newbie question

[Dustinxxx]

Now im sure the wrinkle question has came to play more than its fair share here, but im a newbie at casting so please take it easy on me lol. I just started casting couple weeks ago. Its a great hobbie and very rewarding when everything goes right, but out of every batch i do i have about a 20 % success rate. All the rest are wrinkle. Know in the previous thread i read, everyone was talking about heat and how hot the bullet mold is. Ive tried both of those. Casting at cooler temps and hotter temps. Heating the mold for a good 10-15 min ( i dont have a torch unfortunatly, so i put it on top of the pot). Any more suggestions that could cause it? Thanks in advance for your input

[swamp]

The first thing is to make sure the mould is clean. Tooth brush and very hot soapy water to scrub the mould and remove all grease and oil. Any residue will make wrinkles.

Casting temp will depend on alloy and mould. Every mould is a little different .

More info on what you are using will help in answering your questions.

swamp

[Dustinxxx]

Im using a 2 cavity .452 swc and a 6 cavity .356. using wheel weights for lead.

[swamp]

Dustin,
Have you cleaned them.

The six cavity will need to run the alloy hotter to keep the mould up to temp. Also as you get more experience your rythum wil get faster so the moulds will not lose heat.

swamp

[Dustinxxx]

I havent. ill attempt that tomarrow. Right now im trying to takle my progressive loader problem lol.. But thanks swamp. Ill clean them tomarrow.

[swamp]

Dustin,
You can use a degreaser first, but a real good scrubbing with a tooth brush,dish soap(Dawn is a good grease cutter), and HOT water will do it. Sometimes it takes a couple of scrubs.

Try that and see how they cast. The good thing about this addiction is that you can just remalt your mistakes. Practice is good.

swamp

[rststeve]

how are you using these molds? bottom pour or ladle. I have some molds that I can not bottom pour with they wrinkle every time. Using the ladle they come out perfect. Try some different methods of pouring not just tempature. Good luck

PS almost forgot if the molds are aluminum smoke the cavities with a lighter works most of the time for me.

[stubshaft]

Mould is still too cold.

[Bret4207]

Cold, oily moulds never cast good boolits. MOULD heat is far more important than pot heat. Cast faster, stop looking at the boolits. Empty moulds are cooling moulds. I don't smoke my moulds. Flux your alloy with a dry wood stick- stir and scrape, you won't hurt it at all. You may have garbage in your alloy that's not helping things. Clean alloy always seems to cast better.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I feel your pain. I haven't been casting that long myself. I had a real problem with the mold not getting hot enough. I thought it was getting hot enough but it wasn't. Clean your mold when it is cool. You can use sprays like brake cleaner but the mold must be cool when sprayed. If it is hot, some kind of gas is given off and it is very bad for you to breathe. I had to break down and get a hot plate to pre heat the mold with. This helped greatly. At first, it took time to figure out the pot temp, speed of pour, waiting for the spru to harden correcly, knocking the sprue off, getting the stuck boolits out of the mold.......... it took time at the pot to get things down. The great part of casting is that you can recycle your mistakes. Slow down, have fun and be careful of that hot lead. It can burn you bad. These guys will give great advice I recommend following it even if it doesn't make sence at the time. IMO

[sqlbullet]

I have helped more than a dozen people get started in casting. They all have the same problem. They cast slowly.

You can not keep a mold at temperature without a hot plate to set it on if you cast slowly. If you are producing less than 4 drops per minute, you are too slow.

Fill the mold. As soon as the sprue changes color, cut and drop the bullets, get that mold closed and get more lead in it. 675°-700° is plenty of heat for any alloy with at least 1% tin.

If your mold was not cleaned well, oil may be contributing. I scrub mine good with a vegetable brush, soap and water. I use aluminum molds exclusively.

But, if I were to guess, speed is your issue. The mold loses heat very fast, and if you pause at all, your next cast will be wrinkled.

[462]

Dustinxxx,
Welcome.

In no particular order:
1. The greater the number of cavities a mould has, the longer it takes for it to get to proper casting temperature and the more problematic it can be.

2. Ambient temperature has a great effect on casting and a mould may require more than "15 to 20 minutes" pre-heating, especially if it's sitting on the pot rim. Using a hot plate is a much more efficient method.

3.Learn how to cast quality boolits with the two-cavity mould, first, quantity is of secondary importance and will come with experience. Walk first...

4. Often, a mould will need to be "seasoned" by a couple of casting sessions.

Don't get discouraged, you and your moulds will get there.

[btroj]

462 gave you some good pointers. I really agree with 3 and 4. Learn with a 2 cav first. Once you can get good bullets you are set to get lots of bullets. I think a couple of break in sessions help almost any mould. I have had a few that started put great but it seems some just need a few heat and cast cycles to settle down.

Try to see if you have any experienced cadgers in your area , hands on learning can be a big help.

Brad

[AZ-Stew]

Accidental double post. See below.

[AZ-Stew]

Dustin,

First, welcome aboard.

Second, PM me and we'll get in touch. I can probably talk you through some of your problems. I've been casting for 35+ years.

Regards,

Stew

[*Paladin*]

I had the same problem. Mold temp is what my issue was. A little bit of tin helped as well. Those 20% that are good are probably the last few you threw, and the mold was up to temp.

I followed what I read here on this forum and learned to let the mold (mine are Lee) get hot enough. The hot plate I just bought is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I let the mold sit on the hot plate (set on low) while the lead melts in the melter. With a pre-heated mold, I get VERY few rejects. My last casting session I had maybe 5~(?) rejects out of 100+ bullets thrown.

[nonferrous]

Plus one on Bret

[Dustinxxx]

ok got a hotplate today so im going to try to heat the mold up with that, also gonna clean the molds real good tonight. Thanks guys for the advice. Also az stew ill pm you if it still doesnt work. Doesnt look like your that far from me in az either lol. Thanks guys

[7br]

Pics often help to trouble shoot, but I would also agree that temp is probably your problem.
One of my habits it to leave the pot full at the end of a casting session. When I get ready to cast the next time, I put the mould I am going to use first on the top of the pot, plug the pot in, then go in and drink my morning coffee. When I come out in 20 minutes or so, the melt is ready and the mold is close to the right temp. I am using an older saeco pot with a wide rim. On my old lee pot, I usually will make sure the base of the mold is touching the melt.

Might get flamed for taking a chance warping my molds, but that is how I do it. I can usually get up and throwing good boolits in 5 or 6 casts.