First batch from NOE 311-180gr

Boolit Master Join DateMay 2012LocationRepublic of Texas, District of Round Rock.Posts261

First - Thanks to Al and NOE, this is one sweet mold.
Cleaned it up as instructed, preheated as directed,
On the very first cast, opened the sprue and lubed everything as directed, then dropped the first spawning.

And never looked back.
ONE bullet from the first cast was a reject, that is truly amazing.
8# of 24BHN later, There magically appeared a pile of perfectly proportioned long beautiful elongated projectiles.
I have a whole boxful of molds of just about every description. This has to be the smoothest casting and dropping mold I have ever used.
I can't wait to get these things gas checked, lubed and loaded.
I have great expectations for this bullet. (IE: White tail in November)

Griz44Mag
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My first 45 casting session...

I finally got a 45 (Remington 1911 r1) and ran my first batch. I got a 6 cavity Lee 230 tc on fleabay for $46 shipped last week. Here is a sample.

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Shot my first Keith boolits today

I had 30 that passed inspection. So I loaded 6 each with 18, 18.5, 19, 19.5, and 20 grains of 2400. I shot 5 shot groups and 1 at a water filled cranberry juice bottle from 20 yards. There was a 25 gusting to what ever the heck MPH crosswind. Not the best conditions for testing. The 19.5 grain load did the best, just under 4". Not bad for me and the conditions. Now I need to cast some more and fine tune the load. The most impressive thing was the way they exploded the bottles. Cranberry juice bottles are tougher than milk jugs. Other loads just leave entrance and exit holes. Thanks for all the help and advice.

"Some men are mere hunters; others are turkey hunters." Archibald Rutledge

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Today I made my first batch of Ben's Red.....

And everything was going smoothly until I added the transmission fluid witch ended up being 10% instead of 5%. So I continued and added approx. another 10% Bee's wax before finishing up with the 5% STP. I heated and mixed everything very well as I added each different ingredient and it did set up in a fairly short period of time outside at 48 degrees. I have it in the freezer now and it looks a bit more like Ben's Purple or Maroon than Ben's Red. I also substituted Ford Mercon Tranny fluid because that is what I had. Hopefully it will be at least close to Ben's Red in performance. Is it possible to reheat the batch and try and improve on it once it has cooled? I still have a bit of Lucas red-n-tacky I could add if it is to hard to pan lube with.

Smokepole50

My guess it will be softer due to the additional ATF. It can be remelted and modified. The Ford fluid must have contributed the darker color, mine is a light pastel Red using the Dexron fluid. If I ever need to make another batch, I made a Large one, I will add some red candle dye.

Well I cut it up today in bars and it is firm and slightly tacky but it does not have the smooth sides at the cuts like I see with Ben's pictures. I did not filter the lube when I pore it into the pan, is this important? I did notice some very small pieces of un-dissolved red-n-tacky in the mix, do these need to be filtered out?

they will mix in with each re-melting.
if you followed my directions where you melt the grease first you don't have that issue.
oh dexron atf contains mercon anyway so no big deal it's the type f that has the friction adders.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Yes I saw your directions last night after I had already made the batch, I will try that next time. I think I will need to make the next batch outside if I get the red-n-tacky that hot as the stove exhaust fan barely kept up with the bee's wax and grease mixture smoke.

Is the lube normally tacky on the sides when it is cut into bars? Maybe I need to do a remelt of the whole batch and add some additional bee's wax behond what I have already added to try and correct my mistake. If so, should I also add in a bit more JPW to the mix as well? My gut feeling tells me it is about right comparing it to the tackiness of the BLUE lubes I have seen on store bought boolits. As well, it seems to be about right for cookie cutter type lube but I have yet to do any of this so I am just guessing.

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My first cast boolits

Looks like your ready to load and have some fun. Also looks like you are starting out well, boolits look good

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My first attempt at Bens Red, ?

First time making Lube, followed instuctions fully. Cooked it up in a small crock pot.
Used a wisk to break up the Lukes to fully melt, worked great.
Mine came out more of a burnt orange than Red.
Anywho; I pan lubed a few and it worked fine, however I think it could be stiffer, it is a little on the soft side.
So to stiffen it up do I remelt and add more Bees wax ?

