FCLC45, over the past 48-hours or more, I have hit you with questions in the comment section of a few of your videos and you have answered all of them...as usual. I just wanted to say thanks for all of your answers in this one video comment section. You are in my humble opinion, the Guru of lead bullet casting and your information is indeed appreciated. Happy/Safe Casting & Shooting, AGW.
AGW - Answering comments and questions is the responsibility of every YT poster. If we don't do this, then why post at all, since no video can cover the entirety of any issue. And some of the comments are intended to help us do a better job...It's all good. Lately, I've been having some computer problems with my home computer not letting me do any replies. So there have been some delays. But no more than two or three days...Best Regards to you, and I appreciate your comments and questions...
Lee Precision products are equal to other companies and are generally less expensive. Lee die sets include a shell holder, a powder scoop and basic load information. Plus, they stand behind their products. Great company!
Thanks for the question. The bores of most European 30 calibers run .311" while our 30s are .308". That means that you will want round nosed .312" bullets around 180-200 grains for your Mosin. Lee makes a good 2 cavity mold C312-185-1R for $20. If you test cast and bullets are not miked at .312-.314" send it back until they send you one that does. If you get .312-.314, you can size to .312" and bullets will be stable and accurate. If undersize bullets are shot, you will be very unhappy.
Again, thanks for your questions. Bullet molds are made with cutters called cherries. You can cut your own 6 or more cavity molds, but it would be very expensive by the time you got it done. Better to buy molds already manufactured. Neither Lee or SAECO or RCBS or Lyman make gang molds for the bullets you want. Only the 2-cavity molds are available. You can still make a lot of bullets - but more time needed. I'd recommend the 2-cavity molds
I run a pair of the 6-cavity molds. My process goes, Pour first mold and cut sprue, pour second mold, dump first mold, cut sprue on second mold, pour first mold, dump second mold, cut sprue on first mold, fill second mold, etc, etc, etc. You can get a crazy fast rhythem with no tapping the mold, because the few seconds between those processes gives the molds enough time to cool, and the bullets drop right out. Also a light coating of Frankford Arsenal bullet mold release spray will go a long way.
The mold is for making rifle bullets for 7.62x54R. 185 grains is not designed for your Nagant revolver. I would not even try to make this bullet work in the 38R case. If you do cast for your Mosin bolt gun, you'll need to mix one pound of linotype with three pounds of range scrap (should have a mix of used cast and jacketed lead) and water quench to get the hardness you need. Then gas check the bullet and lube with 50-50 alox-beeswax and keep velocity around 1800-1900 fps for best results.
The technical answer is yes since same diameter bullets used. I would agree. However, see the comment just below for more details. If the pistol bullets are used in the rifle, you'd have to have a very light load with fiberfill in the case to take up the air space from the light charge. Unless you really need that, I'd advise against using pistol bullets in large capacity rifle cases.
Lee will custom make 6 cavity molds for the C312-185-1R, but it will be expensive custom order. We shoot LOTS of pistol bullets, but not as many rifle. Unless you plan on shooting a lot of cast Mosin, the 2-cavity may be all you need. Commercial quality is for making lots of pistol bullets, and all the Lee 6 cavity molds are for pistols.
hiaruga-If your mold has cooled down,you won't be able to get the lead off without scratching your mold block. If this happens again,best to use a rough rag with gloved hands and wipe the lead off right away while it is still hot. You might want to run a torch on the LEAD for 3 seconds at a time and wipe until it is gone.Don't overdo the torch or you might warp the mold block.For now, if cold mold, heat it up by dipping corner in molten lead, then cast fin rejects to heat,torch if needed,wipe
TheFirearmEnthusiast-reply2- As for the money - the equipment has paid for itself way long ago. And now I'm loading big bores for $3.50-$4.50 a box of 50 rounds. Factory would cost 8-10x that much. So I can shoot a lot more for the same money or not…And look at this strategy - get a shooting friend and two 6 cavity Lee molds - one is filling his/her mold while the other is dropping bullets with the same 20 pound Lee casting pot - it's a bullet factory making buckets of bullets!!
Thanks for your questions, but there are so many. You can get answers to all those from good quality reloading manuals. We do need to trim our bottlenecked cartridges as they do stretch on firing. The straight walled cases can go much longer before they have to be trimmed.
From 3:00 on you talk about casting in commercial ammunition manufacturing. In commercial ammunition manufacturing the bullets are not cast, but cut from a lead wire and compressed in a copper jacket. That's how the big players are doing it. Smaller manufacturers might actually cast bullets and
xjyrki - Thanks for your comment and sorry for the confusion - You are referencing the manufacture of jacketed bullets. There are also swage processes that produce bullets for copper plating. This video is talking about commercial cast bullets - when those companies cast their bullets, they use big automated casting machines using multiple gang molds filled like rotating cannon - that turn out production into the thousands an hour. Those companies cannot afford to have workers casting over pots like we do. Best Regards to ya
The C312-185-1R mold is for casting rifle bullets especially for bolt action rifles like the Mosin or the Enfield. I don't currently cast for my Mosins or my .303 British, but it sounds intriguing. I may very well buy that mold. But this bullet is not designed for revolver rounds like the 7.62x38R (the Nagant is an interesting revolver with gas sealing across the flash gap). I wouldn't want to advise you on cast bullets for that revolver as I have never seen one to measure the cyl. throats.
Hey Steve, another well informing video. Those bullets are a beautiful site. Looks like many relaxing hours of fun that produced a fine addition to your ammo collection. I need to get in the shop myself for some alone time with the Lee Pot. Have a great Sunday and will see ya on the next one. Hope all is well down your way :-))
TheFirearmEnthusiast-Thanks for your comment and question. Yes, I am lucky to have time after work to do my casting-with Lee 6 cavity molds, my casting time is maximized. And with Lee and Dillon reloading presses, my reloading time is maximized. Today, I had a great time shooting with four of our shooting community friends at the range-and Cary helped my pick up about 45 pounds of range scrap. That will make about 40 pounds of lead ingots to cast bullets - and zero cost for lead-unbeatable see2
I've used mostly iron and steel molds and have used several of the Lee 2-cavity. But it looks like you've talked me into trying the Lee 6-cavity and I will probably try it for 9mm in my M&P Pro 9. Very good job on the video; I enjoyed the deliberate pace of speech. Shows you're thinking about what you're saying.
Glen Pruett - Interesting that you noticed the pace of speech...This was an earlier video when I was trying to be measured - resulted in awkward sounding and other viewers commented as such. After a while, I got more comfortable with talking into a microphone. As for the 6 cavity molds, once you use one and see how many great bullets you can cast in one casting session, you will not want to go back to the 2 cavities unless the bullet style is not available in a 6...Best Regards
I was surprised to go on Lee site to actually try to understand the full operation of the 6 cavity mold and it referred me to your youtube site. LOL! My question is after about 4/5 seconds, do you take the Sprue Plate Handle move (rock) it to the left, to break loose the freshly poured lead bullets. Then move the sprue plate handle to the right to shear off the excessively over poured (sprues) lead. Then with the two mold handles open the mold & shake out the cast bullets? Not sure if I'm making this process too complicated.
