Troubleshooting Help

[ralph029]

Hello boys and girls! Been a long time since I've cast any bullets. I used to cast exclusively back in the the early 80's. Kind of wondered away from it for a while but, I'm back. Got everything all fired up and with the help of some new molds, ta-dah! Anyway, As you can see from the picture, the boolit on the right was in the beginning of the run, my temp was between 675-700. Nice and shiny! The boolit on the left was after a 70 boolit run. Towards the end, the base of the boolits were "tearing" so I slowed way down and that issue was resolved but, the flat finish stayed the same. Temp was still at 675-700. Fluxed twice during the run with saw dust (from pine). This is a Saeco mold. Thoughts, comments, suggestions, complaints? By the way, thanks all for the tips on sawdust. The last time I did this, it was paraffin all the way.

[P.K.]

Hot mold?

[44man]

A flat finish is GOOOOOD. Don't shoot for shiny and don't get heavy frosting.
All you need do is wait a few more seconds to cut the sprue.

[kbstenberg]

Ralph Hello an welcome to the brotherhood of the silver stream.
I agree with PK. But to expand. Your melt temp. an the mold temperature are 2 different animals. What you are seeing is a slightly high mold temp that causes a frosted appearance on your bullets. The frosted look on the bullets has no ill affects on the bullets. In most cases the frosted bullets will have a better fill out on the bullets. If you want your bullets to have the shiny look you can A. slow your casting pace. B leave your mold open for a couple of second more than what you do now. To cool them off more before re-filling them. I think B would decrease the mold temp the fastest.
Don't be afraid of asking any question concerning a problem you are having. If you are having a problem. Scores of others have had the same problem an you will get any number of answers. With more than 1 fixes.
Kevin

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Your bullets look good. The temperature range seems reasonable. What is happening appears to be heat buildup. Torn bases are not acceptable so slowing down was the right thing to do. A small fan, available in Walmart, Target or Sears for around $10 or so will help control the problem. Set it to blow across the blocks and you should be able to cast at a faster pace. Bullets that shine are nice to look at but they don't shoot any better than dull ones. You can always shine them with #0000 steel wool. Frosted bullets can occur when the heat gets too high, but that also doesn't effect accuracy. The #0000 will take care of that too, but the fan will eliminate the condition as well as slowing down. Saeco makes good quality molds. Casting "hot"...especially too hot, can waste time especially if you have to wait longer for the sprue puddle to set up, otherwise you risk cutting the sprue too soon and getting smears across the top of the blocks and/or on the underside of the sprue plate. Both are a nuisance and have to be removed to avoid uneven bullet bases. Take good care of your mold as it seems like a good one. LLS

[ralph029]

Update:
I'm OK with the dull finish. It's only pretty on the reloading bench. I picked through and kept 48 of the 70. The shinier the boolit, the higher the rejection rate. Of the 48, I resized and sampled weighed 10% (5). Weights (from this Saeco mold # 62265, 210 grain RN) were 206.4, 206.8, 206.3, 206.8, 206.4. Pretty damned please considering I haven't cast a bullet since 1984. Woo Hoo!

[knifemaker]

I second the using of a small fan to cool the mold after pouring and before opening the sprue plate. I purchased one on ebay that is used for drying finger nail polish. about 5 inches in dia. I will pour and set my mold on a alumium plate in front of the fan and in a few short seconds the sprue will change colors telling me it is time to cut the sprue and dump the bullets. It increased my production rate and helped cut down on rejects due to tearing the sprue at the base of the bullet.

[Bret4207]

Like Kev said in post 4- pot temp-mould temp. Got to get the idea that they aren't the same to start with.

[ralph029]

So I was feeling pretty cocky considering yesterdays successes and decided today to have a go with my Saeco 62221, .22 cal 60 grain Spitzer. Ego back in check! Hell, I couldn't go fast enough to keep the mold hot. I got tired before I figured out the temp properly. Only got a handful of usable boolits. Not one boolit was frosted. Damn little boolits.

