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View Full Version : OK I'm getting closer! Lee Pro 20 lb pot & 6 cavity mold Now what?



JWFilips
01-22-2013, 10:24 PM
Hi All,
Again I thank you all for so much help to get a NuBe into casting.
If you have followed my threads I ( hopefully) successfully smelted my first wheel weights. And because of excellent success I have had this month unloading "old" hobby items on the e-bay I had enough funds to purchase a Lee pro 20 lb pot & a Lee six cavity 158 Gr .358" TL mold . I know, I know you guys gave me so much suggestions for a .357 mag mold but I had some experience already with the Tumble lube bullet I figured I couldn't do too wrong & as luck would have it it was free found mad money! ( I have always had expensive hobbies)

So of course I will have a bunch of questions concerning this combo to get started "Molding"
I have already cleaned , lubed & smoked my 6 cavity Lee mold ( not to mention reading everything I can find on "leementing") So When I get my pot and melt my first WW ingots to try a molding session what should I look out for ? I do have a hot plate to heat up the mold ( but how much?) & I figured I would try the mold to see if & what problems I will have befor the "Leementing" trip
At this point in my "Investment" if I can cast some boolits I could actually shoot out of my S&W's Revolvers I would be delighted!
Any Thoughts to help out with this set up?

454PB
01-22-2013, 11:05 PM
I suggest you clean that "smoke" from the cavities....smoking is not required and can even cause problems.

I preheat my moulds to around 250 degrees. It's better to under heat than overheat.

Have fun!

Old Caster
01-22-2013, 11:28 PM
I have to agree to not smoke or put anything in any mold. It is only side stepping problems and not fixing them. First off make sure you lube the pivot point on your sprue plate. You can find all the recomendations on this site. If you don't do this the mold can be ruined in short order.

Set your mold holder so the mold will slide about 3/4 to an inch from the spout. Find the right pouring speed so it doesn't splash all over and fill the first hole on either end, and when it is over full immediately move to the next hole until they are all done. You might find that you would rather do one at a time and stop the pour each time....it's up to you.... You can keep this up and if you get to the point that lead smears on the sprue plate or the top of the mold, you have gotten too hot from going too fast. You may be able to turn your temperature down a bit and it might help but you can only go so far down. For me this is about 640 degrees and is a happy medium between being hot enough and not slowing me down too much. If you get wrinkles in your bullets it is probably because the temperature is too cold or there is foreign matter in the mold and less likely but still possible to be lacking enough tin. If you have pure WW's it will probably work fine. After about 1500 or so bullets have been cast it is about time to lube the sprue plate again. There are other ways to mold bullets like pressure pouring or ladle casting but for what you are doing they aren't necessary.

JIMinPHX
01-22-2013, 11:38 PM
I only smoke molds as a band aid solution to keep me going when I run into trouble after I am already casting. If the mold is properly prepped, It should not need smoke.

I generally do not use a hot plate. I just dip the mold into the melt for about 30 seconds before I start to cast. If I pull the mold out & it has a big clump of lead stuck to it, I dip it again to melt the clump off. When I no longer get a thick lead jacket on the blocks, I start casting. Once I get going, the lead that I pour into the blocks keeps things warm enough for me as long as I am not casing anything too crazy small, like a 55-grain .22.

I do tend to smear a thin coat of high temp grease on the outside of my mold blocks before I use this method. It's quick & dirty, but it works for me.

Gliden07
01-23-2013, 12:36 AM
I smoked the 2 molds I have and have had no problems? I did this per Lee's instructions? What do you do if you don't smoke them??

JWFilips
01-23-2013, 07:31 AM
I smoked the 2 molds I have and have had no problems? I did this per Lee's instructions? What do you do if you don't smoke them??

That was the only reason why I smoked mine. I figured if I started off per Lees's instructions & had troubles I have tons of information here to fall back on.
However If I can improve my prep better to start out better I'm all ears!

cbrick
01-23-2013, 08:02 AM
I have already cleaned , lubed & smoked my 6 cavity Lee mold

So you took the time to properly clean and lube your new mold . . . Then took the time to gunk it up before you ever used it. Smoking a mold is an old wives tale, the best casting mold is a CLEAN mold.


What do you do if you don't smoke them??

Very simple, clean the mold and cast boolits.