Robert Fugate - Easier to have you view the videos on the 6 cavs in actual casting use...Here is a link to one of those -- ruclips.net/video/cxxXZ50de2M/видео.html Have a great day, FC
Thanks for your interest - bullet casting will give you many, many years of lots of shooting fun while connecting you with all the great shooters of the past. Cast bullets are not only accurate and deadly, but they are beautiful little creations that we make in quantity with our own efforts - there's some big time satisfation there. Best wishes to you...
Great job, Fortunecookie. Love you videos, great info. I don’t mind if you repeat yourself from time to time! Talking slow, details, right on TARGET!! If there are complainers , maybe they can shoot some of there own videos, & show us how it’s supposed to be done! Oh, but they don’t have time for that! Your doing a great job Steve. Please keep up the good work. Iam just new to bullet casting. Got lucky, first purchase 1400 lbs misc. lead. 500 lbs. cast ingots at 14 ,15 BHN , 450 lbs. of large kinda stick lead, from old printing press ( letter mold) BHN of 23.8. Other misc lead cast objects BHN of 18/19. Lead hardness testers, ladles, Lee 4-20 pots , two of them (new). 11 lee 6 cavity molds, casting manuals, oh, 155 lbs. antimony , 114 lbs tin. All for $510.00 Canadian, hard earned cash. I got lucky on this purchase!!! I really enjoy your vids MR. Fortune cookie. Keep up the good work. I wish I was your neighbour. Tks. From Mugger Joe , way up here in kinda northern Saskatchewan,Canada. God bless you Steve. Happy New Year.
Hello FCLC45, I'm guessing I picked a good video to post this question, as I want many others to learn from your infinite wisdom as well. Question: I see some video of various Casters applying sprue plate Lube on top of mold and on bottom of sprue plate, will this not make the mold drop wrinkled boolits for the first 20-50 casts? I personally dread when its time for me to lube mold pins and try to tactfully apply the wax to the mold pins, so as to try and keep the wax isolated to the mold pins only and not wick into my cavities, which is a huge pain! I can only imagine that applying any type of "wet" sprue plate Lube, like a beeswax mixture...will get into the cavities! Also, is there such a thing as "dry" sprue plate lube? I recently learned of a product that supposedly prevents lead from smearing, even if the lead is not 100% solidified, allowing you to cast faster...so they claim. Comes in a 2oz. container. When I have custom Molds made, the maker suggests using sprue plate lube (specifically a graphite type) on his aluminum Molds. In addition to answering the above questions, please share with us your take on sprue plate lube. Happy casting and thank you, AGW.
AirGunWarriors Great question on sprue plate lube. If the sprue plate action is good, and it is unless the sprue bolt is overtightened (danger of stripping the bolt hole) what need is there for any lube between the top of the mold and the sprue plate. As you have clearly pointed out, any volatilizing agent between the sprue and mold cavity will cause bad casting. Only some kind of dry lube will work such as the graphite. In over 40 years of bullet casing using molds from 4 different mold makers, I have never used any sprue plate lube or any mold release agent. And rarely do I smoke my molds. None of the mold makers have specified use of sprue plate lube for their molds. I do have to lube my Lee molds about two or three times a casting session when the molds start balking to close - a thin candle allows accurate lubing of pins and bushings. I think there was one time that I got wax into a cavity and yes, bad bullets came out of that cavity for the next 10 pours or so as I recall... Have a great day!!
The reason for this video is really to get shooters more into casting bullets. I tried to get into the mind of the Lee engineers who created the 6 cavity molds. Currently, Lee is the only manufacturer offering easily available gang type molds - bullet casting used to be very popular, then went down in popularity - now coming back. I agree with Lee - we need to cast bullets, and we might as well cast LOTS of them. Thanks for your comments - I'll try to make future videos on less subtle stuff
TheFirearmEnthusiast-Thanks for the good word…That's my favorite 45 bullet - When we shot steel (poppers, plates and free standing steel in various layouts against time and mano vs mano), we would shoot 500 rounds a night (sometimes till 1:30am by the light of one light bulb). So 6000 bullets was an OK amount. I was the only one that cast own bullets, but we all bought the molys 10-15K at a time. Casting all those bullets is still a habit. Best Regards...
judging by the amount of bullets you have cast ahead you could sell off some to cover the cost of lead. Oh yea that was free range scrap. well thanks for the video and keep um coming.
Karl Pettigrew - Just met a shooter today who used to shoot a lot 6-7 years ago, but fell out of it, and now getting back into shooting. He was amazed at how clean the range scrap was that I was picking up, and now he wants to start casting himself… it's the power of free lead… Best Regards
FCLC45, I'll be ordering my first LEE PRECISION MOLDS here real soon and was wondering if you agree with their video that shows how to prepare a mold before use, i.e., how to properly lube and smoke the mold? Thanks, AGW.
AirGunWarriors - If you look at my first mold I ever got (45 RN 238 single cavity Lee) from long ago, I never smoked it. And I have not smoked my molds as a rule since then. Lead will not stick to our cavities so why smoke 'em. Also, I use any thin candle I can find to lube my Lee molds (you are told to use beeswax but not alox), candle wax works fine. White candles are best. Wash new molds in detergent and water scrub and then dry it on the casting pot as you start to melt your lead. Good castin' to ya -
hey .45LC i have been told by some people that thier lee 6 cavity molds are soo precise that they dont even worry about sizing. is that right? i just started and i have 56 cupcake pan ingots melted from wheel weights from a local tire shop (bought a 5 gallon bucket full for 10$. i am a USPSA shooter and i found (after doing arduous mind numbing math) that i can shoot for 8 cents per round. i bought a lee 6 cavity mold for 9mm .356 124gr TC from brownells (i live 45 mins away from them so i call in my order and pick it up) i just wanted to ask if sizing was a waste of time for me?
martin ennor - Thanks for this great comment. Whenever you get a new mold, cast up some good bullets and mike according to cavity. And keep a chart on your mold. One of my 6 cav molds has a renegade cavity that casts bullets too big to use - so I skip that cavity when I use that mold. Suppose your auto pistol barrel groove diameter is .355" (slug barrel). Then you would need bullets .356" for perfect fit to bore. And if your mold drops bullets .357.3575" That would be very fine - no sizing needed - just tumble lube 'em (see 45/45/10) load 'em and shoot 'em. If your mold drops 'em bigger than that, then sizing to .356 is appropriate. Your 56 ingots of wheel weights (can make auto pistol bullets just as is - no additions to your alloy) will make roughly 6000 9mm bullets for a cost of 1 1/2 cents a bullet. Add 3+ cents for primer and 2 cents for powder (brass is free) and I calc your cost at 7 cents a round (smidge added for lube and energy). If you use the 45/45/10 system without over lube, you should have minimum smoke. USPSA shooters don't like a lot of smoke as obscures the targets. But you will find that most all competition shooters use plated bullets or even FMJs. Good shootin' to ya.
