Another anomaly, shiny butts, shiny noses, but...

New mold for .44. TL 430-240
I have cast this before using a friend's mold. I got my own recently and put it to work today. Standard 50% WW 50% lead.
I tried low temps, and high temps. Cooling between pours, not cooling between pours.
Cleaned with brake cleaner. Polished with q-tips and toothpaste. Cleaned again. Poured fast, poured slow.
No matter what I tried today, I came out with shiny noses and bases, but the lube grooves were frosty.
I know it won't hurt, but....

Sorry. Shoulda took a pic.

If something is worth shooting once, it's worth shooting a bunch of times.

Careful with that stuff. Apparently it is highly toxic when heated.

Not too late to take a pick is it? Would be helpful.

Regards
303Guy

?It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!? Nietzsche

If something is worth shooting once, it's worth shooting a bunch of times.

TOOOOOO HOT. Common with TL grooves.
But it is confusing because the noses look like too cold.
I am at a loss, how can half a boolit look cold and half look too hot?

TOOOOOO HOT. Common with TL grooves.
But it is confusing because the noses look like too cold.
I am at a loss, how can half a boolit look cold and half look too hot?Welcome to my world.
I usually cast right @700?. I tried taking it up to 750+ with the same results. Then kept going while letting the pot cool to 675?.
The sweet spot never showed up, but the wrinkles set in when it was below 700?
The only thing I did different was to use some ingots that a friend made. But with the bases and noses the way they are, I doubt it's the alloy.

If something is worth shooting once, it's worth shooting a bunch of times.

Once again......WWs have little tin. It is the tin that reduces surface viscosity and allows better fill out. Adding the 50% lead only added to the problem by further reducing the minimal tin content. The tin will also combine with the antimony and make go better into solution with in the lead. What you see is typical antimony not in solution with the lead solidifying in the smal non filled out TL grooves.

Add 2 % tin to your COWWs before you add the lead. Cast at 725 +/-.

Larry Gibson

1) clean the mold -use brake clean (outside) then baking soda with a toothbrush. Rinse with hot water - air dry.
2) dump the alloy from the pot and start over with clean ww alloy with a 1/2 pound of 50/50 solder (for the tin)
3) do not smoke the mold
4) heat your alloy up to 750 degrees F.
5) get an electric hot plate and put an old circular saw blade on it. Preheat the mold on the hot plate.
6) Leave a large sprue when you cast.

If you pour from a ladle make sure the hole gives at least a 1/8" stream - A bottom pour pot needs the same stream

If the bullets stick in the mold, let it cool then smoke it with a wood splinter - do not use a candle, do not use a match (wax in the shaft of a paper or wood match)
a mold smokes better when cool.
Other issue, if you can see more than a hint of soot on the mold, you are overdoing the smoke.

When lubricating the mold as per lee's instructions, get the mold up to temperature, cast a few, then lube the sprue plate hinges very lightyy with a Q tip soaked in Kroil or a high temperature oil. Too much lube can give wrinkled bullets.
Zinc in the alloy can give unpredictable results.
as can poorly fluxed alloy.
Try a different mold with the alloy, see how that works out.

Go now and pour yourself a hot one...

Once again......WWs have little tin. It is the tin that reduces surface viscosity and allows better fill out. Adding the 50% lead only added to the problem by further reducing the minimal tin content. The tin will also combine with the antimony and make go better into solution with in the lead. What you see is typical antimony not in solution with the lead solidifying in the smal non filled out TL grooves.

Add 2 % tin to your COWWs before you add the lead. Cast at 725 +/-.

Larry Gibson

That may well be the solution. Never thought of that.
Thank you Larry.

Go now and pour yourself a hot one...

