What did i do wrong?

[CrispexX]

I have some books in the mail on their way to me so i have not loaded anything yet, just cast boolits and cleaned brass so far. Here is my question; would you load and shoot these? I have only cast about 100 or so and a bunch ended up looking like these and was pretty convinced i should just remelt them. Also would this be cause by the mold being to hot? thanks for the collective knowledge!

63973
63974

[Randy C]

Do you have a thermometer and give a little more info on what your set up is and how you went about casting that will help the folks who try to help you. I have not tried casting yet but am set up to do it I’m waiting for some of the snow to melt around here.

[Recluse]

Looks like you have multiple things going on--

• cold mould

• dirty mould

• dirty alloy

• alloy could probably stand to be hotter

• Give yourself plenty of sprue so that your base fills out and you don't get the "sink hole" that you see in the last boolit on the right.

I wouldn't load them because it is simply too easy and quick to toss bad boolits right back in the pot, get your mould really cleaned up then up to temp, flux your alloy well as it's getting up to temp and make sure you don't short-change the boolit on pouring a healthy sprue.

:coffee:

[runfiverun]

all of the above is what happened.

clean the mold again.
heat it up before you start.
that melted pot of lead is hot enough to heat up the mold in.
make sure it is closed and you heat it untill the lead stops sticking to the side.
follow recluses instructions.

[geargnasher]

Ditto the previous responses.

What mould is that? I wants one that casts a boolit about like that for .45 Colts.

Gear

[VictimNoMore]

Those look a lot like the Lee 358 125grn RNFPs.
IMHO.

[Marine Sgt 2111]

Wrinkles on the nose, no sharp corners on the lube grooves and the hole in the base....try casting at a higher temp, perhaps 720F to 750F. I use a cheap hot plate that I picked up at Walmart to preheat my molds while the pot is melting. Get a good thermometer to check the alloy temp. Rather than waste primers and powder, remelt those bullets and keep practicing casting. All of us started out learning what worked and what didn't and then spent decades prefecting it....and are still working at it.

[CrispexX]

I don't have a thermometer its on my loooong list of things i want/need, and thanks for the info i thought it was too hot but apparently i was backwards! Lee 358-125-RF is the mold, its for my .357 revolvers. Yea there were a few that i cut off before the mold filled all the way i figure that's why i got the sink hole. alrighty so. hotter, cleaner, fluxed better got it. I'm diggin the all-in-a-days-work little smiley there Recluse lol

[CrispexX]

Also one more thing i want to be 100% on, the lube grooves. I need to put lube in both those grooves correct? I'm about 95% sure but while I have your attention i figure I'd ask anyways

[Springfield]

There is only one lube groove there, the top one is the crimp groove for the brass case. You really need to read those books first before you go much further.

['74 sharps]

I'm not an expert by a long shot, but after heating the mold on plate, I run the melt at a little higher temp, and as the mold heats up, lower the melt a bit.

[CrispexX]

Not even going to touch the press till the books come in! I don't even have powder or primers so i couldn't even if i wanted to :D

[FLHTC]

You should be able to watch the lead solidify on the sprue plate. If it does instantly, the mould is too cold. I usually get keepers when the lead solidifies after at least two seconds...........one thousand one, etc.
If it goes beyond three seconds, you're going to get too much shrinkage. A small cavity can produce usable boolits after about 6 attempts. I have a thermometer but it never comes out. I've been casting since 1974 and i just go by memory. Also, i found Simple Green to be an excellent degreaser when applied with a tooth brush.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I really recommend getting a thermometer. You can even try one of those turkey fryer ones but it won't last long. Remember that you are dealing with lead that will be 700 degrees or more. That is twice as hot as something coming out of the oven. When I first started to cast, I didn't really understand just how hot that lead was. The first time I got a little (and I mean little) drop of lead on the bare hand, I was surprised how fast and deep it burned. You could hardly see it but it got my attention. While you are waiting for the books to come in, try casting for awhile. A hot plate will work wonders for getting your mold up to temp. before you start casting. Be careful.

[Sasquatch-1]

Did you lube the mold the way that Lee tells you to? If so you may have gotten some of the oils from what ever you used, into the mold cavity. I use Lee molds and have had this happen on more then one occaision. I just set the mold on top of the melted lead for about a minute or until it starts to smoke for about 20 seconds. This helps burn the oils out. you will have to wait a bit for the lead to solidify after casting the first few bullets and they will be frosty.

But after looking at your pictures and the void that appears to be in the base do suggest to cold of a mold.

[41 mag fan]

The one thing you got going for you at this time and date is plenty of practice time. What everyone posted is spot on, and if you take what everyones posted to heart and doing some experimenting and practicing you'll get the casts to be as perfect as can be.