Thanks 45 I really appreciate your quick response and your insight....there are a lot of competitors that I shoot with that tell me to go plated or fmj and not mess with lead...but I finish ahead of them regularly in the matches so I take it with a grain of salt....I am looking for accurate (enough) performance but cost effective....this year I may have a shot at winning area I have been shooting unclassified for about five years and finally got a uspsa # this year....I will definitely chart my mold and see what its throwing.....as far as slugging a barrel dobi jusr take a bullet and a hard plastic dowel and just hammer it through my barrel and measure bullet diam. At the lands? I think that's how it was explained to me. I also heard hard wax slug or hot glue slug works too...I gues ill try all and see if they all measure the same....can't wait till my lee pot comes in so I can start casting...I couldn't get to brownells this week because I had to work so I ordered it and its coming tomorrow...ill let you know how it turns out! Thanks again!
martin ennor A lot of casters don't bother slugging their auto pistol barrels - hard to go wrong with using bullets .356-357 for 9mm, 38 super; .401 for 40 cal; 452 for 45; And for revolvers, we don't slug barrels anyway - we just measure the cylinder throats and go .001 over that measurement for our bullets. Since you are shooting cast lead bullets already - just use the current bullet diameter and you are in business. When I said that most all competitors shoot with plated or jacketed bullets in the action comps, that did not include you. And everyone knows, it's the shooter that determines the outcomes. If you go ahead and win with hard cast bullets, you might start a trend that Lee, Lyman, RCBS will have to know about...Good shootin' to ya...
Use more than one mold set. Then you have time for them to cool "You will be busy filling the next one or two" before you need to pop them open. For a hard production run on molding at home, I run 3 of the 6 hole molds for this reason. ---Just my two cents.
45LC, great vids as usual. Had a question on what to do if mold got too hot and lead smears out the cavity. Now the mold doesn't close all the way and bullets come out with extra "fins" ones sees with plastic models. Any suggestions to clean with damaging the mold? Thanks!
More power to ya, Ali - but even though bullet casters will tell you that the do most of their shooting with cast lead bullets, there will be times that jacketed bullets are used - they do have their place indeed. I'll look forward to seeing any vids you might make on your mold project.
LIVIN CINCY - It's interesting with so many videos out there, that Lee uses this one for the past 5 years... I'm very happy about that, but am fully aware that they can also take it down with a click of the mouse button if anything comes along that suits them better. I actually timed that 1000 bullets an hour, but can't keep up that rate for more than 15 minutes at a time - the mold gets too hot. The sponge cooling time has to be thrown into that. Few casters want to cast that fast. But the potential rate is there, especially with some of my molds that are like thoroughbred race horses - drop 6 bullets just on opening the mold...Have a great day, Carlos FC Steve
I think you can claim your Andy Warhol 5 Minutes of Fame Trophy. With all of the videos on here they chose yours. I think it is a credit to your style. You might be a little to Mr. Spock and less flash like an "Info-Lebrity" but I think that appeals to a reloader. Perhaps you can try a Flashy Infomercial Style in the future. A true salesman could sell used coffee grounds from a coffee chat. Good Luck with that !
MI 6 mold is 125 .356 and it cast heavy 134gn bullets !! IT MEANS THE ( HARBOR FRIGHT ) QUALITY !! it wold seam that a company in business for that long would have top of the line tools !! LEE the Harbor Fright of the reloading !!
Stephen Salamone - Thanks for your comments, my Lee molds also cast on the heavy side - one of 'em really heavy - my 429 240 RN is supposed to cast at 240 grains, but the bullets come out at 262 grains. Now a lot of that depends on our alloy - If softer, more lead, the bullets cast heavier. If harder and more antimony and tin, the bullets cast lighter. Have a great day, FC
Cookie I have to take you to task on your comment that you can produce approx 2,000 .45 Colt bullets in 2 1/2 hours. To be able to cast that many, it takes approx 70 pounds of alloy. As an example: If you are using a 20 pound pot, you will only be able to cast 560 bullets @ 250 grains per bullet (with that amount of alloy)...so it takes approx 3.5 times that amount to make 2,000. I don't see how anyone can cast 2,000 in 2.5 hours considering you have to stop and replenish the alloy into the pot and wait for it to come back up to temperature...even if you replenish when the pot is half empty!
toddy2519 - Thanks for your comments. Having casted for as long as you and I have done - we can have these discussions. My normal rate of speed is 1500 bullets in 3 hours starting from the first pour. But I have timed myself when the mold is really singing and I'm filling and opening with 6 bullets dropping with a hard open of the mold blocks can do 18 bullets a minute equals 1000 bullets an hour. I've kept that rate up for 1/2 hour on many occasions. Have I actually casted 2000 bullets in 2.5 hours? I am convinced that if everything is aligned properly, 2000 bullets in 2.5 hours can be accomplished with one of my three best thoroughbred molds and a wet sponge to pop the mold onto just before cutting the sprues. Trick is to have the ingots all lined up and slide in an ingot as the pot drops that amount so that the level in the pot is kept maintained - otherwise, alloy chill will indeed occur slowing everything down. If Lee would pay me, I'd set up the casting demonstration and have a third unbiased party to validate the proceedings. But as far as I know, Lee doesn't do those kinds of things... Best Regards to you, FC
toddy2519 - I like your thinking on this subject as you are the first to bring this up in about 3 years. I was at work when I answered you and had to tend to business, but now I'm back to continue my reply. If I was doing this 2000 bullet/2.5 hour demonstration, I'd use my TL 358 158 SWC mold as it takes less alloy to handle plus the cavities fill a split second faster. Would only take 46 pounds of alloy, start with a full pot - ingots easily lined up on the casting bench in two three stack rows. Also the smaller bullets would handle the heat in the aluminum blocks better. My 9mm mold would even be faster. I'd also have my hot plate set up to keep molds and other equipment hot. And as an ultimate edge, I'd have melted lead alloy in a propane fired skillet nearby so that molten alloy could be added to my casting pot without any chill factor from using ingots, and this I have done before as well. The 2000 bullets in 2.5 hours is doable, but I would not advise other casters to try that because of what I would call the speed risk. Best to ya, FC
Hi. First of all, thank you for your videos. I am casting 1000 bullets/ week. I use a double cavity Lee mold. I see in the video that the 6 cavity seems to be stronger. At least, the sprue plate from the 6 cavity seems to be thicker. I have some issues with the mentioned 2 cavity mold. Do you think that I should change to the 6 cavity mold? Bye.
Fernando Garcia Texeira Great question. Any bullet caster who shoots more than 10K bullets a year needs to go to the 6 cavity molds. Sure, they are more expensive than the 2 cavs, by about 2.5X more money. But they are very high value, high production. Lee made them for the high volume shooter and competitor, and there's a 6 mold for all the popular bullet designs. I would recommend that you go to the 6 cavs as you have both the experience and the need for them. Good castin' to ya.
I think you are completely wrong with LEEs meaning of commercial quality. What they mean is that with there 6 cavity mold you will be able to cast a quality bullet just as good or better than a factory cast bullet.
LEE might want to run their box designs through a spell checker before they go to print if they really want to put forth EXCELLENCE. Lol! FortuneCookie45LC, I’ve been watching your videos for quite some time and really enjoy them. Thank you for taking the time to make them... it is truly appreciated.
Thanks for the questions. Since I have no experience with the interesting Nagant revolver, I'd hate to give you bad information. I have cast for rifles and am comfortable giving you information for the Mosin (even though I have never had the desire to cast for it, I have cast for other rifles).
