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Offline AtlLaw

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Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« on: March 22, 2011, 09:59:25 AM »
Last night I decided to cast some 440 grain .500 bullets from my new Lee FPGC mould.  So I cleaned the mould, dropped some WW ingots into my Production Pot, lubed the mould and sprayed it with Foster's drop out, brought the melt up to 700 degrees, preheated the mould and started casting.  Properly dressed and with a full face shield of course.

During an interrum while culling bullets I said to myself "self" those are funny looking GC bullets.   :-\  Look more like FB's... oh well.  During another interrum I grabbed a .500 gas check and it slipped over the base of a bullet.  "That's strange" I thought.  It appeared they would be way oversized even after a trip through the sizing die... oh well.

Another interrum later, I like to take my time, I thought it would be nice to know the diameter of the bullets as cast.  So out come the calipers.  The bullets measure a nice, uniform .459.  "Great" I think, ".001 over bore size!  If it wasn't for the gas check I wouldn't even size these bad boys!"  So back to casting I go.

Of course, a short time later the light goes on.   ::)  .459!?  It seems I had picked up a Lee 340 gr. mould, thinking and seeing .500 when the box was clearly marked .458!  And throughout the casting process I didn't pick up on the little oddities I noticed.   :-[

Now, I know my mind has been on other things for the last couple of months, but this type of lapse is unpardonable!  what if I had been thinking H4831 and picked up H110?  Or Varget and Unique?   :o
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Richard
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Offline gcrank1

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2011, 03:49:54 PM »
Simply Freudian, if you ask me dear Richard............ ;)
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Offline bigvarmnt

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2011, 04:08:00 PM »
I think you should make a rule "No Making Shims While Casting" ;D
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Offline AtlLaw

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2011, 05:49:14 PM »
Keeping up my shim stock supply my life mon!   :P

I thought about that rule once when, standing over my melt pot, I popped the top on a shim can that apparently been well shaken a short while earlier...   :o

Did you know you can "tin" aluminum <and fingers and pants and shirts...>  and you don't have to use a torch!?    :-[

So I decided I'd take a break, relax and smoke a cigarette while I loaded some black powder combustible cartridges...   ???
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Richard
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Offline mechanic

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2011, 06:03:27 PM »
Richard we've not met in person yet, but if or when we do, you will notice little speckles all over my arms....and well I have them in a couple other places too but we won't go there.   Funny how metal will explode ain't it?  Don't seem like one little drop of water would matter in a hundred pounds of lead.............Anywho now I have one of those little welder's jackets and high top gloves, etc.

Come on down some Sat. and we'll fire up a real lead pot instead of that little bitty Lyman, and we can really scatter some lead.......

BTW.....never ever ever cast with your shirt off on a really hot day.....

Ben
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Offline Steelbanger

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2011, 01:39:49 AM »
Mr. AtlLaw,

So how did that combustible cartridge loading session go? I had to laugh when I read about you having a cigarette while loading BP. I suppose that if you're reading this your house is still sitting on its foundation and all is well. As for making the mistake with that mould I can only offer this . . Get used to it because as you age it will only get worse.
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Offline jlchucker

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2011, 12:30:34 PM »
Atlaw, there's a bright side to this!  That 340 grain lee flat base boolit, cast .459, is praised as being very good by some that shoot them out of old leverguns.  You may not want to throw them back in the pot.  Check the Lee Loading Manual for some data and try them out.
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Offline srussell

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2011, 07:09:16 PM »
have to have a cigarette wile making them com bustable cartridges how else would you know if the will go off are not ;D 8) 8)
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Offline AtlLaw

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2011, 07:15:18 AM »
Well let me tell you boys, that session gave new meaning to the term "lighting up!"   ::)

Sure was glad I had a full can of shim stock in hand...  :-\

I figure I'll give the 340's a try as "little girl loads" in my 45-70 Handi.  Might be fun...  ;D
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Richard
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Offline Dezynco

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2011, 05:00:48 PM »
I've made nearly 1000 of the prettiest cast bullets you've ever seeen one afternoon while popping the top on some "shims".  I don't know if they were of any caliber that I had any use for or not, but there were a bunch of them!

....and that was hand ladling!   :o
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Offline bikerbeans

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2011, 03:53:30 PM »
Richard,

If you branch out into chemistry remember it is "always add acid to water", not the other way around. :o  I watched a fellow do this procedure backwards about 30 years ago.  Dem face shields ain't stylish, but they are worth their weight in gold somedays.

BB
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Offline 45-70.gov

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2011, 04:28:39 PM »
make sure you seek supervision

before you attempt to drop any powder charges
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Offline gcrank1

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Re: Keeping your mind on the business at hand
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2011, 05:49:39 AM »
It is amazing the wealth of information available on the site!
I dont recall hearing that about acid to water before (didnt take chem, class); sure could save the day for somebody!
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"Halt while I adjust my accoutrements!"
      ><   ->
We are only temporary caretakers of the past heading toward an uncertain future
22Mag UV / 22LR  Sportster
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