Big projectile casting
 

I've cast RBs and bullets before and other than getting some swirls in the bullets due to the mold not being hot enough I've never had any problems.
However the other day I had cast some 500 gr .45 cal bullets and after running them through an inspection I noticed that on about 10 or so the nose was flattened on one side and, worse case, even the bullet was a bit bent.
My assumption is that I didn't allow enough time for the bullets to harden in the mold and they got deformed when the dropped out of the mold onto the pad. Am I correct? I think that because most of the bullets look good.

It happens, The bigger the bullet the longer it takes to solidify, it helps to drop them on something soft cotton batting is good.

Also pour the lead slow into the mold. Give it time to fill all the area. Then don't hurry the dump. I let them sit in a mold much longer then I would a round ball. Also when I dump them, I dump them on some leather. I have seen some surfaces flatten a soft fresh poured conical bullet. That 500 grain must be a beast!

That's what I thought. I figured I was dumping it too fast. I also noted too that probably because I was casting them faster then I should have the mold was getting too hot and they started to come out "frosted". So I would have to let the mold cool down a bit before I cast more.

Yes it is Dave. I think I could just about throw it at a deer and knock it over...LOL
A lot heavier than a RB for sure - even a .58 cal RB.

My friend told me to drop them in a bucket of water. I'm thinking that would work and may even harden the bullet some. Which is OK because I plan on shooting them out of the Sharps. What say ye?

In Wisconsin there is a State Park called Tower Hill State Park. It got famous because it was used to make shotgun pellets there. The tower had a large drop into spring water. What they would do is pour molten lead through a strainer. The finer the strainer the smaller the pellets I was told. And as the small portions of lead fell down the shaft, they actually turn into a perfect round ball pellet. Then they hit the water below where they are cooled and they landed on the harvesting shelf. That was how they made bird shot.

I had a friend that cast round ball and T/C Maxi Ball. He then dropped them into water. He claimed it only cooled them faster. Some claim it changes the internal structure of the lead bullet but I am not convinced that is happening. BUT The way he did it was ...

He had a 5 gallon pail that he filled with ice water. Then a second bucket that would fit into the other, but not stick together. He had small holes drilled in the bottom of that bucket so the ice water would come through but not the ice chunks. In that top second bucket he would submerge a large bath towel on the bottom of the pail. He did not want the hot ball hitting the bottom or other ball before they had a chance to cool. Also it helped in bullet recovery.

As the water heated up, he would occasionally pull up the top bucket to clean the bullets out. Then he would dump some water, add ice and then put water in the top bucket again. THAT WATER WILL HEAT UP SO CHECK IT!

I personally never have done that although he tried to teach me that way. I just drop them into a large box with leather floor in it. They hit the leather and roll down to the bottom where they stack up for me. Once in a while my way I do get a bullet that lightly sticks to another. But not many. I let them air cool. That way I can get in a hurry to check my bullets and burn my fingers... :D

That sounds like a good idea with the buckets. I have a couple 5 gal buckets. I have to check if I have a smaller one.

If they are the same size they can get stuck together as we all know. But what if you hot glued a rope around the bottom lip of the top one? Wouldn't that act as a buffer?

Heck Bronko, just put a brick in the bottom bucket. I know some quench lead alloy bullets to harden them. But I doubt you can harden a pure lead bullet by quenching it. Just for kicks, the next time you're casting drop one of the bullets into a container of ice water and compare its hardness to the others (and let us know what you find out).

I don't have a hardness tester. What I am doing is using wheel weights to cast bullets for the Sharps. I use my camp stove and a cast iron melting pot and a ladle to dip/pour the metal into the mold. This harder alloy will allow me to push them a bit faster without having a leading issue.
I have a new electric pot which I will only use pure lead for bullets and balls for the MLs.

Mr. Bronkoski, sorry to say this but you have fallen into the old leading trap. Even pure lead bullets rarely, if ever, cause leading. It is poorly fit bullets that cause it. They aren't sized properly and don't obturate quickly enough which causes flaming, or gas cutting, around the bullet. That gas is super heated which is what causes leading. Think about it like this, if just the milliseconds of firing caused enough heat and time to melt even pure lead at the base with a melting temperature of around 600 degrees, why wouldn't that same charge burn up a felt or plastic wad with a much lower burn temp? With todays wheel weight coming in with around 3 percent antimony it will air cool out to around 10 or so BHN hardness which is about perfect for that .45-70 of yours to sling that 500 grain lead bolder. The old man gave me a copy of some stuff written by Rick Kelter on casting that you would be hard pressed to beat in the knowledge base. Dad may have been very knowledgeable about a lot of things, but he always was smart enough to know when he didn't know all he needed to about something and smart enough to research until he had what he needed. Or flat out stubborn enough to keep trying till he figured it out.