Let's see where you do your casting ? ?

4and1

Member
Wow, scrolling through this thread, it took 6 pages to find one person who uses a pot and ladle! I cast using a pot over a propane burner. I use discarded freon bottles. I cut once around about 4" high, then another cut on the leftover top section, 3". I seat the bottom in the ring, level it up, and weld them together. Very stable. I have 3, one for lino, one wheel weights, the last for pure lead.
 

4and1

Member
Not pure, I add a couple pounds of pure lead to about 30 pounds of lino, flows better. But yes, rifle.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
I mix pure to lino but usually at 3-1 and air cool. Covers most of my needs and yields 14-15 BHN after sitting for a couple of weeks. When I need harder, I will heat treat that alloy, for rifle bullets. Alternative is to mix at 2-1 or even 50-50, then heat treat, but I haven't had to go that route. Pure is much cheaper than lino..............so the idea is to conserve as much as possible.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
I mix pure to lino but usually at 3-1 and air cool. Covers most of my needs and yields 14-15 BHN after sitting for a couple of weeks. When I need harder, I will heat treat that alloy, for rifle bullets. Alternative is to mix at 2-1 or even 50-50, then heat treat, but I haven't had to go that route. Pure is much cheaper than lino..............so the idea is to conserve as much as possible.
Been conserving that lino since 1976. There's gonna be a heck of an estate sale here some day.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I've never in my life needed more than 6% antimony in a mix. Anything over 3% reaches a point if diminishing returns really quickly. Keeping tin close to antimony concentration provides a great deal of toughness and malleability up to #2 alloy percentages. Higher velocity loads may do better with a more ductile, low antimony, lower tin alloy like 2-3% Sb and half a percent Sn, heat treated and aged to about 17-20 BHN.

When pressed, several match shooters I know have essentially said the only reason they use linotype alloy is because of how well it casts. I interpret that as recognition that wheelweight metal and other alloys make it a lot more difficult cast a decent bullet, but with determination and practice this obstacle can be overcome. A ladle helps much of the time. Once you get over about 2000 fps in .30-caliber, the disadvantage of linotype begins to show on target and in the bore.
 
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Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I have found, for what shooting I do, an alloy of 3/3/94 works great and leaves the bore clean. To my recollection, I never tried anything for rifles out of linotype. In my early days casting for 357 Mag, I tried some linotype and found it cast beautiful but much harder than needed.
 

.45Auto

New Member
My very basic casting bench in the garage for casting .356" .358" and .452" bullets for my pistols and revolvers.
I use a Lee Production pot IV for casting bullets, and a old Lee melter for use with a laddle and mixing alloy and a stove with plates for melting batches of lead for making ingots and the oven for powdercoating.received_663144191002918.jpegreceived_331272927965033.jpegreceived_675701306410488.jpeg
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
My very basic casting bench in the garage for casting .356" .358" and .452" bullets for my pistols and revolvers.
I use a Lee Production pot IV for casting bullets, and a old Lee melter for use with a laddle and mixing alloy and a stove with plates for melting batches of lead for making ingots and the oven for powdercoating.View attachment 17432View attachment 17433View attachment 17434
I like the lead balloon in the frying pan!
 

Ian

Notorious member
Nice setup. I see the top end of a honeycomb candle but not a bottle of sprue plate lube and crock of Q-tips?
 

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
It looks like clutter at first glance. But that is only because there is so much stuff. A closer look shows that the stuff is well organized.
My place looks like that except for that last part.
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
Mine goes way past clutter, all the way to (as My Dad would say); s***house after a storm.
Never quite understood that, as I've never seen a s***house after or during a storm.
But then I didn't gro up on a Montana Cattle Ranch in the 1920's & 30's.