Why is this happening?

[FishingFool]

This is my first day casting and I'm having a bit of trouble. I got my mold nice and hot and once it gets going I'm getting decent casts except for this ugliness. Do I need to clean my mold again?70954

[41 mag fan]

Not bad actually for your first day casting!
Few questions:
Whats your pot temp at?
What type of melt you using?
What type of mold?

You can clean your mold again, and I myself dont think it'll make a difference.
Try developing a rythym to your casting. What i do is cast fast till I get grainy looking boolits when they cool, then i slow down.
I might take 10-15 seconds between casts, leave my mold open to cool down. Cast one, if they fall out when I open mold, my molds is at optimum temp.
I'll then cast another right behind it. If they fall out, I'll keep the cadence up, leaving my mold open 10 seconds, cast. I might even throw a double back to back cast in, if my boolits stick a little in the mold.
You play around once you hit that shiny complete fill out of your boolits, you'll establish a rythym that works.
One thing i do do is 6 seconds on sprue solidifying. Longer than 6 sec, my boolits are sticking. If over the 6 sec mark, I'll close mold, leave sprue plate open for 10 then start again.
On my sprue, once up to temp, I leave very little on sprue plate. I pressure cast with my Lyman furnace and leave very little sprue. Just enough to suck down for complete base fill out.
One thing also, is when your boolits fall out and you got a rythym and are getting the shiny casts, cut your sprue and get the mold open fast. Taking too long will make the boolits stick in mold.
I've developed this rythym, cadence and it works good for me. My casts come out looking good, they are filled out perfect. They fall out of the mold as soon as I start to open them up. Sometimes this can even become irritating, as they're still hot, mold starts to open, they get dinged because they are starting to fall quicker than I can get the mold open.

Also...that boolit you made is quite shootable. Looks like one of my NOE molds I use for my 45-70 PB

[FishingFool]

I'm using 92-6-2 alloy and I varied the temp all day along with the pot rate outta the lyman 4-20. When it got frosty I'd stop and re evaluate and change it up again. The bullets looks nice except for this issue I'm having. It's almost as if there is sand or something in the mold that it can't be because I cleaned it and I was inspecting the mold between casts. I'm gonna hit it with acetone and try again in the morning.

[blikseme300]

FF, I am guessing you don't have a thermometer. I very much doubt that it is a dirty mold problem. Casting is a fine balancing act as pointed out in the previous post by 41 mag fan. My best guess is that you are running too hot on the alloy and your casting cadence is irregular trying to balance it out.

[dbosman]

Practice makes for better and sometimes perfect. Fortunately, you can melt your practice bullets.
I'm just getting back into casting. The first session I melted several scores of mistakes. After I got back into the swing of things, I got better results. You will too.

[MtGun44]

Flux the metal. Thermometer is a marginally useful luxury. That is probably crud in
the metal, flux to clean and mix it well.

Good looking casting except for the dirty/poorly mixed metal.

Bill

[44man]

My guess is the nose portion of the mold is way too hot. I would reduce the lead temperature and find the proper cadence.
That will not hurt how the boolit shoots if it is filled out and might wipe off with a rag anyway.

[FishingFool]

Flux the metal. Thermometer is a marginally useful luxury. That is probably crud in
the metal, flux to clean and mix it well.

Good looking casting except for the dirty/poorly mixed metal.

Bill

The more I think about it the more this makes sense. I've been using some candle wax (paraffin) from tea cup candles I had lying around. Ill try using more and be more vigorous mixing it around.

[DLCTEX]

I'd not use candles for flux and go with sawdust instead.

[Larry Gibson]

Candle wax can flux fairly well but some of it has too much other "stuff" in it to be much usefull. I prefer to use beeswax. It will flux quite well, especially if you drop a wooden match onto it as it melts atop the alloy. The match will light and burn off most of the smoke. If you can get a larger chunk from a bee guy then most hobby/candle shops will have small blocks for sale very reasonably. Mine were "cast" in a Saeco ingot mould.

I learned to use beeswax and parafin many years ago from old cater who had been casting for ages. It also is recommended in most "works" on the topic. I don't really know where this new idea that these waxes won't work comes from (got an idea though.....). Saw on the AR forum a discussion on the topic. They were quoting Fryxell's (SP?) book starting on page 37. Problem is he says the waxes work fine.........and they do.......so much for the "expert" and contradictory advise over on the AR forum..........

I prefer spending the money for a good commercial flux such as Marvaflux as opposed to using oiled saw dust which really stinks up the place. Yeah the oiled sawdust works good and does afford a protective layer against further oxidation if that's wanted. But it sure does stink up the place. Yes I've tried them all over the years and I mostly use beeswax and a wood match.

Larry Gibson

[swheeler]

Yeppers I use candle wax or beeswax, stir with a wooden dowel and then scrape the sides of the pot and skim with a spoon. Sawdust and oil should work too, but to what advantage I don't know, imaginary advantage I would guess. I think alot of this alchemist voodoo hoopola we read is just the vivid imagination of young flux and lube inginears:) LAST YEAR I COULDN'T SPELL INGINEAR< NOW I ARE ONE!

[dtknowles]

I used to use bee's wax to flux when I started casting. Then I was using a pot and a ladle, it worked fine but I felt I needed to flux a lot so I did not get oxides building up. When I went to a bottom pour pot I continued to use wax for a while and I did not have to flux as often as the oxides on the top did not get in or on the dipper since I was pouring from the bottom. I read about using saw dust and tried in and I found I liked it because I left a layer of ash on the top of the melt and that prevented oxides from forming. I switched to used corncob tumbling media and that is what I have been using ever since. It works like the sawdust but I don't have as large a supply of sawdust as I do the corncob and the corncob is working for me. I don't burn off the smoke but then I kind of like the smell and I have pretty good ventilation.

Tim

[wallenba]

I've encountered that myself from time to time. Wiping with a lightly oiled rag made it go away. (the boolit, not the mold[smilie=1:)

[trixter]

I sometimes get weird looking boolits that are otherwise perfect in size and weight. I just load them and then use a terrycloth towel to wipe them till the lead shines. Most of it disappears. I am a happy camper with shiny boolits in shiny brass. Does it make me a better shot; not really but still, I am happy.

[FishingFool]

Okay. Ill try again this weekend. I can get candles more easily than sawdust so ill go that route first. Thanks.