Wrinkled boolits with my new setup

[donovansn585]

So I have a new setup for casting and I'm getting a lot of wrinkles. So I have now gone from using a turkey cooker burner to using a hot plate for casting just for the sole reason the hot plate uses electricity and it's easier to control, however that being said the hot plate only gets the lead just past the melting point where the turkey cooker would get them as hot as I wanted. So what I'm finding is with the hot plate I'm having a real hard time getting things hot enough to keep the wrinkles out, I'm using lee molds and the ambient temp in the room I'm working in is about 55 degrees. So I'm wondering if it's the ambient temp causing the problem or is my lead not getting hot enough to raise the temp of my mold enough.

[jimb16]

Nope, not ambient temp. You need to get the lead up to around 700 degrees and it sounds like you are between 550 and 600.

[donovansn585]

K thanks what i needed what does everyone around here use for a thermometer

[JeffinNZ]

Either the mould is cold, the lead is cold or the mould is not clean or all. My guesses.

[BPShooter]

Yes 700 to 800+ degrees works for me. I get some nice looking mini Balls in the 800 to 850 range. You also need to get the mold hot before it will give you wrinkle free bullets. also check your Vents in Iron/Steel molds. Clean vents will help the mold fill.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

You have oil or traces of it in the mold (cavities) or some substance that had/has hydrocarbon in it. The will produce wrinkles until it is removed or burned off/out...or better yet-thoroughly cleaned out. A solvent such as acetone will usually do the job. Second cause of wrinkles can be the melt/alloy being too cold, and. the mold temperature too low. Until you eliminate these two possibilities you will continue to struggle with wrinkles. Imperfect bullets can result from other causes, but these two basics have to be dealt with first. LLS

[375RUGER]

What kind of hot plate? You may need to adjust the thermostat to get more heat output. That means you have to get inside the thing. What size is the hot plate, watts? Diameter? Maybe a factor in how much lead it will handle.
This is a good thermometer
http://www.teltru.com/p-272-big-green-egg-primo-grill-dome-kamado-replacement-thermometer-lt225r-5-inch-stem-2001000-degrees-f.aspx

[trixter]

I have one of the thermometers like the link above and I have checked my hotplate. On Medium it heats my mold to 500° and that combined with my 700° melt temperature will produce perfect boolits from the first pour. It's kinda like magic.

[bangerjim]

Ambient is nothing to do with your problmes. You can cast at 40......you can cast at 110....no difference.

You mold is cold....your lead is cold. Preheat the mold on a hotplate to close to casting temp. I would seriously look at spending $59 on a Lee 4-20 bottom pour!!!!!!! Keep the fryer for smelting only!

You will not be sorry and will be amazed how simple casting will become. Using a hotplate or an open flame to cast is very difficult. The electric pots control the temp easily and give you total control of the temp, flow, and casting quality in general.

I know so many on there like to get by "on the cheap", but there are certain things you must invest in to get the quality you want. It is a one time investment in your future as a quality caster.

Good casting!

bangerjim

[donovansn585]

Well I found the key to ladle casting success I ended up picking up a different type of hot plate, a open coil style. Instead of using my dutchnove to cast out of I'm using a small aluminum pan, let everything get up to temp and within 4 pours I had perfect boolits yay success. Now I'm just waiting for my HF powder coat to get here. I'm very excited I will no longer have to worry about leading and the smoke from lube a and it will also allow me to use all the cable sheath lead I have without mixing it with ww.

[bangerjim]

You will enjoy your ES gun. It is fun to use and makes the most perfect boolits you can find!

Spaying is the only method I have found (tried them all!) that gives me perfect slugs from 223 all the way to 45's. And you can use it to coat a lot of other things around the home and shop. Try that with dry and liquid methods!

Have fun!

banger

[white eagle]

sounds to me like you need to invest in a purposeful lead pot
your turkey fryer is just great for melting lead and pouring into ingots however it lacks as far as you have seen for casting boolits
also sounds like the electric hot plate aint cutting it either not getting hot enough great for mold heating but not lead casting
best of luck

[DLCTEX]

I would advise against using an aluminum pan as it can let go without warning. Steel or cast iron is much safer.

[375RUGER]

Aluminum pan?? be very careful using that. Aluminum will get soft and the weight of the lead will cause a catastrophic failure. The only way to avoid this is if the pan has a really thick walls and the load is low. The yield strength of aluminum decreases dramatically from room temp to 700*F. As long as the applied stress is lower than the yield strength at temperature all is good.
I'd ditch the Al pan and use SS or cast iron. The cast iron will hold heat like h-e-double hockey sticks anyway.

[donovansn585]

Yes I was planning on switching to a small stainless pan, using the aluminum just proved that my Dutch oven is just too big and and holds too much lead only good for ingots.

[jeepyj]

sounds to me like you need to invest in a purposeful lead pot
your turkey fryer is just great for melting lead and pouring into ingots however it lacks as far as you have seen for casting boolits
also sounds like the electric hot plate aint cutting it either not getting hot enough great for mold heating but not lead casting
best of luck
Sound advice more invest a little now and it will pay off for years to come.
Jeepyj

[WRideout]

I had the same idea that a hot plate would work; they are all the same, aren't they? I picked up one at Wally World to melt lead, and also found that it would only barely get hot enough. The instructions actually say that it is only to warm food and boil water. Did not see that until after I opened the box. Anyway, I began using it alongside the Lee dipper type pot, to warm my molds, and happy casting followed.

Wayne

[44man]

Good advise, I do a lot with aluminum repairs, welding stuff like holes in lawn mower engine blocks. There is no warning, no color change to speak of, it just fails all at once.
The best pot I have is the Lee 20#.
Hot plates are a pain, most if not all have a thermal fuse inside and if they get too hot it will blow.

[bangerjim]

Listen to the kind folks above and do as I suggested...buy a 4-20 pot! I fired mine up just yesterday to cast 500 .223 bators for use as a replacement for 22LR plinking. It was full to 3/4" of the top and it came up to full casting temp in less than 20 minutes. The hotplate at the side of it also got the mold at correct temp at the same time! 2 birds with one stone!!!!!!

Get a 4-20!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Leave the cooking utensils to the kitchen help.

Do NOT use aluminum. The comments above are not just "doubting Thomas's"! Aluminum (thinner pan stuff) will barely support it's own weight above ~750F. Add 30-40# of lead and you are looking at a fast visit to the ER. NO warning of pending failure!!!!!

banger

[mikedp]

Good advice given here. Get a Lee bottom pour. Place your mold on top and the heat from the melting lead will get it started heating. Start casting a few bullets and after 5-6 bullet drops, it should be dropping good quality bullets. Works for me every time.

[9w1911]

reminds me of my electric burner, just get the melt hot enough to pour, a stiff cold wind or luke warm ingots will freeze the melt over, so I got a bottom pour, which is great because i can bottom pour or ladle if I need to