1st attempt

[miksatx]

Thanks Carl wide butter knife would be great. Keith i have a Lee ladle but it's pretty hard to stir vigorously lol. I use it to pull the dross and dirt off the sides.

[triggertreat]

Is there any reason why I shouldn't use a screw driver to stir my pot?

I like using the Lee ladle.  First because it's cheap, but mostly because I can stir the pot well and pull up lead from the bottom, and scrape the sides, too.  It is also great for removing the dross and for dropping multiple small lead pieces like rejected bullets back into the hot lead safely away from any splatter.  You'd be fairly limited with a screwdriver as to what you can do with it.

If with ladle, be sure and rest it on top of the lead for a minute before diving in with it.  Condensate from anything is explosive once below the lead surface.

Not in a 20lb pot...

[miksatx]

Made up a lid for my 10lb pot a left over piece of flange cut out from a Charles 803 stripper still I made years ago.

[rintafile]

Is there any reason why I shouldn't use a screw driver to stir my pot?

Does it have a plastic handle?

Yes.

Plastic that will melt at 600°+?

Isn't that metal part which you use stirring? I've been stirring years and that hadle is still fine. I never thought nobody uses so short screw driver that hadle is dipping on lead     If need skim dirt/dross off then i use table spoon. I My pot is too big for stir spoon,ladle or etc.  So i use long screw driver and it works just fine. But if you do fluxing on different place than your pot there is not much to skim.

[Insanity]

Is there any reason why I shouldn't use a screw driver to stir my pot?

Does it have a plastic handle?

Yes.

Plastic that will melt at 600°+?

Isn't that metal part which you use stirring? I've been stirring years and that hadle is still fine. I never thought nobody uses so short screw driver that hadle is dipping on lead     If need skim dirt/dross off then i use table spoon. I My pot is too big for stir spoon,ladle or etc.  So i use long screw driver and it works just fine. But if you do fluxing on different place than your pot there is not much to skim.

I know not all plastics are the same but I have plastics I 3d print with that I typically print at under 250c/482f~. I think length and time spent in the lead can affect the performance of plastic. Its all about the heat soak at that point.

[rintafile]

Yup you are right. But if we speak stirring it usually takes 5-10 seconds. Even my hand dosen't burn at that time. But hey picture speaks more than words. Here is my screw drives which i use. Handle has some spots melted but thats just my fault. Been putting it near hot mold etc.


I rest my case. Everyone can use any tool which is suitable for that job.

[miksatx]

First batch of 217-30 HP weight run 27.5.

[Nvreloader]

Micheal

Looking good, 

What alloy of lead?

Tia,
Don

[miksatx]

Micheal

Looking good, 

What alloy of lead?
Hi Don that's a good question lol. This batch are recycled pellets. I'm not at that level of casting yet to try alloy.
Getting ready to shoot a few through my Dominator. Just run a couple shots over chrono 1st shot 641 so I cranked down on the hammer spring. 2nd 809 going to leave it there. Shooting at 15yrds.
Glad you showed up these are unsized so there .217. Do you lub your bullets when resizing, if you do what do you use? Only resizing bushing I have is .215. Is .002 ok to resize dry or do I need a lub of some type? I have some paraffin wax and silicon grease.

Tia,
Don

[miksatx]

Micheal

Looking good, 

What alloy of lead?
Hi Don that's a good question lol. This batch are recycled pellets. I'm not at that level of casting yet to try alloy.
Getting ready to shoot a few through my Dominator. Just run a couple shots over chrono 1st shot 641 so I cranked down on the hammer spring. 2nd 809 going to leave it there. Shooting at 15yrds.
Glad you showed up these are unsized so there .217. Do you lub your bullets when resizing, if you do what do you use? Only resizing bushing I have is .215. Is .002 ok to resize dry or do I need a lub of some type? I have some paraffin wax and silicon grease.

Tia,
Don

5 shot group humm not sure what to think lol. Going to hold off resizing till i here back from you Don or from someone who can answer my lub or not lub to resize.

[Kinetic45^]

Definitely lube for sizing.
If it's only a .001 or so I usually use my slug shooting lube.  If it's .003 or more than I use Redding Imperial Sizing wax... Just a trace on the fingers and as I pick up the bullet to run it through the die I roll it between my fingers to spread the lube on the sides of the slug.  Sizing pellets I put them in a Ziploc and put in a few drops of 10 wt synthetic oil and kneed it around so the sides are coated but not enough to get inside the skirts. Pellets are usually easy to size and don't take much and them they are already lubed for shooting.

With the sizing wax I usually give the bullets a rinse in solvent to take it off as I use a different slug lube for shooting.  Some find the sizing wax works for both sizing and shooting though. Just test and see what you like.

As per the groups, I bet if you slug the bore correctly and size right you will tighten that up considerably.  Love the NOE sizer system because the dies are cheap AND you can buy .001 undersize and polish to exact half size if you need and want to if your barrel requires it.

[miksatx]

Thanks For the info Carl sure helps a lot. I'll see if I can come up with something to slug the barrel.

[miksatx]

How this sound for slugging the barrel. I have a small lee ladle that I can torch and just stick the end of the barrel in the melted lead and let harden up?

[miksatx]

How this sound for slugging the barrel. I have a small lee ladle that I can torch and just stick the end of the barrel in the melted lead and let harden up?

That didn't work. So got out my ingot mould found the nearest diameter. And pounded a slug in the barrel and got this. My calipers reads .216

[K.O.]

Not the way to do it... for a few reasons...

But the big one is "It don't work"

Lead shrinks as it cools from molten...

a lotta readin and some thinking goes a long ways to shorten the learning cuvre when learning to make and use cast lead ammo...

can use the rounds you cast to slug the barrel unless they are to small for the barrel... you will need a micrometer most vernier are not accurate enough...

[avator]

You'll want to push the pellet all the way through the barrel from breech to muzzle. That will show you any tight spots or chokes in the barrel.