Why do my boolits look like this?

[reddnekked]

Cast some boolits for my .45 colt yesterday and had some unusual ones drop. My .45 Rossie likes larger boolits - so the Lee 220g/.456 works well for it. The bad ones look like the Lee molds halfs are not aligned, one side lower than the other - see photo. Is it me? Not all the boolits came out like this, but enough to worry me. I cast 50 and found 9 that were good. Any help will be appreciated.

Also: I got a deal on an 28 pound ingot of wheel weight. The things looks like a small fruit cake - way too big to fit in my melting pot. How do you suppose I'm going to cut it up to fit? A saw?

Oh, I'm new to the forum. Somewhat new to casting, but an long-time shooter. Just getting into Lever Action Silhouette and shooting .22, 45 Colt and 30-30.

I am,
reddnekked

[pworley1]

Your mold is not closing completely. It is usually because there is a small piece of lead keeping the mold open slightly or the pins are not lining up correctly.

[cs86]

To me that looks more like an alignment problem. That's if you are getting the mold completely closed. Since I don't see fins I'd imagine it's the alignment pins. I've never adjusted pins, but I think you have to push the alignment pins together more to get the mold to align properly. Unless the mold was manufactured wrong. I'm sure someone who has more experience with the problem will chime in.

[CastingFool]

I would take a torch to your lead fruitcake and melt it into an ingot mold or muffin tin.

[upnorthwis]

I use a log splitter to cut up large ingots. Depending on the size you sometimes have to take small slices.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

7" circle saw with narrow carbide tipped blade.

if you don't lube the alignment pins of the mold, you may get boolits like in your photo, especially with the old style Lee molds.

[sandman228]

im not bashing lee I have several of there molds (older style) and for the most part they have been trouble free . but ive ordered a few not long ago that seems to be a prob with there newer molds ive had to send some back for replacements(brand new out of the box) and the replacements they sent me were same way . as for your large ingot a plain old hand saw will work . I had a large brick sized ingot given to me a while back I tried a sawsall it just clogged the blade , I tried a 4.5 inch angle grinder with a cutting wheel its just smeared all over the wheel . a plain old hand saw worked fine and it didn't take long either .

[Dale53]

reddnekked,
If you are using an old style Lee two cavity mould the alignment pins need lubed. I prefer Bullshops sprue plate lube but a good substitute is synthetic two stroke oil. It only takes a VERY small amount of lube on the alignment pins. Using proper lube, that problem will go away. Put a drop of the PROPER oil on a q-tip and lube the alignment pins and groove. If you use too much and it gets into your bullet cavities, you will have wrinkles until the oil burns off. Just use a small amount.

Some have found it helpful when using these moulds to rest them on a flat surface as you close the mould to help with the alignment.

FWIW
Dale53

[Dan Cash]

I am bashing Lee. I doubt that there is a fix for that much offset in the mould blocks. Alignment pins are not aligning. Both your melt and mould are too cold also; poor fill out.

If you can, get a refund on that mould and buy a good one from about any maker mentioned on this forum other than Lee. I know the Lees cost "only" $20. or so but then add shipping to you and return shipping to get them fixed and you are in to them $40. or perhaps more and out your wait time and frustration. $75 will get a first rate mould from one of the custom makers that advertise here. You will pay once, have a mould that makes casting easy and drops bullets exactly the right size. Overhauling a new mould is not something a new caster should have to do.

[243winxb]

http://leeprecision.net/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List/Index/13/product-support Alignment Pins Fall Out- Overheating Double Cavity Mold
Posted by Steph @ Lee Precision on 11 February 2014 01:32 PM
We made a change to the alignment pin system in 2012, and have produced and delivered tens of thousands of the new style molds. have received glowing reviews and almost complete satisfaction.

The maximum operating temperature should be limited to 400 degrees and the absolute maximum of 450 degrees for a maximum of 30 minutes. At 450 degrees the pins will turn a Pale straw-yellow. Any temperature above this will excessively reduce the tensile strength of the aluminum block by annealing. Once this overheat occurs the only repair possible is replacing the pins and cups with suitable oversize pins.

The aluminum molds will not overheat by simply casting but can be overheated by preheating with a hot plate, torch, setting on top of the pot to heat up or immersing in molten alloy for an excessive amount of time.
Hope this helps.

[243winxb]

Mold Tips
Posted by on 17 November 2011 10:49 AM
The Double Cavity Molds that come back to us for repair invariably do so due to lack of lubrication. You can keep your mold working trouble free for years by following the suggestions below - practices that I follow here at the factory.

After receiving your mold and cleaning it per the instructions, cast one set of bullets to warm the mold. Then smoke the mold heavily. I use a lighter, and prefer one of the "oven" type lighters with a long barrel. Take a clean rag and wipe the soot off of the mold faces. Get them nice and clean. Now cast two or three more sets of bullets to get the mold hot. The steel alignment pins should now be hot enough to melt the beeswax or Anti-Seize lubricant.

To prepare the lube, slice off a piece about 1/4 inch wide. Cut that piece in half and form it into a football shape. Lightly touch the lube to the steel pins and then run it along both aluminum nibs at the ends of the mold. You want lube on the pin, but do not use so much that it gets on the mold faces.