Thanks again for your questions. Making your own bullet molds gets into being a machinist. You can do it and there are ways to make your own molds. However, the ones we buy are of proven designs and its hard to go wrong. But let me know how your mold project turns out if you decide to make your own molds - I'd really like to know.
wennilton miranda - Greetings to friends in Brazil - home of the 2016 Summer Olympics..!! And also home of Rossi who makes our fine M92 lever guns...!! Lee Precision does make 6 cavity molds for the 22 Bator Bullets...But I am not a Lee dealer...You will have to contact MidwayUSA or Titan Reloading - hope they ship to Brazil... Best to ya, FC
Thanks for the video FortuneCookie45LC - I am researching bullet casting as I have recently been bitten by the pistol shooting bug and have been debating on whether to buy the two or six mould. Thanks I have now made my mind up. Keep the videos coming.
Mike Warren - Thanks for your comment. You did not mention if your molds are 2 cavity or 6 cavity molds. But even if 2 cavity, your Lee molds should be able to produce around 30,000 bullets easily before any degrading in final product occurs. Usually, Lee molds fail to perform for four reasons 1) lack of lubrication according to instructions 2) alignment knocked out from whacking the mold blocks instead of the handle bolt to drop bullets. 3) accidents like dropping the mold or the mold block falling off into water quench from the block screw working its way out during casting = warping of the mold block. 4) Alignment pins and bushings failing from wear and tear. If your mold failure is for other reasons, you might want to contact Lee - they've heard all the problems before and can help... Best to ya
Mike Warren Wow, you'll notice that I have screwdrivers and pliers in my setup to tighten screws and bolts as well. I haven't had any problems when screws are tightened. Just keep on casting.
Wow - you must have quite a collection of military arms!! I don't know anyone who has an Arisaka, but the 7.7 round was a takeoff of the .303 British - the ammo of Empire. Indeed, the .303 and the 7.7 can use the same bullets. The 38R is a revolver round, not a rifle round. Even though you can use the same diameter bullets, the rifle bullets would not be the best design for the Nagant revolver and the pistol bullets would not be best applied to the rifles even though the diameters are same.
lifelongbiker1- Thanks, I get the drift. This vid had too much workup to the main point - and that is ...Commercial quality means high production..if you're going to cast, cast a LOT. I put a punchline note for viewers to go right to the point-skip the buildup... Tubers like vids less than 3 minutes long.
Send me an invite and then we can talk over messages . But yes I do really do 5linx and a friend of mines ( Black ) informed me about it . Yes there are plenty of black people in it .
So 2000 bullets cast in 2 or 2 1/4 hours. Thats 333 cycles of the mold in 135 minutes. In 1 minute, the mold in filled and opened 2 1/2 times , now thats FAST. If my math is correct? lol
jack miller - Interesting you mention this - for some reason, Lee Precision likes this video enough to use it on their website...at least the last time I looked anyway... Have a great day to ya, jack..!! FC Steve
Think before you put your mind in gear. Millions of dollars invested in industrial casting technology by commercial ammunition producers versus a guy with a pot in his garage. Who do you think produces better bullets? That said, home cast bullets shoot very well and are good enough for most uses.
jayboney el toro - Did you see his video where he picked up wheel weights like 5 55 gallon drums at a time...!! You're talking some serious Stage 1 alloy there... Best to ya, FC
David Saccoccia If molten aluminum is poured into a Lee mold, the mold will be destroyed. I hear that Italy is experimenting with aluminum alloys (not pure aluminum) for military bullets. We should pay attention to that as no country takes their military weaponry lightly. Best Regards
David Saccoccia Joey Akanj's advice is well regarded...in a pinch, we'll have to buy our lead and many muzzleloaders now buy pure lead from RM - they ship free if order is $100. And RM Superhard alloy is fantastic source of lead/antimony for our use in creating our alloys. However, our costs go up tremendously if we have to buy our base lead. Best base lead is free like my range scrap...If you are having trouble locating lead, ask the rangemasters at your local range - they are in touch with bullet casters that frequent their range and they might be able to clue you in on sources of lead. Good castin' to ya
myomai-I catch your drift…this was one of my rookie videos and I was trying to be measured with my delivery; we RUclipsrs learn as we go with every video we make. There are those who are lucky enough to have cameraman, director, editor, graphics, glamor, glitz for mass appeal, but all i can offer is some information and content. In all the RUclips world, this video was good enough for Lee Precision to put on their bullet casting website page. I'm sure they keep looking for something better, but while it's there, I'm sure appreciatin' it!! Have a great day...
+John Sousouris -- That's OK, John - it's obvious that I am a fan of Lee 6 cavs and the production that they afford to me...Of all the videos on casting that are up, this one was chosen by Lee Precision to use on their website in the bullet casting category. It's one of my earlier videos and, as you say, a bit repeating of the good news... I tell you this not to brag or anything as Lee can take that off as quick as they put it on - but it's been there for the last 3 years... Best Regards to ya, FC
irfan mushedup - Wow...that's great - next time anyone has insomnia, they can put this video on - much better than taking pills. This video can be a public service... Have a great day...
Fortunecookie, I really think you videos would be more watchable if you decided what you wanted to say before you shoot the video.. You repeat yourself and you really don’t need to.. Say what you need to say then move on, you don’t need to say it over again.. Good info though! Thanks!
Steven Myers - Appreciate your suggestions for better videos…will definitely watch that in future work…Writers, scripts, producers, directors, editors, graphics support would be nice - but we run a one person production and feedback is helpful…Have a great day
i love his delivery, voice , diction , and free flowing information from his mind unencumbered by strict adherence to a script. its like i am just talking about reloading and casting with a master who is just having a conversation with me. humble, not pretentious.
FCLC45, over the past 48-hours or more, I have hit you with questions in the comment section of a few of your videos and you have answered all of them...as usual. I just wanted to say thanks for all of your answers in this one video comment section. You are in my humble opinion, the Guru of lead bullet casting and your information is indeed appreciated. Happy/Safe Casting & Shooting, AGW.
AGW - Answering comments and questions is the responsibility of every YT poster. If we don't do this, then why post at all, since no video can cover the entirety of any issue. And some of the comments are intended to help us do a better job...It's all good. Lately, I've been having some computer problems with my home computer not letting me do any replies. So there have been some delays. But no more than two or three days...Best Regards to you, and I appreciate your comments and questions...
Lee Precision products are equal to other companies and are generally less expensive. Lee die sets include a shell holder, a powder scoop and basic load information. Plus, they stand behind their products. Great company!
You are mine mentor. I'm thinking many others to!!!!.
Thanks for the question. The bores of most European 30 calibers run .311" while our 30s are .308". That means that you will want round nosed .312" bullets around 180-200 grains for your Mosin. Lee makes a good 2 cavity mold C312-185-1R for $20. If you test cast and bullets are not miked at .312-.314" send it back until they send you one that does. If you get .312-.314, you can size to .312" and bullets will be stable and accurate. If undersize bullets are shot, you will be very unhappy.
Again, thanks for your questions. Bullet molds are made with cutters called cherries. You can cut your own 6 or more cavity molds, but it would be very expensive by the time you got it done. Better to buy molds already manufactured. Neither Lee or SAECO or RCBS or Lyman make gang molds for the bullets you want. Only the 2-cavity molds are available. You can still make a lot of bullets - but more time needed. I'd recommend the 2-cavity molds
Well said !
