Sloffie
12-15-2012, 02:16 AM
Got this mold 2nd hand from a friend of mine. I however am struggling to get it to cast pretty looking bullets. I have played around the whole afternoon yesterday (which was a lot of fun) trying to cast decent bullets. Finally I figured out that my mold had to be a specific temperature to cast an ok bullet. Too cold and the bullets are shiny and too hot and they look sparkly. When the mold is just right they come out slightly frosted... BUT...
If pour slightly off center, meaning not directly into the sprue, then the base of the bullet is perfect and smooth, but the tip of the bullet is not good. As if the melt cools too quickly. When I pour straight, then the whole bullet is ok'ish, but if you look into the hollow base, the cavity has a hole at the tip, and there is a weird spiral type mark on the bullet tip. I found that I had to virtually hold the mold sprue against the pouring nozzle of my LEE pot to get the best bullets.
55973
Here are some of the bullets I cast. The tips are funny also because lube keeps finding its way into the cavity, no matter how little I apply. In the end I gave up and commenced casting. The form of the bullet is fine, but it is not as shiny at the tip as it should be.
I tried cleaning the mold before casting, but it seems like I could not get everything out.
The bullets are going to be paper patched and then loaded for my .577/.450 Martini Henry with black powder. The alloy is WW alloy with a little pewter added.
What advice could you give me in order that I can cast prettier bullets?
Maybe I should bite the bullet (don't mind the pun) and buy a new steel mold. I have no trouble casting pretty bullets from my Lyman Maxi Mold.
If pour slightly off center, meaning not directly into the sprue, then the base of the bullet is perfect and smooth, but the tip of the bullet is not good. As if the melt cools too quickly. When I pour straight, then the whole bullet is ok'ish, but if you look into the hollow base, the cavity has a hole at the tip, and there is a weird spiral type mark on the bullet tip. I found that I had to virtually hold the mold sprue against the pouring nozzle of my LEE pot to get the best bullets.
55973
Here are some of the bullets I cast. The tips are funny also because lube keeps finding its way into the cavity, no matter how little I apply. In the end I gave up and commenced casting. The form of the bullet is fine, but it is not as shiny at the tip as it should be.
I tried cleaning the mold before casting, but it seems like I could not get everything out.
The bullets are going to be paper patched and then loaded for my .577/.450 Martini Henry with black powder. The alloy is WW alloy with a little pewter added.
What advice could you give me in order that I can cast prettier bullets?
Maybe I should bite the bullet (don't mind the pun) and buy a new steel mold. I have no trouble casting pretty bullets from my Lyman Maxi Mold.