Casting bullets for muzzleloader

Nothing fancy, but the ingot mold is ready.

 

Now a question, gator. How close does this pipe need to be to the pot? What is the spacing?

 

They are parallel. It is cut from a section of box steel tubing. I could flare them if needed.

 

Steel walled sinkers!

 

At work, I can get that for you in a few days.

 

That is what a torch is for.....

 

12'' tall

Pipe is 4'' with a 2'' air gap to the bottom of pot

 

Mic'ed at .061


1/4'' pipe is even with the bottom of 2'' pipe.
Pretty simple, But works!

 

(Warning, pic heavy)

OK, this has taken a while, due to restrictions of when I can use the welders, and I have taken a few "liberties" with the suggested design, but the burner is complete, and works great. I had #7 of WW lead, liquid in about 15-20 minutes. (And that is with a good breeze blowing). Pics to follow: i started with two rings cut from springs, welded, heated and hammered to lay flat. And four rods cut from scrap, and an idea of what I wanted it to look like. i used a coat hanger to form the shape I chose, and heated and bent the legs accordingly. i then had to wait for the welder. Once welded at the lower ring, it was time for more heating and bending. followed by welding in the upper ring and cutting back the grill to fit the plumber's pot. Then I needed a riser pipe, and cleaned up and cut a piece of 1" pipe. but after a hand fit and fitting the gas jet, I felt the proportions were off, so cut a piece of 2" heavy wall pipe from scrap and fitted and welder it to the leg. I then heated and reshaped the upper ring out of level (you will see why later) the gas portion of the burner, consists of a 1/4" brake line section, a matching union, a cap insert (this part was drilled for the orifice) a ten foot section of reinforced rubber hose, a couple of clamps, one barb fitting union, and a regulator I snagged at the recycling center when I was there. Total cost for this section about $8. Now, back to the burner. I needed a method of joining the burner stand and the burner gas feed, but did not want to weld it. so I fitted a sleeve and soddered it to the feed line. The sleeved bracket and a matching bracket lock to the leg with a through bolt and a wing but. Burner can be assembled or disassembled in seconds. Now for the test burn.
Due to the breeze, I added a wind screen (my fire ring) i then swapped the pot for the skillet, added a hand full of the skimmings from cleaning up the lead (clips, steel weights, zinc that got past me) and you will now see the reason for the slightly out of level top ring. the lead being the first to melt, rolled out from under the scrap, and rolled down hill, separating almost completely on it's own. This lead can go back into the pot.
It's time for a clean up and a paint job. A quick scrub down with steel wool, a touch or two with a grinder, and a couple of coats of high heat furnace black paint. (Another $5.00 item. Total material costs about $13.00.

 

DAMN nice job on the burner @kellory! Well thought out.

Looks like you have all kinds of goodies in that truck!

 

Thank you. And once I have the proper bullet mold, I can now start learning how to cast soft lead into bullets.
The WW lead, will be cleaned, fluxed, and cast into ingots, and stored. I have no immediate use for it, as I do not yet reload ammo.

 

YET being the key word..

 

Great post.

 

If I may ask, What mold/size projectile do we have in mind? Someone may possibly have one collecting dust.

 

Lyman 1-Cavity Maxi-Ball Bullet Mold #504617 50 Cal (504 Diameter) 370
This is the mold I have in mind, though the aluminum ones are indeed cheaper. I may have to work my way up to it.

 

Seven years with the aluminum ones in .38/.378, .45 and .40. Slow preheat and smoke before use. Then a pace that keeps the mold at temp to give you the size you need.

 

Is that smoking between each bullet, or periodicly?