Bob J
NES Member
I just bought the kit for $12 at Harbor Freight in N. Attleboro.
Nice! Gotta love Harbor Freight.....
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I just bought the kit for $12 at Harbor Freight in N. Attleboro.
Bob,
I notice that you have switched over to the full buckets of water. When you were here for the casting workshop, you seemed to have thought (at that time) that a partially full bucket was better, since it "didn't splash as much". However, I was working with a full bucket, and the "ding difference" was the notable objective. It also provided a longer water column for the casting to cool before even hitting the bottom.
What have you done with regard to "aging" the cavities, or sooting them? The butane soot seem to work for me.
The fellow that sells the gas check tooling on eBay still hasn't really gotten back on line. Not sure what's up with him. I checked a week or so ago, and didn't see his stuff.
Am expecting my first HP mould in any day now and am expecting to adjust my casting alloy to get good expansion..... Thought it might be worth getting a decent hardness tester.... Had been using a Lee for a while but it has been a real PITA since it involves optically measuring the diameter of an indent.... Did some repeatability studies on it and suffice to say it was not very precise....
After some research and discussion over on Cast Boolits I settled on the Cabinetree model......
http://www.castingstuff.com/cabinetree_llc___lead_testers.htm
I have to say after using it for a while that I love this tester....
Readings are very repeatable and it is very quick and easy to use.... A bit pricey but well built and designed.....
Am expecting my first HP mould in any day now and am expecting to adjust my casting alloy to get good expansion..... Thought it might be worth getting a decent hardness tester.... Had been using a Lee for a while but it has been a real PITA since it involves optically measuring the diameter of an indent.... Did some repeatability studies on it and suffice to say it was not very precise....
After some research and discussion over on Cast Boolits I settled on the Cabinetree model......
http://www.castingstuff.com/cabinetree_llc___lead_testers.htm
I have to say after using it for a while that I love this tester....
Readings are very repeatable and it is very quick and easy to use.... A bit pricey but well built and designed.....
you order up on swede's re-run of the 360180WFNHP? (it was actually my suggestion to re-run that mold! it's actually gonna be my first HP setup too...went with the RG-2 mold blocks, so it oughta go pretty quickly)
i have no hardness tester yet, then again, i'm using range scrap (i'd guess 30:1 at BEST, probably MUCH softer, although once air-hardened for a week or two they dont scratch with a fingernail, and dont lead the barrel excessively)
i noticed your points above. happiness is indeed a clean and hot mold.
ive been in my glory all afternoon. i bought a second Lee Pro 4-20, and run them both around 700-725* or so. i can run each down about halfway, swap to the other pot, pour sprues and 4lb ingot into the low pot, and by the time i've run the other one down, the first one's back up to temperature! it's great. only upkeep now is a wet rag to occassionally cool down the mold a bit.
i'm still not water dropping (i tried it with a Lee 2-cav for my gaschecked 158gr SWC's). the "splash" freaked me out even though the bucket's on the floor and the pots up on the bench. i'm not using a full bucket though (full 5 gallon bucket i assume?)....perhaps that'd make a difference.
oh well. still a good afternoon. casted about 750 230gr TC's for my .45acp loads, and ~ 1200 158gr RNFP's for my wheelguns. gotta size/lube em later this week when ive got some free time.
i have no hardness tester yet, then again, i'm using range scrap (i'd guess 30:1 at BEST, probably MUCH softer, although once air-hardened for a week or two they dont scratch with a fingernail, and dont lead the barrel excessively)
Spent yesterday afternoon doing mould upgrades/maintenance which is something I have been putting off for too long.... Upgraded all my lee handles with the pematex fix and put never seize on all of the screws... Also pulled all the sprue plates and made sure the front edge was well broken and stoned the bottoms.... Rinsed in mineral spirits to remove any trace of grit and reassembled.... All ready to go for the next time I fire up the pot....
What is the "permatex fix"?
I need to do this maintenance - thanks for the reminder...
I will second this recommendation. The description. "A bit pricey but well built and designed," is spot on!
yea bob, this one looks like it'll be fun
180gr WFN/HP in .358 (drops .360). rather ingenious hollowpoint pin system.
speaking of getting in a groove, holy carp. casted ~ 1/2 a gallon jug of 440gr .502's today, another ~ 2k 230gr TC's....then proceeded to size/lube all ~ 2800-3k of those .45's. man my arm hurts lol
yea bob, this one looks like it'll be fun
180gr WFN/HP in .358 (drops .360). rather ingenious hollowpoint pin system.
speaking of getting in a groove, holy carp. casted ~ 1/2 a gallon jug of 440gr .502's today, another ~ 2k 230gr TC's....then proceeded to size/lube all ~ 2800-3k of those .45's. man my arm hurts lol
That is one nice setup. What did you spend on it?
Bob, I couldn't find a price on this link. What should I expect to pay if I was to buy one. I think Santa is bringing me a pot next week. Time to fill the gaps and get the rest of my needed equipment. TIA.After some research and discussion over on Cast Boolits I settled on the Cabinetree model......
http://www.castingstuff.com/cabinetree_llc___lead_testers.htm
I have to say after using it for a while that I love this tester....
Readings are very repeatable and it is very quick and easy to use.... A bit pricey but well built and designed.....
Bob, I couldn't find a price on this link. What should I expect to pay if I was to buy one. I think Santa is bringing me a pot next week. Time to fill the gaps and get the rest of my needed equipment. TIA.
Thanks for the heads up. It's now on my "to buy" list. Might be a couple of months but I'll be all set up soon enough.You certainly won't regret getting one.... They are by far the most accurate and easiest to use of any that I have tried.....
IIRC they are $114 shipped......
Have a great holiday!
Thanks for the heads up. It's now on my "to buy" list. Might be a couple of months but I'll be all set up soon enough.
Forever or just for now ? I won't have the money for another month anyway so I'm in no hurry.He is sold out of them.
Forever or just for now ? I won't have the money for another month anyway so I'm in no hurry.
I'll do that. Thanks for the heads up.Don't know. You would have to email him. My guess is forever.