I figured if I started off per Lees's instructions

Lot's of ways to keep old wives tales alive and well, Lyman manuals are not immune to this either. Grandpa smoked his molds so I should too. Nonsense. The best casting mold is a CLEAN mold. If there should be a problem dropping boolits from the mold fix the problem, using an old wives tale in an attempt at covering up the problem leaves you with the same problem.

Rick

JWFilips
01-23-2013, 08:38 AM
OK! Will clean again. Now I also lubed the pivot and pins with bee's wax as per Lee I guess there is something better?
( Since I will be using that Lee pot and Lee 6 cavity mold I'm trying to concentrate on information for that set up)

JWFilips
01-23-2013, 08:39 AM
If this will be my first attempt at casting I would like to ask If I'm using the Lee pro 20 lb bottom pour pot should I fill it up for my first attempt or should I start out with less? (I already know to put the thing on a big cookie sheet in case of leaks)
So I put my hopefully clean wheel weight ingots in the pot turn it on & once it starts to melt put in my thermometer then it get to the right temp ( which should be under 700 deg correct?) then I will flux & stir (?)
Then how long before I start to cast? as soon as it is fluxed & stirred ?
Then do I continue until the pot is drained or can you leave lead in the pot to cool?

AmishWarlord
01-23-2013, 09:26 AM
I'm just starting out also and got the same pot as you. I have read that you shoun't smelt your wheel weights in the Lee pot becuse can cause leaks by fowling the valve seat. I'm going to hunt down a good pot today to smelt my wheel weights in.

AmishWarlord
01-23-2013, 09:36 AM
Learning the ropes and learning about what works well and what is "Old wives tales" will be fun.

Saw this on another board.

Newly married man watches his wife cook a ham. She works hard to saw off the end of the ham before she put the ham in the oven. He ask why she did that. She replied, "Because it's the way my mother taught me". Later he ask his mother-inlaw about it. She says, "Because it's the way my mother taught me". Still later he ask the grandmother and she says, "Oh, because back then I only had a 10" pot to cook the ham in on top of a wood stove".

rockrat
01-23-2013, 11:14 AM
I run my melt at about 700 degrees. I turn the hot plate up full, put the mould on for about 10 min, then then put the end of the mould, pivot bolt end(45 degree angle about 1" in) in the molten metal for about 30 seconds. If big clump of lead sticks to the end, put back in for about another 30 seconds. I do this until when I pull out the mould, just a bit of lead might stick and a cotton cloth will wipe it off. Seldom do I have to go over a minute. I like Bullshop lube for lubing the pivot bolt and alignment pins of my moulds.

I have the sprue plate about 1" under the spout and adjust the flow to fill a cavity in about 1-2 seconds (30 cal 180ish grain size), when that cavity is full and the sprue is about width of a nickle I move on to the next cavity till full. I remove the mould and look at the sprue and watch to make sure it has solidified and open the sprue plate/ mould(if its hard to open, you waited too long) , and then tap on the mould handle bolt with my mallet and drop my boolits in either water, or a cotton cloth, depending on the hardness I desire.

Recluse
01-23-2013, 01:00 PM
OK! Will clean again. Now I also lubed the pivot and pins with bee's wax as per Lee I guess there is something better?
( Since I will be using that Lee pot and Lee 6 cavity mold I'm trying to concentrate on information for that set up)

I've found that for aluminum molds, nothing works better than Bullplate for lubing the pins and sprue plate. In fact, that goes for any mold of any material I've ever used.

:coffee:

mdi
01-23-2013, 01:14 PM
Yep, Bullplate is excellent for lubing molds, but just use a little, a Q-tip works. Smoking a mold just deposits carbon on the mold surfaces in hopes of keeping the lead from sticking to every slight imperfection. I use Brakeclean, allow to dry completely, preheat and cast. "The only way to learn to cast bullets, is to cast bullets". Don't overthink or worry about what may happen, just start casting...

Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook 3rd Edition has pics/examples of too cold mold, too cold melt, too hot mold, etc. so get a 3rd Edition if you can find one. Here's a couple sites for info; http://www.gunweek.com/2004/feature1201.html http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?150821-practice-cast-bullet-problems real good info; http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

454PB
01-23-2013, 02:29 PM
At last count, I had 19 Lee moulds, and none of them get lubed. Some have cast 10,000 boolits and work just fine.

mpmarty
01-23-2013, 03:06 PM
Starting out with a six banger mold after you "preheat" it by dipping in the molten lead, pour only the furthest from your hand cavity and cut the sprue. then fill the same cavity and the one next to it and cut the sprue, repeat until you're using all six cavities. Filling all six at first pour you risk breaking off the sprue lever DAMHIK.