[Stephen Cohen]

The moment I saw that picture I knew it was a saeco cast, I had the same one, 200gr 45 cal. back before we were forced to hand in the pistols in 45 cal. You will love that boolit shoots like a dream. excuse me now I think Im going to cry,

[Recluse]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_73384d6d86e7d96cb.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=66)

To the left of the soon-to-be-plugged forever Lee pot, I have a porcelain tile clamped on to the elevated portion of my casting stand. Before firing up the pot, I take a towel and get it soaking wet, lightly wring it out, fold it into a square the size of the tile, and set it down.

When my mold temps, and especially the sprue plate temps get too hot, I rest the mold or sprue plate on the wet towel for a second, maybe two, and it keeps the temps in the range that gives me the best boolits.

Also speeds up my casting.

It's a variation on a most excellent technique developed and written about by BruceB (speed-casting).

:coffee:

[trench]

I quench the mold, (with it full of lead, sprue in place) in a buck of very hot water, go like hell. Casting is agony after the first few hundred bullets, so I do my best to get it over with! :-) Some fear warpage of the mold if they quench, so they use a damp sponge to cool just the sprueplate and sprue.

If you need to keep the mold hot, set it on a hotplate as you drop the dipper and grab the mallet, or dip one corner of the molt in the molten lead.

[ralph029]

The moment I saw that picture I knew it was a saeco cast, I had the same one, 200gr 45 cal. back before we were forced to hand in the pistols in 45 cal. You will love that boolit shoots like a dream. excuse me now I think Im going to cry,

I'd be happy to put a few in the mail to you, for ol' time's sake.:drinks:

[ralph029]

Before firing up the pot, I take a towel and get it soaking wet, lightly wring it out, fold it into a square the size of the tile, and set it down...

Thanks. Great guidance. My casting area is already covered in tiles.

[Recluse]

I quench the mold, (with it full of lead, sprue in place) in a buck of very hot water, go like hell.

I'm shaking my head at this one. . .

Sorry, but after reading several of your other posts and "advice," the best place for you is on my Ignore List.

You're gonna get someone hurt--or worse--very bad if they follow all of your "advice."

:coffee:

[Bad Water Bill]

I'm shaking my head at this one. . .

Sorry, but after reading several of your other posts and "advice," the best place for you is on my Ignore List.

You're gonna get someone hurt--or worse--very bad if they follow all of your "advice."

:coffee:

I do not know where this guy came from but I think he should go AWAY.

For many of us that have been casting for years, we know how dangerous some of his suggestions are.

There are a great number of folks who come here to LEARN SAFE ways to cast and re load.

If they take some of this guys info and try it yes it would not be pretty. Darned DANGEROUS would be a better way of saying it.

I would gladly put him on my IGNORE list but then on second thought the moderators could give him a nice LONG vacation.

Many of his posts make me wonder just who sent him here and why?

[P.K.]

Casting is agony.:shock:


With the way you go about it I'm sure it is.:veryconfu

[41 mag fan]

I'm shaking my head at this one. . .

Sorry, but after reading several of your other posts and "advice," the best place for you is on my Ignore List.

You're gonna get someone hurt--or worse--very bad if they follow all of your "advice."

:coffee:

Amen


I do not know where this guy came from but I think he should go AWAY.

For many of us that have been casting for years, we know how dangerous some of his suggestions are.

There are a great number of folks who come here to LEARN SAFE ways to cast and re load.

If they take some of this guys info and try it yes it would not be pretty. Darned DANGEROUS would be a better way of saying it.

I would gladly put him on my IGNORE list but then on second thought the moderators could give him a nice LONG vacation.

Many of his posts make me wonder just who sent him here and why?


Amen

You are exactly right Bill. I've read many and many posts and threads before i started casting, taking everything in and applying what my pea brain could absorb.
So far I've had very little trouble, and almost all good casting experiences(except with Lee molds),
to the point I'm up to my eyeballs in group buys just because I enjoy casting, and the experiences have been all good, because of following the correct advice i've read and have been given on here.