Cast another set of bullets, knock them out, and carefully inspect the mold faces for evidence of lube. If you see any lube on the faces, wipe it off with a clean rag. You're now ready to go. Inspect the mold faces frequently to be sure that nothing gets on them. Keep the mold faces clean. The small grooves in the faces allow air to escape when pouring and in doing so, prevent wrinkles. You don't want anything to fill them up.

To minimize wear on the aluminium by the steel pins, you want the pins to do as little work as possible. If you hold your mold upright and slowly bring the halves close together, you may find that the mold halves don't quite line up. The pins will do the final alignment, but generally, if the mold is held upside down the sprue plate will open, the alignment will be initially better and the pins will have little to do. If this is the case with your mold, then this is the casting procedure that I recommend: 1) Pour 2) Turn the mold past vertical and knock the sprue into the pot 3) Turn the mold upside down, open and knock the handles to release the bullets.... never into the pot though. With the sprue plate straight out to the right, you can knock the handle just above the sprue plate. 4) Close the mold 5) Turn the mold right side up and only then, close the sprue plate.

Never close the mold with the sprue plate not completely open or close the sprue plate with the mold not completely closed. If you do, the sprue plate can hit the opposing mold face and nick it which will put annoying little tails on your bullets.

Relube your mold about every 500 casts, and be sure to put a little lube on the sprue plate pivot or you will get galling in that area. You can just touch the lube on the side of the bolt when the mold is hot and lube will wick down. Again, not too much or it may run into the cavity. Wipe off any excess.

It's vital to keep lead splashes off the mold faces or your mold will go out of round. A dripping pot may send out a splash that finds your open mold. Also, NEVER knock your bullets out into the pot! Finally, be careful not to damage the edges or rims of the cavities, and in general, don't touch them with anything other than a soft cloth.

[243winxb]

Melting is best, so that you can flux it and make smaller ingots. I use an old gas/unleaded Coleman cook stove with a metal pot (not aluminum). You want the alloy clean before putting it into a bottom pour pot.

[DLCTEX]

There are two methods I use to close Lee 2 cavity moulds that are giving alignment problems. First, with the sprue plate open, point the mould up to a vertical position then close the mould. This solves the problem with most mould if they are lubed well. If the alignment pins and or their grooves (old style) are worn, place the mould bottom on a flat surface while closing.

[tomme boy]

Set the mold on a flat surface and close it. Simplest and fastest way.

[bedbugbilly]

I've been using Lee molds for many years - both old style alignment and the new style.

If you were able to cast "good" bullets and then had this problem - I'd be more tempted to say that since they were dropping well, you may have gotten in a hurry. Not meant as criticism - I just know that I can happen. If you had a spot of lead, etc. that got caught, it could throw the alignment of the blocks off in regards to the alignment pins. I've seen it and have had it happen on the old style. That's why it is important to pay attention to your mold and blocks as you drop rounds as well as pay attention to your pot.

The thing I find strange on your "offset" bullet is that it is so "off set". If you had a spot of lead or dirt that was affecting the closure of the blocks, there should be some flash on it. Clean your mold well and see how it closes. Swing the sprue cutter out of the way - do the sprue holes line up and are they concentric? Are the ends of the blocks even with each other? When you close the mold, do both blocks "move" and align or is one getting hung up which would affect the blocks from closing squarely with each other. All in all it could be a number of things and you need to eliminate them one at a time.

Good luck. If all else fails - give Lee a call.

[Pb2au]

Set the mold on a flat surface and close it. Simplest and fastest way.
Bingo.

And check your alignment pins. Make sure there is a microscopic amount of your preferred lube on them. Me, I am an anti-seize kinda guy. Just a minuscule, microscopic film of the stuff on the pins and you are good to go.

[Janoosh]

Tommie boy has hit it. I get alignment problems with an older Lee mold when I speed up the casting process. Especially when the mold is heated up.

[jonp]

I have both types. Ive had good luck with both old and new so far. Guys like me without $100 to drop on a mold would not be casting without that company.

Put the fruitcake on a large piece of cardboard and use a saws all with a metal blade. The small piecs can be thrown in the easily fr the card board

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I have had to cut up on several occasions, overly large ingots that were simply too large to put into a smelting pot. After trying various ways and tools I finally settled on the log splitter method. Of course one has to have a splitter or access to one; and a unit capable of doing the job. It works a lot slower than when using wood, but there are no clogging blades, kickbacks or flying chips. The sawz-all and cutoff saw all work, but go slow even with carbide blades. Always use safety goggles regardless of which method you use. A torch gets the job done, but is kind of messy. An axe with wedges is also ok, but is a lot of work. A 16 pound sledge is not the greatest friend of your back either, nor is a maul. So if you can, try and use a log splitter. LLS

[Buck Neck It]

Wheel weight, you say? WW is brittle. Notch your fruitcake on one side, chisel, splitting maul, skilsaw, whatever. Flip it over, bridge it on 2 chunks of angle iron, 4X4, firewood, whatever. Whack it with a splitting maul, cross peen, whatever. Brute force solves all mechanical difficulties.

[reddnekked]

OK = I'm seeing two things that are new to me - casting is more work than I thought, and don't buy big lead ingots.

I'll inspect the mold - it is a new Lee mold, carefully lubed with bees wax. I'll clean it and use the open sprue method, on a flat surface.

I wouldn't bother, but the darn boolits shoot quite well in Rossi .45 Colt rifle.

[hp246]

I use a MAPP Gas torch to "cut up" large ingots. works for me. No mess. Just melt it straight into a mini muffin pan.