AmishWarlord
01-23-2013, 08:47 PM
Lol@damhik

Charlie Two Tracks
01-23-2013, 09:16 PM
Just remember to wear some good leather gloves. 700 deg. is pretty dang hot. Twice as hot as a casserole coming out of an oven. Eye protection of some kind is highly recommended.

Old Caster
01-23-2013, 10:09 PM
454PB,

The only Lee mold I have is a 6 cavity that was part of a group buy of an H@G 68 copy that had a flat base. I was careless and didn't lube the sprue plate pivot and it galled the surface bad enough that I had to take a file and flatten out both sides before I could continue. I hope yours doesn't do the same.

I use high temp lube that is silver looking and can be bought at a place that deals in pipe fitting tools. I did use some Bullplate lube and it worked well and would be a good choice but with anything you use, be careful that you use a very tiny amount so it doesn't go into the cavities.

JIMinPHX
01-23-2013, 11:50 PM
I smoked the 2 molds I have and have had no problems? I did this per Lee's instructions? What do you do if you don't smoke them??

If the mold is clean & the cavity is properly bored with the parting line dead center of the bore & there are no burrs at the edge of the cavity, you should not need to smoke the mold. If you have any issues with the above conditions, smoking the mold can cover for them a little bit. Smoking adds a layer of "stuff" in the cavity. It can reduce your boolit diameter a little & it can block up your vents. Blocked vents generally make it harder to get good fill out.

That's the way it looks from what I've seen anyway.

JIMinPHX
01-23-2013, 11:54 PM
OK! Will clean again. Now I also lubed the pivot and pins with bee's wax as per Lee I guess there is something better?
( Since I will be using that Lee pot and Lee 6 cavity mold I'm trying to concentrate on information for that set up)

The majority of people on this board seem to believe that Bullplate lube from Bullshop is the best lube to use. My results with that stuff have been very good. My second best sprue pivot & pin lube was a mixture of high temp grease & never seize, but that stuff needs to be cleaned off & reapplied when you are done casting. With the Bullplate, you just keep on going & add a very small dab once in a great while.

If you are using bee's wax, you will need to clean that off after it burns on & then reapply a fresh coat. It doesn't hold up as well as one might hope.

Other "old timer" lubes are pencil lead & soapstone. I've used both. It's possible to make either work, but neither lasts very long at all, at least not for me.

JIMinPHX
01-24-2013, 12:05 AM
If this will be my first attempt at casting I would like to ask If I'm using the Lee pro 20 lb bottom pour pot should I fill it up for my first attempt or should I start out with less? (I already know to put the thing on a big cookie sheet in case of leaks)
So I put my hopefully clean wheel weight ingots in the pot turn it on & once it starts to melt put in my thermometer then it get to the right temp ( which should be under 700 deg correct?) then I will flux & stir (?)
Then how long before I start to cast? as soon as it is fluxed & stirred ?
Then do I continue until the pot is drained or can you leave lead in the pot to cool?

I put a big piece of cardboard down before I set up to cast. That way I can put my tools & supplies down as needed.

For a first casting session, I would fill the pot with the amount of alloy you plan to use, + about 3 pounds.

You can start to cast as soon as you have clean alloy at the right temperature. It will probably take 10 or 20 casting cycles to get the mold up to temperature if you do not preheat the mold. The "correct" pot temperature will depend on many things, including but not limited to, the mold, the alloy & your casting technique. I've cast as high as 850f with pure lead in a slug mold. I've cast as low as 625 with a hard alloy in a big fat pistol mold. You need to play around a little & see what works for your particular combination of process variables.

Frosted boolits mean don't let stuff get any hotter. Shiny boolits mean don't let stuff get any colder. 700F is probably a good place to start.

I usually drain my pot when I'm done. A lot of other people don't.