Seems right to me. Or microcrystalline 430 wax (gooder for colder). Have you looked at 357maximum's MML lube?

We need somebody/something to keep the government (cops and bureaucrats too) HONEST (by non government oversight).

Every "freedom" (latitude) given to government is a loophole in the rule of law. Every loophole in the rule of law is another hole in our freedom. When they even obey the law that is. Too often government seems to feel itself above the law.

We forgot to take out the trash in 2012

Seems right to me. Or microcrystalline 430 wax (gooder for colder). Have you looked at 357maximum's MML lube?From what I have read it is good for temps below 80*
It gets 100* here in the summer

Wondering if Parafin would be a better stiffener ?

First time making Lube, followed instuctions fully. Cooked it up in a small crock pot.
Used a wisk to break up the Lukes to fully melt, worked great.
Mine came out more of a burnt orange than Red.
Anywho; I pan lubed a few and it worked fine, however I think it could be stiffer, it is a little on the soft side.
So to stiffen it up do I remelt and add more Bees wax ?
So to stiffen it up do I remelt and add more Bees wax ?

Yes, that is exactly what you'd do if you want a stiffer mix.

Do what Ben said.He created the lube.The only concern I had so far was the smell when making it.I did find it somewhat offensive,but right now it seems ok

I'm the King of my castle---anytime my wife's not around
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So to stiffen it up do I remelt and add more Bees wax ?

Yes, that is exactly what you'd do if you want a stiffer mix.

Thanks Ben
I'll remelt and add more BW

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First brass mold and first hollow point begginers help needed

Was lucky today to purchase a brass 2 cavity NOE 360477 mold with pin sets from a member here today with only a couple hundred cast in it and would like to get some info on how to make it work correctly.
From what i have read they like to be hotter but i don't want to warp it.
Also how do the boolets drop out with pins holding them ?
I have other NOE aluminum molds and RCBS molds and have no problems useing them but this seems to be a new ball game to me. I have a hot plate and i'm useing a Lee Pro 4 pot
Thanks, Steve

Steve;
Mihec has a video that shows correct usage of his hollow point mold - it is slightly different than NOE's but the same technique will work with the NOE:

http://www.mp-molds.com/index.php?pr=Cramer_style_casting

I pre-heat my molds on a steel top hot plate. If you have an open Calrod burner, place an old circular saw blade on it to spread the heat evenly. Mine works best on medium. The first time or two you use it, kind of sneak up on the heat. You don't want to overheat the mold. I prefer to heat mine up to the point that I only need one or two casts before it is running well.

FWIW
Dale53

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My first NOE mold--WOW--

Boolit Master Join DateApr 2009LocationiowaPosts216

WHAT took me so long i'll never know, I do know i'll have more of them, called swede on the 18th and had my mold the 20th, went by his instructions and cast a bunch today without a hitch, took about 4 or 5 pours and I had super bullets, it's a 4 cav 311-115RN PB, all weighed in at 115.2 & 115.4, I did do a mod to it, got a 5cav sprue plate from him, a little drilling and cutting, it now uses the Lee cam lever--no banging around for me, wow the bullets jump out of the mold, Ha, happy caster here.

Can you post a picture of the mold with the Lee cam?

Visit my page at http://www.echoarms.com/ for casting, reloading, and firearms accessories as well as FFL services in Southern California.

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Boolit Bub Join DateNov 2006LocationIn the great USA!!!!Posts35

Nothing like a custom mold to make your day.

Got that mold myself, but haven't used it yet. But like all my other NOE molds, I'm sure it will be top notch

I can only speak of NOE and Accurate so far. Both make awesome molds and are also great to deal with.

Every shot you get in life counts

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Just Casted My First Boolits

Last edited by hylander; Today at 08:07 AM.

Great job on your first casts! Unfortunately now you are hooked and will spend countless hours casting and forget to spend any time with the Wife/Girlfriend.

Doc

I will do my casting while my wife does the mopping inside since she runs me out of the house anyways

when you start dropping good boolits like that, you keep on going.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

when you start dropping good boolits like that, you keep on going.Seriously, how did you stop at 10? Those look damn nice for straight WW. It appears your mold was up to temp too, you must have preheated it or dipped it in the melt.

