Speed casting 101

[freakshow10mm]

This is an intoduction to a method called "speed casting". It capitalizes on the basics of the casting process, but accelerates a time consuming process and increases production, quality, and cosmetics.

Let's first discuss increased production. The most time consuming part of casting is waiting for the sprue to cool enough to be cut and the bullets to be dropped from the mold. This wait can be 5-7 seconds with a given 200gr bullet, depending on casting temperature. The hotter the melt the more time it takes for the sprue to cool enough to be cut. I cast at about 750°F. It takes 6-7 seconds for the sprue to cool enough to be cut. That is a lot of time wasted. By using this speed casting method, I can substantially increase production to nearly 1200 bullets per hour from a two cavity mold. Do I have your attention now? Good. Let's move on to the quality aspect of speed casting.

Quality is the most concern with cast bullets. Accuracy is the product of uniformity. Uniform variables become constants and the outcome becomes predictable. It is no different with cast bullets than it is with 100y groups. Consistency is quality. With the speed casting method, time is the key. The time it takes from the filled mold to take to the speed casting step and the time spent there before the sprue is cut is crucial to cast bullet uniformity. Get in a groove to match the time spent with each action and you will have a pile of great, accurate bullets in a short amount of time.

Finally, cosmetics. Good looks sells. Crappy bullets sell crappy. Good looking bullets sell good and great looking bullets sell great. Cosmetics is quality and quality sells. You will have consistency and eye appealing bullets. You will have bullets that will make your friends jealous.

Now, with all this over dramatic build up, here is the method. Recall the statements that the longest wait in bullet casting (besides lead prices to fall) is waiting for the sprue to cool enough to be cut. What if I told you with three common household items you can easily cut that time in half and increase your production?

Get a rag, a shallow pan, and put some water in it. Fill it about half way up. Set the rag in it and get it all wet. Bunch it up a lot so it's above the surface of the water.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270041.jpg

Now when you cast, fill the mold with lead, then move the mold over to the pan and set the bottom of the mold on the wet rag. Don't worry about the water vs lead dragon with a hard on tinsel fairy here. Just the bottom of the mold, not the molten lead. Set it on there and leave it there for 2-3 seconds tops. You will see the sprue harden before your eyes. Three seconds will fully cool it until it turns a dull gray. I usually cool it for 2 seconds.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270042.jpg

Now bring the mold up and cut the sprue like normal.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270043.jpg

Drop your bullets in the bullet catcher. Repeat. This is about 550 some bullets cast in a little less than a half hour with a 2 cavity mold.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270044.jpg

[freakshow10mm]

Here's the difference between normal air cooled mold and the speed casting mold method. The frosty bullets are on the left, the good ones on the right. The frosty bullets mean the mold is too hot and the good bullets mean the temperature was right. All four of these bullets were cast at the same temperature, 750°F. The pair on the left was cast with the normal 'air cooling' method of just pouring the lead, waiting til the sprue cooled and then cut and dropped. The pair on the right were cast with the 'speed casting' method outlined above, taken from pour to rag in 1 second and sat on the wet rag for 2 seconds, then sprue cut and dropped.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270045.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270046.jpg

[MakeMineaP99]

Why did you tag a thread you started?

[freakshow10mm]

To reserve the second post slot so I could add the next pair of pics. The site allows a max of 5 pics per post, so I needed two posts to fit 6 pics and wanted them to be the first and second posts in the thread.

[ept000]

Very nice Freak. I can't wait to start my own.

[Glooooock]

I just cast some 150gr bullets , taking my sweet time . Maybe 300 -400 an hour with a two cavity mold , I can cast colder with more tin to fill out the mold . But its 4 -6 seconds cool time with less tin / hotter . With a smaller 10 lb pot I throw the sprue plugs back in . waiting for it to heat up .

One guy posted he used two molds in rotation increased the speed . As we all know not all bullets are available in a six cavity Lee , so your stuck workin the doubles.

I normally cast 3 sets of trash slugs to warm the mold or lay it on the pot . Dancing between prefect and too hot with whiskers , its an acquired skill .

[TowsonTiger22]

Do you have to change the rags/water as you go? Or will neither get hot enough to worry about?

[yammerschooner]

no change needed.

[Anvil]

Freak, this one goes STRAIGHT to the archives!

[cohutt]

I've kept a wet rag handy to cool with. usually I turn the mold over and touch the spue plate to it for a second or two max.

Why the bottom and not the sprue?

As thinks heat up i cool the bottom of the mold every 5th or 6th cast too.

Damn just realized i haven't cast any for 3 or 4 months now, been working down boolit inventory some.

gotta fix that.

[Fatdaddy]

Good info, I'd thought about trying something like that but was afraid it'd warp the mould. I may give it a shot next casting session.