[USMC87]

Scrub that mold with comet and hot water using a stiff bristle toothbrush, I use bullplate on all molds I buy, Works excellent. Mold is'nt hot enough going by the pictures. Do exactly as they said above, Read the books.

[Ranger185]

I have some books in the mail on their way to me so i have not loaded anything yet, just cast boolits and cleaned brass so far. Here is my question; would you load and shoot these? I have only cast about 100 or so and a bunch ended up looking like these and was pretty convinced i should just remelt them. Also would this be cause by the mold being to hot? thanks for the collective knowledge!

I have this exact same mold and have cast over 1K with it but had the same problem until I got a thermometer to make sure I was at a good temp. I am casting these at 700 degrees and set the mold on the pot while it is heating up and it is casting great.

[John Boy]

I don't have a thermometer its on my loooong list of things i want/needCrispexX, the quality of your bullets will stink unless you put a thermometor on you SHORT LIST. The cost is only 20 bucks ...
http://www.teltru.com/p-272-big-green-egg-primo-grill-dome-kamado-replacement-thermometer-lt225r-5-inch-stem-2001000-degrees-f.aspx

Plus no need for me to expound further the items you are doing wrong ... they are all covered by others except - the mold temperature should be hot enough so the sprue puddle frosts in 5 seconds with every pour maintaining a constant casting rhythm. This requires a thermometer ... Okie Dookie?

[Raven_Darkcloud]

The 358-125-rf are great boolits. Work for 38, 357, and 9mm. Mine drop around 130-134gr using 20:1 alloy. I cast a few hundred that just rotated back in the pot till I liked what I was seeing. The nice thing with casting is it can just go right back in and come back out. I started a month or so ago and have cast over 1500 usable boolits.

[cbrick]

flux your alloy well as it's getting up to temp

I gotta disagree with Recluse on that point. I never start fluxing until the melt is up to casting temp, for me that's 700 degrees. Why? Because even though you may think the alloy is melted (at complete liquidus) it may not be, different metals (antimony) melt at different temps and everything in the alloy may not be at complete liquidus. I flux once complete liquidus is achieved and I know that at casting temp it is.

Rick

[DLCTEX]

[QUOTE=geargnasher;2113967]Ditto the previous responses.

What mould is that? I wants one that casts a boolit about like that for .45 Colts.

Gear[/QUOTE

Lee has them in 6 cav. at .452 in 200-255-and 300 gr.

[runfiverun]

the lee 255 rnf is a decent looking boolit.
gear:
i have a bunch of lyman 452664's allready made up and stuff if you want some p.m. me.
heck i could re-lube them with 61.1 if you want.
or just make some and send them plain ,,whatever.

[CrispexX]

CrispexX, the quality of your bullets will stink unless you put a thermometor on you SHORT LIST. The cost is only 20 bucks ...
http://www.teltru.com/p-272-big-green-egg-primo-grill-dome-kamado-replacement-thermometer-lt225r-5-inch-stem-2001000-degrees-f.aspx


Thanks John, everywhere I've looked they're about $40+ and i was waiting till next payday. So it seems people use this mold for 9mm as well, i have a .380 bersa you guys think this would work in that as well? Or do you think it would need the round nose shape to feed reliably?

[9.3X62AL]

I split the difference between Recluse's and CB Rick's fluxing methods--I do both. I add wood shavings soon after the melt begins, and once again when the alloy is up to temp. Most of my metal has been fluxed pretty thoroughly during its smelt-driven domestication from free-range WWs or other feral sourcings, so these clean-ups don't yield a whole lot of impurities......but I do get a little, so it doesn't hurt to flux--as long as you aren't removing good metal inadvertently during the skim-out.

Far more often than not, heat is your friend and ally when dealing with lead alloy as a boolit or jig head/sinker caster.

[K-Rod]

Scrub that mold with comet and hot water using a stiff bristle toothbrush, I use bullplate on all molds I buy, Works excellent. Mold is'nt hot enough going by the pictures. Do exactly as they said above, Read the books.

Sorry for bringing back a dead thread but I found this thread while doing a search for the 452664.

Is it common practice to use an abbrasive such as comet & a stiff brissle brush on an aluminum mold like a Lee? Ive always been too worried about messing up a Lee mold cleaning it like this.

[Walter Laich]

I use old toothbrush and comet all the time on new ones.

Do know that sometimes, even with the best of cleaning jobs, it will take a few casting sessions to get all the oil out.
Smoking with a wooden match has helped me shorten the number of times it takes.

Be sure mold is dry before casting. Tinsel Fairy visits can be painful
walt