Though to be picky, i think the edges of the driving bands could be a little more square. Maybe a touch of tin or hotter mold.

Nice job! Is that 30-06 you are loading them in? For what gun?

Edit: what the hell am i saying, those edges look great

Seriously, how did you stop at 10? Those look damn nice for straight WW. It appears your mold was up to temp too, you must have preheated it or dipped it in the melt.

Though to be picky, i think the edges of the driving bands could be a little more square. Maybe a touch of tin or hotter mold.

Nice job! Is that 30-06 you are loading them in? For what gun?

Edit: what the hell am i saying, those edges look great

Thanks guys,
Well I stoppped at 10 because I really have no idea what I'm doing I wasn't really ready to cast but I just got antsy and wanted to try. To preheat the mold I sat it on top of the pot while the Lead melted and then dipped it into the melt.
Yes 30-06, 1903A3 4 groove
I need to find a source for tin and also how much would I add ?

"Some times it's just better to smile an walk away."
-161

"Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?"
-Butch Cassidy & the Sun-dance Kid

Add up to about 2%. To make calculations easier I convert everything to grains. One pound equals 7000 grains. For 2%, you would add 140 grains of tin per pound of alloy. Roll plumbing solder is what I've found most convenient to use for tin. Just clip off and weigh it. I've found the .118" lead free solder I use weighs about 20 grains per inch, so about 7 inches per pound of alloy.
Your bullets look good. I would have had a hard time stopping there! I think you're officially "hooked" into this obsession.

PS. I would be curious to know what diameter your bullets dropped in the nose and the body. I've been trying to find this mold myself.

Thanks,
Rick

What Rick said, I'll add that when buying the lead-free solder, make sure of it's metal composition. It varies a lot. What I try to find is the 95% tin,,-- 5% antimony alloy. That gives mainly tin with the bonus of a touch of antimony. There's some that has silver in it, from 5 to ten %. Also found is some that has silver and copper, but seldom more than 10%.

If you get lucky and find some old bar solder, it comes in different alloy percentages. Lead is always the first number like 60-40% lead-tin.

It's been 45 years since my first time casting, can't remember that far back! BUT I'm certain of one thing, my first boolits did NOT LOOK THAT GOOD!

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

?At the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat?--Theodore Roosevelt

tin is the first number.
even in alloys it's expressed tin/antimony/lead.
or tin /antimony/copper, silver.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Thanks guys, I will get some Tin today. PS. I would be curious to know what diameter your bullets dropped in the nose and the body. I've been trying to find this mold myself. Rick:
Body dropped .3115
Nose dropped .298

I was hoping the nose would be over .300
I sent an email to Lee, they said it will if I change my alloy.

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first try at FWFL---pretty sticky!!!???

The Vaseline will bring out the "sticky" quite a bit. Give the mix a day or two to settle down before appraising it.

Gear

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Remember removing your FIRST jacketed bullet stuck in the pointing die?

I found an old SAS die set at a gun show for pretty cheap. This was because there was a bullet stuck in the point forming die. The ejector pin had gone through the bottom of the jacket and the usual recommended procedures didn't work. Corbin had already refused to work on another SAS die when I asked them earlier, so sending to a manufacturer (the only one I knew about) for repair wasn't in the cards. I got the ejector pin assembly and the stop ring off the die, but the die itself was pretty useless. I was afraid to dry drilling or tapping the bullet because I had no faith I would not hit the side of the die.

I worked as a Chemist at a high-tech research lab at the time and was griping about my poor "bargain" to one of the Metallurgists there. He said that if the die was made from hardened high-carbon steel, cold concentrated nitric acid ought to dissolve the bullet jacket and probably the lead without any damage to the die.

Nitric acid is rather peculiar stuff. Unless it is diluted with water, it doesn't function like an "acid" so much as a very powerful oxidizer. The concentrated stuff is shipped in aluminum drums, which would disappear in seconds if the acid was diluted. However, when concentrated, the acid oxidizes the aluminum to a thin layer of aluminum oxide, which protects the metal from further action. The Metallurgist told me that since hard steel resists oxidation, the acid should have little effect on the surface other than possibly passivizing it with a one-molecule thick oxide layer. However, it should dissolve copper, zinc and lead very rapidly by oxidation of the metals and dissolving the resultant oxides. He recommended putting the die in the acid, waiting until the reaction was over, taking the die out and flooding it with water, checking with pH paper until the water was neutral.