:shock:


With the way you go about it I'm sure it is.:veryconfu


Amen :D

[P.K.]

Well "trench" We have differed before. I have to second the penalty box on this. NO ONE dips a mold in H2O EVER in the casting process. Why would you do this? Thermal dynamics says "no" popular practice says "are you crazy?" I for one think your practice that you mentioned dangerious. Why would you post such info?

Wait, are you in the "Hulk Smash" fraternity?

[Hardcast416taylor]

I have to think Trench is a "wannabe blacksmith". He must like hearing the hiss and sizzle of metal being plunged into H2O and the accompaning vapor steam. My advice about this practice, if you are doing this and not a load of horse apples, is quit before someone (namely YOU) gets hurt.Robert

[44magLeo]

Use two molds. pour one set aside pour the second, open the first to eject boolit, pour, set aside open second, ect.
Leo

[Bad Water Bill]

I quench the mold, (with it full of lead, sprue in place) in a buck of very hot water, go like hell. Casting is agony after the first few hundred bullets, so I do my best to get it over with! :-) Some fear warpage of the mold if they quench, so they use a damp sponge to cool just the sprueplate and sprue.

If you need to keep the mold hot, set it on a hotplate as you drop the dipper and grab the mallet, or dip one corner of the molt in the molten lead.

I just re read this statement. Who that has ACTUALLY cast any boolits would be stupid enough to put a mold fresh out of a bucket of water under a stream of molten lead.

This person is very dangerous to all people coming here to learn the SAFE way of casting boolits.

[jcwit]

There are those among us who refuse to use

Ah, the heck with it!

[waksupi]

We had one guy we had to move out the door for his dangerous suggestions here on this board. I suspect we have another kid with more wind than action.
I'll keep an eye on this one.

[adrians]

when i started casting ,looking for advice (not very long ago i might add) i was ,as many newbie's are vunerable and nieve enough to follow instuctions,suggestions,advice, from most of you fine gentlemen and ladies,as i did and still do thank you for that.
my point being if a new caster was to actually follow this fellows advice he or she could be severely injured.
if he is a serious caster posting this kind of "advice" for a laugh/joke shame on his sorry ***.
please excuse my "french",,, i may have been one of those new fellows who just might have tried his technique,newbies are very eager to learn, sometimes the wrong way.
rant over.
have a great day :evil::groner::twisted:

[fatnhappy]

Hey Ralph, good work and welcome back into the fold. It's obvious you not only know how to turn out a good boolit, you made the necessary adjustment when your mold temp got too high. If you haven't read the bruceB speed casting thread take a look at it. It could be worthwhile for you to try. You can cast scads of boolits his way.


I quench the mold, (with it full of lead, sprue in place) in a buck of very hot water, go like hell. Casting is agony after the first few hundred bullets, so I do my best to get it over with! :-) Some fear warpage of the mold if they quench, so they use a damp sponge to cool just the sprueplate and sprue.

If you need to keep the mold hot, set it on a hotplate as you drop the dipper and grab the mallet, or dip one corner of the molt in the molten lead.

That has to be the worst "advice" I've ever seen posted on this forum. It's dangerous and would actually impede good boolit production.

This from a guy that admitted in another thread that he has been visited by the tinsel fairy twice. there's a suprise.

Me thinks we're dealing with a 59 yo keyboard commando.
I'm with JD on this one.

[Bad Water Bill]

I just checked the viewers counts. 150 members viewing and learning.

336 guests visiting and hopefully learning how to cast safely.

I think we should all watch for un safe practices and not be afraid to bring them to someones attention.

If you are a 0 times caster do not be afraid to challenge something if you feel it is un safe. All of us have been told NO before and survived so go ahead and ask if in doubt.

You and who knows how many more just might learn something new.

NEVER let a day go by without learning something new.

[P.K.]

We had one guy we had to move out the door for his dangerous suggestions here on this board. I suspect we have another kid with more wind than action.
I'll keep an eye on this one.

TY Sir!