Cast And Plate

[Old Iron]

I cast most of my own bullets and then copper plate them. It is time consuming but I find it fun.

Picture is some 308 150gr flat nose I just finished. I'm going to cast some 380 apc in the morning.

Paul

[Highpower]

Very nice Paul.

Do you shoot those with or without gas checks? And what alloy(s) do you use?

I do some casting too, but not as much as I used to. The only plating I do is with moly, but I normally just shoot them nekid.

I would love to see your copper plating set-up.

p.s.
Is that a Garand en-bloc I see hiding behind the Sweet's?

[aametalmaster]

(02-19-2014, 07:29 AM)Highpower Wrote: I would love to see your copper plating set-up.

Me too. I like casting bullets, or used to...Bob

[Mayhem]

OK - I have to ask - why copper plate them?

[Welrod]

Hello Paul,
Very interesting, how do you proceed to the copper plating?

Friendships
Michel

[Old Iron]

Sorry haven't been around in a while, Been busy with other things around here.

Had a little finder bender yesterday and it seem like I have a thing for preachers wifes. Only two finder benders I've had were both married to preachers and I think there the best ones to have wrecks with because there always so nice.

Anyway I use zep root killer and vinegar, Heated and I'll get some pictures up as soon as I get the new pot setup my old one burned out the heater.

The reason I plate is because there is know leading that way and so far I don't see any copper fouling either. And you can load them a little hotter than the plain cast bullets.

I haven't used a gas check on these yet it doesn't seem like it needs it.

The only problem I've ran into with cast bullets is the load won't fully cycle auto so I add about 2 Gran's of powder till I get the results I want.

I mix my alloy its is a little harder than #2 but not by much. I test fired the 380 rounds Wednesday at a friends because I made them for my wifes father and I don't have a 380. They were pretty accurate for a gun with a 4 1/2" barrel.

Paul

[Welrod]

Hello Paul,
Very happy to see you back on the post.
Can I rest my question: how do you deposit the copper on the bullets?
Thank you very much,
Michel

[Highpower]

(03-02-2014, 08:59 AM)Old Iron` Wrote: .....
Anyway I use zep root killer and vinegar, Heated and I'll get some pictures up as soon as I get the new pot setup my old one burned out the heater.

So, it's more of a chemical wash vs. an electrochemical plating system then?

Darren:
Another reason for the coating is to cut down on air born lead vapors and particles. Some indoor ranges don't allow the use of plain lead (un-coated) bullets in order to keep the air as clean as possible, and to make cleaning out the bullet traps easier and safer for the workers.

On the flip side, a local outdoor gun club here has a "cowboy" range with steel targets set up at short distances, where the only ammunition you can shoot MUST have plain lead bullets. Shooting copper jacketed bullets at close steel targets is a recipe for ricochets and injuries, as well as damaging the target plates. The ONLY exception to this rule is the use of copper washed .22LR rimfire ammunition.

[Old Iron]

I use a power supply and know more than 1.5 volts, You have to check the voltage about every 15 minutes as sometimes it will go up.

I try and keep it around 1 volt, If you leave them in for to long they get spikes on them. I only leave them about 1 hour and the coating looks and feels good.

I'll pickup what I need to get it running again and get some pictures. I'm changing some things on the tubing.

Paul

[Old Iron]

I got the pot up and running tonight, I only did 10 to try out the loads so here is the pictures.

#1 Pot heating up.
#2 After about 15 minutes.
#3 The power supply.
#4 10 resized.
#5 10 loaded with 6 in the gun.
Hope the pictures load in the right order. Any questions just ask.

I'll test them tomorrow and let you know what happened.

Paul