Well, it seemed like a desperation measure, but the die was pretty useless as it was, and I would not be out much if the experiment failed. I put a small beaker of the 100% nitric acid we used for nitration reactions into the fume hood, and lowered the die into the liquid with tongs. There was a furious fizzing around the die hole, with red fumes rising and the liquid turning yellow-green. When the fizzing stopped, I took the die out, ran water over it for five minutes, confirmed neutrality with pH paper, sprayed it with CRC and wiped it out. A look at the point forming cavity under our binocular microscope showed no pitting, ringing, or any trace of the bullet. The outside of the die was similarly pristine.

I would not recommend this practice as a routine method of removing stuck bullets from dies, but, as Hunter Thompson said in another context, "It worked for me."

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First Smelt ever this weekend.

Well my father-in-law was down to visit, and decided to kill a few hours and try out my new equipment for my first smelt. My father-in-law was the one that got me into reloading, and into casting, but he had only used a Lee 10lb pot for smelting down his wheel weights, so he was curious to see how my 6qt dutch oven and Camp Chef Fryer would work. So we get all set up, and he places the first 20lbs, into the dutch oven, and looks on disapprovingly of me as I add another 20lbs. We fired up the dutch oven and got the lead melted down cleaned off and fluxed twice with pine sawdust. After we started ladling (Thanks to RayinNH's awesome ladle), and my father-in-law really likes the setup and tells me to go get the rest of my wheel weights. While we didn't get through all 200lbs, we were both amazed that we did get through 100lbs of the wheel weights in a couple hours just taking our time and being careful. Will try to get a pictures of the ingots we cast posted soon. We left about 3/4" in the bottom of the dutch oven for the next smelt. Overall it was a great time, and everything went smoothly. Next will be getting the RCBS Pro-melt broken in. Pretty soon I'll be able to hang up my sign

Boolit Master Join DateMar 2011Posts207

novalty, be careful, it becomes addictive as you start seeing those ingots pile up. You need more and more and then before you know it you are meeting shady characters in dark alleys to make a buy on buckets of wheelweights and on it goes...

where are these dark alley's???

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Boolit Master Join DateSep 2009LocationArizonaPosts727

Dutch oven pots work great for smelting. You want to be cautious though, do not hit or bang on the side of the pot, they can crack or break open and you don't want a mess like that. I have been using a cast iron harth pot for years it is about 10" deep and 12" across the rim. I have it rigged to use two 3/4" rebar supports across a 55 gal. grease drum using any kind of wood that is available. The pot will hold about 60+ pounds.

still looking for a good casting pot any ideas (on the cheaper side?)

still looking for a good casting pot any ideas (on the cheaper side?)The 6qt. dutch oven I am using was $29.99 from Harbor Freight.

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First Accurate mold

Boolit Master Join DateMar 2011Posts207

Just received my first Accurate mold and she's a beauty. #454325V five cavity for my 45 Colt Bisley.
Just about to fire up the melting pot. Anyone else use this design before?

Haven't used that design, but Tom's molds are great aren't they? I know you'll enjoy it.

Not that one but my 30cal mold is awesome. I will be ordering from Tom again in the near future.

Every shot you get in life counts

Don, let me know how that mold casts. Got several of Toms molds, you might be interested in one for your 475 Linebaugh I've got. Can bring it over some weekend and let you cast up a few on it.

Give me a holler when you get time and we'll get together and do some bsing and casting.

Boolit Master Join DateMar 2011Posts207

41 mag fan, Hey long time no see! Great to hear from you! The mold casts beautifully. Weight and diameter are spot on. I don't have a .475 but I did buy the mold from Lee Jurras maybe that's what you are remembering. I'll give you a call shortly. Keep your powder dry, Don

41 mag fan, Hey long time no see! Great to hear from you! The mold casts beautifully. Weight and diameter are spot on. I don't have a .475 but I did buy the mold from Lee Jurras maybe that's what you are remembering. I'll give you a call shortly. Keep your powder dry, DonHmmm...I don't know what I was thinking. I thought you had the .475. But ya give me a call when you get time. I got turkey season coming up soon, and the wifes getting her turkey fever, but after that I'm pretty much free.
Got 2 molds from Tom for the 45-70 I've been playing with herre lately.