Plus one what Larry said. I believe I would also flux the daylights out of that melt. Looks a little dirty to me. Clean the mold again with toothbrush and dishsoap, get it pre heated good and do add that tin. Mike

I saw Elvis at 1000 feet. John Force

Once again......WWs have little tin. It is the tin that reduces surface viscosity and allows better fill out. Adding the 50% lead only added to the problem by further reducing the minimal tin content. The tin will also combine with the antimony and make go better into solution with in the lead. What you see is typical antimony not in solution with the lead solidifying in the smal non filled out TL grooves.

Add 2 % tin to your COWWs before you add the lead. Cast at 725 +/-.

Larry Gibson

Guess I better get me some tin then.
So if my math is correct, would that be like .4lb to a 20lb pot?

Wait that can't be right.

it should be about 6oz for a 20lb pot, right?

Last edited by BBQJOE; Today at 08:03 AM.

If something is worth shooting once, it's worth shooting a bunch of times.

4oz in a 20lb pot is 2%.... you were right the first time

Doc

Convert the pounds to ounces and multiply by .02 = ounces of tin. 20lb x 16oz. = 320oz. x .02 = 6.4oz.

2% of 20 lbs. is 4oz., but adding 2% tin to 20 lbs. of lead will be 6.4oz.

Boolit Master Join DateMar 2005LocationBritish ColumbiaPosts478

2% of 20 lbs. is .4 lbs. , not ounces. .4 X 16 is 6.4 ounces.

I have to go with Larry. The alloy might be lacking tin

I had forgotten to write that I did put a few feet of 50/50 lead tin solder in it. But I'm guessing it wasn't near enough.

If something is worth shooting once, it's worth shooting a bunch of times.

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Wiping their little noses.

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013LocationI challenge your middle of nowhere, and raise you 5.Posts46

As I'm very new to casting, using tl boolits, does everyone wipe the lube off (alox) after their bullets are seated?
If so what's the best household cleaner for this?

Last edited by BBQJOE; 04-07-2013 at 11:25 AM.

I have never wiped off excess lube, just one less step. No need to IMHO.

Slim

DISCLAIMER: This is a generic comment. It is not directed at any specific human
being, real or fictional. The comments in this message speak directly to the
TOPIC no matter the quoted clips - and nothing else. If I have not typed your
name, specifically, into the message, it IS NOT ABOUT YOU.

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013LocationI challenge your middle of nowhere, and raise you 5.Posts46

My concern is mostly gumming up the ramps and stuff on my semi-autos.

mineral spirits.

try cutting the alox with it before application and heating it and the boolits.
it helps the lube flow across them better and thinner and helps it dry better too.

but mineral spirits on a rag will clean the noses off.

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.

Makesem feed better. If yer usin a wax mix its a cleaner in unto itself. Just sayin.

I use charcoal starter fluid. I don't use LLA but I do wipe finished rounds. I drop the rounds into their storage boxes.....the standard plastic ones....but I leave the lid open over night. I have no idea if I didn't do that if accumalated fumes would effect the primers in a closed box I just do it that way to be sure.

I use a clean rag, no solvent. I put my Lee case holder in a cordless drill and chuck each round up and give er a spin. They look shiny as a new penny. When loading in large volume this is very laborious but I've gotten on top of my inventory so I load in 100 round lots nowadays.

It IS worth the effort for autoloaders. I hate getting that mess out of my Glock. ...and I use 45/45/10 which is much thinner and MUCH less tacky than straight mule snot.

If you wanna wipe, use a rag slightly dampened with mineral spirits. FWIW; I don't like goop (alox or 45-45-10) on the bullet noses, (jes don' look rite to me!), so I dip lube ala Ranch Dog. http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Tips/Alox/ Some may complain that this is too labor intensive, but it's fine with me. I did 100+ .45 ACPs yesterday in about 25 minutes. No big deal...

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013LocationI challenge your middle of nowhere, and raise you 5.Posts46

I just put together a batch of 9's.
I'm currently wiping their noses using a commercial kitchen degreaser. It's working just fine, but what a PITA!
There's no way I'm going Ranch dog dip either.
This lubing thing needs a serious rethink. I might just be the man to do it too.
I'll put it in the "dreamer" tonight, see what comes out.

