Catapult ammo casting

[QDanT]

With it raining for most of the day the kitchen got turned into Doctor Beakers Laboratory again.

This time to cast up a batch of "catty" ammo

The molds a Lee double cavity .375" and with the tin/lead alloy (old printers type) I'm using they're coming out about 7 balls to the ounce and in just over a 3 hour session I cast 732.

"Milbro" in a bike handle rubber,"Barnett" black widow and a "Mega" from Italy.
Now for some target practice

 

[Peter_t]

hey there, where do you get your lead? is it cheep?

pete

 

[bushwacker bob]

about £3 per Kg from any builders merchant.

 

[QDanT]

Hi Peter-t I'm not using just Lead, which can be from a garage as scrap wheel weights or from a scrap merchant and as B Bob says from a builders merchant but I'm using old printers type. I used to know a printers 20+ years ago, and if they were just doing a one off print run the type would only have a small amount of Tin added to the Lead to harden it before it was melted down and re-cast but if they knew there was going to be several re-prints they added allot more tin to make it harder and then stored the print face until the next print run. As the firm started to go Digital I used to buy this up, as I used to cast allot of rifle bullets and with the Tin making the alloy harder I could get more velocity before having to use "gas checks" and it leaded the rifling up less. It's also shinny and doesn't tarnish as much as Lead on it's own which is handy if I'm casting garden ornaments etc. Here's some in a dustbin out back there's a single letter cast into the end of each matchstick sized piece and the larger bits are spacers

cheers Danny

 

[Neumo]

Interesting thread, as I am about to order a musket mould to start casting my own catty ammo. I like the idea of adding tin to make it harder, as where I practice, in one of the indoor ranges at my air rifle club, the balls tend to get flat sides where it hits the wooden backstop behind the net I use. I must look into that some more.

 

[Neumo]

By the way, what do you use the clothes pegs for or was that just to keep the bands togeather for the picture?

 

[EdS]

I must get a mould as I've a load of old flashing doing nothing- any good to have look

 

[Ph34r]

hmm, with all that ammo you could almost start a war!

 

[QDanT]

I must get a mould as I've a load of old flashing doing nothing- any good to have look

Henry Kranks at Low town Pudsey http://www.henrykrank.com/
cheers Danny

 

[QDanT]

By the way, what do you use the clothes pegs for or was that just to keep the bands togeather for the picture?

Keeps the catty loaded --- pull out of pocket pull back pulling clothes peg off with teeth --- saves fumbling to load a ball for a quick shot.
With the tin mixture my shots are bouncing off my ply backstop in the back garden un-deformed and leaving a 1/2 ball diameter deep hole in the ply.
cheers Danny

 

[QDanT]

Here's one of my ornaments.

The black looking Sun at the bottom with the string is actually blue glass and I used it to cast the red silicone high temperature rubber mould.The Sun on the left was cast yesterday and the one on the right several years ago showing the lack of tarnishing with the Tin mix. I've just weighed yesterdays and it's 3 pounds and 8 ounces thats 392 .375" balls :sun:
cheers all Danny

 

[Crowe]

Thanks Danny . Always infomative and well photographed to explain.
Crowe

 

[Crowe]

Thanks Danny . Always infomative and well photographed to aid explanation
Crowe

 

[Neumo]

Thanks for the info & them PM, which I am replying to now. I like the idea of a bit of tin in the mixture as I found some ideal targets in a bag at the range which have metal fronts, which was flattening off the side of my .44 lead balls when I hit them. The targets are a bit of 4"x2" with a hinge screwed into the wood & the other flap riveted onto a 2" square piece of metal, which is done so that the metal plate stands up & falls over backwards when hit. I am going to make myself up a 3' long bit of wood with 5 or 6 targets on them & then glue some 4mm leather to the front plate to take some of the impact out of them.