I'd imagine "commercial quality" would simply mean "as good as what you can buy". If they wanted to imply amount surely they'd just say "quantity".
I run a pair of the 6-cavity molds. My process goes, Pour first mold and cut sprue, pour second mold, dump first mold, cut sprue on second mold, pour first mold, dump second mold, cut sprue on first mold, fill second mold, etc, etc, etc.
You can get a crazy fast rhythem with no tapping the mold, because the few seconds between those processes gives the molds enough time to cool, and the bullets drop right out.
Also a light coating of Frankford Arsenal bullet mold release spray will go a long way.
uraijit - Thanks for posting this - like making music with Lee molds..
The mold is for making rifle bullets for 7.62x54R. 185 grains is not designed for your Nagant revolver. I would not even try to make this bullet work in the 38R case. If you do cast for your Mosin bolt gun, you'll need to mix one pound of linotype with three pounds of range scrap (should have a mix of used cast and jacketed lead) and water quench to get the hardness you need. Then gas check the bullet and lube with 50-50 alox-beeswax and keep velocity around 1800-1900 fps for best results.
The technical answer is yes since same diameter bullets used. I would agree. However, see the comment just below for more details. If the pistol bullets are used in the rifle, you'd have to have a very light load with fiberfill in the case to take up the air space from the light charge. Unless you really need that, I'd advise against using pistol bullets in large capacity rifle cases.
Lee will custom make 6 cavity molds for the C312-185-1R, but it will be expensive custom order. We shoot LOTS of pistol bullets, but not as many rifle. Unless you plan on shooting a lot of cast Mosin, the 2-cavity may be all you need. Commercial quality is for making lots of pistol bullets, and all the Lee 6 cavity molds are for pistols.
hiaruga-If your mold has cooled down,you won't be able to get the lead off without scratching your mold block. If this happens again,best to use a rough rag with gloved hands and wipe the lead off right away while it is still hot. You might want to run a torch on the LEAD for 3 seconds at a time and wipe until it is gone.Don't overdo the torch or you might warp the mold block.For now, if cold mold, heat it up by dipping corner in molten lead, then cast fin rejects to heat,torch if needed,wipe
What's the number on your dial when casting ? If using it without thermometer what's the ideal # on the thermostat ?
TheFirearmEnthusiast-reply2- As for the money - the equipment has paid for itself way long ago. And now I'm loading big bores for $3.50-$4.50 a box of 50 rounds. Factory would cost 8-10x that much. So I can shoot a lot more for the same money or not…And look at this strategy - get a shooting friend and two 6 cavity Lee molds - one is filling his/her mold while the other is dropping bullets with the same 20 pound Lee casting pot - it's a bullet factory making buckets of bullets!!
Lucille also like lead.
Thanks for your questions, but there are so many. You can get answers to all those from good quality reloading manuals. We do need to trim our bottlenecked cartridges as they do stretch on firing. The straight walled cases can go much longer before they have to be trimmed.
Think different calibers and projectiles from the same mold.
From 3:00 on you talk about casting in commercial ammunition manufacturing. In commercial ammunition manufacturing the bullets are not cast, but cut from a lead wire and compressed in a copper jacket. That's how the big players are doing it. Smaller manufacturers might actually cast bullets and
xjyrki - Thanks for your comment and sorry for the confusion - You are referencing the manufacture of jacketed bullets. There are also swage processes that produce bullets for copper plating. This video is talking about commercial cast bullets - when those companies cast their bullets, they use big automated casting machines using multiple gang molds filled like rotating cannon - that turn out production into the thousands an hour. Those companies cannot afford to have workers casting over pots like we do. Best Regards to ya
The C312-185-1R mold is for casting rifle bullets especially for bolt action rifles like the Mosin or the Enfield. I don't currently cast for my Mosins or my .303 British, but it sounds intriguing. I may very well buy that mold. But this bullet is not designed for revolver rounds like the 7.62x38R (the Nagant is an interesting revolver with gas sealing across the flash gap). I wouldn't want to advise you on cast bullets for that revolver as I have never seen one to measure the cyl. throats.
Hey Steve, another well informing video. Those bullets are a beautiful site.
Looks like many relaxing hours of fun that produced a fine addition to your
ammo collection. I need to get in the shop myself for some alone time with
the Lee Pot. Have a great Sunday and will see ya on the next one. Hope all
is well down your way :-))
TheFirearmEnthusiast-Thanks for your comment and question. Yes, I am lucky to have time after work to do my casting-with Lee 6 cavity molds, my casting time is maximized. And with Lee and Dillon reloading presses, my reloading time is maximized. Today, I had a great time shooting with four of our shooting community friends at the range-and Cary helped my pick up about 45 pounds of range scrap. That will make about 40 pounds of lead ingots to cast bullets - and zero cost for lead-unbeatable see2
I've used mostly iron and steel molds and have used several of the Lee 2-cavity. But it looks like you've talked me into trying the Lee 6-cavity and I will probably try it for 9mm in my M&P Pro 9. Very good job on the video; I enjoyed the deliberate pace of speech. Shows you're thinking about what you're saying.
Glen Pruett - Interesting that you noticed the pace of speech...This was an earlier video when I was trying to be measured - resulted in awkward sounding and other viewers commented as such. After a while, I got more comfortable with talking into a microphone. As for the 6 cavity molds, once you use one and see how many great bullets you can cast in one casting session, you will not want to go back to the 2 cavities unless the bullet style is not available in a 6...Best Regards
Good presentation. I followed the link from Lee's webpage listing of the tool.
I was surprised to go on Lee site to actually try to understand the full operation of the 6 cavity mold and it referred me to your youtube site. LOL! My question is after about 4/5 seconds, do you take the Sprue Plate Handle move (rock) it to the left, to break loose the freshly poured lead bullets. Then move the sprue plate handle to the right to shear off the excessively over poured (sprues) lead. Then with the two mold handles open the mold & shake out the cast bullets? Not sure if I'm making this process too complicated.
Robert Fugate - Easier to have you view the videos on the 6 cavs in actual casting use...Here is a link to one of those -- ruclips.net/video/cxxXZ50de2M/видео.html Have a great day, FC
Thanks for your interest - bullet casting will give you many, many years of lots of shooting fun while connecting you with all the great shooters of the past. Cast bullets are not only accurate and deadly, but they are beautiful little creations that we make in quantity with our own efforts - there's some big time satisfation there. Best wishes to you...
Great job, Fortunecookie. Love you videos, great info. I don’t mind if you repeat yourself from time to time! Talking slow, details, right on TARGET!! If there are complainers , maybe they can shoot some of there own videos, & show us how it’s supposed to be done! Oh, but they don’t have time for that! Your doing a great job Steve. Please keep up the good work. Iam just new to bullet casting. Got lucky, first purchase 1400 lbs misc. lead. 500 lbs. cast ingots at 14 ,15 BHN , 450 lbs. of large kinda stick lead, from old printing press ( letter mold) BHN of 23.8. Other misc lead cast objects BHN of 18/19. Lead hardness testers, ladles, Lee 4-20 pots , two of them (new). 11 lee 6 cavity molds, casting manuals, oh, 155 lbs. antimony , 114 lbs tin. All for $510.00 Canadian, hard earned cash. I got lucky on this purchase!!! I really enjoy your vids MR. Fortune cookie. Keep up the good work. I wish I was your neighbour. Tks. From Mugger Joe , way up here in kinda northern Saskatchewan,Canada. God bless you Steve. Happy New Year.
