358156 problem

[Jal5]

I have cast about 300 boolits with this SC mold and these are representative of the results. Tonite about 30 out of 130 were clearly rejects and I may have kept some in the good pile that were on the borderline too. First two pics are the ones that passed my judgement, although none are perfect. Alloy is range scrap-this particular bunch had nothing added. I added 1" of plumbers solder in the past but it doesnt seem to make much difference.

I heated up the mold on the hotplate and it started casting full fillout after a couple of pours, at least as full as you see here. The last pic has rejects for either a divot in the base of boolit, rounded edges on base, or some other oddity. On the Lyman Big Dipper pot I am casting at the sixth position or a little more than halfway to MAX. I tried with the pot hotter in the past but got basically the same result.

The boolits are frosted looking. I know the divots in the bases are the result of cutting the sprue too soon, and that I can adjust next time.

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks.

Joe

[GP100man]

either pool some melt on the sprue plate or put the mouth of the ladle to the plate & rotate it all together to fill the mold & give it a 3 count

If ya can`t pour a good puddle on the sprue plate it`s all too hot ! & may be actually pullin metal from the bases!

& as you said let the metal harden a bit before cuttin.

What gives me fits on the 358156 is the front drive band !!

That`s all I got from the pics .

Hope this helps !!

[Cadillo]

Some will call my method overkill, but I used to have similar problems with a lot of rejects and frosted bullets with not so sharp edges until I decided to buck up and add tin to my melt. I normally cast either ww or range scrap that I have smelted into ingots. Either way I add tin to the casting pot at 40-1 lead to tin. Once the moulds get up to temp, I have very few rejects, and the quality of the bullets is superb; nice and shiny with good sharp corners etc.

This is my regimen with all my moulds. It adds to the cost, but if you consider your time worth anything, it's a no brainer. I bought my tin from Roto-Metals. No affiliation.

[Jal5]

When I cast it seems like I get a good sprue puddle, some even spills over back into the pot. Once in a while there's not enough metal in the puddle and I notice those boolits have the rounded base. But I am not doing it that often to account for all the rounded bases.

I pour this same range scrap for other molds and get good crisp edges and bases.

Joe

[Bret4207]

Clean your mould thoroughly, get the MOULD hot and keep it hot by casting fast. Every second it's empty its cooling off. Make sure you leave a large sprue puddle. Covering the sprue plate is fine. That should fix your lack of fill out issues. If not, venting can be an issue and a little tin can also help.

Let us know what happens.

[Jal5]

Clean your mould thoroughly, get the MOULD hot and keep it hot by casting fast. Every second it's empty its cooling off. Make sure you leave a large sprue puddle. Covering the sprue plate is fine. That should fix your lack of fill out issues. If not, venting can be an issue and a little tin can also help.

Let us know what happens.

I thought I was casting pretty fast at least as compared to some guys I saw on youtube who took a lot of time with each pour? I get in a rhythm of pour, quick 4-5 count, cut sprue, open mold and tap with dowel, drop boolit, pour again. 90% of the time it needs a tap to drop boolits on this old Lyman mold.

How would I check the venting on this mold? And how much tin should be added for each full pot? When I added tin in form of plumbers solder in the past I only used about an inch of the coiled strip per pot.

I will definitely clean the mold again and start from scratch on that part.

Joe

[44man]

Take a fine file and just break the sharp edges on the inside top of the blocks. One small stroke will be enough.
Now hold the ladle on the mold long enough for the boolit to pull what lead it needs from the molten lead in the ladle. Don't depend on the sprue because it sets faster then the boolit, starving the base.

[Bass Ackward]

Another trick is to keep your sprue plate lose enough so that when you turn the mold side ways that it drifts down. This allows trapped air to escape too which appears is most of the problem here.

[HeavyMetal]

Your using a single cavity mold so stop trying to make production and concentrate on each cast being perfect.

Here's what I will suggest:

Continue using the hot plate to preheat the mold

Bump you temp dial up to 7 or 8

Fill your dipper about 3/4 full and do it the same each time you pour!

Dip a corner of the mold into the alloy befor you pour the first boolit! It is the right temp when the alloy will not cling to it in a lump when you take the mold out of the alloy.

THEN dip the sprue plate in the alloy in the same manner! Dip the section of the sprue plate designes to be hit wih a mallet to open.

Put the dipper on the sprue plate and rotate as one piece leave the dipper in contact with the sprue plat fr a t least a slow 6 count and then lift it and leave as big a puddle of alloy as you can on the plate.

Now wait for the alloy to harden, you should see the sprue change colr, or flash, at least 4 times. Then cut the sprue by hand and repeat.

Boolts that are frosted are good, weight and fillout are much more important the "shiney"!

Let me know how this works for you.

[peerlesscowboy]

..... And how much tin should be added for each full pot? When I added tin in form of plumbers solder in the past I only used about an inch of the coiled strip per pot.
FWIW, I'm using 1 part 50/50 solder to 9 parts WW.