JWFilips
01-24-2013, 10:31 PM
Thank You for some of your tips. I guess since in casting i'm using a 20 lb fill tank I got to make or aquire a smaller dross removing slotted spoon?
I guess I will do the same to Flux with sawdust & Beeswax in the casting phase and again if I add all'l lead to the casting pot. When I'm done drain the pot into an ingot mold.
I think I'm set Tonight: I recleaned my smoked cavities put a better lube on the sprue pivot and aligment pins ( sans Bull plate)
Got some good clean wheel weight alloy.... May add a touch more tin so the next chance I get I will write back. ...unless what I just posted is way wrong....& oh yes "Do not over think the process" just do it ! Hey I can always throw it back in the pot!I'm going to try this, this weekend if the temps aren't too bad. I see I'm at 7 degrees right now that's pretty warm... the darn Arctic has broken open this week in NEPA

JIMinPHX
01-25-2013, 12:16 AM
When working out of a small pot, like a 20 pounder, I just use a regular tablespoon to pull the dross off the top. Of course that spoon then becomes a permanent casting tool & never gets used around food again.

...Just to check, you do know about being careful not to let anything wet or even moist get into your pot of melted lead...right? If you are not familiar with that problem, do a search for "the tinsel fairy" & read up on casting safety a little bit.

JWFilips
01-25-2013, 07:41 AM
Feel pretty good on the safety end of it & heed all warnings. I'll have no water anywhere I'm casting.

After fluxing & cleaning the dross do I need to keep a layer of sawdust on the top (of a bottom pour pot) to prevent oxidation or do I pour with the top of the pot all cleaned off?

cbrick
01-25-2013, 08:02 AM
If your bottom pouring leave a layer of charred sawdust on top. Still not ure why you feel you need to add wax to sawdust fluxing but if it makes you feel good no harm no foul.

Rick

JIMinPHX
01-25-2013, 06:35 PM
With a bottom pour pot, you can cover the top of the melt, because you don't need access to the top of the melt. If you are dipping a ladle, then you can't cover the top of the melt.

Leaving a layer of burnt up sawdust on top of the melt will not hurt anything & it can prevent oxidation of the melt. It's a good thing to do, but it is not totally necessary.

Pitchnit
01-26-2013, 12:38 AM
I just started casting this year so this is from a newbie on the issues I had. Others here please comment if what I am writing is bad advice. Learn to read the sprue puddle. Once the sprue solidifies I count to around 6 then cut the sprue. Look at the top of the mold, If the lead streaks across the top, you cut too soon. If the base of the bullet looks like a hole was pulled out of it you cut too soon. Count in your head while you do this to develop the timing. Also count the time between cutting the sprue and opening the mold. Again, I count to 6 unless the sprue tells me the mold is getting hot then its 10. If you do not preheat your mold and you wait to long it can be difficult to cut the sprue. If you try to force the sprue open you will break the handle and you will be like me using a small wrench on the stub of the sprue cutter. Make sure you get the mold closed completely If you don't lead will build up on the inside edges of the mold and you will start getting flashing. I keep a damp (not wet) rag close to wipe lead off the top of the mold and the mold side of the sprue cutter if I start smearing lead. I also keep a damp (not wet) rag away from the pot if the mold is getting to hot and set the mold on it to cool it. In the end just jump in and you will figure it out, whatever drops that you don't like you can re-melt. Its not hard but heed the safety warnings you have read. I am covered with 1 layers of cotton with long sleeves and an apron, long welding gloves, safety glasses and a full face shield. Its a hoot! Good luck. Regards-Pitchnit

popper
01-26-2013, 02:51 PM
If you use sawdust with the bottom pour pot, don't drop the sprue or bad casts back in without stirring and scraping to get the junk off the bottom. It will collect on the bottom and the spout pole and you get a plugged spout or bad dripping. I don't use tin but still skim the sawdust dross off so I can dump sprue cuts and culls back in and continue casting. I keep my melt below 720F. It is difficult to get the 6x Lee to preheat on the top of the pot(it tips) or dunk in the pot so I got a hot plate to preheat.

