Have you googled to see what others are doing? I'm wondering if that mold was intended for 45 colt or something that would be used in Revolvers or lever action for something like cowboy action shooting?
Are there many bullet casters here?
- Thread starter Brickman301
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Have you googled to see what others are doing? I'm wondering if that mold was intended for 45 colt or something that would be used in Revolvers or lever action for something like cowboy action shooting?
I had the same thought that it is a cowboy action bullet. However, I shoot the Lee round flat in my 1911's and they feed fine. The lighter bullets are great for minimal recoil shooting.
Range lead? Don't do it!
I know I don't post here often but had to chime in on this one.
I used range lead a few times until I had an unburned tracer go off in my pot. Fortunately the bullet was on top of the melt and not below it - not a good time!
I know I don't post here often but had to chime in on this one.
I used range lead a few times until I had an unburned tracer go off in my pot. Fortunately the bullet was on top of the melt and not below it - not a good time!
- Feb 4, 2013
- 28,175
Try them to see if they feed.
With 1911s, if the COAL is too short, they will hit the feed ramp, bounce up, and jamb on the barrel tang.
Took Johns advise and got some powder from powderbythepound and Brickmans advise and a /5\ recyclable plastic (I had one already from a while back). Did the circular and shake technique and it coated really nice. Just put about 2 dozen in the oven
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Looking good! That looks like a Lee 356-125 right? With nothing else to do, I just made about 2000 of those over the last week. It goes pretty fast when you are working two six cavity molds.
yes, I did the "LEE-MENTING" with some flitz last weekend to get them to drop a little easier. My screw is a bit loose (like many reloaders) so I have to periodically tighten it. Need a way to set that and forget it.
I have coated the last of the 750 I made over the past week. I have enough 9mm for a while so I'll move to the 300blk bullets 160gr and 230gr lee molds come in today. I also scored a used lyman 169gr mold the other night for $30 shipped on a 'buy it now'.
I"m taking my funky 160g 309 bullets and I"m going to acetone/powder coat them (requires multiple coats). Just want to try it to see how uniform and PURDY it gets. Its more labor though so just trying to try everything before I settle in on a final main method.
My home office is in the loft where I do the reloading so it’s a good break up in the grind of this work at home period
Green shake and bake powder coat and acetone/powder coat before baking
Tip for keeping Lee mold bolt tight. Drill a hole for a 6/32 allen screw on the right side of the mold perpendicular to the bolt. Tap with 6/32 tap and insert screw. This will stay tight for a long time. You can get a drill bit and tap at Ace hardware both in one package.
Brickman301
Ultimate Member
Melnic, they look awesome! After much experimenting, the method you are using, is the best that’s worked for me. Powder by the pound’s powder, has been working great for me as well. I still use powder form other places, by powder by the pound’s stuff, seems to turn out better looking, than anything else, I’ve used.
Can’t wait to see them loaded.
Can’t wait to see them loaded.
Melnic, in case I haven't said it before, wait at least 14 days before shooting so the alloy can get as hard as it can.
GunBum
Active Member
I use cheap Horror Freight powder. A handful of bullets and a spoonful of powder in a plastic container. And if it hasn’t been addressed, plastic is needed to develop enough static to get the powder to stick. Lid onto the container. Pretend like you are trying to reuse a condom and shake the @#$& out of it. Open the lid, and take out the bullets with tweezers. I use the tweezers because I screw up less powder that way. Set the bullets on a rack, and cook in the toaster oven.
I don’t bother sizing the bullets until they are coated.
I don’t bother sizing the bullets until they are coated.
Is this the lead or the coating hardening?
Here are pics
Left two are powder coat and the others are Hi Tek super coat (Candy red, Kryptonite Green and , Bronze)
For the Candy red, I ran extra Acetone to thin it out then went to 4 coats. The Powder coat had some of the powder coat come off where it touched the hardware cloth mesh.
These were the first runs on that hardware mesh and I"m wondering if once the mesh basket gets a coat of Powder coat, will it no longer pull the cost off the bullets but just leave a mark in the coat?
I think the HiTek Supercoat looks better and has a more uniform coat. I"ll have to spend time to find out if that affects accuracy significantly or not. But the HiTek Supercoat sure is PURDY!
The Powder coat was definitely the quickest and easiest to apply. One bake at 20 minutes vs 2 or more coats of the Supercoat at 10 minutes plus the dry time (I dried over an hour each time)
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It's the lead alloy. Depending how much arsenic and tin is in the alloy, it is worth letting them sit to get whatever age hardening you are going to get out of the batch.
Marks from the hardware cloth are a non issue. Perfect coating is not required and you will still not get leading. If you want less marks, let the bullets cool in the hardware cloth tray ( which means you have to make some extra trays
). When cool, rap the tray on a hard surface and the bullets will pop off. I get less marks this way.That is interesting and may explain why when I put 9mm bullets onto my lee lead harness tester, they showed softer than the lead I was putting into the pot. I was putting lead I tested at 10-14 and the couple bullets I tested were at about 9. I tested about 3 hours after they were molded
I think I'll run a test next time I run the harder lead I have. I have all the hard lead from various sources in little cupcake disks and then marked with a sharpie with the hardness. I have not graduated to trying to control that any more than just eyeballing the amount of lead and measured hardness to stay around a somewhat stable range.
My pure lead (Brickman's) is all segregated out into a different bucket and I use a different lead pot for it which right now goes to Black Powder Muskets and 45 colt
I mark mine with a magic marker also. I have different batches for different stuff. You should never check for hardness after you make the bullet, it will give you false readings. Just put them aside and do other stuff. I make my bullets in the spring and fall and just load up the coffee jugs. During the winter I sort, size and load them. Summer is for shooting. 
PowPow
Where's the beef?
Does water quenching help with this instead of waiting?
Water quenching will give you a harder bullet as long as the alloy has antimony in it.
got in my new molds. I noticed that like many of my other Lee molds, I can see light in the gap when I hold the mold up. Seems worse than some of my other molds. you guys worry about that? do you mod them?
I typically take a qtip and flitz to the interior to polish them up before smoking them or applying Moose Juice. (from moose molds).
My RCBS molds don't have the sliver of light, (justifying their cost maybe)
I typically take a qtip and flitz to the interior to polish them up before smoking them or applying Moose Juice. (from moose molds).
My RCBS molds don't have the sliver of light, (justifying their cost maybe)
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