6-gang Noobie Questions

[dmftoy1]

Ok, I was doing my first casting session with a 6-gang mold last night and while it went well I had a couple of questions. (Lee Mold)

1. Have you ever had to put a washer in on top of the sprue plate where it pivots? The standard bolt wouldn't tighten down enough to lock the sprue plate to the top of the mold for holes 5 & 6 and I was getting lead flowing out under the sprue plate on those two.

2. I'm using a Lee 20lb bottom pour pot and I was wondering if you turned the flow on/off between cavities or poured non-stop. I seemed to get into a flow pouring from the furthest cavity to the nearest and not turning off the flow in between but I don't know if that's the best way or not.

Previously I was casting with single cavity molds and I never understood the setups you guys had with feeder pots, etc, but after using a 6-gang mold I can see how you can run through 20lbs pretty quickly. :)

Any/all advice is greatly appreciated.

Have a good one,
Dave

[No_1]

Question 1) If you can get the bolt out, try to place a spring/bevel washer under it so it keeps constant tension on the sprue plate. If you want to try removing the bolt I suggest you cast some with it to get the mould nice and hot first then try turning the bolt out. When you re-install it put anti-seeze on the threads. I do not think you want to "lock" the sprue plate down as you have indicated.

Question 2) There is no real standard of closing in between or leaving open the spout. Each individual AND each mould requires different techniques to get good performance. Some moulds you will leave it open while filling and some you will not. Just find what works for you.

Also, have you checked your sprue plate for straightness?

Robert


QUOTE=dmftoy1;191527]Ok, I was doing my first casting session with a 6-gang mold last night and while it went well I had a couple of questions. (Lee Mold)

1. Have you ever had to put a washer in on top of the sprue plate where it pivots? The standard bolt wouldn't tighten down enough to lock the sprue plate to the top of the mold for holes 5 & 6 and I was getting lead flowing out under the sprue plate on those two.

2. I'm using a Lee 20lb bottom pour pot and I was wondering if you turned the flow on/off between cavities or poured non-stop. I seemed to get into a flow pouring from the furthest cavity to the nearest and not turning off the flow in between but I don't know if that's the best way or not.

Previously I was casting with single cavity molds and I never understood the setups you guys had with feeder pots, etc, but after using a 6-gang mold I can see how you can run through 20lbs pretty quickly. :)

Any/all advice is greatly appreciated.

Have a good one,
Dave[/QUOTE]

[garandsrus]

1. Have you ever had to put a washer in on top of the sprue plate where it pivots? The standard bolt wouldn't tighten down enough to lock the sprue plate to the top of the mold for holes 5 & 6 and I was getting lead flowing out under the sprue plate on those two.

Dave,

You probably need to loosen the bolt instead of tighten it. The sprue plate should not be "locked" down. It should swing pretty freely so that gravity holds it against the mold blocks. The extra bolt by the handle does sort of "trap" the sprue plate, but it shouldn't be locked.

John

[dmftoy1]

I didn't "lock" it down, I left the spring washer in place on top of my new "spacer" washer, but without that washer then there was a slight rise of the sprue plate up off of the block. I'm not sure how I'd check the straightness of the sprue plate . . .but it moves freely now and seems to be a better position. I'll cast another batch tonight and I guess we'll see. :)

Have a good one,
Dave

[Bullshop]

By over tightening the pivot bolt you can cause the problem you were having. Too tight will raise the oposite end of the plate off the blocks. This same thing is true with all molds even single and double cavity. On a Lee six it may cause warpage of the plate and wear at the hold down point.
See for yourself by turning the bolt completely loose so there is no tension at all and the plate swings loose. Then hold the mold up to eye level and aim at a light source while slowly tightening the bolt but do not swing the plate under the hold down. At the point when you just begin to feel the bolt begin to tighten is where you want to watch closely.
As you tighten and loosen the bolt you will see the plate raise off the blocks and leave a gap as its tightend then lay back down flat when loosend. I go for that point at which the plate just lays down on the top of the blocks with no gap. This is assuming the plate is flat. Tension beyond that on a Lee six will cause excessive wear at the pivot point on the blocks and on top of the plate at the opposite end from the spring loaded hold down.
When properly adjusted and lubed the Lee molds will last a long time but they can also be damaged in short order if mishandled.
BIC/BS

[dmftoy1]

Thanks for the great writeup. I've printed it out and I'll run through that diagnosis tonight before I do any casting. Last night I just cleaned/lubed them up and went to casting.

Have a good one,
Dave