need help casting hollowpoints

[reloader89]

i have this lyman devistator Hollow point that i cast for my 9mill and i cant seem to get the nose of the bullet to form right. can anyone help me on this?

[beagle]

I messed with that one for a long time. The best I could get was fair results. Get the mould up to temp and then heat the pin. At best, I could get about 50% keepers.

Finally, I had the pin turned down to .125" diameter and it works better now but I have many better moulds rather than mess with that one.

Sorry that I cannot give you a "quick fix" but that's been my experiences with this moul./beagle

[reloader89]

do you think making the alloy harder will work?

[reloader89]

should i make the alloy harder? somtimes the nose dosent fill out and sometimes it looks streched after i pull the pin.

[kawalekm]

I had one and tried for a while but finally gave up and sent it back. Thinking back now I could think of four suggestions. First, start with alloy with 5% tin, say Lyman's #2, to maximize fluidity: Second, keep the alloy hot, say above 700F: Three, use a pressure pouring technique. What works best for me is a modified pressure pour. Press the sprue opening snugly against the drop spout and let alloy flow into the cavity till you see little squirts of lead, then drop the mold down a fraction of an inch to finish with a drop pour and an ample sprue. If the sprue takes less than 5 seconds to solidify, you don't have your alloy hot enough. One other thing I can think of to to make some kind of "pin holder" out of steel that you can set on top of the furnace. When you pull the pin out just before dropping the bullet, drop the pin in its "holder" to keep it hot. Maybe a spark-plug socket or something like that.
Good luck,
Michael

[garandsrus]

Reloader89,

I use the .44 version of the mold. Keep the alloy hotter than normal and cast fast! I sometimes even heat the pin in the flame of a torch for a few seconds.

I would also include some tin in your alloy if it's not already there.

John

[georgewxxx]

usually it's the combination of pin & mould temperature that causes nose failures. After pulling it, be careful where you set them both down. Dipping the pin in the lead just before you start your casting cycle helps a lot also. sometimes casting speed or cadence make a difference too. If you have a balky mould that won't eject right away, the mould is cooling down too fast while your trying to get it out. Dip the mould in the melt to heat it up to where the the boolits frost then slow the pace down so they get a satin finish.

Making the alloy harder might help, but if you have some, try to add just a tiny bit of pure tin.

[Wayne Smith]

I just made a loop of copper wire that hangs over the edge of my 20 lb pot and has a circle in which to put the pin, so that it stays in the melt. Only problem is that I keep using lead out of the pot, exposing the pin! My copper wire doesn't stretch.

[Leftoverdj]

Yeah, you gotta keep the pin hot. My solution was a wire loop over a low flame from a propane torch. You also need both alloy and mould hotter than normal, and you have to work as fast as you possibly can between the time you remove the pin and the time you refill the mould.

I'm using HB rather than HP moulds, but find that it helps to give the pin a little twist as soon as the sprue starts to harden, pause a few seconds, and then remove the pin. Slug moulds are easier to work with since their pins have enough mass to retain the heat.

[leftiye]

Heat the pin. Hard to do with that gob of wood on it? Take off the wood. Handle the pin with pliers (maybe even cut flats on the stem). Now you can set the whole shebang on a hotplate or mold heater, and lo and behold the whole thang is hot enough to cast boolits with (pin stays hot too, doesn't freeze the lead that first hits it and cause problems). Works muy bueno on hollow base minies too.

[wolfspotter]

I just recieved my lyman devistator Hollow point 45 mould yesterday and it did the same thing. I was casting outgoors in the cold and got five good bullets out of 200 that were good. Moved my setup inside with an exhaust fan and once things heated up they were coming out pretty good. At the range today I was getting 1-1/2" to 2" at 25yds compared to 1" with SWCs and no feeding problems.

[Muskrat Mike]

I just got my first HP mold this week. It's a lyman 358156. I'm just a rookie caster, only started about 2 years ago but I sprayed the pin on mine with Midway's Frankford Arsenal's mold release and I cast at least 250 bullets in two sessions without any problems. Maybe my mold is easier to use because it's a different bullet or maybe the mold release helped?? I don't know.:coffee:

Note the alloy I used is very close to Lymans #2

[garandsrus]

Here's a great article (http://www.lasc.us/LymanDevastator.htm) on using these molds by Glen, a member on this site also....

He has a number of other articles on the LASC site that are very good reads also.

John

[GLL]

I agree with John (garandsrus).

I use WW +3%SN in my .44 mould at 800 degrees and ladle cast as fast as I can. Works very well ! :)

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/EB2EEFBED537F5E/standard.jpg

[johnly]

Has anyone tried using an aluminum spud? The heat capacity of aluminium is lower than steel, and the thermal conductivity is higher.

John in Oregon

[Larry Gibson]

All the tips (pun intended) are in the posts;

Cast hot
Cast fast
Keep the HPer hot (I use the wire loop on a propane torch also)
A tin - lead alloy (no antimony) works best as it casts well and expands well with pistol bullets (a 1-20 or 1-16 alloy works well at 9mm velocities)
Back out the stop screw on the furnace to allow the molten alloy to get into the mould as fast as possible.
Pour a large sprue to keep the alloy molten which allows it to fill in around the HP'er before setting up.

Not hard to cast HP bullets (same problems are present with HB bullets) once you get the hang of it.

Larry Gibson

[reloader89]

iv just started casting and i am gratfull for all your tips, thanks

[chunkum]

In addition to casting with a slightly hotter alloy, preheating the mould blocks on a hotplate has been helpful to me to get things going, and sometimes to maintain good production. As JLL mentioned, ladle casting works well for me with the Devastator bullet designs. I have all four moulds of this type. Sometimes the lips of the HP will have slight lips of their own. Using the correct nose punch to size these bullets will sort of semi-swage in a symmetry when sizing that looks good and shoots accurately. I like a half and half lead/WW alloy for these with about a 3% Tin content.
Best Regards,
chunkum

[Bob B]

Bolt a metal clip from a wheel weight to the top of your melting pot to hold pin while emptying mold this will keep pin hot and help make good bullets.Bob B

[cuzinbruce]

Hi,
One thing I have found helpful is to smoke the cavity and pin on hollowpoints. Or any mold that seems to be diffficult getting to fill out properly. Best is to use a butane lighter, Bic or something like that. It gives a dry soot without any greasiness like a candle will. This using Lyman iron moulds for Keith 429421HP, 32/20HP (forget the number), etc. If you don't think it helps, you can just brush it out, no harm done. But it has been helpful to me with HP's, also long rifle bullets like 311334, 358318. The carbon may act as an insulator and keep it hot longer. Another thing to try (if you haven't already) is to use a dipper instead of the bottom pour. But most important, is to get everything HOT!
Good Luck,
Bruce