45-45-10 and no wiping my boolits

on the other hand, when I lube with tamarack (50/50) in my star, I get some excess lube on the ojive and/or nose. I wipe those right after seating/crimping, while I inspect them.
Jon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I will be offering the GC seater plate for the lyman 45.
Also I have replacement springs for the Lyman 45 lubesizer, If your's is weak or missing, let me know

In the past I used Lee Alox on massive quanities of boolits to the point of purchasing it in four gallon cases and after a long break from casting and reloading I now use Delux 45-45-10 from White Label Lubes , the blend Recluse started here. The Lee lube was a bit much smoke wise shooting on an indoor range so I use to Tumble in a tumbler not a viberator with corn cob media and a few tablespoons of mineral spirits added. It only took about 15 minutes to clean them up real nice.

There have been numerious debates as to the safety of using a viberator to clean / polish loaded rounds. I am not about to get into that debate but I will state that I have used a viberator with corn cob and mineral spirits to clean up both straight Xlox and Delux 45-45-10 loaded rounds just out of curiosity, it worked and no problems were encountered. Honestly I shot outdoors only and thus do not bother with the extra lube on the boolits, just not a problem in my mind.

Some may wonder about the effects of the Alox on the powder after long term storage, well 9mm I loaded over 30 years ago with all of the Alox left on the boolits still functions just fine and it was not stored under idea conditions all of the time.

NRA Endowment Member
Vet . 2nd of the 47th 9th.Inf. Viet Nam Mar. 67-68

Oh! Please not the "to tumble or not to tumble live ammo" debate again...

If anybody is curious, google "tumbling live ammo" and you'll get hits for info going back years.

NEVER tumble loaded rounds.
Lube on the nose is OK unless it gobs up a seating stem.
I hate Alox in any case or any form. I refuse to use it.
Most decent lubes with Alox REDUCES the amount and buffers it.
Could 45-45-10 be made with a better oil like Safflower? Peanut oil? Castor oil? How about Ballistol?

Never tumble loaded lead rounds as the boolits will turn black from collecting all the garbage in your media.

If your using 45-45-10 you shouldn't have to worry about your seating steam as it is dry and doesn't seem to come off very easy.

"Life isn't like a box of chocolates...It's more like
a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn
your *** tomorrow."

Tumbling loaded rounds can change the powder burn rate by busting the deterrent coating. It can change the shape of kernels too.

Tumbling loaded rounds can change the powder burn rate by busting the deterrent coating. It can change the shape of kernels too.I've been following the "tumble vs. no tumble" discussion for quite a while and have read this argument several times. But (and no offence intended to 44man, whose opinion I respect) I have never seen/read of any factual proof, either from a powder manufacturer or an empirical study as to the validity of the "powder breakdown" statement.......

Boolit Master Join DateAug 2007LocationSouthWest USPosts816

No, I have never worried about cleaning the bullet meplat or ogive, nor would I consider it.
Likewise, I have never worried about tacky bullets.
I worry about accuracy and barrel leading--and I get good accuracy and no leading with a simply light tumble lube of LLA (bullets still look silver and not brown/amber).
Instead of looking for problems, why not try just shooting them. It really really won't hurt anything, including accuracy or reliability.

I often wipe the lube off of my boolit noses, but I use Johnson's Baby oil instead of mineral spirits on a cloth for clean up all around. Baby oil readily cuts through Alox or 45-45-10. (Baby oil also smells better than mineral spirits indoors)

It's pretty easy to do if you set up all your loaded boolits in a loading block, or in 100 round closeable top case boxes. My last step is to just swipe a wet cloth (wetted with baby oil) over the top of the boolits, and then another pass with a dry cloth.