John C. Saubak

[44man]

I really have to get into the funny part of casting! [smilie=l:
I show friends just how it is done, smooth and easy with no mess. Actually very slow and I can step outside and pee between boolits. :redneck:
Then when I hand them the mold and ladle, everything breaks loose, lead spilled all over, no coordination between hands and the thought that hurry is better. They turn the mold and ladle to tip a sprue----OUCH. Leave the mold level and tip the ladle off. They can't open the handles right to let boolits fall.
Here I am telling guys how to cast when I can't even show a friend and make him do it right.
I have to wonder just how many of you actually cast right? There has to be a bunch but how do you explain over the internet when a man standing next to you fumbles like mad.
A beginner really needs us to hold their arms through the process.
Us old timers do not realize just how much of a mystery casting is to a new fella. We don't realize how hard it is for some to make both hands work together. Their casting is a mad rush and they need face shields, gloves and fire proof clothing while we cast in "T" shirts and slippers. I cast a 20# pot without a single reject but some need 100 boolits to find a good one.
How do we make it easier? Casting really is so easy it is nothing but a bore where we need dancing girls on the bench. :holysheep

[Bass Ackward]

Yep. And then sometimes folks just think that they can improve the process.

Had a guy that felt it was superior to use a big .... yoga ball to sit and cast on as it could roll in any direction for him to turn either to the pot, water bucket, reach around to get another mold, or air cool on the towel.

Apparently it was really working great until some sprue rolled off and hit the plastic ball.

Wished I could have been there, but I can see it in my mind just as well.

[44man]

Yep. And then sometimes folks just think that they can improve the process.

Had a guy that felt it was superior to use a big .... yoga ball to sit and cast on as it could roll in any direction for him to turn either to the pot, water bucket, reach around to get another mold, or air cool on the towel.

Apparently it was really working great until some sprue rolled off and hit the plastic ball.

Wished I could have been there, but I can see it in my mind just as well.
Darn it Bass, I would rather pee outside then in my pants! :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

[454PB]

I agree with Bass, your sprue plate is too tight.

Teaching someone to cast is similar to teaching someone to weld. I've taught many guys to weld. They watch my welding, and when they try it, it won't work for them. About all you can do is explain the most basic rules, then let them develop their own "style".

[357shooter]

A looser sprue plate and a big sprue, that's critical. And turn up the heat some.

[Ohio Rusty]

I have a couple of moulds that are finicky ... I pour with a ladle. Several like the ladle spout to be pushed right into the sprue hole on the sprue cutting plate and the booits come out well. Several other moulds I have to hold the ladle above the mould about a 1/4 inch or so and pour the lead into the hole. It is kinda like forcing the lead thru the sprue hole. Held above and poured like that, the boolits come out great. On those moulds, if I touch the ladle pour spout against the sprue sutting plate, every boolit comes out poorly.
Try different pour rates and ways to see what happens.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[Jal5]

Thanks for all the helpful pointers.

I will try the ideas in 7-9 and let you know what works. This mold does have a pretty tight sprue plate so I will start there with loosening it as suggested and let you know.

Joe

[EDK]

The sprue seems to be a problem for me on a lot of moulds. I took several of my LYMAN four cavity moulds to work and troughed the sprue plate with a ball end mill, like my HENSLEY & GIBBS. (I wish NOE and MIHEC would incorporate this in their moulds.) It made a lot bigger sprue AND picked up my speed with the ladle also. I'd be tempted to carefully enlarge the counter sink on top of the plate on your single cavity.

Besides running the file across the joint line on top of each block, you might use a three cornered file across the bottom of the sprue plate THROUGH the hole for additional venting.

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[Texasflyboy]

I would not touch the mould with a file until I had exhausted all other options.

My 358156 mould gives me fits. I also have the mould in several variants of Hensley & Gibbs #135 (same bullet).

I know from experience that I have to do the following:

1. The tin content has to be high. No straight Wheelweights.

2. Temperature has to be VERY high on the blocks when I start. Uniform frosting is the norm for the first casts.

3. Large puddle on top of the sprue plate to get well formed bases.

4. A somewhat loose (or looser than normal) sprue plate.

High heat and high tin content seem to be the most important elements. After re-reading a lot of Skeeter Skelton articles, I think he had the same problems because he mentions high heat and high tin plenty of times when messing with the 358156.

I suspect the culprit is those thin driving bands, especially the front one.

[Jal5]

Thanks for all the help guys. I preheated the mold longer on the heater element. I tried this mold with a looser sprue plate, kept a uniform size sprue, slowed down the process a little to allow sprue base to form better and got about 100 nicely filled out boolits today! That venting issue was the biggest part of the problem I think. The sprue plate had been really tight before this casting session. A couple were frosted but they all looked good.

Joe

[Alchemist]

IIRC, the Big Dipper pot is a 10 pounder? Adding a 1" piece of roll solder to that much lead is very little added tin. Weigh the piece of solder on your powder scale and figure out the % of tin you're adding, and I'll bet you'll be surprised at how small the amount is.