Hello FCLC45, I'm guessing I picked a good video to post this question, as I want many others to learn from your infinite wisdom as well. Question: I see some video of various Casters applying sprue plate Lube on top of mold and on bottom of sprue plate, will this not make the mold drop wrinkled boolits for the first 20-50 casts? I personally dread when its time for me to lube mold pins and try to tactfully apply the wax to the mold pins, so as to try and keep the wax isolated to the mold pins only and not wick into my cavities, which is a huge pain! I can only imagine that applying any type of "wet" sprue plate Lube, like a beeswax mixture...will get into the cavities! Also, is there such a thing as "dry" sprue plate lube? I recently learned of a product that supposedly prevents lead from smearing, even if the lead is not 100% solidified, allowing you to cast faster...so they claim. Comes in a 2oz. container. When I have custom Molds made, the maker suggests using sprue plate lube (specifically a graphite type) on his aluminum Molds. In addition to answering the above questions, please share with us your take on sprue plate lube. Happy casting and thank you, AGW.
AirGunWarriors Great question on sprue plate lube. If the sprue plate action is good, and it is unless the sprue bolt is overtightened (danger of stripping the bolt hole) what need is there for any lube between the top of the mold and the sprue plate. As you have clearly pointed out, any volatilizing agent between the sprue and mold cavity will cause bad casting. Only some kind of dry lube will work such as the graphite. In over 40 years of bullet casing using molds from 4 different mold makers, I have never used any sprue plate lube or any mold release agent. And rarely do I smoke my molds. None of the mold makers have specified use of sprue plate lube for their molds. I do have to lube my Lee molds about two or three times a casting session when the molds start balking to close - a thin candle allows accurate lubing of pins and bushings. I think there was one time that I got wax into a cavity and yes, bad bullets came out of that cavity for the next 10 pours or so as I recall... Have a great day!!
The reason for this video is really to get shooters more into casting bullets. I tried to get into the mind of the Lee engineers who created the 6 cavity molds. Currently, Lee is the only manufacturer offering easily available gang type molds - bullet casting used to be very popular, then went down in popularity - now coming back. I agree with Lee - we need to cast bullets, and we might as well cast LOTS of them. Thanks for your comments - I'll try to make future videos on less subtle stuff
TheFirearmEnthusiast-Thanks for the good word…That's my favorite 45 bullet - When we shot steel (poppers, plates and free standing steel in various layouts against time and mano vs mano), we would shoot 500 rounds a night (sometimes till 1:30am by the light of one light bulb). So 6000 bullets was an OK amount. I was the only one that cast own bullets, but we all bought the molys 10-15K at a time. Casting all those bullets is still a habit. Best Regards...
judging by the amount of bullets you have cast ahead you could sell off some to cover the cost of lead. Oh yea that was free range scrap. well thanks for the video and keep um coming.
Karl Pettigrew - Just met a shooter today who used to shoot a lot 6-7 years ago, but fell out of it, and now getting back into shooting. He was amazed at how clean the range scrap was that I was picking up, and now he wants to start casting himself… it's the power of free lead… Best Regards
FCLC45, I'll be ordering my first LEE PRECISION MOLDS here real soon and was wondering if you agree with their video that shows how to prepare a mold before use, i.e., how to properly lube and smoke the mold? Thanks, AGW.
AirGunWarriors - If you look at my first mold I ever got (45 RN 238 single cavity Lee) from long ago, I never smoked it. And I have not smoked my molds as a rule since then. Lead will not stick to our cavities so why smoke 'em. Also, I use any thin candle I can find to lube my Lee molds (you are told to use beeswax but not alox), candle wax works fine. White candles are best. Wash new molds in detergent and water scrub and then dry it on the casting pot as you start to melt your lead. Good castin' to ya -
hey .45LC i have been told by some people that thier lee 6 cavity molds are soo precise that they dont even worry about sizing. is that right? i just started and i have 56 cupcake pan ingots melted from wheel weights from a local tire shop (bought a 5 gallon bucket full for 10$. i am a USPSA shooter and i found (after doing arduous mind numbing math) that i can shoot for 8 cents per round. i bought a lee 6 cavity mold for 9mm .356 124gr TC from brownells (i live 45 mins away from them so i call in my order and pick it up) i just wanted to ask if sizing was a waste of time for me?
martin ennor - Thanks for this great comment. Whenever you get a new mold, cast up some good bullets and mike according to cavity. And keep a chart on your mold. One of my 6 cav molds has a renegade cavity that casts bullets too big to use - so I skip that cavity when I use that mold. Suppose your auto pistol barrel groove diameter is .355" (slug barrel). Then you would need bullets .356" for perfect fit to bore. And if your mold drops bullets .357.3575" That would be very fine - no sizing needed - just tumble lube 'em (see 45/45/10) load 'em and shoot 'em. If your mold drops 'em bigger than that, then sizing to .356 is appropriate. Your 56 ingots of wheel weights (can make auto pistol bullets just as is - no additions to your alloy) will make roughly 6000 9mm bullets for a cost of 1 1/2 cents a bullet. Add 3+ cents for primer and 2 cents for powder (brass is free) and I calc your cost at 7 cents a round (smidge added for lube and energy). If you use the 45/45/10 system without over lube, you should have minimum smoke. USPSA shooters don't like a lot of smoke as obscures the targets. But you will find that most all competition shooters use plated bullets or even FMJs. Good shootin' to ya.
Thanks 45 I really appreciate your quick response and your insight....there are a lot of competitors that I shoot with that tell me to go plated or fmj and not mess with lead...but I finish ahead of them regularly in the matches so I take it with a grain of salt....I am looking for accurate (enough) performance but cost effective....this year I may have a shot at winning area I have been shooting unclassified for about five years and finally got a uspsa # this year....I will definitely chart my mold and see what its throwing.....as far as slugging a barrel dobi jusr take a bullet and a hard plastic dowel and just hammer it through my barrel and measure bullet diam. At the lands? I think that's how it was explained to me. I also heard hard wax slug or hot glue slug works too...I gues ill try all and see if they all measure the same....can't wait till my lee pot comes in so I can start casting...I couldn't get to brownells this week because I had to work so I ordered it and its coming tomorrow...ill let you know how it turns out! Thanks again!
martin ennor A lot of casters don't bother slugging their auto pistol barrels - hard to go wrong with using bullets .356-357 for 9mm, 38 super; .401 for 40 cal; 452 for 45; And for revolvers, we don't slug barrels anyway - we just measure the cylinder throats and go .001 over that measurement for our bullets. Since you are shooting cast lead bullets already - just use the current bullet diameter and you are in business. When I said that most all competitors shoot with plated or jacketed bullets in the action comps, that did not include you. And everyone knows, it's the shooter that determines the outcomes. If you go ahead and win with hard cast bullets, you might start a trend that Lee, Lyman, RCBS will have to know about...Good shootin' to ya...
I can't believe you've spent 9mins and 8 secs explaining the difference between a 2 cavity and 6 cavity mold.