JWFilips
01-26-2013, 09:07 PM
Well I did my first casting today & I have to admit it was much more controlled then my first attempt smelting.
I started off small with a 10 lb melt of wheel weights and a little extra tin. Everything went smoothly and I cast about 200 bad ones at first. Mould ran very nice no sticking or any sprue problems It was actually easy but I just couldn't get the mould to fill out & I still must have had some grease in the cavities based on the wrinkles. Shut everything down & when cool Scrubbed my mould again meticulously. Started all over. Again everything was going smooth except fill out wasn't right and I still had bad wrinkles .......Now with about 400+ Bad bullets under my belt I was really frustrated and I did the "unthinkable" I smoked the darn mould ( what else could I do I was out of ideas) Now guys, you are probably going to hate me but the very next pour into the mould after reheating it, dropped properly filled and non wrinkled boolits...I kid you not.
It was like the "Lead gods" through a switch. After that I cast 200 boolits that I felt were good. I stopped when Like "popper" said above ...I had remelted the sprues & culls about 3 times and as my pot started getting low I started seeing inclusions in the boolits and yes my spout started to leak!
I drained my pot into some tins and let all cool down & proudly took 200 Good bullets upstairs where my wife started inspecting them ( before I had a chance) She started pulling the ones with the inclusions quickly. Then I started on the mis-formed bases and wrinkles Then I took the good pile and weighed each one & kept the ones that were within 3/4 grain spread. I ended up with 157 good boolits ( of course I still have the culls , sprues and muffins left of the 10 lb batch which maybe I will try again tomorrow)
The only problem I can see with about half is that I have some frosting on one half side of the lube bands ( & lube bands only) which I thought strange but I do recall reading about side splash and super heating maybe that is it..From what I see it doesn't look bad just not perfect. I really want to thank all of you that helped me out....this is really a great place!
Also thanks to "randyrat" who managed to get my order of mould lube to me so quickly I was able to use it today. Bull plate is nowhere to be found but Randy's stuff worked excellent. I had no problem with the operation of the 6 cavity Lee mould or the 4 Pro 20 lb pot

Springfield
01-26-2013, 09:28 PM
Sounds like it went pretty well. As to not using Bullplate(454PB), I think it is one of those things that you don't know what you are missing until you use it. I don't remember reading of ANYBODY using it and saying it didn't work well. I have a couple 44-40 LEE 6 cavs that have 60,000 bullets through them, each. I don't believe they wold have survived that long without the Bullplate. I know for sure they wouldn't have been as pleasant to use, and I tried most everything before I found the Bullplate. I'll send you a sample bottle on my dime if you want to try some, and then you do a review here on the site. I bought 14 bottles of it just to make sure I never ran out, I liked it so well.

JIMinPHX
01-26-2013, 11:32 PM
If smoking the mold is working for you, then stick with it. I consider it a band-aid that covers for a deeper problem, but until you figure out what the deeper problem is, use that band-aid as much as you need to. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

A little frosting on the boolits is not a bad thing at all.

wool1
01-27-2013, 12:16 AM
I agree with not smoking the mold. I was taught by a BPCR shooter who absolutely preached....never get any contaminants in the mold cavity. Don't know if it is right or wrong, but it has served me well. I also use brake cleaner to clean the mold. (carburetor cleaner has a lubricant) One aspect that helped me, as someone stated above, get a rhythm. The mold will "tell" you when you have the timing right. When I started casting, I had a timer set on the bench and each mold has a different time needed to throw a good bullet. But once you get a feel for the time, it will come as second nature.

JWFilips
01-27-2013, 10:19 AM
Well, Like I said I value all you opinions and help. I started out the day with a brake cleaner scrubbed mould and out side of the fact that I got wrinkles and bad fill out for the first 200 boolits the mould dropped the boolits out fine with no sticking and I didn't need to whack it with a stick....this isn't too bad if I could get the mould to work I quit for awhile to check my boolits ( all bad) & when things cooled down, scrubbed the mould again (Brake cleaner & new clean toothbrush) Then got everything hot and started again with the same results..... boolits dropping out easy but but wrinkles and bad fill out again for about 200 more boolits. I quickly opened up the mold & smoked it with a butane lighter brought it up to temp again than bang pretty boolits were falling out about 200 more before I quit.

So if it is an indicator of a problem ( & I have read much on Lee mould problems) what would the guess be? What would the smoking do to instantly fix the problem as was my case? I would rather cast without this extra step. which leementing procedure would fix this?

