first time casting

[bigry]

I cast a bunch of boolits yesterday and some of them are a little rounded on the base. This is the first time I have ever done any casting. Should I melt them down or are they useable that way? They are 230gr swc and I will be shooting them in my 45lc. Ryan

[docone31]

You need to heat the mold up more.
If they are ok, you can use them. As the mold gets hotter, the corners get sharper.
Six seconds to freeze. Too fast, too cool. Too long, too hot.
Keep it at six and you will have good castings.
When I first started, I actually had my .45ACP castings run back out of the mold. I figuired the mold had gotten a little warm. I let it sit a bit and they cast real well.
Six seconds.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

+1 on the mold temp. Did you get the rounded bases just early on, or is there a cavity or two that are consitantly throwing rounded bases?

At typical pistol ranges they would probably shoot just fine for plinking, rapid fire, ect. If you are shooting for groups or long range you would want to sort out the rounded bases or even go a step further and sort the boolits by weight. I probably cull harder than I need to, just because it only takes minutes to recast a handful of cull boolits once the pot is up and running.

Welcome to the forum! Start saving your spare change, because this is only the beginning!

[nhrifle]

Go ahead and melt them down or use them for plinkers. Make sure your pot is up to temp and let it stabilize before you start casting. While it is warming, let the mould sit above the lead to warm up. I let the first dozen or so casts sit in the cavities for a few extra seconds each beyond the freeze, just to let the heat soak into the mould. Be sure the sprue puddle is frozen before cutting. Probably the biggest reason I have noticed for rounded bases is not making enough of a puddle on top of the sprue plate. If you notice it cratering above the fill hole as it is cooling, you are not leaving enough sprue material. Hot mould + big sprue puddle = good boolits.

[bigry]

Thanks for the advice I got it down now. I think that the mould wasnt hot enough. I cast 200 this afternoon

[vogironface]

been casting about a year and a half so I am also pretty new but as I see it it takes only a small amount of time to cast replacements. I tend to throw those that are not ideal in the sprue bucked and melt them again. Might be an interesting experiment though to compare accuracy to others with a perfect base.

[41 mag fan]

Go ahead and melt them down or use them for plinkers. Make sure your pot is up to temp and let it stabilize before you start casting.


Explain the let it stabilize part???
All you need to do is bring it up to temp, flux and start casting....

[nhrifle]

Sorry 41 mag fan, I should have been more clear about my procedure. I leave about 3-4 pounds of lead in my pot when I finish casting. That melts faster when I plug it in next time. When that turns liquid, I add more ingots until the pot is full to my liking. Scrape and flux, scrape. Flux and stir. Skim the dross. Now my pot is stabilized.

[41 mag fan]

Sorry 41 mag fan, I should have been more clear about my procedure. I leave about 3-4 pounds of lead in my pot when I finish casting. That melts faster when I plug it in next time. When that turns liquid, I add more ingots until the pot is full to my liking. Scrape and flux, scrape. Flux and stir. Skim the dross. Now my pot is stabilized.

Aha...Now I'm following you! I've done that same thing and it seems to be best for me, unless I'm using a melt thats prefereable to certain calibers. I.E. I use a higher bhn for my 45's. Then I'll fill it full for next session, if i know I'm going to be casting for that caliber.

If it's just my normal melts, I'll leave about the same as you, it seems to melt better for me, as in getting everything going, i hope thats the words i'm meaning!

[on1wheel01]

Yep as said I wait about 5-6 seconds and they come out great.

[runfiverun]

bigry when you get the rounded bases like that.
pour a bigger sprue, a real big one,,,, let it cover the sprue plate.
your mold can be up to temp,but your plate can still be a little cold,and it doesn't let the lead flow as well so it doesn't get the good square fill out.

the first thing i look at is the base.
if the base is bad it goes back...period.
i don't even look at the rest of the boolt.

[williamwaco]

In my experience, those rounded bases will increase your group size by 50 to 100 percent depending on how uniform they are.

If you shoot 3" groups at 25 yards with good well formed bullets with a sharp base. You will get four to six inch groups with the rounded bases.


If you are ok with that for plinking, use them. otherwise remelt them.


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