How can I bring it to Turkey
Use more than one mold set. Then you have time for them to cool "You will be busy filling the next one or two" before you need to pop them open. For a hard production run on molding at home, I run 3 of the 6 hole molds for this reason.
---Just my two cents.
45LC, great vids as usual. Had a question on what to do if mold got too hot and lead smears out the cavity. Now the mold doesn't close all the way and bullets come out with extra "fins" ones sees with plastic models. Any suggestions to clean with damaging the mold? Thanks!
More power to ya, Ali - but even though bullet casters will tell you that the do most of their shooting with cast lead bullets, there will be times that jacketed bullets are used - they do have their place indeed. I'll look forward to seeing any vids you might make on your mold project.
This video is AS SEEN ON LEE WEBSITE:
leeprecision.com/bullet-casting/
LIVIN CINCY - It's interesting with so many videos out there, that Lee uses this one for the past 5 years... I'm very happy about that, but am fully aware that they can also take it down with a click of the mouse button if anything comes along that suits them better. I actually timed that 1000 bullets an hour, but can't keep up that rate for more than 15 minutes at a time - the mold gets too hot. The sponge cooling time has to be thrown into that. Few casters want to cast that fast. But the potential rate is there, especially with some of my molds that are like thoroughbred race horses - drop 6 bullets just on opening the mold...Have a great day, Carlos FC Steve
I think you can claim your Andy Warhol 5 Minutes of Fame Trophy. With all of the videos on here they chose yours. I think it is a credit to your style. You might be a little to Mr. Spock and less flash like an "Info-Lebrity" but I think that appeals to a reloader.
Perhaps you can try a Flashy Infomercial Style in the future. A true salesman could sell used coffee grounds from a coffee chat. Good Luck with that !
LIVIN CINCY - Thanks, Carlos and ;) :) ;) Have a great day, FC Steve
MI 6 mold is 125 .356 and it cast heavy 134gn bullets !! IT MEANS THE ( HARBOR FRIGHT ) QUALITY !! it wold seam that a company in business for that long would have top of the line tools !! LEE the Harbor Fright of the reloading !!
Stephen Salamone - Thanks for your comments, my Lee molds also cast on the heavy side - one of 'em really heavy - my 429 240 RN is supposed to cast at 240 grains, but the bullets come out at 262 grains. Now a lot of that depends on our alloy - If softer, more lead, the bullets cast heavier. If harder and more antimony and tin, the bullets cast lighter. Have a great day, FC
Where do you get a 6 cavity mold with hollowpoint pins?
Great question, there are no hollow point 6 cavity molds, although MP makes some good HP molds…Best Regards
Cookie
I have to take you to task on your comment that you can produce approx 2,000 .45 Colt bullets in 2 1/2 hours. To be able to cast that many, it takes approx 70 pounds of alloy. As an example: If you are using a 20 pound pot, you will only be able to cast 560 bullets @ 250 grains per bullet (with that amount of alloy)...so it takes approx 3.5 times that amount to make 2,000. I don't see how anyone can cast 2,000 in 2.5 hours considering you have to stop and replenish the alloy into the pot and wait for it to come back up to temperature...even if you replenish when the pot is half empty!
toddy2519 - Thanks for your comments. Having casted for as long as you and I have done - we can have these discussions. My normal rate of speed is 1500 bullets in 3 hours starting from the first pour. But I have timed myself when the mold is really singing and I'm filling and opening with 6 bullets dropping with a hard open of the mold blocks can do 18 bullets a minute equals 1000 bullets an hour. I've kept that rate up for 1/2 hour on many occasions. Have I actually casted 2000 bullets in 2.5 hours? I am convinced that if everything is aligned properly, 2000 bullets in 2.5 hours can be accomplished with one of my three best thoroughbred molds and a wet sponge to pop the mold onto just before cutting the sprues. Trick is to have the ingots all lined up and slide in an ingot as the pot drops that amount so that the level in the pot is kept maintained - otherwise, alloy chill will indeed occur slowing everything down. If Lee would pay me, I'd set up the casting demonstration and have a third unbiased party to validate the proceedings. But as far as I know, Lee doesn't do those kinds of things... Best Regards to you, FC
toddy2519 - I like your thinking on this subject as you are the first to bring this up in about 3 years. I was at work when I answered you and had to tend to business, but now I'm back to continue my reply. If I was doing this 2000 bullet/2.5 hour demonstration, I'd use my TL 358 158 SWC mold as it takes less alloy to handle plus the cavities fill a split second faster. Would only take 46 pounds of alloy, start with a full pot - ingots easily lined up on the casting bench in two three stack rows. Also the smaller bullets would handle the heat in the aluminum blocks better. My 9mm mold would even be faster. I'd also have my hot plate set up to keep molds and other equipment hot. And as an ultimate edge, I'd have melted lead alloy in a propane fired skillet nearby so that molten alloy could be added to my casting pot without any chill factor from using ingots, and this I have done before as well. The 2000 bullets in 2.5 hours is doable, but I would not advise other casters to try that because of what I would call the speed risk. Best to ya, FC
5linx . If you havent heard about it , check it out . Thats what I do .
Hi. First of all, thank you for your videos. I am casting 1000 bullets/ week. I use a double cavity Lee mold. I see in the video that the 6 cavity seems to be stronger. At least, the sprue plate from the 6 cavity seems to be thicker. I have some issues with the mentioned 2 cavity mold. Do you think that I should change to the 6 cavity mold? Bye.
Fernando Garcia Texeira Great question. Any bullet caster who shoots more than 10K bullets a year needs to go to the 6 cavity molds. Sure, they are more expensive than the 2 cavs, by about 2.5X more money. But they are very high value, high production. Lee made them for the high volume shooter and competitor, and there's a 6 mold for all the popular bullet designs. I would recommend that you go to the 6 cavs as you have both the experience and the need for them. Good castin' to ya.
Hi FC, you doing fine with the videos! Don't change anything!
Scott D - Appreciate your gracious comments...Have a great day, FC
Scott D - Thanks for your gracious comment - Have a great day, FC
I think you are completely wrong with LEEs meaning of commercial quality. What they mean is that with there 6 cavity mold you will be able to cast a quality bullet just as good or better than a factory cast bullet.
I'm looking for a .308 cal 6 - cavity mold. Where do you recommend I buy one from?
LEE might want to run their box designs through a spell checker before they go to print if they really want to put forth EXCELLENCE. Lol! FortuneCookie45LC, I’ve been watching your videos for quite some time and really enjoy them. Thank you for taking the time to make them... it is truly appreciated.
Thanks for the questions. Since I have no experience with the interesting Nagant revolver, I'd hate to give you bad information. I have cast for rifles and am comfortable giving you information for the Mosin (even though I have never had the desire to cast for it, I have cast for other rifles).