Boolit Master Join DateMar 2011Posts207

Okie Dokie, sounds good and good luck with the turkeys.

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My first lead melt tomorrow any tips?

Im melting my first COWW into ingots tomorrow. The pot in the pic is the pot I will be using. Anything I need to do to it before use? Lid on or off work best? Thanx for any tips!!!

Keep the melt at 650-700 if you can in case you miss some of those zinc ones. Also make sure to have proper gloves, shoes, eye protection, etc. I would put the lid on at first to help conserve on fuel as you first start to heat up the WW's. Also flux often to take out the junk/impurities. I'm sure I missed something but that's the basics.

KEEP WATER AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Make sure the lead's dry before topping off the pot.

I have that exact same pot in picture. I can pour directly from pot when level starts getting lower and lighter. Grip the tab using vise-grip pliars to tilt

Boolit Buddy Join DateAug 2011LocationNorthwest WIPosts63

I load it to the top and ladle out of it until it is light enough to lift, just as detox said. I let it solidify fully before refilling the pot so that as it heats up and eater will boil off before it has a chance to hit molten lead once. I had a spruce pick up a drop of after not to long ago and it scared the **** out of me. I can't imagine more than a drop going into a huge open pot.

Just finished a load of pure & range lead today & was using a new casting area which was a little higher than my usual bench & found myself at an uncomfortable working height.
My only suggestion after my effort today, would be to make sure you have your pot & ingot molds at an easy useable height..........had a lot of spillage working awkwardly while having to reach higher from the pot to ingot mold!!!!!!!
The weight using your ladle with enough capacity for your 4 ingots, & if you're over reaching. & after a couple of hundred ladle pours.........pain.

Other than that, it was a good day. any day is a good day when adding to your hoard.

"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too."

Now that warm weather is here, it isn't so much a problem, but in cool temps, I find water condensing under the lid until the contents are above 212*. It doesn't cause a tinsel fairy visit, but the steam and sizzle unnerves me. I don't jump as good as I once did.

Boolit Master Join DateJun 2011LocationNorthwest MontanaPosts172

Make sure that your lid is vented. This will allow any moisture/steam to escape. If you are using the lid that came with the pot you may have to set it on with a little space at the edge, or place a small stick between the lid and pot.

Shad

I believe in gold, silver, & lead, and the rights of free honest men... You can keep the "CHANGE"!

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Tumbling brass - deprime first or after tumbling?

what is the best tumbling method?

There isn't one. Rather, it comes down to one's preference.

Well said 462 , I personally tumble with primers out. Lizard litter and NU-FINISH car polish. Works for me

Boolit Bub Join DateFeb 2013Posts23

I deprime first. So the first time I got media stuck in the flash hole with a primer inserted before I noticed the block, I decided to experiment and fill with powder anyway. Well primer popped out the media and ignited the powder just fine.

Boolit Mold Join DateApr 2013Posts17

For pistol brass, I normally tumble with the primer in the case since these can be loaded without using case lube.

For rifle brass, I normally tumble with the primer in, them resize and deprime. I tumble aain to remove the case lube so the primer pockets get cleaned a little, but not much. After the second tumbling, the brass gets trimmed also.

If you are using stainless pins and water, you will want to deprime first or you will trap waer in the primer pocket. The pins do clean the primer pocket pretty well.

We do it differently, Pistol is easy.. but rifle you can deprime, tumble (for me in SS media) and then I come back and size after I uniform the flash hole and primer pocket (but I shoot LONG distances). Once sized, I'll toss it back into the tumbler and tumble for about 30 minutes to cut the lube. One caveat, with uniformed primer pocket (large pistol and rifle), you need to watch for pellets in the flash hole. It does happen from time to time with properly uniformed flash holes.

Boolit Mold Join DateApr 2013Posts17

I deprime first. So the first time I got media stuck in the flash hole with a primer inserted before I noticed the block, I decided to experiment and fill with powder anyway. Well primer popped out the media and ignited the powder just fine.Regardless of the fact it worked for you, it's a dangerous practice to fire ammo with the flash hole blocked by media.

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