I figure it's that much less lube residue to clean up from the inside of my pistol when I'm done shooting. Ive skipped doing this, and left both Alox or 45-45-10 on the noses before. Leaving it on has never caused me any problems, but sometimes I get compulsive and like the noses to be "lube free".

- Bullwolf

You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum Rules

Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

View the original article here

Wiping their little noses.

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013LocationI challenge your middle of nowhere, and raise you 5.Posts38

As I'm very new to casting, using tl boolits, does everyone wipe the lube off (alox) after their bullets are seated?
If so what's the best household cleaner for this?

Last edited by BBQJOE; 04-07-2013 at 11:25 AM.

I have never wiped off excess lube, just one less step. No need to IMHO.

Slim

DISCLAIMER: This is a generic comment. It is not directed at any specific human
being, real or fictional. The comments in this message speak directly to the
TOPIC no matter the quoted clips - and nothing else. If I have not typed your
name, specifically, into the message, it IS NOT ABOUT YOU.

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013LocationI challenge your middle of nowhere, and raise you 5.Posts38

My concern is mostly gumming up the ramps and stuff on my semi-autos.

mineral spirits.

try cutting the alox with it before application and heating it and the boolits.
it helps the lube flow across them better and thinner and helps it dry better too.

but mineral spirits on a rag will clean the noses off.

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.

Makesem feed better. If yer usin a wax mix its a cleaner in unto itself. Just sayin.

I use charcoal starter fluid. I don't use LLA but I do wipe finished rounds. I drop the rounds into their storage boxes.....the standard plastic ones....but I leave the lid open over night. I have no idea if I didn't do that if accumalated fumes would effect the primers in a closed box I just do it that way to be sure.

I use a clean rag, no solvent. I put my Lee case holder in a cordless drill and chuck each round up and give er a spin. They look shiny as a new penny. When loading in large volume this is very laborious but I've gotten on top of my inventory so I load in 100 round lots nowadays.

It IS worth the effort for autoloaders. I hate getting that mess out of my Glock. ...and I use 45/45/10 which is much thinner and MUCH less tacky than straight mule snot.

If you wanna wipe, use a rag slightly dampened with mineral spirits. FWIW; I don't like goop (alox or 45-45-10) on the bullet noses, (jes don' look rite to me!), so I dip lube ala Ranch Dog. http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Tips/Alox/ Some may complain that this is too labor intensive, but it's fine with me. I did 100+ .45 ACPs yesterday in about 25 minutes. No big deal...

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013LocationI challenge your middle of nowhere, and raise you 5.Posts38

I just put together a batch of 9's.
I'm currently wiping their noses using a commercial kitchen degreaser. It's working just fine, but what a PITA!
There's no way I'm going Ranch dog dip either.
This lubing thing needs a serious rethink. I might just be the man to do it too.
I'll put it in the "dreamer" tonight, see what comes out.

45-45-10 and no wiping my boolits

on the other hand, when I lube with tamarack (50/50) in my star, I get some excess lube on the ojive and/or nose. I wipe those right after seating/crimping, while I inspect them.
Jon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I will be offering the GC seater plate for the lyman 45.
Also I have replacement springs for the Lyman 45 lubesizer, If your's is weak or missing, let me know

In the past I used Lee Alox on massive quanities of boolits to the point of purchasing it in four gallon cases and after a long break from casting and reloading I now use Delux 45-45-10 from White Label Lubes , the blend Recluse started here. The Lee lube was a bit much smoke wise shooting on an indoor range so I use to Tumble in a tumbler not a viberator with corn cob media and a few tablespoons of mineral spirits added. It only took about 15 minutes to clean them up real nice.

There have been numerious debates as to the safety of using a viberator to clean / polish loaded rounds. I am not about to get into that debate but I will state that I have used a viberator with corn cob and mineral spirits to clean up both straight Xlox and Delux 45-45-10 loaded rounds just out of curiosity, it worked and no problems were encountered. Honestly I shot outdoors only and thus do not bother with the extra lube on the boolits, just not a problem in my mind.

