Yesterday, with the boys out of school on Spring break, they decided to rummage around the house, at 1 AM no less, and woke my sorry butt up. I could not go back to sleep. So I got up groggy, went out to the garage, fired up the smelting pot, and attempted to pour some bullets. I pre-warmed the moulds on a coffee maker hot plate as the pot heated its 20-pounds of alloy then moved each mould I wanted to use to the top of the pot prior to use. I started with what is typically a very good 6-cavity aluminum 380 ACP mould, but it would not cut the spru and I "sprayed" hot (but solidified) spru all over the garage floor while forcing the handles apart. That didn't work so I got the other aluminum single cavity 357 wad cutter mould heated up it too wouldn't cut the spru, so much so that I broke the right side wooden handle with too much applied hand pressure while banging on the spru plate with a cut-off wooden paddle handle. Now I get concerned. So I get the 45 ACP hollow point mould heated up and it wouldn't cut the spru either. These three moulds have been very good to me in the past. In one hour I didn't pour a single usable bullet, busted handles on two moulds, and have lost confidence in the process. Moulds too cold maybe? The alloy, when air cooled, is BHN 10-14. Not enough coffee maybe? Planets not well aligned? It is too exhaustive to just beat these things to death, figuratively, when they don't comply. I quit in frustration, turned off the pot and am now wondering what to do?
