358429 Question

[RDub]

Heya

So do I just have a bad mold here?


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/rafswede/358429.jpg


Lyman #358429
Sized .358 in a 450 sizer
Weight; 164grs

I have tried many variations of metal temperature and alloys, from Lead/Tin mix to harder alloys with lino.
This mold just won't fill out correctly..
The boolit on the left is a lead/tin alloy and the other two are harder.

So what you guys think??

[MtGun44]

Looks like the mold halves are misaligned laterally. I'd look closely at the alignment
pins and see if setting them a tiny bit deeper will realign them. Wear on the holes can
do this.

Bill

[243winxb]

More heat in the alloy & mould. Then dont open the mold till the alloy hardens. The metal on the top will get a frosty look, then open the mould.

[stubshaft]

+1 on checking the alignment pins and making sure there are no splatters of lead on the face of the mould. It appears also that you may not be venting properly, possibly the sprue plate may be too tight.

[RDub]

Hi and thanks for the replies..

Ok, when you refer to the alignment pins, are you saying that they are 'too long' or too short.. If too long, then how would I set them back in.. in a measured amount?

Now the venting possibility.. If I'm sure the plate is ok.. I always make sure the plate can move freely.. what else can be done to fix this?

Could it be that this mold is damaged and not repairable?

Thanks again.

[Bret4207]

That's certainly fixable. Take the two mould halves in your hands and join them. Then try and twist them a little, if there is any play then the pins need to protrude a little more, so they are further into the female side locking the mould halves better. A simple tap with a hammer and punch will do this, don't go over board- tap and try, tap and try. You'll get it.

On the venting- there's more to it than the sprue plate. Take a magnifying glass and see if the vent lines are blocked where your fillout issues are. If they are, or if you feel they are shallow, simply drag a knife blade through the vent line. It doesn't take a lot of depth to vent air. Lead alloy or burnt on oils can block the vent lines. Another possibility is that your pouring style is blocking escaping air- if you are holding the mould in firm contact with the ladle/BP spout this can block escaping air. a slight air gap may fix this. A hot mould will generally cast easier than a cooler mould too. Try casting a bit faster and see if your fill out improves.

Play with this a bit and I'm sure you'll figure it out. I would also note that I've shot a heck of a lot of boolits that looked far worse than yours! They aren't the best for long range work, but for plinking and stuff out to 50 yards or so you might be surprised how well they shoot. Nothing is more frustrating than spending a lot of time trying to make near perfect boolits and lovingly loading them to match specs while you take the "culls" and throw them in together in a pickup load. Then you go to the range and the "culls" proceed to outshoot your "perfect" loads!!! It happens.

[RDub]

That's certainly fixable. Take the two mould halves in your hands and join them. Then try and twist them a little, if there is any play then the pins need to protrude a little more, so they are further into the female side locking the mould halves better. A simple tap with a hammer and punch will do this, don't go over board- tap and try, tap and try. You'll get it.

On the venting- there's more to it than the sprue plate. Take a magnifying glass and see if the vent lines are blocked where your fillout issues are. If they are, or if you feel they are shallow, simply drag a knife blade through the vent line. It doesn't take a lot of depth to vent air. Lead alloy or burnt on oils can block the vent lines. Another possibility is that your pouring style is blocking escaping air- if you are holding the mould in firm contact with the ladle/BP spout this can block escaping air. a slight air gap may fix this. A hot mould will generally cast easier than a cooler mould too. Try casting a bit faster and see if your fill out improves.

Play with this a bit and I'm sure you'll figure it out. I would also note that I've shot a heck of a lot of boolits that looked far worse than yours! They aren't the best for long range work, but for plinking and stuff out to 50 yards or so you might be surprised how well they shoot. Nothing is more frustrating than spending a lot of time trying to make near perfect boolits and lovingly loading them to match specs while you take the "culls" and throw them in together in a pickup load. Then you go to the range and the "culls" proceed to outshoot your "perfect" loads!!! It happens.

Thanks Bret.. You clarified that very well. :)

On this mold I was unable to cast as fast as I wanted to because ONE cavity of two refused to drop the boolit.. I had to beat the handle, so to speak, with the 1" dowl I use to tap the sprue open to get the last boolit out.
I tried a few tricks I know about like blackening the inside cavities with candle flame, and treating the cavity with Kroil, but that didn't help. That cavity just won't release the boolit. This really slows things down so the mold never gets hot enough..

