New guy needs some help

[Sb1]

Hello everyone. Well, I cast my first boolits today, but I did have some issues. I was using a Lyman .45 devastator mold and had a lot of wrinkling, but as things heated up wrinkles went away. Now my first problem--my rcbs pro melt stopped flowing after about an hour. I'm guessing its the alloy I was using? I switched to a dipper, and after about a half pot of lead it also clogged, with a large amount of crust forming on it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Second, Lyman says the boolits should be 180 grs. but mine consistantly weigh 200 grs. Is this normal? Thanks in advance.

[lwknight]

Sounds like you are using pure lead and have a fan blowing on the process.
Please read from the 100s of threads here on " fluxing " and "casting temperature"
Not trying to be short but just a fact that I could not possibly answer you as much as you will get in a short time of research and reading what we already have here.

[dpunch]

You may have to run the melt a little hotter to get it to flow. I have to heat up my lee pot for awhile to get it to pour. Did you keep your dipper hot enough to keep it flowing?

[44man]

I had problems with a Lyman pot and my friend has two RCBS and two Lyman pots, almost new and all do not get hot enough plus cycle times are long. I gave up on them and have used a Lee pot for years without a problem.
Call RCBS and complain. It is more common then you think.

[WHITETAIL]

Sb1
Welcome to the forum.
Do not be discouraged, the people here will help.8-)

[243win]

PHey I'm another new guy on here and just getting started and hope to learn alot.. Someone told me that if you put candle wax or wood chips on top of your led in your pot it would help keep the build up of **** on top from forming it works great

[243win]

Sb1
Welcome to the forum.
Do not be discouraged, the people here will help.8-)

I hope so I can use all the help I can get :)

[sljacob]

+1 on reading the stickies on fluxing and melt temps a huge amount of info there. the wrinkling on your boolits is most commonly due to the mold or melt not hot enough or if using a new mold there is still small amounts of cutting oil in the pores of the metal.
The crusting on your melt is most likely due to oxidation flux it back in rather than scrape it off.
Also read up on alloys...your heaver boolits could possiably be due to using an alloy that is mostly pure lead witch will weigh more than say a lyman #2 that many mold makers base the advertised boolit weight from.