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Old August 18, 2000, 01:20 PM   #5
Jack Straw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 26, 1999
Location: Georgia
Posts: 362
As far as how long it takes for the bullets to harden, it depends on the size of the bullet, the alloy, the temperature of the pot, and the mold you are using (aluminum cools faster than iron molds). As Southla 1 stated, watch the sprue and you will see it harden. I begin counting once I fill the mold; it usually takes about 15 seconds to reach cutting time. You will just have to kind of learn it as you go. If you wait too long it will be hard to cut and you may pull a small chunk out of the base of the bullet. Cut it too soon and you will smear alloy across the mold and sprue cutter (not good either).

I used to drop into water right from the mold but I now prefer to heat in an oven; hardened bullets take more effort to size! In order to keep water from splashing I attached an old ironing board cover to the edge of my bench. The other end was attached to the water bucket so that I could drop the bullets onto the cloth and let them slide into the water. You just have to make sure that the cloth is arranged so that the bullets won't bump the edge of the bucket on the way down and get dinged up. That will put some distance between the water and the melted alloy.

Jack
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