Casting Airgun pellets

[VadimTheGop]

I have no idea how the airgun pellet manufacturing process works, but I was planning on 3D printing some airgun pellets with wax PLA plastic so the dimensions are exact, now these won’t be shot out if the gun, they would be put into Plaster of paris to make a mold, and then baked out with an oven, then I could pour any soft metal in to make my own pellets like slugs or maybe diablo pellets if There is enough space for lead to fill the gaps. There would be several pellets in the mold and when the lead is cast and has cooled, I would dissolve the plaster in water and cut the pellets off of each other and sand them down. I was wondering if this would work at all, or would the pellets would be of such low quality they would be unusable, I was planning on making them upside down so the lead gets poured in through the bottom, ensuring the tip isn’t rough from being separated from the rest of the pellets if that gives you an idea of how they will be cast.

[Insanity]

You can try it but a mold from NOE would net far better results in .22 and up.

[maraudinglizard]

You can try it but a mold from NOE would net far better results in .22 and up.

+1  With NOE molds, you just heat up the lead, cast the pellets and your done. They will be uniform with a +/- 1-2 grain variance depending on your lead mix and temperature.

[Insanity]

The 2 pellets I cated from a brass NOE 217-20-rf mold that I go used. In the matter of an hour you could have several hundred usable pellets. Maybe a venture into the boolit and pellet casting gate may give you some better guidance if casting in general.

[Back_Roads]

 I agree with the others, I watched some poor soul on youtube attempt this with many similar methods, with dismal results 
 Here is the link to our pellet/boolet casting gate,
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?board=229.0

[rsterne]

Just a word of warning about plaster of paris moulds…. If they are not baked at a high enough temperature to remove every trace of water, that water will boil on contact with molten lead, and the mould can explode.... It can be a VERY hazardous process....

I cast a lead keel for a model yacht that way, and never had a mould survive to be used again.... it was one mould per casting.... 

Bob