First cast boolits for me

[Mrbrent]

Well tonight I fired up my melting pot for the first time and smoked my lee mold and poured some lead. I purchased some WW ingots from a guy at the range and it was pretty clean. I don't know the hardness and I need to figure out how to get the mold heat figured out. Here is a picture of the average look of what I molded tonight. Most have a frosted look so I will search for the info on the cause of that. I had fun and thats part of this whole learning process. They dropped right out so that was good.

http://gkosin.smugmug.com/photos/i-RK6V8X5/0/XL/i-RK6V8X5-XL.jpg

[RobS]

Looks like your base is filling out well but does look like the boolits are not filling out in the lube groove area possibly. I think if you make use of a heavier stream pouring into the mold to fill it faster you'll have better results. Are you bottom pouring or using a laddle?

[Mrbrent]

I have the LEE bottom pour 20lb pot.
What temp should the alloy be in the pot? It ran about 750 but it did get to 800 and I turned it down.
So you think I should adjust the flow to a faster pour?
Thanks

[mold maker]

Don't sweat the frosting. It just means a little too much heat. The small dents just below the nose of some might mean a little oil left in metal of the mold. It also could be the flow of melt into the mold being slightly interrupted. Don't be affraid to get the mold hot, and pour at a faster pace to keep it there.
What you have pictured, will be fine for all but the most demanding use.
Your hooked and will never recover from the addiction. Ain't it fun !!!!!

[RobS]

You should be fine at 700 degrees or a bit under or over depending on the alloy you are using. Casting tempo will help and as you become better at working your technique etc. you'll pick up your casting pace so your alloy temp will need to come down so the mold doesn't become too hot and overheat (super frosty boolits). I would adjust your pot to have more flow, cast a bit quicker and then adjust the alloy temp accordingly.

[stubshaft]

Don't be afraid of a large sprue. It's going back into the pot anyway so theres no need to skimp on it when casting.

[Mrbrent]

I cleaned the new mold with break cleaning fluid, then smoked it. I also saw someone state not to smoke the mold. Lee says smoke it. I don't know, I'm a rookie. So to summarize, the frosting comes from too much heat. Is that the alloy is too hot or the mold or both? When I pour I think I need to get better aim to get it right in the hole, I was missing and I think that the alloy would then start cooling as it is filling. Just an observation. I need to raise my table or pot higher as it was a pain in the neck looking down under the pot to see the pour. I have not weighed any of them yet either. Thanks for your help BTW.

[RobS]

I wouldn't smoke the mold but many do. I usually aim at the edge of the sprue plate hole so the stream hits and goes on in. Frosting comes from too hot of a mold. Alloy temp can be 1000 degrees and with a cold mold you'll not have any frosting. Place a mold on a hot plate that is overly hot and a person can pour alloy at 650 degrees and make a frosted boolit. There is a big deal of arguments on going about alloy temp and oxidation of the alloy etc and all holds very good merrit. I always look toward lower alloy temps if possible providing my mold I'm working with will allow me to have the tempo needed to use lower temps. I have a mold that is a real PITA due to its huge HP's and mounting hardware so I have to cast at a higher temp in order to keep the mold temp up. I simply can not cast fast enough for a lower alloy temps.

[Mrbrent]

Rob, thanks I will try a slower pace which should allow the mold to run cooler. I have one of those infired temp probes so when I figure it out I will take a temp of the mold and make note of it. Frankly I thought my mold was too cool.

[RobS]

I think your mold temp is good with your casting tempo/technique, just increase your pot's flow to get better fill out on those lube grooves/drive bands. With straight WW's you shouldn't need more than 750 degrees and with a faster flow from the pot and a quicker tempo yoy may very well come down from that temp.

[Mrbrent]

I will try the faster pour.
I am confused about the lube process. I bought a lee sizer die which came with the tumble lube bottle. In reading people are discussing using this with the micro groove boolits. This swc has the standard grove. Do I need to go with the wax based pour in a pan lube or tumble lube then size then lube again before loading?

