New to casting any hot tips (and 310Cadet notes)?

[CAVOK]

G’day casting legends,

Have just started to go down the dark road of casting my own which I believe will lead to a compounded addiction on top of the reloading one I already have.

I have done a bit of reading and will try and replicate Lyman #2 alloy for my casting, unless anyone has a better suggestion. It will just be for pissing about with a 310 Martini Cadet. I have a RCBS mould which casts a 120gn RN heeled bullet. Trouble is I can’t seem to find anyone who sells the appropriate top punch for that projectile for use in a RCBS lubrasizer. (Unsure of spelling)

Has anyone got any hot tips on the best place to purchase said top punch, can I use another 30 cal round nose punch, and any wisdom they can pass on in general for a beginner caster.

Thanks in advance gents.

[juststarting]

I can’t help you with top punches, but I can tell you to start powder coating instead

[CAVOK]

I knew that was coming. I was talking to my Dad about this and I told him that the stuff I have read leads me to believe powder coating is the preferred option these days.

[juststarting]

Cheaper than investing in punches and dies…

[CAVOK]

I don’t have a fear of change or the benefits it may bring so I am definitely open to powder coating mate. Any chance you could give me a quick soldiers five on what’s involved, ie, what setup you have etc. I will do some reading also, sincerely appreciate it mate.

[juststarting]

I’ll have to search through the forum later today, there are definitely a few posts on that, I am pretty sure @1Fatman wrote one. He was using Hi-Tek (epoxy) coating though, but the equipment and process are very similar. I’ll find it…

[CAVOK]

Thanks mate,

In addition I just watched a bit of the toobe and watched a bit of powder coating. Looks like a relatively simple process although I am sure there is plenty of opportunity for a lid like me to faaark it up.

[CAVOK]

Rightio, have received more info, and the top punch for that bullet mold doesn’t exist anymore. It is still showing on the RCBS chart however is no longer manufactured so I am told. Am I correct in saying that not all cast bullets need to be sized? I am assuming then that the bullets will be cast to the right size and possible not require sizing, therefor I won’t bother with the lubing and will possibly go down the powder coating path.
Anyone out there casting for the 310 cadet?
I’d be interested to hear your method.

[juststarting]

@CAVOK that’s what @1Fatman was casting And coating. I have the mold, but I haven’t started casting for it. I got some Black Widow bullets, which I would not buy again. Hence bought a mold… @1Fatman sent me some of his creations to try which work a lot better (with CBE mold).

[1Fatman]

Oh where to begin…

My lead is all from wheel weights, I try to get a good blend of stick on and clip on and then melt them into ingots,

I use a LEE hardness tester to check and get between 12.5 and 13.4BHN, it is recommended to aim for 12BHN or better (from memory).

It is a bit tricky to use but there are others out there.

I use the CBE mold (CADET#2R) 2 cavity. You will need to buy handles for it as they do not come with it, CBE sells nice handles but they are expensive. You can buy LEE handles as they fit or a better way is to buy the handles that @MaxJon makes because they are the ducks nuts and very well priced.
The specs for the mold are below…
310 Cadet #2 R (castbulletengineering.com.au)
This is the best bullet choice for Bertram Brass, 125 grain weight"

Bullet OAL - .670"
Nose Length - .322"
Nose diameter - .311"
Heel diameter - .307"
Bullet Diameter - .323"

As stated they are recommended for Bertram brass which is what I brought, If you buy a mold from CBE you can also get the Bertram brass from them as well at a good price.
Bertram 310 Cadet Cases (castbulletengineering.com.au)

I did not worry about sizing them as they turned out pretty good but if you want to size them LEE do a sizing kit for them, .311 for around $48 + postage
Lee Bullet Lube and Sizing Die Kit (ozgunmart.com.au)

I also coat mine with Hi-Tek coating. A container goes along way as you use 20 grams of powder to 100 - 130ml of Acetone. I use 7ml of the mix to give around 350 projectiles a single coat. You can do multiple coats depending on how bad your OCD is, I normally do 3 coats but you can easily get away with 1 or 2. All you need is a container to mix it in, a syringe, a bucket/container to put the projectiles in, a small oven that can hold a temp of 200C, a small mesh tray to put them on, gloves and a few Bourbons to have while you wait.
if you are on StalkBook you can look at his page and you order through him by email/phone.
(20+) J&M Specialized Products | Facebook

This is how the coating comes to you.

Here are the instructions for you to look at,
Coating Instructions - Hi-Performance Bullet Coatings

Some porn…

These 4 projectiles are 158gr 357Mag and show from left to right, as cast, 1 coat, 2 coats and 3 coats.
As you can see even after 1 coat they are covered and you don’t need to lube them.
The colour is Zombie Green, waiting for the Covid infected to turn

This one has been hit with a hammer 3 times to check to see if the coating flakes off, it doesn’t .