When I bought the mould I figured I would have to leement it from the start but figured I would try it first But if smoking it makes it drop excellent bullets I'm not sure I'm going to worry about that yet.
If I get a chance today after all my household chores I may give it another try with my left over sprews & culls to see if my luck holds out

Before:
59619

After:
59620

Shiloh
01-27-2013, 10:56 AM
Fire it up and start casting and learning.
Your already asking questions. Now, put it all together, get good boolits, load, shoot, repeat.

Shiloh

454PB
01-27-2013, 04:09 PM
There are two things that cause wrinkled boolits.......a contaminated mould or one that is too cold. Since you have thoroughly cleaned the mould, all that it needs is more heat.

Ted
01-27-2013, 10:50 PM
Looks like you got started OK. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but. Gloves, leather gloves. Pants, shoes and if you got it an apron. No shorts (ask me how I know), I also wear a full face mask, someday that evil little bitch, the tinsel fairy, will come and pay you a visit and you will be glad you had one on. Also you may have one but if you don't then you want a casting thermometer. You will not realize how much you wanted it until you have one.

JIMinPHX
02-03-2013, 12:03 AM
I'm going to guess that the soot is acting as an insulator & covering for a cold mold.

One other little word of caution here. Brake cleaner & heat don't mix. The decomposition byproducts of brake cleaner are horribly toxic, even in very small concentrations. Be sure to get all the brake cleaner out before you heat the mold back up & do not spray brake cleaner on a hot mold. Look up phosgene gas for more details.

JWFilips
02-03-2013, 10:05 AM
No all clean is done on a cold mold & it not used until dry.

I did another casting session yesterday ( That was my 3rd time) & yes I'm getting the hang of it. Things are going much smoother & easy. I ran my pot hotter 700-750 deg and poured faster and continuously down the six cavities in a line
which help the fill out and kept the mold running hot. I had a number of frosties but I'm tumble-lubing them. My success rate was higher with 200 good & about 30 bad. It was much more enjoyable this time.

Last week on my first tries I had my pot full This week I wanted to finish my alloy I made up last week I had about 6 lbs left.
I started with a clean pot and melted down the bullets, sprews, & ingots I made from draining the pot last week So that gave me about 1/3 pot Even with proper fluxing & stiring and rubbing the sides & bottom of the pot I started getting inclusions in the bullets near the end, that's when it got into taking long to finish...... I had a lot of remelting going on in the last half hour or so, since I was getting more bullets with junk in them Then I packed it in and drained the pot & figured I will just add the old ingots to my next batch. Is this normal to get inclusions near the end of the pot Or have I missed a trick?

Also I had about 6 pours Near the end when I cut the sprews instead of a clean smooth cut I got more of a crystalline crack
at the sprew cut. What was happening there?

runfiverun
02-03-2013, 03:01 PM
you were just pulling a little lead from the base it is no big deal.
once you see that little bit of frosting on the drive bands i usually turn down my alloy temp a bit.
and run just as fast.
you'll get to a point where the castings turn shiney again and i try to keep everything there.
it's the mold getting hotter where the breakthrough comes in.
the boolits are rather fragile in this state.

your inclusions are most likely oxides and some of the carbon from the sawdust.
now is a good time to look up fluxing.
you have the carbourization part down,you need to get it back out of the alloy now.

JWFilips
02-03-2013, 08:58 PM
your inclusions are most likely oxides and some of the carbon from the sawdust.
now is a good time to look up fluxing.
you have the carbourization part down,you need to get it back out of the alloy now.

Well I thought I was following Fryxell: "A heaping tablespoon is just about right for a 10 lb pot, stirred in thoroughly to begin with and then left in place. Halfway through the pot, the lead-pot is stirred again, this time the activated carbon (dross) is removed. By leaving the charred sawdust on the melt for the first half or so of the casting session, a barrier is formed to slow down the oxidation of the tin, and by removing the charred dross before reaching the bottom, the sequestered impurities are removed before they can sneak through the bottom-pour spout and possibly cause inclusions."

- Glen E. Fryxell

So If this was correct I guess I messed up somewhere? Maybe my mixing stick was too charred and I scrapped the sides & bottoms too much But I didn't get it until I got close to an empty pot ...maybe I took it down too low?

JIMinPHX
02-06-2013, 07:57 AM
Also I had about 6 pours Near the end when I cut the sprews instead of a clean smooth cut I got more of a crystalline crack
at the sprew cut. What was happening there?

