall55]

I try to keep it simple, thermometer in the pot,regular handles, watch when the spruce hardens, count to 5 ,then open the mould. I cast a hundred this morning after hunting.
EZE PEZE.
Now to load some in my new 44 Maynard

[SgtDog0311]

Kevin, glad you had some success. As I read your original post I thought to myself a lot of what you said is just the kind of thing you learn as you start out, like having stuff you need nearby. And that I could relate thinking back on my start not that many years ago. One thing you’ll find the further in you get is that some of that will recede and you’ll learn to relax as confidence grows. If I don’t get a relaxed cadence going I know it’s gonna be a frustrating session! Now, that does not mean you won’t get perplexed. It will just be over smaller things. Odd thing is the more you learn, the more particular you get. You’ve probably read a lot already. I learn more visually so Youtube might be helpful. I’m blessed in that I had a great friend (guy has not bought a bullet in about 35 yrs) not too far away. Couple times watching him was a big help and he was a phone call away if I got stumped over something persistent. If you got a good batch, you are already on your way. The thing that will keep you going is the quality. You’ll make em better than you can buy before long.

[Nuclearcricket]

Also glad to hear things are going better for you. Had I known you would have sold the lot for $200 I would probably have jumped on that deal. When I first started casting over 40 years ago, things were not as nice and as available as they are today. I started casting pure lead muzzle loader balls back then but I was using a 50 pound propane plumbers pot. That made for quite a hot casting session.
Now I have an electric pot with a pid attached, so much nicer. I just set a nice pace and cast away. Once my molds are up to temp I have very little trouble making good bullets. Only real problems I have is keeping the bullets separated and then I kind of run out of room on the bench for them till they are cool enough to handle. As stated earlier, I normally run 2 molds and most times they are for vastly different calibers.
Now that you have some cast up, the next level of frustration will start, trying to figure out the load recipe that your particular rifle likes. It can take a while and maybe some head banging on the wall but some day when it all comes together it may feel like one of the best days you ever had.
Sam