Some may wonder about the effects of the Alox on the powder after long term storage, well 9mm I loaded over 30 years ago with all of the Alox left on the boolits still functions just fine and it was not stored under idea conditions all of the time.

NRA Endowment Member
Vet . 2nd of the 47th 9th.Inf. Viet Nam Mar. 67-68

Oh! Please not the "to tumble or not to tumble live ammo" debate again...

If anybody is curious, google "tumbling live ammo" and you'll get hits for info going back years.

You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum Rules

Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

View the original article here

Ring around the noses.....

Ok, bought the NOE 230 RF HP for the .45acp/.45LC and my lyman seater die is leaving a ring around the nose. Anybody have a good solution?

Does it have the changeable seating punch? If so, swap it to the flat one if you have the curved one in it now. I'm not familiar with Lyman dies but my Hornady dies have 2 different seating punches with the die sets, one for RN and one for FN boolits.

Jeez... I'm not that much of a noob... YES, it is switchable, and it does have the flat on it it. However, the flat one has a shoulder. Which cuts a ring into the boolit's nose.

Chuck it in a drill press and take the sharp corner off the lip. You can use most anything that will round that sharp corner, even a the end of a small file will do it.

If you have access to a lathe, that's even better, but just form the punch to the nose and it will still work for other bullets, too.

Hope this helps.

Fred

After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. - William S. Burroughs.

Thats not really an option.... Knob on the end of the plug measures at .580ish... (It's knurled)

Maybe this will help you understand what I'm talking about...

It seems like slowly filling up the cavity in the nose punch with 5-minute epoxy could work. As long as the punch balances on its end, the stuff should self level and end up parallel to your boolit nose. Maybe just try a little, see how it works, add more if needed.

Obviously this solution has some drawbacks but it might work

What I have done is use JB Weld on the inside of the seating stem. Wash the seating stem with alcohol and put a small dab of JB Weld into the hollow nose of the seating stem and coat the nose of the bullet with a release agent like bullet lube. Now assemble it back into your press (you could even put a light coat of oil inside the seating die to work as a release agent) now put a case with a good bullet on top and bring the ram up enough to start to seat the bullet and leave it there while the JB Weld cures. After the JB Weld cures take the die apart and sand the edges of the seating stem and wipe out the inside of the die body.

If the bullet is a hollow point fill the nose with hard bullet lube before you try the JB weld trick

Tim

"...my lyman seater die is leaving a ring around the nose. Anybody have a good solution?"

Yeah; it's harmless, forget about it.

You can always use a Dremel Tool to open up the seating plug, too. You just have to be careful to make it relatively even around the edges. I've done them both ways, plus filling a seating plug with epoxy. They all work, and it really doesn't take very long to do any of them.

Hope this helps.

Fred

After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. - William S. Burroughs.

Go with the JB Weld. If you need to it can be removed with heat.

Go with the JB Weld. If you need to it can be removed with heat.I was going to suggest filling the seater up with soft lead, then filing it flat. Harder lead (HP boolits) being seated by softer lead (in the seater cup) should preserve the integrity of the HP boolits.

Above Reproach A novel in which a series of mass-shootings coordinated by anti-American officials inside the U.S. government threatens not only the Second Amendment, but the entire Bill of Rights until one armed citizen finds himself with his back against the wall and fights back.

Before I heard about the JB Weld trick a few years ago, I just stuffed a small wad of paper towel up in the die. As cheesy as it sounds, it has worked great for tens of thousands of rounds.

When it fails, I will go the JB Weld route.

TEAM HOLLYWOOD

NRA- LIFE TSRA-LIFE SASS-LIFE

A guy in a gun shop in Victorville, CA once (about 17 years ago) told me to put a little ball of wadded up aluminum foil into the seater die. It worked very well. It took the shape of the bullet nicely and solved the problem.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

View the original article here