[AdamN]

Here's the difference between normal air cooled mold and the speed casting mold method. The frosty bullets are on the left, the good ones on the right. The frosty bullets mean the mold is too hot and the good bullets mean the temperature was right. All four of these bullets were cast at the same temperature, 750°F. The pair on the left was cast with the normal 'air cooling' method of just pouring the lead, waiting til the sprue cooled and then cut and dropped. The pair on the right were cast with the 'speed casting' method outlined above, taken from pour to rag in 1 second and sat on the wet rag for 2 seconds, then sprue cut and dropped.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270045.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270046.jpg


Ill have to disagree with your assesment of the bullets above. To me the bullets on the right would be rejects. The corners are rounded off and not sharp indicating incomplete fillout. The bullets on the left although frosty have nice sharp edges and are filled out.

That tells me that the mold is getting too cool between casts.

Ive done the speed casting thing and do OK with it. I dont try it with my iron molds. To much risk of moisture getting drawn into screw holes and causing rust.
What I do is have a thick aluminum block that I set the mold on and there is a small fan in front of it. The aluminum acting as a heatsink drawing away the heat. As soon as the block touches the aluminum you can see the sprue freeze up.

[freakshow10mm]

The corners are sharp on the bullets on the right. I'm learning the macro mode on my camera.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270001.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/freakshowbullets/Bullets/P4270003.jpg

[BIGGUNGOBOOM]

does it really matter wether their shinny or dull ????? dont they still shoot the same no matter what???

[freakshow10mm]

Yes, they shoot the same. However, do you buy a car with shiny paint or dull paint? Shiny paint sells better. Shiny bullets sell better. What pleases the eye pleases the brain. People are used to seeing shiny bullets so that's what they want.

They don't want frosty bullets, so I set them aside and shoot them. I shot a group of frosty bullets and a group of shiny bullets. Couldn't tell the difference on paper.

[Crazy4nitro]

I'm learning the macro mode on my camera.




Macro's Rule

'Nitro

[AdamN]

If you want a shiney bullet go with less antimony and more tin. Something like Lymans #2 which is 95/5/5 lead/tin/antimony makes a "prettier" bullet.

Personally I wouldnt be selling that Lee SWC bullet. I havent found a 45 that shot it well at all, almost like its a bad design or something. Someone may buy it cause its shiney but when their guns patterns out like a shotgun they aint gonna be happy.

I know a couple guys over at Cast Boolits that like it but there is a reason that Lee stopped making that design.
Their H&G 68 copy shoots great.

Im not trying to pick on ya Freak, them shiny bullets in that first series of pics are not filled out. I could spot that from 20 feet. You can see the lack of definition in the edge compared to the frosted ones

[freakshow10mm]

This alloy is a Lyman #2 that I mixed up.

This SWC runs well in Glock pistols. Shoots good in my G30. This design is a knockoff of the Lyman #452460. The shank is for the most part identical. The Lee nose is a bit shorter and narrower and not as blunt. The 452460 is well respected.

The Lee bullet in a 452460 mold:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/freakshow10mm/Boolit%20Casting/P4180038.jpg

[nitesite]

I'm learning the macro mode on my camera.

Adam,

If you get perplexed or frustrated with trying to get really close macros of your bullets (I imagine you want to get the most POP in your shots for your web site) let me know and I would be pleased to assist you. My "fee" for helping is nothing - zero - nada.

Dave (nitesite)

[zdogk9]

http://ktsammo.250x.com/castboolits/cst1.html
The link above is to the article by Bruce B. who came up with this method of casting. I use it and it works. Using a 10 pound drip-o-matic and a Lee two cavity mould I can easily cast 400 250 grain boolets an hour. If I'm casting a lighter boolet my speed goes up significantly. If I were to get a 20 pound pot and switch to six cavity moulds I'd double to triple my speed. I do not cull as I'm casting but rather when I'm lubing. I have things set up so the pot is at a comfortable height and to where I neither have to raise or lower the mould during the casting process. Neither do I have to move it more than 16 inches to drop boolets, if I'm not water-dropping then I only have to move it about six inches.
Z

[craig110]

I do not cull as I'm casting but rather when I'm lubing.

I'll have to give that a try. I tend to cull while I'm casting so I can immediately remelt the bad ones, but this does slow things down. Since the bullets need to be individually handled for sizing anyway, that does seem like a better time to cull out the bad ones.

What do you speed daemons do to quickly open the sprue? While pouring, I hold the handles with my left hand while controlling the lead flow with my right (the drop-o-matic - love that nickname for it - having the control moreso on the right side) and then I have to switch the handles to my right hand in order to cut the sprue since it moves from center to right. Switching hands is rather inefficient.

[craig110]

I'll have to give that a try. I tend to cull while I'm casting so I can immediately remelt the bad ones, but this does slow things down. Since the bullets need to be individually handled for sizing anyway, that does seem like a better time to cull out the bad ones.

What do you speed daemons do to quickly open the sprue? While pouring, I hold the handles with my left hand while controlling the lead flow with my right (the drop-o-matic - love that nickname for it - having the control moreso on the right side) and then I have to switch the handles to my right hand in order to cut the sprue since it moves from center to right. Switching hands is rather inefficient.

