casting ammo

[dinsdale]

i just tested a cast wax bullet in my gun and WOW, probably 40-50% flatter trajectory and longer range than a potato.
i at first carved a reverse mold and set that into plaster of paris. i used this rough plaster mold to cast a wax bullet which i resized to the barrel and made another, more refined mold from that.
a suggestion i'd give is to tie a knot on the end of a string and put it halfway down into the mold with the wax. by pulling the string it helps to pull the round from the plaster. I use dish soap as lube in the mold, for some reason it seems to prevent bubbles on the outside of the casting.

[ProfessorAmadeus]

Just get the same size pipe as your barrel and put it in there. Now put it it the freezer and take it out after 10 min. It comes right out if it pvc and they shoot hard and explode on impact.

[dinsdale]

The rounds I made were a bit more complex than that, they are pointed with a long taper to a raised belt. i figure it should be pretty aerodynamic.

[djt]

sounds cool you got any pictures of the mold and round?

[corkie]

nice 1, dunno y but i havnt thought of firing a candle yet lol,

corkie

[dinsdale]

I broke my fkn mold
i greased it up and poured a plaster projectile, despite the lubrication, it was STUCK in the mold, so i broke the mold away from the bullet.
as soon as my landlord is gone i'm gonna go outside and see how it shoots with a plaster shell.
I'm going to make a new mold and cast shells from fiberglas resin.
I've cast some rather impure aluminum before in my backyard to make an exhaust manifold for a chainsaw engine (worked awesome)
i may try cast aluminum rounds

To cast aluminum in a very hillbilly fashion, take a coffee can, fill it with scrap aluminum (pop/beer can tabs, the cans themselves suck because of the paint,
pieces of aluminum tv antenna, barbeque lids [smash it to fragments with a sledgehammer] aluminum wire, etc)
heat the can on a roaring bonfire (you'll want long tongs to reach the can)
and use a leaf blower as bellows to feed air to the fire.
It will take a while but as soon as a little bit starts to melt, it all melts very quickly.

Note: this does not work on a gas burner, the smoke from a fire displaces oxygen, preventing it from reacting with the aluminum and causing porosity (millions of tiny air bubbles giving the aluminum the consistency of an aero bar) If you wish to use a burner, you'll need to use argon gas, as argon is much heavier than air you can just spray it into the open top container and it will sit in the can and keep oxygen out.

When your aluminum is completely liquid, put your mold to the outside of the fire, where the heat is lower, but still in the smoky superheated air.
Or, fill the mold with argon.
The mold should be lubed with soldering flux and made of portland cement
(make it thick).
pour enough aluminum that it over flows, as alot of the impurities come to the top where it gets cut off.
when the mold has cooled enough to touch you can remove the casting.

You can actually purify the aluminum before you cast it by melting it down
and pouring it ito water, you'll get a bunch of shiny globs from filthy aluminum

[aetherguy881]

Just get the same size pipe as your barrel and put it in there. Now put it it the freezer and take it out after 10 min. It comes right out if it pvc and they shoot hard and explode on impact.

My only problem with that is that it's a bitch to get the ice out.

Oh wait, sorry this was about wax, didn't catch that part... Frozen wax? OWCH that will make a great projectile.

[ProfessorAmadeus]

it does but its ten minutes in my frezzerwhich is like industrial size and super cold so it might take more than 10 minutes.

[frankrede]

Yes, on my marble gun(in progress) I will make 1/2 cast aluminum bullets and i will rifle my barrel too. Oh man this will be awesome.Thanks for the tutorial:)