New Alloy

[EMC45]

Cast a few yesterday with a new alloy. It consisted of filling my Lee 10 lb pot almost to the top with WW ingots then adding a piece of 50/50 bar solder 2 inches long to it. It gave my alloy a bluish tint to the top of the pool and I had to run it hot. If I got a little slow the boolits had slightly rounded edges. If I kept at it everything was good. I kept the tempo up and cast really good 160 gr. .309 RNGC Lee boolits. If I lagged behind even a little bit I got slightly wrinkled slugs. I tested them this morn with my SAECO tester and got a reading of SAECO 8. Which is Lyman No.2. I am ok with that. Just experimenting. This bullet shoots pretty good without the solder as is. Question? I have to beat the mold halfway to death sometimes to drop the slugs. Any fixes you guys could recommend? I have burnt up about two boxes of wooden matches smoking this thing so far. I don't want to use Drop Out, because I don't want to reduce diameter. Thanks, Evan.:castmine:

[OLPDon]

EMC:
I use Drop Out on all my moulds, after I spray on the Drop Out I burnish the mould with a wooded stick as for Dia. increase is so small I can't mic it up. What ever the thickness in the cavity is on the surface of the mould ie it would be like Beagleing the mould. It also makes it easer to keep a steady pace because the Boolit's falls freely from the mould.
Hope this helps.
Don

[Maven]

EMC45, You can use CB's from the mold to lap out the cavities, but first check them to see whether there are any burrs presenton their surfaces. If so remove them with a fine cutting, but wide file or a new utility knife blade pulled toward you and at an angle (as if you were stropping a straight razor). Lapping: if you have a drill press or a lathe, you can drill and tap several bullet bases for a 6-32 bolt.* You can thread the tap itself onto your CB, but be careful. Charge the CB with fine lapping compound: Comet, Bon Ami or Pearl Drops tooth paste will work if you don't have actual lapping compound. Again, this is easier with a drill press, but use the drill press or variable speed elec. drill at low -> moderate speed to rotate the lap in the cavity. If possible, do it in both directions. Use several laps. Also, make sure the handles are tightly closed once the lap begins to rotate. You should allow the mold to oscillate with the lap's rotation if you D & T'd without a drill press or lathe. Thoroughly degrease and/or wash and dry the cavity, heat it to working temperature and then resmoke it. Bullets should fall freely from the mold. Hope this helps!


*The quick & dirty way is to cut the head off a coarse-threaded dry wall screw, mark the bullet center by eye, drill a starter hole and chuck the DW screw in your drill. Use it to drill into the CB and use it as a lap.

[black44hawk]

those longer rifle bullets do tend to stick. I have fixed that problem by intensely smoking my molds. This is what I do: Get a couple charcoal brisquets burning and throw them in an old grill, then put pine branches or leaves above, with the lid closed set your mold over the smoke hole. This process will thoroughly smoke out your mold.

[RU shooter]

What Maven speaks works like a charm I had the same problem with the same boolit mold as you .Its not at all hard to do and you can throw away the matches as smoking the mold is not needed after a quick polishing using this method.