Ok, it is bad form to reply to one's own note, but oh man, I just went back to Freak's original post and noticed something: I might have my moulds backwards in the handles. In his picture, the section of the sprue that gets hit to open it up is sticking out the far end while when I cast, it is aimed back at me. Not only does that require the hand changing I mentioned, but it also results in a half-inch+ gap between the part that gets whacked and the hinge of the handle which means that I have to be more accurate, and thus more slow, with my hits. I'm flipping my mould around the next time I cast so that I can hit it nice and solid while the handles are still being held in my left hand.

This might be one of the better Doh! moments of my casting activities.

[freakshow10mm]

Also, when using Lee handles with other molds, I put the flat bolt part on the underside of the mold, so if I have to smack the bolt with a mallet to get the boolits to drop, there is less scuffing of my rubber sprue plate smacker.

[AdamN]

Ok, it is bad form to reply to one's own note, but oh man, I just went back to Freak's original post and noticed something: I might have my moulds backwards in the handles. In his picture, the section of the sprue that gets hit to open it up is sticking out the far end while when I cast, it is aimed back at me. Not only does that require the hand changing I mentioned, but it also results in a half-inch+ gap between the part that gets whacked and the hinge of the handle which means that I have to be more accurate, and thus more slow, with my hits. I'm flipping my mould around the next time I cast so that I can hit it nice and solid while the handles are still being held in my left hand.

This might be one of the better Doh! moments of my casting activities.


Freak has his setup backwards from "stock" but it works well for him and thats what matters. You left handed Freak?? Try it both ways.

On my Ballisti-Cast molds I have the part that gets "whacked" pointing towards me/the handles. After the sprue is setup I have the mold turned sideways so I get a downward shot at the sprue plate. Usually just a tap is necessary.

[freakshow10mm]

The mold above is a Lee mold. The two cavity molds come with handles and that is how the mold is setup.

When I go to smack the plate, the mold is turned to the left so the plate is perpendicular to the ground, the plate is smacked, and the mold turned upside down the rest of the way to drop the boolits.

I've cast with an NEI mold with the sprue plate smacker closer to my hand. Harder to smack.

The Lyman 4 banger I have has a bent sprue plate strike so it's ok to have it ANeat style. For a straigh sprue plate strike, I go Freak style.

I'm right handed.

[yammerschooner]

In Cast Bullets (1979), Col. Harrison talks about this method as a means to keep lead smears off of sprue plates, but also as well as eliminating fins from (actually slightly rounding) bases.

Better results are obtained if you cool from the sprue side of the mold.

Although I use it with my aluminum Lee molds, I don't use it with iron ones. I am not worried about the moisture as much as I am my lower back.

[zdogk9]

I

What do you speed daemons do to quickly open the sprue? While pouring, I hold the handles with my left hand while controlling the lead flow with my right (the drop-o-matic - love that nickname for it - having the control moreso on the right side) and then I have to switch the handles to my right hand in order to cut the sprue since it moves from center to right. Switching hands is rather inefficient.

I hold the mould in my left hand. the instant the sprue skims over I flip it upside down and touch it to the wet rag, spin it right side up push the sprue plate across with a stick that I use for this. I then move the mould over my drop box, or the bucket of water and open it with my left hand if need be I whack the hinge bolt to drop the boolet. It takes about as long to read this as it does for me to do, and less time than it takes me to type it.
I am not moving fast, rather I'm trying for smoothness and economy of motion

[yammerschooner]

I am not moving fast, rather I'm trying for smoothness and economy of motion


Exactly. It isn't a speed thing. It is about rhythm.

[yammerschooner]

I also cut when the sprue is still soft enough to move the plate with a gloved hand.

[zdogk9]

here's a photo of my setup. My right hand holds the wooden mallet and operates the valve on the pot. When the sprue skims over I move the mould to my right with my left hand, over the tuna can with the wet rag, flip it upside down and touch the sprue to the rag, flip it rightside up and push the sprue plate through the sprue with the mallet while moving the mould over the #10 can to the right and below the drip-o-matic. The sprue falls into the can. I move the mould to the left over the towel and open it and the bullets fall out on the folded towel If need be I'll whack the hinge with the mallet. I close the mould, slide the sprue plate back in place with the mallet, put it back under the spout, and repeat. If I'm water dropping the bucket sits on the floor, just to the left of the left hand upright of the stand the drip-o-matic sits on. the mould never leaves my left hand and the mallet never leaves my right. I have enough ingots stacked to my left for the session.http://lh4.ggpht.com/zdogk1/SBpHhl2npsI/AAAAAAAAALA/aPpdFiDl53I/DSC00023.JPG?imgmax=512

[zdogk9]

Craig if you have to WHACK then youre waiting to long to cut the sprue. After you're about 20 bullets into the session the moulds should be warm enough so that the lead will cut with a firm push rather than a whack. Your moulds (especially Lees) will last a lot longer too.