I have never mastered the technique of placing the mold right up onto the pour spout, (RCBS bottom pour).. I have always poured metal into the mold from about an inch away from the spout and allowing a quarter sized sprue glob to form on the sprue plate. IF.. the mold is hot enough, this works great normally.

So what other things can be done about sticking boolits?

I've been fortunate I guess in that during tha last 30+ years of using Lyman molds I've had very few problems with them. This is my first 'problem child' if you will..

Thanks again..

[ColColt]

Have you tried just waiting a bit longer to release the bullets? I've found if I open a little too soon, not so soon so there's a smear across the block from the cutting of the spruce plate, I have to whack the handle pivot to release them.

[243winxb]

Return the "problem child" to Lyman. If you been casting 30 years, its not you. Other wise, more heat thill the bullets are frosted. Alloy at max. Mould at max. temp.

[Char-Gar]

You have received lots of good advise and I can add little too it. The only mold I have ever owned that could not be brought to heal with attention to the advise above was a 3 hole Saco/Cramer from the mid 60's. I finally just drill out the pour hole to a larger size so the metal could get in their quicker and the problem was solved.

[exile]

As always, great information. I have just started casting with a Lee .358 gas checked mold and therefore this information is very helpful to me as well.

exile

[Bret4207]

So what other things can be done about sticking boolits?



You can lap the mould with mild abrasive. That can help. So can checking the mould with a magnifying glass for burrs. That squarish edge to the base ( I don't see so good but it looks pretty square ) can hang a bit too. Slightly relieving that area with a deburring tool or fine abrasive paper (it doesn't take much) can help there.

[RDub]

Well.. What a difference a day makes..

I adjusted the pins and now got them to where there is no movement at all when the mold halves are closed. It did need the adjustment..

Then I got a small flat screwdriver and sharpened the flat to a sharp knife edge on a bench grinder. With a jewelers magnifier, I cleaned out all the venting grooves and made sure the grooves were open to the mold cavity and to the outside.

I then tried the mold with a hotter than usual casting temp for this alloy, about 700°F. As long as the mold is hot and the boolits are dropping out somewhat soft, there is no failure to drop issue. But if the mold cools there is.

There is still some alignment issue there, but the mold casts much better hotter.
There is more shrinkage than before, but I think these will work great.
I'll shoot some next week and see.

Brett, I will try what you suggest and see..

Thanks!

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/rafswede/358429a.jpg

[Bret4207]

Go real easy on anything you do to the cavity- real easy. It doens't take much to make a difference. One or two swipes with some 320 cloth on a popsickle stick will do it. Or better, if you can find a typewriter eraser, the hard white ones, they'll work, but slower.

[9.3X62AL]

Those look like keepers to me. Quite a difference after the re-alignment and vent clearing.

[CWME]

Hope yours casts fatter than mine. I finaly fired some that I cast two years ago with horid accuracy. They mic at .355, no wonder. They slide right through a Lee .358 die.

Fired up the pot to try some fresh cast and same deal.

[Doby45]

It looks like the smaller size actually helped with your sizing too. You had way too much "excess" being sized off in your first set of boolits.

[243winxb]

I finally just drill out the pour hole to a larger size so the metal could get in their quicker and the problem was solved.
After reading this, i just remembered i fixed a problem with this method. Plus opening the hole in the bottom of the Lee pot.

[PacMan]

Alignment problem for sure.Had the same isue with a Lyman mold i had just bought from Midway. The biggest problem was i could not get the alignment pins to budge any. Tried soaking in Kroil , WD 40 and another penetrating oil my neighbor had and no luck.Sent it back to Midway and they refunded me.

Dolby i think what appears to be to much sizing is the bullet being off set and one side of each half on oposite sides are being sized more than the other halfs side.
Dwight

[RDub]

Hey
Just an update.. I finally got around to shootin some of these boolits out of my 6½" Taurus 608.
Not bad for the first run.. (purple hole on top is part of another group)

Win brass
CCI 550 primer
25 yards 65°F


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/rafswede/358429b.jpg

[MtGun44]

There you go. A tiny bit of tuning and you have a good mold putting out solid results.

Well done, sir. You are on your way in your casting career.

Bill