Thanks again for your questions. Making your own bullet molds gets into being a machinist. You can do it and there are ways to make your own molds. However, the ones we buy are of proven designs and its hard to go wrong. But let me know how your mold project turns out if you decide to make your own molds - I'd really like to know.
what's your favorite 9mm mould
Stiggy's Nerd Cave - Easy one...the 356 124 TC TL mold in 6 cavity persuasion... Have a great day, FC
Hey cookie you always have to rub big piles of bullets in our face lol keep them coming brother
jayboney el toro - FortuneCookie Policy - When the iron is hot, strike it as often as you can...Have a great day, FC
Good morning mate!!! You sell these forms to .22? I live in Brazil Maranhão Coroatá!
wennilton miranda - Greetings to friends in Brazil - home of the 2016 Summer Olympics..!! And also home of Rossi who makes our fine M92 lever guns...!! Lee Precision does make 6 cavity molds for the 22 Bator Bullets...But I am not a Lee dealer...You will have to contact MidwayUSA or Titan Reloading - hope they ship to Brazil... Best to ya, FC
Thanks for the video FortuneCookie45LC - I am researching bullet casting as I have recently been bitten by the pistol shooting bug and have been debating on whether to buy the two or six mould. Thanks I have now made my mind up. Keep the videos coming.
I cant seem to get my lee molds to work for more than a few thousand rounds
Mike Warren - Thanks for your comment. You did not mention if your molds are 2 cavity or 6 cavity molds. But even if 2 cavity, your Lee molds should be able to produce around 30,000 bullets easily before any degrading in final product occurs. Usually, Lee molds fail to perform for four reasons 1) lack of lubrication according to instructions 2) alignment knocked out from whacking the mold blocks instead of the handle bolt to drop bullets. 3) accidents like dropping the mold or the mold block falling off into water quench from the block screw working its way out during casting = warping of the mold block. 4) Alignment pins and bushings failing from wear and tear. If your mold failure is for other reasons, you might want to contact Lee - they've heard all the problems before and can help... Best to ya
it worked great when i got it. once the screws came loose and i had to tighten them, all heck broke lose
Mike Warren Wow, you'll notice that I have screwdrivers and pliers in my setup to tighten screws and bolts as well. I haven't had any problems when screws are tightened. Just keep on casting.
last one the hinge screw was galling really bad.big chunks comming off the block
Great video thanks for your information n I think it's fine if he says something more than ones
Flames N/a - a little repetition of main points can help, but you'll notice that my latest videos keep this down to a minimum, Best to ya, FC
Wow - you must have quite a collection of military arms!! I don't know anyone who has an Arisaka, but the 7.7 round was a takeoff of the .303 British - the ammo of Empire. Indeed, the .303 and the 7.7 can use the same bullets. The 38R is a revolver round, not a rifle round. Even though you can use the same diameter bullets, the rifle bullets would not be the best design for the Nagant revolver and the pistol bullets would not be best applied to the rifles even though the diameters are same.
lifelongbiker1- Thanks, I get the drift. This vid had too much workup to the main point - and that is ...Commercial quality means high production..if you're going to cast, cast a LOT. I put a punchline note for viewers to go right to the point-skip the buildup... Tubers like vids less than 3 minutes long.
That's great. I wish I had the time and money to shoot that much ammo lol.
Where do you get the lead from?
Send me an invite and then we can talk over messages . But yes I do really do 5linx and a friend of mines ( Black ) informed me about it . Yes there are plenty of black people in it .
So 2000 bullets cast in 2 or 2 1/4 hours. Thats 333 cycles of the mold in 135 minutes. In 1 minute, the mold in filled and opened 2 1/2 times , now thats FAST. If my math is correct? lol
I just wanted to know if the commercial quality bullets would be be than the regular bullets. Why don't You take ALL DAY to tell us this crap.
jack miller - Interesting you mention this - for some reason, Lee Precision likes this video enough to use it on their website...at least the last time I looked anyway... Have a great day to ya, jack..!! FC Steve
Think before you put your mind in gear. Millions of dollars invested in industrial casting technology by commercial ammunition producers versus a guy with a pot in his garage. Who do you think produces better bullets? That said, home cast bullets shoot very well and are good enough for most uses.
How about Elvis and his huge stash of wheel weights that made my drule and now a big pile of bullets I need to put a bib on
jayboney el toro - Did you see his video where he picked up wheel weights like 5 55 gallon drums at a time...!! You're talking some serious Stage 1 alloy there... Best to ya, FC
Hi, my friend, I live in Brazil and I would like to know if you are a model to manufacture bullet ..5.5 .cl .22
That's a lot of bullets lol.
How do these work with aluminum as a substitute for lead? Will the molten aluminum distort the bullet mold?
David Saccoccia If molten aluminum is poured into a Lee mold, the mold will be destroyed. I hear that Italy is experimenting with aluminum alloys (not pure aluminum) for military bullets. We should pay attention to that as no country takes their military weaponry lightly. Best Regards
Thanks. Difficult to find lead around here...
David Saccoccia Joey Akanj's advice is well regarded...in a pinch, we'll have to buy our lead and many muzzleloaders now buy pure lead from RM - they ship free if order is $100. And RM Superhard alloy is fantastic source of lead/antimony for our use in creating our alloys. However, our costs go up tremendously if we have to buy our base lead. Best base lead is free like my range scrap...If you are having trouble locating lead, ask the rangemasters at your local range - they are in touch with bullet casters that frequent their range and they might be able to clue you in on sources of lead. Good castin' to ya
*without*
Lucille and shirley are not very good quality control personnel
Many of my molds is inspected by Lucille. She's got blond hear and got a gonakkel on her left eye. Like working for the Nazis. You take a joke.
You are speaking too fast and getting to the point too early.
myomai-I catch your drift…this was one of my rookie videos and I was trying to be measured with my delivery; we RUclipsrs learn as we go with every video we make. There are those who are lucky enough to have cameraman, director, editor, graphics, glamor, glitz for mass appeal, but all i can offer is some information and content. In all the RUclips world, this video was good enough for Lee Precision to put on their bullet casting website page. I'm sure they keep looking for something better, but while it's there, I'm sure appreciatin' it!! Have a great day...
With all do respect ,,,what is the point to this Vedic ???u are reapeting yr self over and over,no point what's ever
+John Sousouris -- That's OK, John - it's obvious that I am a fan of Lee 6 cavs and the production that they afford to me...Of all the videos on casting that are up, this one was chosen by Lee Precision to use on their website in the bullet casting category. It's one of my earlier videos and, as you say, a bit repeating of the good news... I tell you this not to brag or anything as Lee can take that off as quick as they put it on - but it's been there for the last 3 years... Best Regards to ya, FC
zzzzzzzzzzz.........
irfan mushedup - Wow...that's great - next time anyone has insomnia, they can put this video on - much better than taking pills. This video can be a public service... Have a great day...
ya, great.... could you talk more slowly with more pauses,,, I can almost follow what you're saying
Fortunecookie, I really think you videos would be more watchable if you decided what you wanted to say before you shoot the video.. You repeat yourself and you really don’t need to.. Say what you need to say then move on, you don’t need to say it over again.. Good info though! Thanks!
Steven Myers - Appreciate your suggestions for better videos…will definitely watch that in future work…Writers, scripts, producers, directors, editors, graphics support would be nice - but we run a one person production and feedback is helpful…Have a great day
i love his delivery, voice , diction , and free flowing information from his mind unencumbered by strict adherence to a script. its like i am just talking about reloading and casting with a master who is just having a conversation with me. humble, not pretentious.
Steven Myers , sounds like your maybe just jealous. I very much like how Steve runs HIS SHOW. Tks. Mugger Joe.
what's your favorite 9mm mould