The weekend is here! The rain is gone...

Beagle333 · June 13, 2015, 09:55 AM

and so it's time to play in the yard. It's going to be really hot, so why not sit around a pot of lead!

First...... the dirty part. And no, I do not cast from this pot. This is an old one that is dedicated to smelting and I don't want/need a bigger one because this one will melt them about as fast as I can test them with the cutters and sort. Besides, my ol' wrist gets tired before a pot finishes anyway. Stick-on weights go on the left, clip-ons on the right, steel and zinkers in the coffee can with the clips.
(I do plan to quit smelting very soon, so I don't need/want to upgrade or change my setup or methods just now.)

(That's just water in the red can in the background. The coffee can on the table is for clips.)

Beagle333 · June 13, 2015, 09:57 AM

Plus, I go prep molds and shift handles around to different molds while the ingots are in the making.

snuffy · June 13, 2015, 11:28 AM

Here' my smelting set-up.

Turkey fryer that is reinforced to handle a full pot of lead. The structure just did not look to be able to hold 100 pounds of lead if the pot was ever full.

I have 6 of the Lyman ingot molds, a couple saeco and some lee's As well as 2 muffin molds. Cast full to-the-top- the Lyman molds are 5#, makes them easy to stack and gives a broad surface to write on the identify different alloys.

Beagle333 · June 13, 2015, 11:53 AM

I only got the one Saeco mold.... but it's a nice relaxing time in the shade here today, 4 ingots at a time.

I ended up with 46.23# out of that box. Not too bad considering it wasn't sorted before. I usually get sorted WW when I buy em, but these were on sale.
There was a good number of steel ones in there, and mebbe half a dozen zinkers.

And... while I was mixin and stirrin and making smoke, I mixed up about 50# of premium HP alloy from a bunch of sheet lead and isotope containers I had.

Beagle333 · June 14, 2015, 08:49 PM

I cast a pan of these today.

This is the NOE 35 XCB bullet. I believe it's 228 grains, but I didn't weigh one as cast yet. They don't have much lube groove at all. 'Not that it matters in my case, since I'm going to powdercoat them, but it doesn't hold much lube if you were to lube it. I think I remember somebody saying the reason for that.... but it escapes me at the moment.

and I also cast some more of these NOE 432-265 HPs. I still don't have a .44, but there's supposed to be one on a brown truck now and it may be here tomorrow.

straight-shooter · June 18, 2015, 03:44 PM

Did ya get that 44 off the brown truck Beagle ?

I just ran into a similar situation and just purchased a 4" S&W 686-3 to match my 6" 686-3 and to give me another excuse to fire more of the MP 359-640's LOL.

Yep, it's my story.....

Beagle333 · June 18, 2015, 06:57 PM

I got the email that UPS delivered it to somebody. But my gunsmith (and FFL) had to go out of town for 2 weeks suddenly on a family emergency thing, so it's locked up in his shop!!! And it's one of the Ruger Bisley .44 specials with the 5.5" barrel.

straight-shooter · June 19, 2015, 04:57 PM

That is a major bummer Beagle... sorry to hear that. Nothing like waiting two weeks after Christmas to get your present!

For the time being though I'll give you a peek at my new to me toy....

4" S&W 686-3

Beagle333 · June 19, 2015, 06:16 PM

Shiny!!! That's really nice. You oughta get some good life outta that one!

June 13, 2015, 09:55 AM	#1
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	The weekend is here! The rain is gone... and so it's time to play in the yard. It's going to be really hot, so why not sit around a pot of lead! First...... the dirty part. And no, I do not cast from this pot. This is an old one that is dedicated to smelting and I don't want/need a bigger one because this one will melt them about as fast as I can test them with the cutters and sort. Besides, my ol' wrist gets tired before a pot finishes anyway. Stick-on weights go on the left, clip-ons on the right, steel and zinkers in the coffee can with the clips. (I do plan to quit smelting very soon, so I don't need/want to upgrade or change my setup or methods just now.) (That's just water in the red can in the background. The coffee can on the table is for clips.) __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile. Last edited by Beagle333; June 13, 2015 at 10:00 AM.

June 13, 2015, 09:57 AM	#2
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	Plus, I go prep molds and shift handles around to different molds while the ingots are in the making. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

June 13, 2015, 11:28 AM	#3
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	Here' my smelting set-up. Turkey fryer that is reinforced to handle a full pot of lead. The structure just did not look to be able to hold 100 pounds of lead if the pot was ever full. I have 6 of the Lyman ingot molds, a couple saeco and some lee's As well as 2 muffin molds. Cast full to-the-top- the Lyman molds are 5#, makes them easy to stack and gives a broad surface to write on the identify different alloys. __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

June 13, 2015, 11:53 AM	#4
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I only got the one Saeco mold.... but it's a nice relaxing time in the shade here today, 4 ingots at a time. I ended up with 46.23# out of that box. Not too bad considering it wasn't sorted before. I usually get sorted WW when I buy em, but these were on sale. There was a good number of steel ones in there, and mebbe half a dozen zinkers. And... while I was mixin and stirrin and making smoke, I mixed up about 50# of premium HP alloy from a bunch of sheet lead and isotope containers I had. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile. Last edited by Beagle333; June 13, 2015 at 06:46 PM.

June 14, 2015, 08:49 PM	#5
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I cast a pan of these today. This is the NOE 35 XCB bullet. I believe it's 228 grains, but I didn't weigh one as cast yet. They don't have much lube groove at all. 'Not that it matters in my case, since I'm going to powdercoat them, but it doesn't hold much lube if you were to lube it. I think I remember somebody saying the reason for that.... but it escapes me at the moment. and I also cast some more of these NOE 432-265 HPs. I still don't have a .44, but there's supposed to be one on a brown truck now and it may be here tomorrow. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile. Last edited by Beagle333; June 14, 2015 at 09:00 PM.

June 18, 2015, 03:44 PM	#6
straight-shooter Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2007 Location: North Central Indiana Posts: 436	Did ya get that 44 off the brown truck Beagle ? I just ran into a similar situation and just purchased a 4" S&W 686-3 to match my 6" 686-3 and to give me another excuse to fire more of the MP 359-640's LOL. Yep, it's my story.....

June 18, 2015, 06:57 PM	#7
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I got the email that UPS delivered it to somebody. But my gunsmith (and FFL) had to go out of town for 2 weeks suddenly on a family emergency thing, so it's locked up in his shop!!! And it's one of the Ruger Bisley .44 specials with the 5.5" barrel. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

June 19, 2015, 04:57 PM	#8
straight-shooter Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2007 Location: North Central Indiana Posts: 436	That is a major bummer Beagle... sorry to hear that. Nothing like waiting two weeks after Christmas to get your present! For the time being though I'll give you a peek at my new to me toy.... 4" S&W 686-3

June 19, 2015, 06:16 PM	#9
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	Shiny!!! That's really nice. You oughta get some good life outta that one! __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.