I found a post on another site, was about using a wet rag to quickly cool the sprue, I tried it out, Dang if it didnt work, I casted 4 times the bullets in the normal time, also the bullets dropped from the mold without tapping with the wood stick, These are definately the best looking ones I casted so far, But also I just started so that aint sayin much. Any one else use this technique ?

The casting technique to which you refer is known as "doing the BruceB" so named after BruceB who developed and published his finding on the old Shooters board. He now posts on this board under the name of Bren something or another. Let's give credit where credit is due.

Allrighty then, Bruce, THANKS !!! we owe you a bud.

I've been using it for a couple of years, and yes, it definately increases your output rate. I generally prefer to cast two molds at once, but still find when I get things hot, that the damp towel is needed.

Thanks to Bruce B aka BrenMkI

Well jeez, guys...

I make no claim to being the first to use the technique. Seems like almost any good idea has had someone, somewhere, think of it long before I did.

However, it seems like the procedure evolved rather gradually, in my case. It started with using just a piece of wet rolled-up cloth on a saucer, which sped things up a lot, but the cloth woukld dry out or start to get burned etc.

The light dawned about placing the cloth in a shallow reservoir of water, which naturally would keep the cloth soaking wet from natural absorption, and somewhat cooler in the bargain.

If the piece of cloth and the dish are both big enough, the sprue plate can be pressed against different spots on the roll for each cycle, meaning that there are spots on the cloth which are cooler than the last place we cooled the sprue. Keep the water level as high as possible.

It's also a good idea to have the roll of cloth big enough to bulk up higher than the sides of the dish, which will allow easier access to the cooling pad with the mold. I've mentioned also pressing the mold itself against the pad if things are getting too hot. When doing this, I get into the Lawrence Welk routine..."(press bottom of mold against pad) und-a-VUN-und-a-TWO und (flip the mold, press sprue plate against pad)-a-THREE-und-a-FOUR-and..." knock the sprue off and open mold. Adjust the timing as needed to suit one's own situation.

Consistency is the thing.

All this sounds very weird to people who haven't tried it, and who perhaps think it's a 'Wild Ass Stunt' of some kind. For my part, it works, it's safe, and it can TRIPLE OR QUADRUPLE ONE'S PRODUCTION in a given period of time.

For such a simple and zero-cost procedure, it is simply amazing in its results, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the kind words.

Regards from BruceB (aka Bren Mk1)

Yeah, I do the cool the mold thing as well when the sprue plate starts smearing the top of the bullets.

I haven't used the wet tray deal, I have 2-3 red shop rags that are folded up together. When they seem to dry out, I just dunk them in the water quench bucket to re-fill and cool em off.

I suppose you also use a small pad of 000 steel wool to knock off the light rusting that forms on the sprue plate, and iron mold blocks?

BruceB

At what temperature do you cast?

Do you need the "bubble machine" when doing the Lawrence Welk thing?

I do what Bren Mk1 does. Doesn't everybody?

Goatlips

Not me, I'm not into Lawrence Welk.

Seriously, no doubt it speeds up production, but if you solidify the sprue while the center of the bullet is still molten, it could encourage the formation of voids, since the bullet can no longer draw in molten lead as it contracts. Cooling the bottom of the mold sounds better to me. But in Idaho, we have a casting season that is 9 months long followed by a shooting season that is only 3 months long, so I don't get in a hurry when I cast.

Howdy, all.

I wuz exposed to Lawrence Welk (on early TV) as a fairly young feller, and there's no doubt that the exposure severely warped my alleged development. However, I do not feel the need for the bubble machine at this point in my rapidly-advancing age.

Paul, I've never had any particular problem with rusting in using this process, but I live in the high desert of Nevada where it's not very humid. Water used in cooling seems to just vanish, and no apparent rust is formed. I keep the molds (un-oiled) in large-ish plastic boxes with rust-inhibiting packs which keep them in good shape.

Mountaingun, what you mentioned about the bullet being able to draw metal from the sprue pool is indeed critical. That's what I watch for when casting.....as soon as the "draw-down" from the sprue ends, forming the little depression in the sprue as it freezes, THEN I cool the sprue. As mentioned, the weight consistency is just fine which indicates a lack of internal voids in the boolits.

When I get really serious (not very often) and check-weigh a whole lot of bullets, I generally hold "acceptable" 200-grains-or-so bullets within one grain average weight spread, and have VERY few rejects. At the 130-grain area, I'll accept 0.5 to 0.75 grain variation, which is not very danged much, and still get few rejects. My RCBS .270-130 mold casts consistent bullets from each cavity, but the AVERAGES from the two cavities are one full grain apart. I marked the 'heavy' cavity to make it easy to separate the bullets, but I suspect there won't be much difference between groups fired with bullets from just ONE cavity, and groups fired with mixed bullets from both. That's on my "gotta test someday" list....behind a whole mess of other projects.

I cherish my RCBS molds. I cast about a thousand .44-250 KTs one day some months back, and did not reject even a single solitary bullet on inspection. They were ALL good!

I'm hoping to send you a design fairly soon for my .404 Jeffery rifle, which really needs a purpose-built bullet to suit its chamber and throat.

Regards from BruceB (aka Bren Mk1)

Ah, so, the bubble machine syndrome! Bubbles galore! I can still remember the days of making/popping bubbles, and still do whenever a bunch of bubble wrap arrives. That's what makes this cast shootin' hobby so much fun. Bubbles in the boolits, bubbles in the barrel, bubbles just about everywhere. Makes room for the composite question "are they random, are they collectively concentric (about a straight line), are they small enough, etc.?" I've always wondered about heat/cool treatment of these bubbles, and how that enters into the accuracy equation. Probably not measurable with enough confidence to consider. Some barrels shoot, some don't; some boolits shoot, some don't. I wonder who makes barrels out of extruded wire, if done at all? ... felix