[RobS]

You have a 45 auto boolit there right??? It is a truncated (TC) design I can tell but don't know if it is the 40 or 45 cal. The Lee sizing kit that you have can and does work with traditional lube groove boolits too. When I use the Lee push through dies I lube a hand full (if a tumble lube is applied let it dry) and then use one for every 15 or 20 dry so the die is lubed. Then put them in a bowl and apply a very little amount of TL and swirl the bowl until there is an even coat of lube on the boolits. The directions will tell you to lube the boolits with the Alox lube, run them through the sizer, and then relube. I hate the mess of the tumble lube process as it is so keep it to a minimum. Tumble lube does work but boolit fit is critical since this option has less flexibility over a quality stick lube that can be applied by pan lubing or by a dedicated lubricator.

[Mrbrent]

The Boolits I am casting are 45. The only lube I have at this point is the Liquid Alox I got with the sizer. Not knowing any better I think I will come to agree that the TL would be messy. When you pan lube I assume you lube then size correct?
Thanks

[gray wolf]

I need to raise my table or pot higher as it was a pain in the neck looking down under the pot to see the pour. I have

I have the same problem with my Lee 20# pot, what the heck is the cure for this ?
I have raised the pot up and now I got my back hurting me more than it used to,
or a sore neck from trying to look under the pot.
How I pour and the place the lead goes is important to me. I can't believe this is not a standard problem with this pot.
I have to sit while I cast so it's a constant raise the chair, lower the chair, raise the table lower the table, shim the pot , don't shim the pot, ***

[cbrick]

How I pour and the place the lead goes is important to me. I can't believe this is not a standard problem with this pot.

I have to sit while I cast so it's a constant raise the chair, lower the chair, raise the table lower the table, shim the pot , don't shim the pot, ***

Here's how I solved that problem. I built this stand to hold the Magma pot up higher. "On my bench" it is at the correct level "for me" for both standing and ladle casting, which is how I ladle cast or sitting and bottom pouring which is how I bottom pour.

All four of the legs have a 3/8" bolt running all the way through and bolted under the plywood base. The plywood base is actually two sheets of plywood, the nuts, flat washers and lock washers are tightened against the first sheet. The second sheet has a hole large enough for a socket to fit on the nuts and tighten it down. The two sheets are both glued and screwed together making them permanent as one sheet. It's rock solid and solves the bending over problem while bottom pouring.

Rick

[RobS]

The Boolits I am casting are 45. The only lube I have at this point is the Liquid Alox I got with the sizer. Not knowing any better I think I will come to agree that the TL would be messy. When you pan lube I assume you lube then size correct?
Thanks

You may not need to size your boolits. If they are dropping from the mold at a diameter that will work then no need to size them; just tumble lube them and load. Also here is a sticky, no pun intended :bigsmyl2:, to a blend of TL that has worked well for many. It dries quicker and is less tacky when dry which I see as it's biggest advantage.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=67654

Pan lubing, most set them up lube them and if the boolits work as cast load them. If not the diameter needed then run through a sizer.

[cbrick]

I cleaned the new mold with break cleaning fluid, then smoked it. I also saw someone state not to smoke the mold. Lee says smoke it.

Welcome to CastBoolits Mrbrent,

Smoking a mold does but one thing, it covers up or attempts to cover up a problem, a bur as an example. It is far better to fix a problem rather than cover it up. Smoking a mold serves to make a mold that you spent your time getting clean dirty again. It also helps to block the vent lines.

Sure LEE says to smoke a mold as common as it is for a LEE mold to have burs or other problems.

So you decide, do you want to smoke your molds or find and fix the problem.

It's really pretty simple . . . Clean molds work better.

Rick

[mdi]

The only things I put on my Lee molds, after initial cleaning is Brake Clean and Bull Plate on the alignment bars and sprue plate. On two molds I used toothpaste to "lap" the mold cavity, but other than that nothing on my molds. Now you need practice. Try a little hotter, a little cooler, faster, slower, slant the mold forward, or rearward, pour against the side of the sprue hole, or right down the middle. Try them all until you find what works for your molds and alloys, but practice. It doesn't hurt to take notes either...