New Model 73 Forum Member…

[MikeS]

Removed




 

[w44wcf]

Howdy Mike,
Welcome to the forum. (Actually I did send you the link not too long ago.)

Nice piece of Winchester history, complete with a Winchester bullet mold and Winchester loading tool!

Glad to see that you have made some bullets. What alloy did you use?  .402" is almost ideal as long as the bullet when loaded into the case does not make the case neck diameter too large to fit into the chamber in the rifle......

w44wcf

[Major 2]

Very nice ...and welcome

[w44wcf]

Mike,
Since the bullet sample was made from a bearing material, the diameter will be approx .001 - .002" larger than a tin / lead bullet but that is fine since b.p. will obturate the bullet to fill the bore tightly for accurate shooting.

40/1 alloy sounds fine.   

I personally use SPG and NASA lube for b.p. and find that they both work well.
There are likely others that will work well but I have no experience with them.

SPG can be purchased from Midway.
http://www.midwayusa.com/brand/spg

The most economical ..... lead dipper and pot
lead dipper - I rcommend the RCBS
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/283142/rcbs-lead-dipper

lead pot that can be used over an open flame
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/523105/rcbs-lead-pot

or Lee 10# bottom pour pot
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/637732/lee-production-pot-four-furnace-110-volt

w44wcf


 

[wildman1]

If you use a bottom pour you should know that after a while your flow will slow down. It will be aluminum. Small bits of aluminum will melt in the pot and as they come out the pour spout they will set up due to lowering temp and will gradually slow the amount of lead that passes thru. WM

[wildman1]

Getting it out is the interesting part, but it can be done without meesin up the pot. Mine came from virgin lead. WM

[Marshal Deadwood]

The bottom pour's are good for fishermen making jigs. If you are gonna cast bullets....do NOT get this thing. They pour slow , they stop up, and  you will have wrinkles galore in your bullets. Get the Lee pot that you dip out of. That is really a good pot and one of the better buys out there when you price it against the other brands.

[wildman1]

Like I said if ya can keep the spout cleaned out you will do fine, some of the bigger bullets, 400+gs may need ta be ladle poured. WM

[w44wcf]

Hmmmm.....never had an issue with aluminum contamination in all my years (38) of bullet casting.
Any impurities in the alloy can pretty much be removed by fluxing. 

For those rare occasions when something may partially clog the spout of the bottom pour pot,  I do keep a paper clip unfolded with one end pointing up.

While it is true, in my experience,  that it is easier to make great bullets with a dipper, it can also be done with a bottom pour pot. I've made 1000's of bullets with bottom pour pots, many of them match grade.    Controlling the rate of pour is key and needs to be adjusted periodically as the level in the pot goes down. 

w30wcf     

[Okefinokee Outlaw]

Where does the aluminum come from?  Shouldn't be in the alloy if from a reputable source. 

I use bottom pour for my pistol caliber rounds, and ladle for the 540 grain bullets.

[wildman1]

Did I see the aluminum? No but the symptoms, I believe were described in the cast bullet handbook at least they matched what was goin on with my pot.The lead I was using was not an alloy but virgin lead. Now if you don't know what the problem is you would probably never figure it out on your own. Point is it doesn't matter what was clogging the hole it just need to be unclogged. And it can be once you figure out the problem.  WM

[wildman1]

OK I went and looked it up. Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd edition. Metallurgy of molten lead alloys page 51 "Aluminum". "When an aluminum contaminated melt cools, aluminum dendrites(trees) are the first thing to precipitate. These dendrites tend to clog small orifaces which operate below the temperature of the melt, e.g. the spout on a bottom pour pot".  WM

[w44wcf]

WM,
Thank you for the update.  I have felt that the infrequent times that I have experienced a reduced flow through the nozzle of a bottom pour pot was dirt or foreign matter of some sort.  A poke upward through the bottom of the nozzle 1 or 2 times with my trusty unfolded paper clip usually clears it.  Perhaps I have experienced aluminum contamination and not realized it........

w44wcf   

[wildman1]

I thought exactly the same thing but was having trouble seeing how contaminants that were lighter than the melt would get clear to the bottom. WM

[w44wcf]

Howdy Mike,
Just wondering how your project is coming along(?).

Thank you,
w44wcf