Most of the equipment you need you can grab from the kitchen (at your own peril) or pick up from a second hand shop, a spoon like a soup spoon for scrapping off the dross (crap at the top of the melted lead), a laddle to pour it into your ingot mold if you go down that path. Other stuff are;

Good gloves like welders gloves,
Candles so you can put in the pot on top of the melted lead to collect the impurities (other stuff can be used like sawdust)
A lead pot, the most popular is the LEE bottom pour, Lee Pro 4 20LB 220 Volt Lead Furnace Bullet Casting 90948 (ozgunmart.com.au)

Also most importantly only cast or melt lead in a well ventilated area.

I have probably forgotten heaps but this will get you started and you can always ask more questions plus YouTube is a god send…

Forgot to put in a photo of the finished product, 310 Cadet coated in Candy Apple Red.

[MaxJon]

Love your work!! Thanks for the mention 1Fatman!

[juststarting]

FYI you can also use powder paint… But if you’re going down this path, Hi-Tek should be your starting point… I shoot both and there’s definitely a difference. Also, something to consider, effort required. Hi-Tek does have more steps, but considering you’re (or at least me) only casting a few times per year, it’s probably worth it. I started with paint, but next session will probably be going with epoxy based paint (i.e. what you see above).

[CAVOK]

FIrstly mate, thank you for going to the effort of answering my many questions. Your post is an absolute wealth of information and I am sincerely grateful.

I have a good supply of pure lead, and Linotype, which I intend to use along with some solder to obtain a ratio of 90% pure, 5% Antimony, 5% Tin to obtain a BHN of circa 15 from what I have read. Thanks for the tip on the hardness tester, I reckon I will invest in one of those for sure.

As you suggested I will initially pour some ingots and test them to ensure I am on the right track, then cast a few and see how the go. I already have a RCBS mold fortunately which is being gifted to me.

I will definitely give the HiTek coating a go as opposed to the lubing, considering so many people do it now, I figure it must be pretty good.

Thinking I will need a better lead pot than the one I already have, its not very big and I am currently using a dipper, I have been using this to make sinkers, however I can see the advantage of the bottom pour for sure, even making sinkers with a dipper can be a pain in the proverbial with the lead cooling too much and not filling out the mold. Don’t want that happening with the projectiles.

If the finished product turns out anywhere near as good as yours mate I will be super happy. No doubt I have much to learn and it will take me a few goes prior to getting it spot on.

Thanks again for your reply mate, sincerely appreciated.

[CAVOK]

G’day mate, I have plenty of time on my hands when not at work so will go down the HiTek path, as you said, more steps however i will only be casting a few times a year for the 310. I do have a 30 cal mold there also which I will probably have a go with. Perhaps some cast projectiles for my 300AAC.

[1Fatman]

@CAVOK

Perhaps some cast projectiles for my 300AAC.

Just like reloading, once you start you will be hooked.

[1Fatman]

No a problem, happy to be able to help.

A bottom pour is the way to go, you will need to adjust the spout to get the right flow and to stop the drips but it is dead easy.

Depending on your budget you can get the flash Lyman or RCBS ones that have a digital read out and temperature control. The LEE just has a dial and you will need to experiment to get the right temperature. I also brought a Lyman digital temperature probe so I can check to make sure I am in the right place.

If you are into mad science like @juststarting you can make a PID controller to do the same thing, plenty of how to’s on YouTube.

The good thing with casting is that if you stuff up you just throw them back in the pot and re-melt them.

[CAVOK]

Rightio gents next question. As far as velocity goes, is there a magic number or rule of thumb as to when gas checks are required for the 30 cal projectiles which I will also cast? I will buggerise about with some subsonic loads but will load a few a bit quicker also. I am assuming circa 1800fps would require gas check.

[MaxJon]

Ok with the .310, you have three options…
1 Hitek…as others have stated.
2 Tumble lube with 45 45 10 from CBE
3 Pan lube…
Lubesizers are simply bullet benders, in my opinion, and will be useless for the cadet, as you have found out. If you are traditional and want to fill the lube groove, pan lube is your only option. It basically involves making a biscuit of lube, (beeswax and lithium grease, or similar), which you can melt with your oven you use for your hitek. I personally tumble lube my cadet bullets, with the above mentioned lube, as it’s not sticky like Lee Alox. I pan lube all my cast bullets and fit gaschecks with Lee push through sizers, for competition shooting. The most accurate cast bullet, is one that’s undisturbed, and not sized through any sizer, if at all possible, if it chambers in your rifle, why (size) distort it? Gaschecks are only needed over 1400fps…Google pan lube, it’s worth it!
But in saying that I shoot all 3 above mentioned…
Welcome to the addiction!!

[juststarting]

Pretty sure we have pan lube thread here too

[CAVOK]

I had resigned myself to lubing by hand however I like the idea of the pan lube method mate.

Can’t wait to get into it. Have now discovered a 55gn .224 mould in addition to the cadet mould, and the 30cal mould. Should help fill in some spare time.