You are probably tearing the sprue out instead of cutting it. This usually happens to me if I cut too early, & did not wait long enough for the boolit to cool & harden. If you sharpen your sprue plate, it can make this less likely to happen. When it happens to me, I usually get a little divot in the boolit base where the sprue gets torn out.

A little frost on your boolits is not a bad thing, but it means that you should not get any hotter.

When you scrape the pot, all the crud should float to the surface where you can remove it. If you still have crud coming through the bottom spout, then you probably missed a spot when you scraped, maybe a spot near the spout.

JWFilips
02-06-2013, 10:28 PM
Well I think I may have been cutting early since my mold was rather hot! Ok I'm going to try next time to get into every nook & cranny with my stick especially around the bottom spout. Thanks for your advise!

whisler
02-06-2013, 11:53 PM
Don't scrape the bottom with the wooden stick. You will knock off pieces of charred wood and they may stay near the bottom of the pot. Use a flat piece of metal to scrape the bottom and lift the alloy some to bring anything scraped off to the top

JWFilips
02-07-2013, 12:58 PM
Don't scrape the bottom with the wooden stick. You will knock off pieces of charred wood and they may stay near the bottom of the pot. Use a flat piece of metal to scrape the bottom and lift the alloy some to bring anything scraped off to the top

OK ....would a piece of aluminum work? I would be worried about scratching the inside of my bottom pour furnace/pot with a steel piece.
I have used a metal tablespoon before but it really can't reach into the area where the bottom pour mechanism is & us int really flat
I was thinking an 1/8" thick x 3/4" wide long piece of aluminum may do it

454PB
02-07-2013, 01:55 PM
You're over engineering this. Charred wood has about 1 50th the density of lead and will float up to the surface quickly. Having it stay at the bottom would be like trying to swim 30 feet underwater holding a beach ball.

You're fine stirring with a wood stick.

jondavis0904
02-07-2013, 01:56 PM
ok, this might be a dumb question, but I am about to get started casting. I have saw nothing but good things on the bullshop sprue plate lube, my question is where and how do you buy it? I have googled it and also searched on here and can't seem to turn up anything. Also, what is the cost for it? Thanks

Ted
02-08-2013, 12:59 AM
ok, this might be a dumb question, but I am about to get started casting. I have saw nothing but good things on the bullshop sprue plate lube, my question is where and how do you buy it? I have googled it and also searched on here and can't seem to turn up anything. Also, what is the cost for it? Thanks

I would try sending Bullshop a private message and see if he has any for sale.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?141-Bullshop

Ted

Axton1
02-10-2013, 06:47 PM
JW - just a couple of points - when I use my Lee 20lb pot, as it gets down to the last third, the temp of the melt begins to drop (measured with thermometer) think it's due to the surface/contact area of the pot, the heater coil is around the sides. If I keep going, I start to get poor fill-out. I stop at about 1/3 pot and re-fill. Also, once that low, you loose the pressure of the weight behind the melt and it takes longer for it to fill the mold. That changes your "timing" and things get out of control - for ME!
Also, I don't bother with the flux on top and have no problems - do what works though! I use one of those small Lee pot spoons - and they are steel. Doesn't seem to hurt the pot - again, whatever works for you.
A1

JWFilips
02-10-2013, 07:05 PM
JW - just a couple of points - when I use my Lee 20lb pot, as it gets down to the last third, the temp of the melt begins to drop (measured with thermometer) think it's due to the surface/contact area of the pot, the heater coil is around the sides. If I keep going, I start to get poor fill-out. I stop at about 1/3 pot and re-fill. Also, once that low, you loose the pressure of the weight behind the melt and it takes longer for it to fill the mold. That changes your "timing" and things get out of control - for ME!
Also, I don't bother with the flux on top and have no problems - do what works though! I use one of those small Lee pot spoons - and they are steel. Doesn't seem to hurt the pot - again, whatever works for you.
A1

When The pot drops I pretty much do the same however There was one time I took it farther / Cranked up the heat / adjust the pour screw flow rate and got good bullets with junk in them & realized I drained it to far! Nothing serious compared to what happened this weekend! ( see my new post on Nasty Alloy!)

No Flux On Top!: well I live in fear of the so called "tin oxidation" I have been so warned about That's the high price spread & I'm told it is easy to loose